Within our lifetime the ancient gods are rising again. Heresies long discarded by the Christian Church are lifting their heads and becoming standard bearers for pockets of Christians around the world. These once small and rare pockets are now becoming larger and mutating—eating away at the true gospel—eating away at the simplicity and purity of Christ.
You might say that much of the Christian church is eating food sacrificed to idols—for often the gospel is mixed with portions of these ancient, false religions and sadly truncated. We may be reaching the masses through large evangelical events; but following initial salvation, we are feeding our new brothers and sisters in Christ a cropped and strangely mixed gospel.
Besides this, it is a wonder that the present church does not have rotted teeth due to the consumption of so much cotton candy. Sound and light shows have replaced the call for repentance for sin. Lack of accountability on the part of both leadership and congregations for the life they live have been covered over with a marmalade of so-called “love”.
People may be crying out for revival—but churches are not training the souls they already have. Why do we want more people to flood the churches when we so poorly care for those among us now?
Surely—oh, surely we are not so light as to want revival because it would be exciting and even flattering to us for the Lord to pack the house of worship where we pastor or attend? Have we even considered the consequences of many salvations bur few true disciples? The church would be over extended and severely weakened.
The babes in Christ would be vulnerable to the enemy. As the enemy increases in his end-time power, these babes would be left to battle a stronger and more determined supernatural being with the gifts of the Spirit without the character of Christ deep within their bones.
Power has replaced purity. Anointing has replaced sound doctrine. Show business Christianity has replaced the study of “line upon line”. A careful measured growth in Christ is now not exciting enough to hold our attention. The world is “to-much-with-us”. We are so hopped-up we have spiritual ADD. Nothing and no one can hold our attention very long. We must have fireworks.
Often these fireworks come from strange exotic false doctrines. But we do not know this. We do not know enough to ascertain the difference. Also we are woefully ignorant of the battles the church has fought and won in the past.
When we are called to embrace the cross to our self life how tempting it is to allow our minds to be titillated by a bright shiny idea that requires nothing of us.
But brothers and sisters in Christ, let us trick the trickster. Let us arm ourselves. Let us gain more knowledge so that we may disarm the enemy. In 1985 a book was published called… Early Christian Heresies by Joan O’Grady. It is now a classic. At least, by reading this book, we may become acquainted with the false doctrines flooding the church—for nothing is new.
Give yourself a chance to know the doctrines that have been vetted for authenticity and subsequently discarded by the Christian Church. Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are being attacked from within (which is always the way the enemy weakens a work of God).
We need to arm ourselves and be among those who are knowledgeable enough to stand for the truth.
