Devil in the church

M10700

LUCIFER'S OTHER CHURCH by Stanley L. Derickson

We've all heard comments about the wolf in sheep's clothing. We all relegate that in the Christian sphere to the liberals and false teachers that teach wrong doctrine under the umbrella of "Christianity."

It is the purpose of this study to suggest that today we may see little ways in which it is really the Devil that is creeping in under that umbrella.

The Devil has been copying the Lord's ways, means and ideas since the beginning.

I trust that you will take these thoughts with a grain of salt until you do some thinking about it on your own. I have been tossing something around over a long period of time and feel that there may be some truth in it. In this study I would like to just think of the Devil's influence on the church.

He doesn't have to copy the church or the Lord's doings, he now just has to wait a few months until the church copies the world’s ways and he has his "stuff" in the church at the church's invitation.

Just what are some of these items that we, the church, copy?

When I was growing up the rock and roll stations introduced us to the top 40's! Today we have top 40's of Western, Blue Grass, Popular, Rock, Heavy Metal AND NOW WE HAVE THE CHRISTIAN MUSIC TOP 40's!

We have had toy action figures with us for a number of years, at least since Star Wars and in the late 80's we were introduced to BIBLE ACTION FIGURES!

We have for years had Sunday school songs and choruses, but now we have Christian words put to everyday tunes of the world. (Brother John, I've Been Work'n' On The Railroad etc.)

The world gave us heavy metal, and the church now has "CHRISTIAN" HEAVY METAL!

The world gave us rap, and the church now has "CHRISTIAN RAP!"

The world had great problems with divorce, and now the church has accepted the same principle of operation, "Try it you'll like it, if not, divorce it."

Historical novels have been with us for years and years, but the Christians of our time just have to have their CHRISTIAN HISTORICAL NOVELS based on the lives of Biblical characters.

How about Bible Trivia? The terms in the title of that game ought to say enough to help us understand our subject in this study BIBLE - TRIVIA! REALLY!

I walked into a Christian's home in the late 80's and noticed several Jr. Hi young people playing Bible Pictionary. One of the young people was exploding with excitement because she had the answer first, and she hollered at the top of her lungs, "The Blood of Christ!!!!!!" I really think that the blood of Christ should have a little more dignity than that!

The rock groups had their guitars, bass guitars, keyboards, and now so do the churches.

We need to have a good evangelism program so we are out there using one that smacks of Madison Avenue. Is this wrong? What is the program anyway? To bring people to the Lord? Why do we need a spit and polish program when we don't need it? If we needed it our Bibles would have First and Second Evangelism instead of Romans.

The world has given their employees packages of benefits and pay and termed it many things, but today we have many pastors that judge a prospective church on the pay package that they offer. Within the pay package are items such as: salary, parsonage allowance, travel, conference expenses, vacation pay, clothing allowance, medical insurance, social security, retirement package, moving expenses, relocation expenses, and anything else the pastor-to-be can suggest. Someone has suggested that these people live by FAITH. F inancially secure, A ffluent, I ncome rising, T ax sheltered, and H ome paid for.

The prospective pastor must now, in some circles, release his credit report and history to prospective churches.

Christians have condemned the costly cathedrals of the Roman church yet we are building bigger, and better, and snazzier churches than ever.

We have known for centuries that the Lord holds each and every one of us as very valuable. We know that we all have great value in God's eyes, yet we have invited the "self image" and "self worth" philosophy into our churches, and many of our youth are thriving on it.

We despise bigotry yet we have educational bigotry in many of our fellowships and groups. We have some looking down their noses at minimum-education-people, and the minimum-educated in turn condemns the higher-education-people as over-educated. For that matter how many of the churches that you have been in have black people as members, unless the whole church is black? Or Asians? Or Spanish American?

The Roman Church had their problems with not allowing the lay people to have the Bible to read for themselves! Never will fundamentalists do that, we have said for many moons, yet we have many seminaries teaching their students, OUR PASTORS, that you cannot properly understand the Bible unless you know the original languages. Not too many steps down the road and we may have the Romanists telling us off about that one.

How about the teaching and preaching of the church today?

How accurate is it?

I have seen men declare boldly something that is in the Old Testament that was for an age past as fact for our living, yet ignore other teaching in the Old Testament or the New Testament that declares that the principle has been set aside.

Recently in a sermon a man declared boldly that the sin of the father will be visited upon the children, and he gave an illustration of a father that went into adultery and a month later his Godly teenager started sleeping with a friend. Now the story may well be true, yet it does not prove that the principle is for today. Indeed the Book of Ezekiel chapter 18 seems to say that God has changed that principle!

I sat in a Sunday School class in a Baptist church and listened for half an hour about the bills that the church had and that we had to take offerings to pay those bills before the Lord returned so that we wouldn't have to take offerings when the Lord was here. Proof? Yes, of course he had a proof text! I Corinthians 16:2, "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come." THAT WAS PAUL SPEAKING BY THE WAY - NOT CHRIST!

How Biblical is it?

I have heard many, many sermons that the speaker used a bit of a verse as a spring board to go off into some topic that he wanted to cover and never again return to the Word for direction or proof.

Recently a pastor was talking about a book that he had read by a certain author. His whole message centered around the precepts that this man had set forth in his book. As we left I told my wife I was tempted to tell the pastor that I had been reading a book that set forth the same principles and that I really enjoyed the book - the BIBLE!

How honest is it?

We say that we reject the principles of modern day counseling and the psychiatrists of days gone by, yet we still hear "Christian counselors" that are rerunning the old "why do you hate your father or mother," Freudian principles.

How about missions today?

Are we following Biblical principles? Or, are we out there trying man's concoctions? One group is trying to start churches by telephone. The same principles that insurance salesmen use to sell insurance over the phone!

We are seeing more and more Christians feel that we should use the world's principles. When I was on deputation and the support wasn't coming in a Christian sat me down and told me what I was doing it wrong. He mentioned that I wasn't being a good PUBLIC RELATIONS man. He thought that the church was all-wrong in sending people out on deputation. His thought was that we should introduce advertising campaigns into the church and raise money as a secular Ad Campaign might raise money.

Are we totally committed to reaching the lost?

Again, when I was on deputation I sat across the table from a man that was questioning the "COST EFFECTIVENESS" of missions. If the missionary can't produce certain results then he is not being cost effective and should be brought home or sent elsewhere.

The telephone evangelism that I mentioned earlier is based on the same principle. If you can't raise enough interest by making so many phone calls in an area then it is not cost effective to go ahead and start a church in that area.

WHAT HAPPENED TO "SAVING THE LOST AT ANY COST!"?

WHAT HAPPENED TO "SOLD OUT FOR GOD!"?

WHAT HAPPENED TO "GIVING ALL FOR GOD'S GLORY!"?

One more question. "WHAT HAPPENED?"

The world has had radio for many years, and believers have used secular stations to propagate the Gospel. In recent years we have "Christian Radio" that is for the - WHAT PURPOSE?

If it is for the propagation of the Gospel, why do I hear so little Gospel on it?

If it is for the edification of the saints, why do I hear so much false doctrine on it?

I have people constantly telling me how great the listening is on Christian radio, yet every time I tune in on Sunday morning, I hear I'm going to hell because I sinned last Tuesday. Or that I'm going to hell because I don't belong to brand X church group. At least they are talking about hell!

The real crime is that we have fundamental, conservative Christians supporting those stations! God's money is going to help propagate false doctrine and play "Christian" rock!

Sure I can be selective in what I listen to, but how about that lost person that tunes in looking for help and finds some false teaching to follow.

I'm not against giving to Christian programs, but do it directly to the ministry and encourage them to change to secular stations where the lost people listen.

I promised myself that I would not mention dress when I was finishing up these comments. I would not want to talk about dress. Yes, I would like to talk about dress. In fact just a comment or two, (or three or four). As I try to live a godly life, why would I want to use the same sort of language the world does? As I try to live a godly life, why would I want to frequent the places that the world frequents? As I try to live a Godly life, why would I want to live by the same standard that the world lives by? As I try to live a Godly life, why would I want to educate myself as the world educates itself? As I try to live a Godly life, why would I want to look and dress like the world looks and dresses? End commentary.

Recently I heard a "put on" news cast of the Triumphal Entry of our Lord into Jerusalem. The commentator described it as a parade that was to be put on during Passover. He went on to mention that this was not a parade that was put on by the religious leaders because it obviously had political overtones. The man interviewed a bystander that described Christ as a troublemaker. REALLY! Wasn't a special bunny that lays colored, decorated eggs enough, must we put Easter on the level of the local news?

How about the Christian performers that minister around the country for $8,000 per show?

Maybe the Christian publishers that are in business to reach the world for Christ - at 24.95 a copy. If all these books on the market are so needed by the world, why are we making people rich by publishing them and charging big bucks for them. IF ALL THIS INFORMATION IS SO NEEDED BY THE WORLD WHY NOT GIVE IT AWAY SO WE CAN GET ON WITH THE LORD'S WORK?

Might we mention that not only are we allowing the world into the church, but also at times we are working with the world? Translation agencies that turn their translations of the Bible over to the Roman church rather than sound church works. Evangelists that turn their converts back to the dead state churches - their "religious roots." Mission agencies that work within the local Roman churches. THESE ARE AGENCIES THAT FUNDAMENTAL PEOPLE ARE SUPPORTING WITH THEIR LORD'S MONEY!

How do we treat the name of God? We abhor those that make light of the Lord's name yet recently I heard of the "GOD SQUAD" adult Sunday school class. Cute, but is it honoring to God?

We don't talk about the Devil or his demons in our churches much anymore, so in essence we are removing those items from a generation's religious mindset. Those same young people watch the occult, demons etc. on TV and assume that it is good viewing. We have church kids involved in the current occult games.

Do you feel that the church is making the "Holy" things common and everyday?

It seems that the church has taken many "things spiritual" and placed them on a plain that is so common that the children of our day are going to have a hard time understanding why church, the Bible and Christianity are of any importance at all. Do we really know what evil is anymore? Do we really recognize the Devil's ways when we are looking at them? Do we really understand the ramifications of what we are doing in the church today?

GOD FORBID THAT WE PERPETUATE WHAT IS GOING ON IN MANY OF OUR CHURCHES!

IF ALL "WOULD BE" MINISTERS ARE GOING TO DO IS FURTHER WHAT THE DEVIL IS DOING IN THE CHURCH TODAY, THEN DON'T GO INTO THE MINISTRY! GOD DOES NOT NEED YOU! HOW DARE YOU USE GOD'S MONEY AND YOUR TIME TO ASSIST THE ADVERSARY!

If on the other hand you are going out into the world to use the Bible as your handbook for Christian living, for church planting, for church organization, for family building, then GO FOR IT, AND MAY GOD BLESS THE DAYLIGHTS OUT OF YOU!

BOLD? HEAVY? OPINIONATED? I CERTAINLY HOPE SO! IF IT ISN'T THEN I HAVE FAILED IN WHAT I WANTED TO DO IN THIS STUDY! If you are not awake to the Devil's work in the church in this country now, then I suspect that you have missed the point of what you have just read.

I would like to close with a passage of Scripture: "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." Keep the order on that right! It's submit to God and resist the Devil NOT submit to the Devil and resist God!