Church "Gospel" Versus Christ's Victory!
By Gary Amirault
"For 'whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.' How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?" (Romans 10:13-15, NKJV)
These are the words used by most church organizations to go out and "save" those who will obey their "gospel." Those who obey will receive eternal life and those who reject or don't live up to their "gospel" will be damned. Most denominations believe they have received the commission to "go out into all the world." They believe they have the authority of Scripture to make disciples of men. A person who does not "go to church" is often suspect of not "being saved." Evangelists often use Scriptures like the above to make one believe that without your dollars to support their work, many people will go to hell. Our involvement or lack of it, directly effects the very eternal life of millions of people. Often the face of a little foreign child is used in their advertisements with a message reminding you that you are responsible for this child's eternal life. These organizations can be gathered together under the feminine Christian term "Church."
Question: Did God trust the eternal destiny of the earth's inhabitants to the institution called "church?"
Before we answer that question, let us take a quick tour into church history to observe a few things. Please understand these facts are not meant as an attack on any follower of Jesus Christ, in church or out. They are just plain history found in most history books. Often, we associate with institutions so emotionally that we have difficulty separating who we really are apart from them. Those of you who emotionally become attached to institutions like church denominations may feel personally attacked when someone reveals its past history. This short article is not an attack on any human being, especially Christians. It is just a brief unveiling of an institution that has fallen far short of what it claims to feed the world, the "Good News." If you feel offended, check and see if your allegiance is perhaps more institution-centered than Christ-centered. We mean no offense even though we know there will be many offended. Hard facts can become rocks we stub our toes on. But I would rather one stub their toes on a few rocks than for the Rock to one day fall on their head in judgment.
- At the first council meeting of the church held in Jerusalem, the church fought over whether a convert had to enter the nation of Israel through circumcision before "getting saved." Fortunately, this problem was solved peacefully.
- At the council of Nicea in 325 A.D. the church literally killed one another over whether there were three or one in the Godhead.
- For over a thousand years, the church forbade an individual from having a copy of the Bible in their native language on the penalty of death!
- During most of church history, the "gospel" was preached from the end of a sword, convert or die was the "good news." (Ask a Jew). During the great early "crusades" the Christian mobs who went to "save" Jerusalem killed and plundered Moslems, Jews, and other Christians alike. They plundered many Christian Greek Orthodox cities and killed their inhabitants.
- At one point in "church" history, the church had two popes. They excommunicated each other, that is, they sent each other to hell.
- During the inquisition, the church invented some of the most cruel and sadistic instruments of torture man could conceive. The priests of Christendom mutilated thousands of human beings to "test" them to see if their faith was pure.
- During the reformation, hundreds of thousands of Christians killed other Christians and condemned each other to hell. Catholics against Huguenots, Lutherans against Anabaptists, Anglicans against Presbyterians, Reformed against Catholics, etc.
- In "evangelizing" the New World, the priests first took all their gold, then converted them with the sword and gunpowder. Their gold is still decorating the Vatican.
- In the early history of the United States, the church enacted civil laws on all citizens such as the following: Whosoever shall be found observing Christmas, either by forbearing of labor, feasting, or any other way, every such person shall pay as a fine 5 shillings to the county. Today, any one is looked upon with suspicion if they do not celebrate Christmas! Hypocrisy, maybe?
- During the Civil War in the United States, many of the largest denominations of Christendom, divided into separate denominations over the issue of whether slavery was Biblical. Obviously, many Christians thought slavery was just fine with God.
- Most of the nations fighting each other in World War I and II were Christian. American Baptists killed German Baptists, Lutherans killed Lutherans, Catholics killed Catholics Methodists killed Methodists.
- Even today, churches split, fight and shun one another over things as silly as whether God allows one to use a tractor with rubber tires or whether one has to take the tires off and put on steel rimmed wheels, such as the Mennonites.
- Evangelical organizations such as Billy Graham Evangelical Association, Clyde Dupin Ministries, and a host of other evangelical ministries gather all these different types of churches with different ideas of what is salvation and how to get it, and organize "crusades" whereby thousands of people hear a version of the "gospel" which most of the denominations who participate in these events do not even believe themselves! The Billy Graham organization, for example, believes in a "once saved, always saved" gospel. With the exception of some Baptist, Presbyterian, and Reformed denominations, most of the other churches that participate in these "crusades" believe and teach a convert can lose their "free gift." A person can hear an unconditional salvation message from Billy Graham and be sent to a church that teaches Christians can go to hell! Is this honesty? Often churches that participate in these mass crusades consider other churches that participate in the same crusade not truly Christians. The Catholic church still has in her canons (laws) that salvation is only in the Roman Catholic Church. All other denominations are going to hell, yet Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (Protestant), who is condemned to hell by Roman Catholic law, sends new converts to the Roman Catholic Church! This is insanity!
- Imagine thousands of Christian churches all over the world hearing on Sunday how those who have not accepted Jesus Christ as Savior, or who have not entered the True church will ultimately be tortured beyond man's ability to imagine. Then the pastor, evangelist, elders and congregation go to a nice restaurant dining away, praising the preacher for his fine sermon, while driving through streets passing thousands they believe are on their way to hell; having waitresses serve them, bus boys clean their dishes and never warning them about what the preacher just preached. Then they go home to watch football, or play golf, and they wonder why the world doesn't believe their "gospel." Imagine the world going to hell, and yet few pastors and flock are pounding on our doors begging us to get right with God. Imagine TV evangelists today telling the world that any day now the world will end, while they stash billions of dollars sincere people sent them into retirement funds, funds for their children's college education, and homes costing hundreds of thousands of dollars and sometimes, millions of dollars.
- Every Roman Catholic priest in the world has to swear on the Bible, before being ordained, to believe and defend the eighty articles of the Syllabus of Pope Pius IX. It contains the official Roman Catholic Doctrine for Priests and Bishops. It contains some of the following which speaks only of the rights and authority of the Roman Catholic Church as being the only true and legal representative of God: 21. The Church (Roman Catholic) has power to define dogmatically the religion of the Catholic Church to be the only true religion. 34. The doctrine which equaled the Roman Pontiff to an absolute Prince, acting in the Universal Church, is not a doctrine which prevailed merely in the Middle Ages. 42. In legal conflicts between both powers (Civil and Ecclesiastical) the Ecclesiastical Law prevails. 54. Kings and Princes (or heads of government) are not exempt from the jurisdiction of the Church (Roman Catholic), and are subordinate to the Church in litigated questions of jurisdictions! 73. Marriage among Christians cannot be constituted by any mere civil contract; The marriage-contract among Christians must always be a sacrament; and the contract is null, if the sacrament does not exist. 77. It is necessary even in the present day that the Catholic religion shall be held as the only religion of the State, to the exclusion of all other forms of religion. 78. Whence it has been unwisely provided by law, in some countries called Catholic, that persons coming to reside therin shall enjoy free exercise of their religion.
- The Pope, who had to sign the above to become a priest in the Roman Catholic Church, is presently going around the world praising all the world's leading religions as good. He even joins in their rituals while having signed the above. Is this truthful?
Question: In light of the above history, which is open to the entire world to read, if you were the Creator of the Universe and had all power, knowing the beginning from the end, demanded perfect justice, loved everything you created including your enemies; if you had some of your children lost on some tiny planet called Earth, would you send a woman like the one called "church" to safely bring back your children?
I wouldn't and neither would our Father, and if you got honest with yourself for a moment, neither would you, that is, if you were sane. Praise Him forever for having the wisdom to send His Son Who said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all mankind unto myself! (John 12:32) "The Father loved the Son and has given all things into His hands. (John 3:35) "As you have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him." (John 17:2) The Scriptures further declare that Jesus Christ created all things, reconciles all things, is Heir of all things, has authority over all things, will have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, His grace comes to all men, He takes away the sin of the world, He gave His flesh for the life of the world, He is the propitiation for the sins of the world, whose gifts are irrevocable, one of which is His life for the world, who was manifested to put away sin, who preached to the spirits in prison, who holds the keys to death and hell, who never changes, who loves His enemies and prays for them, whose prayers and intercessions are always heard and answered by the Father, who made all things alive, who completed the work His Father gave Him which was to restore all things, who became a ransom for all to take away the curse, who became the Savior of the whole world and then will deliver it up to His Father that the Father might be all in all! "It is finished!" Believe it!
Now here is a Savior we can trust with everything we have and are. Here is the Gospel, the Good News. This Savior is able and willing to deliver one from themselves, sin, addictions, Satan, and from someone who often is the most powerful enemy of mankind and its Creator, a "woman" who calls herself "Church," better known among the Greeks as "Circe" daughter of the Sun, who, in Greek mythology, had the power to turn men into animals. (Write for the audio tape entitled "The origin of the word "Church.")
If you are weary, lost, broken hearted, deceived, turned off by religion, or unable to do what you know in your heart is right, turn directly to the One Who is the Way of true Life. He will send you His Spirit Who will lead you into all Truth. Yes, the road is straight and narrow, it is as narrow as One Man; His name in English is Jesus the Christ, the One sent by the Creator of all. In Hebrew He is called Yashua Ha Mashiach, in Greek Iesus Christos. He is not only the Way, but the Door and the Good Shepherd. He will lead you to our heavenly Father Who has been waiting for you. He will take your sin-stained garments and/or your religious robes of self-righteousness and burn them away. He will not burn your bodies and torture or annihilate you, as many Christians say. This is false doctrine which entered the "church" early in its history and crept into many, but not all Bibles. Jesus Christ is your Savior whether you presently know Him or not. Your eternal well-being has been secured by His act on the Tree of Crucifixion. He has not failed you for "Love never fails!" The Creator of the universe may have many attributes, but His overall nature is Love, a Love that will never leave nor forsake you, never! Here is Someone you can trust yourself, your family, and the entire world to. Now seek your Maker with all your heart.
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