I have no knowledge whom Andrew Strom is and it really does not matter one way or another, someone needs to reply to his list of problems within the Church, however, he shows he is a part of the problem as well - a product of the Western (American) Church and its apostate theology ... So, italicized are his words, non-italicized are mine:
It
is a sad fact that today’s church is deceiving itself in some very
crucial areas. Below are some plain facts (-absolutely true) that may
shock a few people:
1.
“Ask Jesus into our heart” is not in the Bible. Neither is “Give your
heart to the Lord”, or repeating a “sinner’s prayer”. These practices do
not exist in Scripture at all. The subject of salvation is the most
important subject in the Bible and we are being lied to about it. These
doctrines are a total fabrication. They were invented to make salvation
“quick and convenient”. Many church members today who are relying on
these things are clearly not ‘saved’ at all. (It is true, however, what has become institutionalized is the "prayer of faith"/"confession"/whatever your group calls it. There are no magic words in Christianity, but there is the requirement for the acknowledgement of your own unworthiness before God and the need/recognition of Jesus' payment made on your behalf. This is the most common error I run into in America, that you are "saved" by "the prayer" rather than by a changed heart and life!)
2. Church buildings do not exist in the Bible. They were invented around 200-300 AD, when the church was in serious decline. Only a backslidden church could fall so far away from the simplicity of the early church. Church buildings are anti-New Testament, and bring with them a host of problems and traditions. It was basically when the church fell into the hands of Rome that this concept of the “cathedral” really took over. And we are still spending millions on these monuments today.
(Not entirely true, here Strom forgets the writings of the Apostle John's disciples whom carried him from place to place, church to church, throughout Galatia. Paul wrote concerning the running of the church of both Ephesus and Corinth. There may have been some home churches but in Ephesus we have the building itself John and Timothy shepherded! The remains of the church Lazarus shepherded on Crete and the second century Basilica of Mary, the largest church ever constructed until the Romans took everything over. I imagine if I reread my archaeology works for a few hours I could find other first or second century churches we have found through digging. )
3. The “one pastor runs everything” model is totally unscriptural. Far from running everything, in the book of Acts we find the word “pastor” NOT EVEN USED ONCE. (-The early church did have strong leaders and elders. But it was never a “one man band” like we see today. And never was it so “controlling” either).
(Again, we have to remember James owned the Jerusalem church, Paul claimed primo rights to all the churches he established, Timothy was told to take the reins of Ephesus, John owned the Galatian churches at the end of the first century. Call that position what you will, but it did exist, as did the concept of Bishop. )
4. “Tithing” is not a New Testament practice at all. And it is being shamefully abused by today’s preachers. In the New Testament we are told to give cheerfully – whatever we purpose in our hearts to give. Telling people that they MUST give 10% to the church or they are “robbing God” is totally sick – and a money-grubbing way of twisting Scripture. There is no evidence that the apostles EVER preached ‘tithing’ to New Testament believers. It was clearly regarded as an Old Testament practice.
(And now we run smack into the misnomer that somehow Old Testament is Jewish and New Testament is Christian! Nothing could be any further from the truth! Both are Jewish - however, the positional opportunity was extended to the gentile believers to come into salvation through Jesus (just the same as the Jew!). There is no such thing as a "tithe" to the church any longer, however, ALL you have is expected of you by God! It is the Western (American) money grubbing belief system by which God requires nothing or little of you! If you can not give ALL you have to God, then you need to rethink your theology! Modern money grubbing apologists such as the radio "Christian" financial advisers are more interested in not trusting God than living a Scriptural life. By the way, the Jewish tithe was 33% when you include all of the fees and charges for and by the Synagog. Sorry Dave, God wants everything you have, He will curse you with what you do not willingly give ... )
5. The words “prosper” or ‘prosperity’ were NEVER used by Jesus at all – and only exist a couple of times in the entire New Testament. Yet greedy preachers have built whole kingdoms upon them. The words – “sell what you have and give to the poor” and “deceitfulness of riches” and “you cannot serve God and mammon” and “woe to you that are rich” were DEFINITELY used by Jesus and the apostles. But we don’t hear these things preached too much, do we?
(Here I agree with Strom, the entire concept of the prosperity paganism, has nothing to do with Christianity - it is a lie as old as gnosticism and almost eclipsed The Way, the original name of Christianity. Equally God is quite expressive concerning debt and getting out of it - period. And so I now wonder what his point was above about giving, unless it is just that he does not want to give to support the local church? But, even in the first century the concept of giving to the "store house" was well known.)
6. There were no Bible Colleges, Seminaries or degrees in the New Testament. The only people who seemed to have “Bible Schools” were the Scribes and Pharisees! The apostles were simple fishermen and tax collectors. It is likely that a number of them could not even read or write. What was their “qualification” for being in the ministry? Simply that they had SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH JESUS. The fact that people expect a “professional clergy” today with degrees from Bible College has helped to make the church sicker and more unscriptural than ever. Simple humble people with a calling from God often cannot get to minister because they do not have a “piece of paper” to make them ‘qualified’. -Yet another disaster for the church.
(Partially wrong. First off, Jews were amongst the best educated cultures on earth in the first century! Both boys and girls were taught reading and writing, in the synagog. We know this from the Synagog of Gamla. Jesus taught the Apostles as well as the 120 disciples whom were with him. These went on to found their own itinerant schools to teach about Jesus. We have ample proof of this through the writings of the early church fathers. No there were no degrees, there was only the proof of your work and for some accolades by those whom were known and respected. It is a remnant of Catholicism that you have to go to school, get a degree, to share the secret knowledge, controlled by the Catholic Church. Nothing angers me more than someone educated above their abilities, pulling rank with their degrees, when they are dead wrong... And yes, I have 12 years and refused my degree - I believe in what Paul wrote - if I can not walk the talk, don't listen.)
7. There is almost no evidence whatsoever that the early church had their “main meeting” on a Sunday. They gathered together ‘from house to house’ virtually every day! There were no church buildings. They did not dress up and “go to church”. There were no denominations. There were no separate groups with different ‘labels’. They lived their lives together – all the Christians in the local area. Love and fellowship and ‘koinonia’ were as natural to them as breathing. And the apostles in Jerusalem preached every day at huge open-air gatherings. -Not “hidden away” inside four walls. This was truly a “street church” in every way.
(Here a knowledge of Biblical times comes in handy. We have already covered the concept of church. People of "The Way", had the ability to meet anytime they wanted except on Saturday because the Jews used the Synagogs then, and the early Christian leaders taught in the Synagogs. Later this was to change and the now labelled "Christian" sect were thrown out of Judaism. Some bought their old Synagogs, adding Christian symbolism as early as 70 ad. In Greece, Galatia and Rome, yes, they started in the streets, the forums and meeting halls - as well as, homes.)
8. The idea that you can replace the moving of the Holy Spirit with programs, programs and more programs just shows how low we have sunk. Man-made programs are everywhere today. The early church had much more of God and much less of ‘man’.
(Okay, Amen! Our churches are sick, driven by programs, abandoned by God - long ago. The Holy Spirit's ministry have been replaced by pragmatic business managers, power is political - not God given and the church has reaped the whirlwind for this lack of faith and false testimony.)
9. We preach a ‘humanistic’ Jesus today. -A Jesus who exists mainly for our own “happiness”. A Santa Claus who wants to rain down continual blessings upon us. A God of grace and mercy without judgement, righteousness or truth. Our gross misrepresentation of who Jesus really is, is one of the most serious offenses of the modern church. Today’s church seems to worship a “plastic” Jesus – one that she has made in her own image. What an offense to God.
(Yup again, but let me drive home the point, in case I am misunderstanding his viewpoint here. Assuming you are a Christian: when you look to see God, you are going to see Jesus. When God looks like you, it not you and your sin he gazes upon - it is Jesus He sees. You can not see God in any perspective and you are covered by Jesus blood, dripping with it, hence why God sees His son. God is a fearful and angry God, if you are not His - that means He will abandon you to torment and destruction under Satan's care if you really want to live in his world. Conversely, you want to be covered by Jesus' blood and live in that world as well - welcome to utter destruction as you are lulled to sleep by Satans' many blessings to keep you from seeing or hearing Jesus.)
A lot of preachers are well aware that there is something very wrong with the church today. They know there is little ‘fear of the Lord’. They know there is no deep repentance or deep moving of the Holy Spirit. They know that it is just the same old “game” being played every week. A lot of them are very aware of this. But they will not do anything about it. They will not rock the boat. And they will “squash” anyone who comes along trying to do something. They do not want a real “shaking”. There is too much to lose. They have their careers and their little ‘kingdoms’ at stake. This is the real truth of the matter. This is where the rubber truly meets the road.
(Remember that fear of the Lord is the BEGINNING of wisdom, not the completion of it! And yes, the modern church has been compromised by the lure of financial wealth and steady incomes. When we put money before God, we lose, not God.)
That is why God is about to bring “Great Reformation”. He will not put up with these ‘hirelings’ any longer. He will not have them as leaders over His people. A lot of them are about to “lose their heads”. They will never lead God’s people again.
This is what true ‘Reformation’ is all about. It is the process of replacing the old leadership and the old lies. -It is David taking over from ‘Saul’.
There is a ‘New Wineskin’ coming. In fact it is upon us. There is a new leadership arising – many of them trained in the ‘wilderness’ for such a time as this. The hour is now here. LET THE NEW LEADERS ARISE! The sad fact is that today’s church has sunk so low that it is almost a matter of people needing to be RESCUED OUT OF HER. I never thought I would say something as radical as that, but it is the truth.
(Nope, God is not going to bring us a reformation as long as we lack men with humble hearts, men intent upon their agendas rather than laying down a foundation of truth from God. We are surrounded by a hurting world filled with people betrayed by those they should have respected, a church whom could not and would not respond. If you want to lay it all out there - the MEN of this generation have walked away from God given roles and responsibilities and until WE reclaim that - we never will have anything other than the chaos we deserve... And yes, I dearly pray for revival, but it will only be when God moves that it will occur.)
Much of the church is living a lie. Many inside her are told continuously that they are “OK” – that they are saved and headed for heaven. Nothing could be further from the truth. Multitudes of them are headed directly for hell. The systemized LYING that is going on has deceived the leaders and the people alike. It is the blind leading the blind. We need to contend for these people – desperately. Much of the church is “lost”. They are mired in deception – an entire system of deception.
Kindest regards in Christ,
Andrew Strom
(Personal Theology is important, the contents of your theology is important, it must be based upon the Bible and not man's opinions. You must live it! Men you are judged and God calls you account both now and in eternity. So, whatcha gona do?
Same old Same is not going to work this time, unless Hell is actually your desired destination..... )
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