Dont Be Led Astray

[Roughsoul1991]

Someone asked what was the meaning of this picture so I thought I would share what it means to me.

Let us keep a close hold on where our faith is grounded. You can read the accounts of the 7 churches in the book of Revelation and figure out most of these churches had some grave problems. We have heresies and people the church has hurt or they may be down a path of destruction while thinking they are saved. They may have been hurt, and now they speak poorly of the church and have lost trust in the system. Check your faith. Are your beliefs grounded in scripture? Is your faith only active because of the church? The church is not the building, but we, the individual, make up the church. We are told to gather Hebrews 10:25, and where 2 or 3 are gathered, God will be in the midst Matthew 18:18-20.

We should also practice discernment and wisdom. It is easy to be led astray if we remain ignorantly or purposefully blind. I once spoke to a man who had such hate towards the church, we talked for hours in the car, and it was due to past hurt in the church. We spoke for months, and it took a lot to understand that our faith should be grounded in God, not the actions of men, but the Word of God.

Should we condemn the faith for the actions of some? Maybe. Are the actions rooted in the scriptures they teach? If no, then we must conclude that the individual or the church is not acting within the Spirit or Biblical guidance. If yes, then is the source of info true, accurate, and has the evidence to back up the book's authority? If no, then the faith is worthless. If yes, then your opinion is against the High King, God Almighty, who is through Jesus Christ the source of our salvation. You still have a choice to reject salvation and spend eternity separated from God or accept the Son and spend eternity with God.

 

[pottersclay]

This picture to me speaks to me as a church with no foundation.
Biblical truths are the foundation of any church and any good doctrine.
Without these foundations of truth to build on we are in error.

 

[Roughsoul1991]

This picture to me speaks to me as a church with no foundation.
Biblical truths are the foundation of any church and any good doctrine.
Without these foundations of truth to build on we are in error.

Very true. If the foundation is not grounded in the gospel, then there might as well be no foundation.

 

[ResidentAlien]

Institutional churches in their current state give people a false sense of security. The church building itself is teetering and is ready to collapse.

"As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. Be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and I am knocking. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him and I will dine with him, and he with Me. He that overcomes, I will grant to him to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."—Revelation 3:19-22

Notice, He knocks at the door of our heart. He doesn't knock at the door of the church building hoping to be invited in.

 

[pottersclay]

Here's a interesting thing that is overlooked by many.

Jesus in his first ministry preached repentance.
He then told of a kingdom coming and now being at hand.
During his earthly ministry he expounded and corrected what was known or thought to be known .

Now after his resurrection he gave a history lesson from the book of moses on through the old prophets showing that he indeed was the Messiah and that the scriptures were about him.

To say it is the word of God to a unknowing world means nothing.
We have 2 possibly 3 generation who were not taught anything of the bible let alone why and what we believe in today's society.
Paul preached from Adam and Eve ...to the gentiles.
Peter preached from abraham..... to the jews.
Saying it is the word of God means nothing. Showing it is a book not like any other raises eyebrows and curiosity.
To show that the word is not only true but had come to pass (prophecy) which is the greater testament is in my thoughts undeniable.
If we are to be fishers of men I believe the above is the bait.
Even the apostles asked about the end times.
I think a lot of the churches today are out of touch with their audience and assume everyone has a general knowledge of the bible.

 

[Lifted_by_the_word]

There's one person standing there watching everyone going towards the church.Pretty much all churches are like this.And it's more like a spiritual daycare.

 

[Roughsoul1991]

There's one person standing there watching everyone going towards the church.Pretty much all churches are like this.And it's more like a spiritual daycare.

Probably being enticed by the awesome band, coffee bar in the lobby, comedic pastors, hip youth leaders, health and wealth teaching, and love is paramount to all other commands in the scripture.

 

[Roughsoul1991]

Here's a interesting thing that is overlooked by many.

Jesus in his first ministry preached repentance.
He then told of a kingdom coming and now being at hand.
During his earthly ministry he expounded and corrected what was known or thought to be known .

Now after his resurrection he gave a history lesson from the book of moses on through the old prophets showing that he indeed was the Messiah and that the scriptures were about him.

To say it is the word of God to a unknowing world means nothing.
We have 2 possibly 3 generation who were not taught anything of the bible let alone why and what we believe in today's society.
Paul preached from Adam and Eve ...to the gentiles.
Peter preached from abraham..... to the jews.
Saying it is the word of God means nothing. Showing it is a book not like any other raises eyebrows and curiosity.
To show that the word is not only true but had come to pass (prophecy) which is the greater testament is in my thoughts undeniable.
If we are to be fishers of men I believe the above is the bait.
Even the apostles asked about the end times.
I think a lot of the churches today are out of touch with their audience and assume everyone has a general knowledge of the bible.

Many are good and do their best to Shepherd the flock but even the best fail. I loved my old church but boy did they hurt me and now I'm having the hardest time finding a place that I feel I can plant roots.

 

[Blain]

Well the church building is usually used to symbolize religion not just Christianity in fact it is mainly symbolized as religion more than anything religion being the religious aspect of Christianity you know playing church kind of thing instead of true faith focusing instead on the relationship and bond with God and the church not being a building but the people.
I notice that not all of them are pushing the building some are standing watching and some people are falling but are actually under the building falling but if you are pushing the building from where they are pushing it they would not be falling from the area they are falling from as if they were standing on or inside the building.

So here is my understanding if you push religion or stand in it then it will only lead to your downfall.

 

[Roughsoul1991]

Well the church building is usually used to symbolize religion not just Christianity in fact it is mainly symbolized as religion more than anything religion being the religious aspect of Christianity you know playing church kind of thing instead of true faith focusing instead on the relationship and bond with God and the church not being a building but the people.
I notice that not all of them are pushing the building some are standing watching and some people are falling but are actually under the building falling but if you are pushing the building from where they are pushing it they would not be falling from the area they are falling from as if they were standing on or inside the building.

So here is my understanding if you push religion or stand in it then it will only lead to your downfall.

Legalism will save no one.

 

[Aerials1978]

This picture to me speaks to me as a church with no foundation.
Biblical truths are the foundation of any church and any good doctrine.
Without these foundations of truth to build on we are in error.

Good visualization. I also see that ad well. What else I see are sheep going over a cliff. A herd of sheep are not the most intelligent creature as they easily scare and will follow each other into danger. As Jesus said, He is the good Shepard and His sheep know his voice.

 

[Blik]

There's one person standing there watching everyone going towards the church.Pretty much all churches are like this.And it's more like a spiritual daycare.

The church changed when it left what history calls the age of the apostles in the year 323 when Constantine called for a council of men to decide church problems. Before that it was men closest to the direct teachings of Christ who decided.

Ever since, a yearly church council was called for and we are still going by their decisions. We are to follow God, not man, and we still follow some of these decisions.

All churches also teach to accept the sin they commit without repentance so they try not to sin, but instead accept it as we are unable to be perfect. Giving over their life and will to God is not done by men, for God abhors sin and man accepts sin. So the church that accepts sin as OK has lost its power.

Christ changed the law in stone to a law in our hearts. This changed how the law was used to direct us, but did not change the law. The churches preach that God changed things, cancelling the truth that God is eternal and his ways and laws are eternal.

God is love, and to teach God is to teach love. Yet going to today's church has nothing to do with loving each other.

 

[ResidentAlien]

Probably being enticed by the awesome band, coffee bar in the lobby, comedic pastors, hip youth leaders, health and wealth teaching, and love is paramount to all other commands in the scripture.

LOL. . .you're surely right.

 

[arthurfleminger]

Wow, the posters on this thread show so much disdain for the Church. Surely you are aware that it was Jesus, Himself, who founded His Church and He promised to be with it until the end of time. In fact, the New Testament tells us that it is the Church that is the pillar and foundation of all truth. So, if you are disdaining Jesus Church, then you are disdaining Jesus and Scripture.

To me, the cartoon represents church's that have moved from a solid foundation toward a liberal/political foundation, a foundation based neither on Jesus nor Scripture.

But, make no mistake, Jesus founded His Church and promised to be with it til the end of time.

 

[arthurfleminger]

The Church Christ Built. Jesus said that He will build His church (Matt. 16:18) and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Jesus’ Church was built upon the apostles Peter, John, Paul, and the remaining apostles. He would not build a church only to have members scatter everywhere to their homes.

That being said, it is true that many so called 'Liberal Christian Churches' have in fact moved away from the Christian faith. Churches like the Episcopal church not only welcomes sinners, as all churches should, but they welcome the sin and bless the sin itself in 'sacred rites' of their church. The heresy in the Episcopal church is not limited to it's church but has spread to many other. Here is a couple of examples of Episcopal church philosophy as expressed through their leadershiip:

Episcopal Bishop Shelby Spong
In 1998, Spong published “Twelve Points for Reform” in The Voice, the newspaper of the Diocese of Newark. Among the 12 points:

• The virgin birth, understood as literal biology, makes Christ’s divinity, as traditionally understood, impossible.
• The miracle stories of the New Testament can no longer be interpreted in a post-Newtonian world as supernatural events performed by an incarnate deity.
• The view of the cross as the sacrifice for the sins of the world is a barbarian idea based on primitive concepts of God and must be dismissed.

Katharine Jefferts Schori is the former Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church of the United States.

Her views and heresies are many.
Recent statements, comments and interviews by the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, reveal a common theme: she no longer (if she ever did) believes in the unique claims of Jesus Christ as both savior and Lord resulting in a poor if non-existent Christology.

In a recent video, Jefferts Schori openly and publicly denied that Jesus is the only way to salvation.

Jefferts Schori argues that God made promises to the Jews that have not been broken. "God made promises to Ishmael (Muslims) and I don't believe God has broken them, either." She then said that other faith traditions, which include men like Mahatma Gandhi, the Dalai Lama, and Thich Nhat Hanh, show what look like fruits of the spirit through their godly behavior. "If I deny they have access to God...then it is a sin against the Holy Spirit."


Mrs. Jefferts Schori's blunt universalism does not sit well with Scripture. No serious Christian theologian, excluding Arius, in twenty centuries has challenged the unique claims of Jesus being fully divine, that he is fully God and fully man, the Savior of the world, Messiah (that one's for the Jews), prophet, priest and king who will one day spread his rule over all the kingdoms of the earth, and of His kingdom, there will be no end.

Unpacking Jefferts Schori is a bit like unpacking a boat load of bananas from Chile only to discover that most of the bananas had rotted en route, but on further search discovering that one or two had made the trip intact, but had been contaminated beyond edibility.

She said the whole world has access to God. That statement is true. The whole world does. John 3:16 (NIV) confirms that. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
Access is indeed universal. Scripture is equally clear however that "no man comes to the Father except by me" (the Son). The full text reads, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, nobody comes to the Father except through me." (John.14:6) One wonders how she parses such verses, of which there are a number, that indicate the exclusivity of revealed truth. "He that seeks me will find me." (Jer. 29:13)

Jefferts Schori is a supporter of same-sex relationships and of the blessing of same-sex unions and civil marriages. Like her predecessor, she is a supporter of abortion rights, stating that "We say it is a moral tragedy but that it should not be the government's role to deny its availability."

Liberal churches that have become politically correct and have abandoned their Christian foundations have gone too far to recover. And, luckily, churches like the Episcopal church, are losing members so rapidly that they will disappear.

 

[Blik]

Wow, the posters on this thread show so much disdain for the Church. Surely you are aware that it was Jesus, Himself, who founded His Church and He promised to be with it until the end of time. In fact, the New Testament tells us that it is the Church that is the pillar and foundation of all truth. So, if you are disdaining Jesus Church, then you are disdaining Jesus and Scripture.

To me, the cartoon represents church's that have moved from a solid foundation toward a liberal/political foundation, a foundation based neither on Jesus nor Scripture.

But, make no mistake, Jesus founded His Church and promised to be with it til the end of time.

I feel very alone in what I believe, it will bring walls of disdain down on me, but it is what I believe. I believe the roots movement is a good movement.

The church has been led by councils of men trying to run it through what they know of the world instead of listening only to Christ. It is as if they though Christ was given to us as a gentile instead of thoroughly Jewish. God is acting to correct this. The results of Hitler is that Jews are returning home.

The discovery of the scrolls that were hidden for centuries in cave brought about a great change in the attitude towards the OT. It didn't bring up anything new, but it verified the old and brought about understanding and respect for it. The idea of God as an eternal God who does not change was a new idea, before God changed with Christ. This movement gives understanding to the changes God made and the eternal sameness that was in those changes.

Of course, with something new as this is there is a great backlash. They have even been accused of wanting us to reestablish cutting flesh for circumcision.

 

[Roughsoul1991]

Wow, the posters on this thread show so much disdain for the Church. Surely you are aware that it was Jesus, Himself, who founded His Church and He promised to be with it until the end of time. In fact, the New Testament tells us that it is the Church that is the pillar and foundation of all truth. So, if you are disdaining Jesus Church, then you are disdaining Jesus and Scripture.

To me, the cartoon represents church's that have moved from a solid foundation toward a liberal/political foundation, a foundation based neither on Jesus nor Scripture.

But, make no mistake, Jesus founded His Church and promised to be with it til the end of time.

Confused you call us out for disdain then you say the same thing we been saying about churches that do not have their foundation in Christ.

 

[arthurfleminger]

Confused you call us out for disdain then you say the same thing we been saying about churches that do not have their foundation in Christ.

Jesus founded His church. You profess that there are multiple 'churches'??????????????? And they all seem to be opposed to one another in terms of doctrine and teaching. And Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to lead His Church to all truth.

So, I'm puzzled why you refer to multiple churches. Who founded the churches you refer to?

 

[Roughsoul1991]

Jesus founded His church. You profess that there are multiple 'churches'??????????????? And they all seem to be opposed to one another in terms of doctrine and teaching. And Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to lead His Church to all truth.

So, I'm puzzled why you refer to multiple churches. Who founded the churches you refer to?

Simply. If a church hurts people, leads people astray and falls into corruption. Is this good or bad?

 

[Pilgrimshope]

Simply. If a church hurts people, leads people astray and falls into corruption. Is this good or bad?

amen a lot of “churches “ and doctrines lead us away from God gotta find some place that agrees with scripture