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Since the turn
of the millennium, the world has witnessed a
virtual meltdown of biblical Christianity.
While many are saying Christianity is
experiencing a great revival and even a “new
reformation,” this commentary will document
the demise of Christianity by showing we are
experiencing the greatest apostasy in
modern-day history.
In one word,
Christianity is being redefined. Scores of
pastors have chosen to abandon the Bible in
favor of postmodernism (that is, what they
view as progressive and culturally
relevant). There is no other way to describe
what has happened. Those who love God and
believe the Bible is His Word cannot believe
what has happened. Light has turned into
darkness. What was once believed to be true
is now proclaimed to be a lie. Those who
once claimed to be followers of Jesus and
the Bible are now following men and their
philosophies.
Rather than
reaching out to the world with the gospel of
Jesus Christ, pastors and Bible teachers are
abandoning the Bible in order to embrace the
world. They look for ways to market what
they call Christianity by incorporating
sensual gimmicks that are supposed to
attract the masses. Hymn books are tossed
out of churches from the pews. Pews have
been replaced by soft theater seats with
credit card terminals. Being comfortable
while attending church is the standard.
Don’t mention sin or that Jesus shed His
blood on the Cross because that would be
offensive.
Then we could
ask: What happened to the God of the Bible
who created all things according to the book
of Genesis. When did creation become a
religious Babylonian myth and the theory of
evolution become the science that proves
that an explosion plus time and chance is
the formula for the origin of all life?
Or what about
the infiltration of the New Age movement
into evangelical churches? Have we been
Hinduized and now think that Yoga is a
Christian exercise? Or what about getting
closer to Jesus by humming mantras, “getting
centered,” or practicing eastern mystical
contemplative prayers that will send you off
to Nirvana? Have Christians lost their minds
and been seduced by demons?
How about the
invasion of extra-biblical experiences? For
example, what about getting drunk in the
“Spirit” or barking like a dog because of
the “transferrable anointing”? Where is that
kind of behavior found in Scriptures? Are
Christians being prepared for a great
revival, or are they being seduced by
another spirit?
Then there is
the trend that embraces “ecumenical
madness.” They say the term Protestant is a
word that should be retired to the past and
has no significance in the church today.
Church leaders claim there is no difference
between the Pentecostal Jesus and the
Eucharistic Christ worshiped and adored in a
Roman Catholic monstrance. Or for many
today, Jesus is nothing more than the Cosmic
Christ that sees all is one and one is all.
This “Jesus” is the universal Jesus of the
New Age. If you don’t believe in this
“Cosmic Christ” created by your own
imagination, you are often deemed a heretic
or at least old-fashioned.
Then there is
the charismatic bridge located on the road
to ecumenical unity. It provides a
connection for the gap that once existed
between Roman Catholics and the separated
brethren. Some are calling for the Second
Pentecost claiming that the world will turn
to Christ and establish the Kingdom of God
here on earth without the presence of the
King.
Further, Israel
no longer has a significant place in
Scripture. Jews are a problem to the new
emerging church. Replacement theology has
ignored the Israel of the Bible and replaced
God’s chosen people with the church that is
about to establish the kingdom of God here
on earth. In other words, Christianity has
been reformed and those who refuse to accept
this are considered uneducated morons (and
are standing in the way of world peace).
Bible prophecy
and the warnings about apostasy are totally
relegated to a museum. A one-world religion
for peace is in the making, and the Pope and
the environment is the man to do it. The
postmodern mindset has hijacked true
biblical Christianity and made God into a
god of their own imagination. The Word of
God has been degraded into a myth.
Or have you
noticed the church-growth emphasis that has
swept the world? Purpose-driven megachurches
that market fun and entertainment are
growing exponentially. The churches that
stress the Bible and salvation by Jesus
Christ alone are dying and on the way out.
The big get bigger and the small are getting
smaller. It appears that Bible-believing
Christianity is on the verge of becoming
next to extinct.
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