Romans 16:17-18: “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.  For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.”

Those who promote Christian unity outside of its Biblical context (which is unity based upon the truth of the Word of God) promote a sham Christian unity instead.  The expectation that others should comply with this promotion is tyranny.  To expect Christian unity which is not based upon sound understanding and faithful application of Biblical doctrine is a counterfeit unity which in itself causes divisions and offenses contrary to sound Bible doctrine.  This is a tyranny which calls those who strive for Christian unity based upon the truth of God’s Word evil; while calling those good who expect so-called Christian unity without requiring honest confrontation with the Bible and requiring change based upon this.  

The following things are all in some way related to illustrating (illustrating by contrast in some cases) and exposing this tyranny of sham Christian unity.

The quote “There is no salvation outside of the church” came from Augustine, a Roman Catholic whose church hasn’t even been faithful to hold onto many obvious truths from the Bible- yet wants us to believe they have the authority to impose many extra-biblical things upon us which have no basis in Scripture (and which often directly oppose what has been revealed in Scripture- the same can be said of the Eastern Orthodox church too).

Many believe that a Christian can be defined as someone who believes the Nicene Creed.  There are indeed insightful, key statements in the Nicene Creed regarding how God is essentially one, defending the divinity of Christ, and offering key insights into the distinction of persons within the Trinity and their respective roles.  This creed was made to defend against the threat of Arianism, a heretical theology which had sprung up that denies the divinity of Christ.  It was also important to emphasize that Christianity teaches that there is one God and is not polytheistic like the Pagan Roman society believed in many gods.  

However, the Nicene Creed was made in the context of the Roman Catholic Church- at least that entity in its developing stages.  Even at that point, corruption had very much set in and extra-biblical tradition had come to be regarded over the teachings of Scripture itself in many ways.  The excellent insights of the Nicene Creed in relation to the concept of the Trinity, and the operation of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit do not change the truth that the group which made the creed was overall representing and calling people into its system which was generally becoming more and more paganized and further from Biblical.  

Arius, the man whom Arianism is named for, was truly wicked and heretical for tampering with the deity of Jesus Christ, teaching that He is not to be worshiped and honored as the true God.  On the other hand, just because the established church which Arius had been part of (and Arius had been a Roman Catholic and was excommunicated for his truly heretical teaching) saw his error, excommunicated him, and listened to certain within it who refuted and corrected Arius’ particular errors well, that does not justify that church’s disregard of Biblical truth in many other ways.  

That disregard is so severe that it even caused the invention of a system of justification and redemption which, though you wouldn’t know it from the very general things contained in the Nicene Creed, is at odds with and opposed to the Biblical system of justification and redemption in Jesus Christ.

The authority of God’s Word deals with man practically in his everyday choices and overall conduct.  The authority of God’s Word does indeed also get into details and specifics in several ways.  Details and specifics matter then to the extent that God’s Word says that they matter.  

Deuteronomy 4:2: “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought (any) from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.”

Simply reading passages like Matthew chapters 5 to 7, Matthew 15:1-20, and Matthew chapter 23 (and many more, that’s just a sample) show how it is possible to generally be right on “the essentials” in one’s creed and still be Jesus’ enemy under the wrath of God.  To resort to the “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity” quote to justify spiritual fellowship which is not under the authority of the Word of God is unrighteous as well as absurd.  Yet that is what many do.  

This does much to sum up the common ecumenical spirit of compromise that runs through denominations to this very day.  And this is also why you can find the “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity” quote on the websites of churches in a multitude of especially corrupt denominations. 

Jesus condemned the Jews’ oral tradition because of how it violated the written Word of God and permitted sin.  The innovations in the realm of professing Christianity are no better.  Details matter, and a life consistent with the details matters, as much as the authority of the Bible deals with them.  For man then to take a list of general truths, label these as “essential truths”, say that everyone who assents to them is a true Christian and/or is immune to scrutiny and rebuke, and then label every other issue, even issues which the Bible is utterly clear and definitive on, as “non-essential” is making light of the Word of God and opposing its authority.  And doing that is actually being wrong on the most essential matter.

2 Timothy 3:13-17: “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.  But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

1 John 4:1-3: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try (test) the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.”

“Confesseth” here= Homologeo= To be in agreement with; assent to; not deny.  And that is dealing with the entire Word of God; Christ’s doctrine.

2 John 9: “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God.  He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.”

Those who deny that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah and the Son of God are included, along with all whose thoughts and manner of life are at odds with the truth of his Word.  John is especially dealing with those who teach in Christ’s name and those who profess to know Him.

2 John 10: “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:”

If you are intent on walking in the narrow way to life in Jesus Christ (walking in the truth of His Word), such are coming to you in one way or another.  Be sure of that.  Don’t sit under their teaching.  Use discernment- and when you discern that they transgress and abide not in the doctrine of Christ, don’t sit under their teaching nor even bless them in any way which implies you are in spiritual fellowship with them or that you support their ministry.  This is not saying you can’t have a deluded teacher in your home who is in critical need and they need to enter your house to get the care they need.  But it is saying not to expose your family to their teaching, not to sit under their teaching, and not to suffer their teaching in your church (and to protest and not go along with it if the leaders of your church suffer such to teach in your church- and this would include heretical books that they’re having the church read also).

2 John 11: “For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”

Partaker here is a form of the word commonly used for spiritual fellowship.  He is a sharer in his activity which is contrary to the cause of the real Jesus Christ.  He will thus partake of the punishment of the deceiver for their deceit of souls.  This is no game.  This is no laughing matter.  This is no secondary matter (though the deceiver may claim that it is).  

2 Timothy 3:1-5: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times (spiritually harsh, furious times) shall come.  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud (haughty, arrogant), blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection (that would include those who support abortion), trucebreakers (unable to enter into a covenant and keep it faithfully; this sure includes church members and church leaders who don’t want to be held accountable to pre-agreed upon standards based upon Biblical principles and common sense), false accusers (literally diablos- people often do this when their sin is exposed; they were reproved based upon truth, they defend themselves, though they’re guilty, through slander; they speak maliciously against the one who exposed them without solid evidence or with insufficient evidence, adding to and aggravating their sin), incontinent (without self-control), fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors (an obvious example would be those pastors who changed with the tide of the world and now say homosexuality isn’t a sin and/or say gay marriage should be legal), heady (rash or reckless), highminded (puffed up with haughtiness; blinded by their own conceit- often to the point of not being able to acknowledge obvious Bible facts- even if they may be very knowledgeable overall- tin their mind they’re the master, they’re the professor, they’re the expert who knows what they’re talking about, and anyone not in the grand category of intellectual attainment they’ve reached couldn’t tell them something important that they didn’t already know- Bible colleges and seminaries produce a lot of people like this), lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

Jude 3-7: “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.  For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained (ordained to condemnation in the Old Testament) to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.  I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.  And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.  Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”

Those who want to have Christian unity without doctrinal scrutiny and insistence upon godly living are opposed to faithful Christianity.  Christ’s Apostles and their faithful co-workers contended with false doctrine, they did not permit ungodly living, and they contended with subtle ungodly false teachers creeping into the Christian assemblies they had founded which were based upon the sound principles of God’s truth.  You cannot write about authentic salvation in Christ without dealing with this.  

Unfortunately, the unfaithfulness of many afterwards has caused the primary points that Jude is going to make as he deals with this to be things which evangelical Christianity now teaches the very opposite on.  Jude even specifically dealt with unconditional eternal security and homosexuality as he spoke of the need to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints, and as he spoke of specifics of how the ungodly contend against that.

Related to that, the phrase “justified by faith alone” is a Protestant/Evangelical sacred cow.  It is virtually all over the Evangelical and Protestant realms.  Almost always, whenever anyone talks about the need to forsake sin, obey God, being holy, being worthy of God’s kingdom, etc. someone will say “Hey, salvation is by faith alone.  You’re speaking heresy.”  

Yet it can be boldly said that justification by faith alone is not only never mentioned positively in the Bible, it is even spoken of negatively and directly rebuked.  There is a universe of difference between justification by faith versus justification by faith alone.  The Bible teaches justification by faith; not justification by faith alone.  A true, living faith in Christ is never alone.  It is always obedient to His authority.  It is dead faith which doesn’t produce obedience.  See what happens when the leaven of bad doctrine becomes accepted as truth.  Wickedness prevails, bad examples are justified, and confusion reigns.

False teachers with evil agendas want an audience.  They especially prey on spiritually hungry people who have extremely little or no Biblical discernment.  And these people tend to be a large segment of those who will flock to a reported Christian revival which, for whatever reason, has generated much excitement.  Undiscerning people and false teachers with evil agendas are a match made in hell.  It should be obvious, if you believe in Satan’s existence and what the Bible says about him, that he is constantly looking to make such matches to both advance lies and to nab Christians from the Biblical Jesus (and also to turn those who seem like they are strong candidates to authentically come to Christ to a counterfeit spirituality instead that hijacks Jesus’ name and Biblical terms).  With that in mind, false spiritual teachers with evil goals which oppose Christ’s goals will surely attach themselves to, and work around and within, settings which they regard as credible in order to advance their evil goals and give themselves a means to look much more credible.  

Any environment of authentic Christian awakening or revival will involve an earnest return to God’s Word- such as David noting that God killed Uzzah (see 2 Samuel chapter 6) because only the Levites were to carry the ark of God on staves. David therefore corrected that on his next attempt to carry the Ark of God to Jerusalem (see 1 Chronicles 15:1-15).  David consulted what was already written in the Law of Moses and made that correction.  Any environment of authentic Christian awakening or revival then will welcome people pointing out things which they have reason to believe to believe are unbiblical practices, beliefs, etc. and it will involve diligent searching of the Scriptures (like the Bereans in Acts chapter 17) to test the validity of the claims and find out whether correction is needed.  

There is no true Christian revival or awakening without an earnest return to God’s written Word.  The Holy Spirit reigning in an environment will be drawing people to search and adhere to the written Word of God which He inspired.

Along with these things, any alleged awakening or revival needs to be tested with God’s written Word as the reference point for the test.  No sign, wonder, feeling, or other experience makes something valid Christianity.  You’ve got to stick to God’s Word and let God be true and every man a liar, no matter how convincing they seem- even if they do (or seem to do) miracles, cast out demons, and do other wonderful works.  

Whenever the attitude in a church’s decision making process is impacted by the mentality that the Bible’s full counsel should be held back because of potential backlash from the congregation, potential loss of the church’s tax exempt status, potential loss of some other funding for the church, or some other consequence which threatens the church’s survival, prosperity, man-made goals, or the comfort of those in the congregation- then that is a sure sign that the church is corrupted by humanism and pragmatism.  

2 Timothy 4:3-4: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

“Sound” here= Hygiano (hoog-ee-ah’-ee-no) in the Greek text; the source of our word hygiene.  This word is used frequently to describe true doctrine; the doctrine of Christ.

“Heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears”= Accumulate teachers to themselves in piles according to their itching ears.  They want relief from the way of the cross, from the crucifixion to their carnality that receiving the true grace of God, which disciplines those who receive it in accordance with the righteous ways of Christ’s kingdom, insists upon.  The delusion in the realm of professing Christianity of a corrupted concept of the grace of God, which does not demand the crucifixion of one’s carnality and rather allows for the practicing of sin and the pursuit of worldly lusts, is no mystery.  It also makes sense that this would be a chief factor in producing the perilous times, warned about and discussed in 2 Timothy chapter 3- times which are full of professing Christians displaying evil character and flagrantly committing sin. 

“Fables” here= “Mythos” in the Greek text.  Concepts opposed to the truth of God’s Word.  Vain, empty words.  Unconditional eternal security is a myth.  Zionism is a myth.  Much deception now even comes through fictional books (which preach real lies- “The Shack” would be one key example).”

Titus 1:12-14: “One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, the Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.  This witness is true.  Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith (there is that word “hygiaino” again.  Christianity is surely morally hygienic); Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.” 

Fables= “mythos” in the Greek text (just like in 2 Timothy chapter 4). 

Though many say otherwise, it is not hateful to acknowledge the bad traits of a group of people and make logical conclusions about the wicked concepts that the wickedness of their culture and their typical upbringing makes them very susceptible to.  If they could be justified through ceremonialism instead (or a one-time sinner’s prayer or blabbering nonsense) they wouldn’t need to cooperate with the true grace of God which requires one to agonize to walk in the light of His Word.

Doctrines which permit ungodly living are not the sound doctrine of the Bible.  They are rather from hell and lead to the fire of eternal hell for those who heed them.

Titus 3:10: “A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject;”

Heretic= A schismatic who has chosen a course which deviates from the sound doctrine of God’s written Word.  

Reject= Cast him out of the church; exclude him from Christian fellowship.

Titus 3:11: “Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.”

He is turned inside out; he is corrupted.  The falsehood he holds to testifies that he is in the wrong and that the wrath of God abides on him.

Many gravitate towards unnecessarily dramatic talk.  The priorities and values of those who do so are wrong.  Their hearts are filled with sin- which would be proven if someone were to hold them Biblically accountable.  They look for preachers and environments which will gratify them and make them feel spiritual in Jesus’ name, but they don’t actually want the Lord’s Word (Jesus is Lord and He is the Word of God)) to reign over them.  The congregants are drawn towards the professional speakers (the hirelings) who are hired by churches hoping to draw in a crowd which will keep the church afloat and maintain or bolster its income.  This is also why the Purpose Driven and Seeker Sensitive churches are so evil and misleading.  They evidently care more about entertaining people than being pleasing to the Holy God of the Bible.

When people talk about their church being founded by the Apostles, as if their church is the continuation of the Apostolic churches in the first century, the burden of proof is upon them.  They also have to deal with the fact that the Apostles themselves didn’t see a church as automatically being a righteous church with God’s stamp of approval just because they had founded it.  They also did not see a church leader as being automatically, continuously of God just because they had ordained him.  

Bishops or Overseers ordained by the Apostles fell away from the true Christian faith right within the very pages of the Bible.  

The Apostle John had been involved in working with Diotrephes’ church.  It is obvious that John or another Apostle had ordained Diotrephes.  Yet Diotrephes turned against the Apostles due to the love he acquired of having the preeminence in the church.  The Book of 3 John is basically John telling his friend Gaius to get out of Diotrephes’ church and start fellowshipping with Demetrius’ church (Demetrius had stayed faithful to the truth).  A church as a whole cannot be much better than its leadership.  Being a member in a church is practically a statement that you endorse the church’s leadership (even if you claim otherwise). 

It is our job to practice the faith once delivered as it is set forth in the Scriptures to the best of our ability- with all the leaven which we can possibly discern removed.  Any church which doesn’t meet that criteria as a corporate entity must be labeled as a counterfeit Christian church and membership there ought to be regarded as incompatible with following the authentic Christianity which leads to eternal life set forth in the Bible.

In the Book of Revelation the Risen Jesus confronts seven churches founded by the Apostles.  Being founded by the Apostles didn’t make these churches godly.  Yet two were indeed actually being faithful to the Lord (and being truly faithful to the Lord is a concept which certain hypocrites mock- as if that’s impossible and as if anyone who says otherwise must be a liar and a hypocrite themselves).  The other five churches had issues which needed to be dealt with- or Jesus was going to deal severely with them.  In several of these cases, it wasn’t even false doctrine and idolatry being promoted from the top (which would be worse yet).  It was simply the toleration of these things from the top.  Jesus did not say such was okay.  He expected this corruption to be dealt with from the top.  

It is obvious that a point was coming, coming quickly, where it would be unrighteous for the members of these churches to remain in these churches if the corruption wasn’t dealt with by the leadership.  Some people actually claim that people weren’t commanded to leave these churches that had sin in them.  But if you read Revelation chapters 2 and 3, it is obvious that Jesus Himself was going to remove the candlestick of the churches He rebuked if they did not receive His correction.  It is implied then that when the candlestick is evidently gone (and the people were obviously expected to discern this happening if it were to happen), then the one who would be faithful to Christ must leave the church as well.

Revelation 2:5: “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”

Revelation 3:2-3: “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.  Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent.  If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.”

Revelation 3:16-19: “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.  As many as I love (that word for love here in the Greek text implies those whom He is in fellowship with; those whom He knows intimately), I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.”

This light put the leadership into a crisis which would demand a swift decision.  That decision, whatever the decision was, would put the rest of the church in a crisis which would demand a swift decision from them somehow.   

We also learn from the two churches which didn’t get rebuked in Revelation chapters two and three (Smyrna and Philadelphia) that Jesus is not impossible to please.  His true grace, which teaches and enables righteous conduct, and accepts those with willing hearts in relation to His authority, is sufficient for churches as well as individuals who cooperate with this grace.  It is able to cause them to be spotless and blameless in His sight- without Him turning a blind eye to reality.

Aaron’s email is: [email protected]

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