When I look back at the mentors in my life from an era gone by, I remember them talking a lot about the false church. This church is different in many ways from an unbiblical church because it is accepted by most Bible believing Christians. Let me explain. So, let’s begin …
2 Corinthians 11:14 But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
Jesus was speaking to the religious leaders of His day; they were totally unaware of their lost condition:
John 8:44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.
The false church sounds and looks like the real church; it has worship, preaching, and outreach … checking all the boxes of what we would say is a Bible believing church. However, something in the menu of its theology is missing. The born-again message of the Cross is minimized, the blood of an atoning Christ is dismissed, and the messages of repentance and judgment are never heard. I first discovered these characteristics of the false church when I read about the ministry of the Holy Spirit:
John 16:8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.
When you unpack the mission work of the Holy Spirit, you can see from this Verse that you have a template for what the church is to do as it allows the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Let me be blunt. How does the Holy Spirit lead us to buy million-dollar jets? How does the Holy Spirit lead us to preach our best life now? Where does that fit into His ministry menu? Where is the Holy Spirit in the error of our doctrine that teaches that God does not know the future, or that God is still revealing revelation to a select few of His people? Where is the Holy Spirit in preparing the church for what the Book of Revelation teaches will eventually happen to this world?
If you go back to see what Jesus said about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, you see His work is about sin, righteousness, and judgment. When we put that template over the ministry of any church or denomination, you can see where we are falling short. The other issue that is rampant in the church is the ignorance of God’s Word. When you don’t have the instructions of how to assemble something, the process becomes trial and error:
Americans revere the Bible—but, by and large, they don’t read it. And because they don’t read it, they have become a nation of biblical illiterates. ~Family Life, George Gallup and Jim Castelli
How bad is it? Researchers tell us that it’s worse than most could imagine.
According to data, 60 percent of Americans can’t name even five of the Ten Commandments. No wonder people break the Ten Commandments all the time. They don’t know what they are. The bottom line? Increasingly, America is biblically illiterate. ~George Barna, Barna Research Group
Yet, we know the Holy Spirit is to lead us into all truth, then where is He?
John 16:13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
I don’t think the problem is with the Holy Spirit. Let me be clear. The problem isn’t where is He? The problem is, where are we?
There are roughly 350,000 religious’ congregations in the United States. Of those, about 314,000 are Protestant and other Christian churches, and 24,000 are Catholic and Orthodox churches. Of this number there are 24,000 Evangelical congregations. ~Hartford Institute
Okay so the Holy Spirit has a lot of people to lead into the truth, right? So, why are we so Biblically illiterate?
If you read John 8, Jesus openly discusses the false religion of the religious leaders of His day. He tells them they follow their father the Devil. Why, because they did not know God the Father, and Jesus emphatically stressed that point in John 8.
So, my question to you is, “Are we any different?” Who are we following when we are so Biblically illiterate? Few preachers talk about these stats. II wonder why?
I will not commit myself to declaring that most churches are false, but there are some signs that unless we come back to the leading of the Holy Spirit, it could be disastrous.
False churches do not want to address these stats for one reason, keeping people ignorant is a preferred state for deception. Knowing what you don’t know, is not a good state to be in when falsehood comes knocking.
So, what do we do?
Start with self-awareness in your own life. Spend as much time reading and studying the Scriptures as you do on social media or watching television.
Ask God for a heart for His Word, and for the strength to exercise it in your life.
Get a Bible you can mark up. Initial verses you know you need, and ask God to make it true in your life.
Ask the Holy Spirit to put the fire back in your belly again for the truth. Ask for the boldness to speak what you know is true from His Word.
Ask the question, what do you want the Holy Spirit to do in your life?
Sin: Where is it active and habitual in my life?
Righteousness: Do I see Christ growing in me, making me like Him? If not, why not?
Judgment: Jesus came as the lamb to seek and to save the lost, He now will come as a judge to rule and to reign His creation. Are you familiar with His plan?
The church needs an infusion of the Holy Spirit to empower us again, to be the head and not the tail in our world.
Challenging the Culture with Truth … Larry Kutzler