Word
of the Lord to the church
Executive
Summary
This
Word of the Lord compares the six biblical foundational
doctrines (Hebrews 6:1-2) and the threefold ministry of
Jesus with the practices of the church. These criteria are
an indicator for the condition of the church (as the bride
of Christ). This is of great importance in view of Jesus’
soon return. Recommendations are outlined to correct the
faults.
Introduction
-
We
live in the last days of the end times:
-
The
birth pangs of the earth (Matthew 24:8): Wars, famines,
earthquakes are undeniable and on the increase.
-
The
mark of the beast (Revelations 13:16-18) on forehead or
hand (microchip?) for buying and selling is imminent.
This could already be part of the kingdom of the
Anti-Christ.
-
That
means: Jesus is returning soon!
Is
the body of Christ ready?
-
According
to which criteria can we possibly know?
-
One
Criterion is the progress of the church according to the
six foundational doctrines of the faith: Hebrews 6:1-2:
„…not laying again the foundation of repentance (1)
from acts that lead to death, and of faith (2) in
God, instruction about baptisms (3), the laying
on of hands (4), the resurrection of the
dead (5), and eternal judgment (6).“
1.
Foundational doctrine: Repentance
-
Jesus
said (Mark 1:15)… Repent!
-
“If
we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins” (1. John 1:9)
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Which
churches clearly teach and practice this?
-
As
a result, many Christians therefore live a life of clear
compromise with sin, despite being born again.
-
However,
James 1:27 states: “Religion that God our Father
accepts as pure and faultless is this: …to keep
oneself from being polluted by the world.”
-
Today,
in many cases, the opposite is practiced: The “spirit
of the world” is deliberately invited by Christians.
These are symptoms of compromised hearts which need
repentance. “Don't you know that friendship with the
world is hatred toward God?“ (James 4:4).
2.
Foundational doctrine: Faith towards God
-
Romans
10:17 “Consequently, faith comes … through the word
of Christ”, that means, faith is directly linked with
the Word of God!
-
Most
important step of faith: conversion to Christ as Lord
and Savior.
-
2.
Timothy 4:3 “For the time will come when men will not
put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own
desires, they will gather around them a great number of
teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”
-
Have
we not already arrived there? Aren’t many churches
preaching what the people want to hear, and avoiding
what they don’t want to hear? Why?
-
Simple
ignorance of God’s Word.
-
The
wickedness of men’s hearts!
-
The
church building trap! Pastors in churches need to
attract a lot of people for the sake of the kingdom and
for survival. For that purpose, a rather worldly program
is often chosen. A beautiful building to host all the
attractive activities needs donors. Pastors therefore
need to “attract” people and do not freely preach
the whole counsel of the scriptures, for fear people
would be offended and leave.
3.
Foundational doctrine: Baptisms
-
Baptize
means “immerse”. In Hebrews 6:2 the word is in the
plural form, i.e., baptisms!
-
The
New Testament talks about three kinds of immersions
(baptisms)
-
Water
baptism (Romans 6:3)
-
Spirit
baptism (Acts 1:5)
-
Baptism
of fire (Matthew 3:11)
Water
baptism
-
Our
role model: As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out
of the water. (Matthew 3:16)
-
“Are
you baptized?” means the same as “Are you
immersed?”. Therefore, somebody who was only sprinkled
with water was not baptized!
-
Many
churches just don’t immerse and therefore cannot
fulfill this foundational doctrine!
Spirit
Baptism
-
Jesus
himself said: “… you will be baptized with the Holy
Spirit.….”, (Acts 1:5). That was fulfilled on the
day of Pentecost
-
Why
should this no longer be valid today? The Apostle Paul,
our human role model in the New Testament, says to the
Philippians (4:9) “whatever you have…seen in me -
put it into practice.”, and then he points out (1.
Corinthians 14:18) “I speak in tongues more than all
of you”…
-
Comparatively
few churches teach and practice this foundational
doctrine
Baptism
of fire
-
Matthew
3:11b: “He (Jesus) will baptize you … with fire”
-
James
and John want to sit to the left and to the right of
Jesus in glory. Jesus answered: “Can you drink the cup
I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized
with?“ (Mark 10:38)
-
Highest
seats in heaven are obviously reached through the
“baptism of fire”, that is, through suffering (this,
however, does not mean self-chastisement)
-
How
many churches have ever even touched on this subject?
4.
Foundational doctrine: Laying on of hands
5.
Foundational doctrine: Resurrection from the dead
-
1.
Thessalonians 4:16 “…For the Lord himself will come
down from heaven, …and the dead in Christ will rise
first.”
-
Is
this subject seriously taught in the worldwide church?
-
It
seems, rather the opposite, that most Christians live as
though there is only this life and not another. So, they
cannot have internalized the teaching of “resurrection
from the dead”.
6.
Foundational doctrine: Eternal judgment
-
2.
Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what
is due him for the things done while in the body,
whether good or bad.
-
Do
Christians truly understand that life is merely just a
journey towards one goal: our own physical death; and
after that, the judgment seat of Christ?
-
How
many Christians live their daily lives in view of this
truth? And where is this subject clearly taught?
Result
-
Upon
analyzing, only few churches would fulfill all six
biblical foundational doctrines.
-
But
it says in Hebrews 6:1: Therefore let us leave
the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity
-
So,
there is no wonder then about the rather desolate
condition of the body of Christ!
Importance
of foundational doctrines
-
Luke
6:49 But the one who hears my words and does not put
them into practice is like a man who built a house on
the ground without a foundation (foundational
doctrines!). The moment the torrent struck that
house, it collapsed and its destruction was
complete."
-
That
means that those who hear the foundational doctrines und
don’t obey, will not stand in times of trouble. Those
who have not even heard of foundational doctrines cannot
even build a proper house (of faith).
-
Who
else but those without foundational doctrines will be
part of the “great falling away” (2.Thessalonians
2:3) and go to destruction?
Jesus
demonstrates the foundational doctrines
-
Jesus
ministry on earth included all six foundational
doctrines. Either he was teaching them (Repentance,
faith, baptism of fire), demonstrating them (baptism of
water and fire, laying on of hands, resurrection from
the dead) or he was announcing them (spirit baptism,
eternal judgment)
-
John
14:12 …anyone who has faith in me will do what I
have been doing
-
Which
Jesus is the church following?
Foundational
doctrines through church history
-
Although
most churches do not teach and practice the whole set of
the foundational doctrines, the foundational doctrines
have been established one by one throughout church
history. Denominations of the past represent milestones
of this development:
-
1)
Repentance (catholic church – confessional)
-
2)
Faith in God (Reformation: Bible is Word of God, being
born again: only from this point onward constitutes a
biblical church!)
-
3a)
Water baptism (Baptists: immersion)
-
3b)
Spirit baptism (Pentecostals)
-
3c)
Baptism of fire (????)
-
4)
Laying on of hands (Charismatics)
-
5)
Resurrection from the dead (????)
-
6)
Eternal judgment (????)
-
The
two last foundational doctrines have not been made known
in church history on a wider scale. Does this need a new
“movement” of God?
-
Perhaps
strong judgments of God, as outlined in the book of
Revelation and confirmed by some prophets of today, are
necessary to bring attention to the last foundational
doctrines, as well as filling in the “baptism of
fire”.
The
ecumenical movement
-
Pope
John Paul II invited 160 and 200 representatives of
world religions to Assisi in 1986 and 2002 respectively.
Their mission was to pray for world peace. Is this
ecumenical movement further preparation for a one world
religion?
-
For
decades Christian denominations have increasingly been
attracted to Rome. For what? The catholic catechism does
not teach “being born again,” much less further
foundational doctrines. What kind of unity should be
achieved?
Unity
– up to which point?
-
John
17:21 „…that all of them may be one “.
Jesus is obviously envisioning a unity of believers.
-
Paul
shows the limitation of unity: 1. Timothy 6:3-5: “ if
anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the
sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ (for example
foundational doctrines!)…. men of corrupt mind, who
have been robbed of the truth and who think that
godliness is a means to financial gain. From such
withdraw yourself.”
-
1.
Corinthians 5:12b “Expel the wicked man from among
you!” That includes idol worshippers.
-
By
the way, neither Jesus nor Paul co-operated with
Pharisees & Sadducees or the Romans.
Back
to our original question: Is the church ready for Jesus’
coming?
-
A
further criterion is “following Christ”
-
Jesus’
ministry on earth, which is portrayed 4 times (!) in the
New Testament gospels, consisted only of 3 elements
(!!!)
-
1.
Teaching exclusively the kingdom of God
-
2.
Healing the sick
-
3.
Casting out demons
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Should
the believers imitate the ministry of Jesus?
-
John
14:12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in
me will do what I have been doing. He will do even
greater things than these...” (!!!!)
-
Is
the church doing at least the works of Jesus?
1.
Teaching on the kingdom of God
-
Luke
17:21 states that “the kingdom of God is within
you.” - that means predominantly through the Holy
Spirit in us
-
It
is therefore of great importance to concentrate on
biblical teaching on the kingdom of God, which involves
us as believers!
-
It
is noteworthy that in churches such teachings are not
only neglected, but that often the focus is on other
topics, of which some are even (partially) outside the
scriptures.
-
The
power of the gospel is in the knowledge of the Word
(which is Jesus) – when the “lusts of other
things” (Mark 4:19) enter in, there will be hardly any
fruit!
2.
Healing
-
…
is the effect of preaching and application of the
teaching of the kingdom of God. Because there is so
little healing, could it be caused by the churches lack
of knowledge of the Word and the foundational doctrines
of the faith????!!!!!
-
In
the New Testament, Jesus ministered physical healing.
-
But
He also ministered inner healing, according to Luke
4:18: “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He
has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He
has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim
liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the
blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed.”
-
In
many churches are many believers who are of a “broken
heart”, i.e., dysfunctional in at least one area of
their lives.
-
Statistical
data would suggest that within the church there are more
Christians who are broken on the inside, than those who
are healed and free.
-
What
is being done by the churches for the broken brothers
and sisters? In many cases, only few know of a biblical
solution!
-
What’s
missing? “To make disciples”, “to teach them
everything that Jesus commanded”, which means
foundational doctrines (!) - praying, caring, role
models (elders & fathers in Christ), love,
encouragement, counseling, etc. In one word: healing!
-
What
is being offered instead? Many other topics and
activities, which often divert from the actual problems!
However, how far can a wounded army go?
-
Inner
brokenness does not exclude preachers, pastors and
leaders in the church. For example in the USA, this is
evidenced by the higher divorce rate among this group
than even in the general population. These
inner problems, hurts and immoral desires are reflected
in their sermons, teachings, churches and even in
movements.
Healing
- outlook
-
There
will be an increasing number of broken people, which
need healing and are crying out for it – because of
the increasing sinfulness of society (fornication,
greed, destroyed families, child abuse/neglect, etc.)
-
Will
the church be able, through biblical means, to take care
of her wounded to make them well, so that they can
reasonably care for the lost, to lead them to Christ?
3.
Casting out demons
-
Jesus
was casting out demons. The gospels are full of it!
-
Modern
society is badly mistaken in that they claim that there
are no demons. Therefore it has been theologically
denied or belittled!
-
How
come that our Lord, Savior and role model, whom we all
supposed to follow, gave us so many examples in
deliverance? Was it all for nothing? It was the third
element of His ministry!
Many
Christians believe: “A Christian can not have any
demons”
-
2.
Corinthians 11:4: Paul to believers: “..if you receive
a different spirit”
-
Acts
5:3: Peter to believer: “… why has Satan filled
your heart”
-
Believers
as instruments of Satan: 2. Timothy 2:26: “…escape
the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by
him to do his will (!!!!)”.
-
Paul
to believers: Ephesians 4:27: “Neither give place
to the devil!” (This advice would not make sense,
if that were not possible).
Some
Christians believe: “The disciples did not cast out any
demons”
-
Mark
16:17: Out of Jesus’ own mouth: “And these signs
will follow those who believe: In My name they will
cast out demons“.
-
Acts
8, 6-7: “And the multitudes with one accord heeded the
things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the
miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying
with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed”.
-
Acts
19, 11-12: “Now God worked unusual miracles by the
hands of Paul, so that even….the evil spirits went
out of them”.
-
The
reason why many deny that Christians can have demons is
found elsewhere: Western society is proud and
self-righteous. The thought that you can be possessed by
an intruding principality is just unacceptable.
-
God
is true to his Word, he resists the proud (1. Peter 5:5)
-
For
that reason churches of whole nations do not receive the
ministry of deliverance, with the consequence that the
faith is not really “working”.
Casting
out demons - outlook
-
The
epileptic son: “he often falls into the fire and often
into the water” (Matthew 17:15)
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Demons
want to kill, steal and destroy. Even in our time there
are more and more Christians, who bring harm to
themselves and others (including suicide!)
-
When
will the church wake up, to give those believers the
possibility of deliverance?
Result
-
The
kingdom of God is insufficiently taught in the churches.
-
The
bodily sick and broken people are helped too little and
not effectively enough.
-
Too
few demons are being cast out.
-
The
paradox is: Only through the ministry of Jesus of
healing and deliverance through his body, the church,
there is the possibility of true happiness and
satisfaction (abundant life, John 10:10) from the inside
– the very thing the whole world is after. That very
thing the church is currently NOT majoring in!
-
The
world with its psychology can only scratch the surface
of things. Without Jesus, the fundamental problem of
mankind - sin - can not be addressed nor solved!
Conclusion
-
According
to the biblical foundational doctrines and Jesus’
threefold ministry, the church is only very little
Christian.
-
Almost
all denominations are motivated by ecumenical ideas and
are increasingly being attracted to the Roman church.
However, their catechism does not even offer biblical
salvation.
-
Where
is the true faith and the true imitation of Christ?
Consequences
-
Omission
of foundational doctrines and Jesus’ threefold
ministry will invariably take multitudes away from the
tree of life and the New Jerusalem (Revelation 22:19).
-
King
Saul, the man pleaser, was rejected by God and ended up
evil, only because he was disobedient to a prophet’s
word. How much more we, when we disregard the
foundations of the written Word?
Further
topics in this context
-
Of
course, there are more criteria where the difference
between that which is, and that which should be, can be
drawn out. Here are some examples:
-
Biblical
versus denominational church structure.
-
Personal
faith versus political activities.
-
Biblical
church membership?
-
Church
versus para-Christian organizations?
-
Influence
of Greek thinking on theology.
-
Future
of traditional churches.
-
Revival,
church growth, the supernatural, spiritual warfare –
biblical topics?
-
The
cost of following Jesus Christ.
Significance
of this “Word of the Lord“
-
Due
to the undeniable signs of the times, which point toward
Jesus’ return, the church should consider coming to
biblical maturity. The time of “fun and games” where
each one was living his faith “as he saw fit” has to
be laid aside for this purpose.
-
This
is a call to repentance, to take seriously the six
foundational doctrines as well as the threefold ministry
of Jesus.
-
Without
any seriousness in these foundational things, it will
impossible, as a church, as well as individuals to
reasonably and biblically serve the Lord.
Reaction
to this “Word of the Lord”
-
Objection:
“The Lord has been working so well without biblical
foundational doctrines and the threefold ministry of
Jesus”.
-
Wrong:
Paul speaks in Acts 20:27 to proclaim the WHOLE counsel
of God!
-
In
the end it will be a great shame for the body of Christ,
to have used only a minute fraction of God’s potential
for us as believers.
The
Lord is looking for …
-
People,
who are after the kingdom of God (who do NOT want to
have 2nd, 3rd, 4th class level of compromise in their
lives, teaching, church and ministry).
-
Possibilities
to bring this Word and these teachings forward.
-
Workers/Supporters
for seminars, Bible Schools, consultations, etc.
Solutions
to this situation
-
Proclamation
of this word as an inspiration.
-
Seminars
about the six foundational doctrines and the threefold
ministry of Jesus.
-
Church
consultation to add missing foundational teachings.
-
New
Bible schools for becoming leaders (A new concept for a
Bible school has already been designed).
-
Intercession
for the church to reestablish these biblical
foundations.
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