Etcetera Again!
I personally disagree with many
of the points raised in this article, what the hell is wrong with this young
man. Mr. Etcetera I wouldn’t be surprised if you receive a ‘spiritual slap’
soonest.
Obviously, this vituperation against
the Christendom is very unnecessary and uncalled for. Must you see the bad in
every situation? I wonder what impacts, Etcetera is making to better the society,
apart from throwing diatribes at people and organizations on a weekly basis in
the guise of been a Punch columnist.
Read his thoughts after the cut…
As many as I love, I rebuke and
chasten: be zealous therefore and repent. – Revelation 3:19.
Much of the church today is
living a lie. Many of you have been told continuously that you are saved and
headed for heaven. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Many of you are
heading directly to hell. The systemised lying that is going on in the church
has deceived the pastors and the people alike. It is a case of the blind
leading the blind. You all need to pray – fervently because many of you are
“lost”. No matter what you call me, no matter how you view this issue, no
matter what position you have, no matter what church you attend, you have to
admit that something is wrong with the church.
Below are eight facts why the
church is leading you straight to hell:
1. There is almost no evidence
whatsoever that the early church had their “services” on a Sunday. They
gathered together ‘from house to house’ virtually every day! People did not
dress up and “go to church.” There were no denominations or separate groups
with different ‘labels.’ They lived their lives together – And the apostles in
Jerusalem preached everyday at a huge open-air gathering, not “hidden away”
inside four walls. Church buildings do not exist in the Bible. They were
invented around 200-300 AD, when the church was in serious decline. Church
buildings are anti-New Testament, and they bring with them a host of problems
and traditions. It was when the church fell into the hands of Rome that this
concept of the “cathedral” took over. And today, we are still spending millions
building these beautiful monuments while the worshippers are starving.
The words “prosper” or
‘prosperity’ were NEVER used by Jesus at all – and only mentioned a few times
in the entire New Testament. Yet our greedy pastors have built 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 you don’t hear them
preached by your pastors, do you?
2. Tithing is not a New Testament
practice at all. And it is being shamefully abused by today’s preachers. In the
Old Testament, tithing was only applicable to Jews and to the land of Israel
and that was at a time when a great number of them lived in Babylon, Ammon,
Moab, Egypt and Syria. As a result of that, the land they occupied became
tithe-able lands. Tithes were not acceptable from Gentiles’ lands. So my
brothers and sisters, you need to ask your pastor why he is collecting tithes
here in Nigeria. Also, the only people authorised to receive tithes were the
Levites – (Hebrews 7:5). If your pastor is collecting tithe from you, ask him
if he’s from the tribe of Levi. Even Jesus who was a Jew couldn’t collect
tithes because he wasn’t from the tribe of Levi but from that of Judah. And if
your pastor insists that being a worker in the lord’s vineyard qualifies him as
a Levite, please remind him that Levites had no land and did not own
properties.
3. The Jesus of today’s church is a
“Father Christmas,” a Jesus who exists mainly for our own “happiness;” a Father
Christmas who wants to rain down continual blessings upon us; a Jesus of grace
and mercy without judgement, righteousness or truth. Our gross
misrepresentation of who Jesus really is, is one of the most serious offences
of today’s church. We worship a “plastic” Jesus – one that we have painted in
our own image. What an offence to God.
4. What we have today are churches
that are so loose that they excuse any sin or misconduct, including
homosexuality and adultery. Aren’t we supposed to accept only the truth of
God’s word? But instead, we have opted for a modern church that is socially
based, smooth and sophisticated, and presented like a Nollywood movie with men
and women of ogboni fraternity dressed in their occultic regalia occupying
special seats during services. Something is wrong!
5. What happened to the strong calls
for repentance that brought thousands down to the altar to repent and ask Jesus
Christ to save their souls? This is the litmus test for Christianity; it is the
essence of the Cross; it is the great commission that Jesus commanded us with.
If your church is not winning souls, then it is like a barren woman, and it is
a shame. Something is wrong!
6. What happened to the outpouring
of the Holy Ghost? Do we even know what it means anymore to feel the presence
of the Spirit of God descend on a service and fill up the room with holiness?
Or we just love that party atmosphere and excitement when the choir plays a
boogie-down song? Or we love to scream “ride on pastor” in the excitement we
get when some charismatic preacher works the crowd? It’s been so long we’ve
felt the presence of the Holy Spirit that we don’t know what it is anymore.
Something is definitely wrong!
7. Lots of pastors are 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.
8. 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 destroy anyone who comes along trying to do something. They do not want
any reforms. There is too much to lose. They have their careers and their
“kingdoms” at stake. This is the truth of the matter. Most of you are
worshippers of your pastors and not God. Many of you are hell bound. So pray my
brothers and sisters. Pray for your souls. Let me stop here and leave room for
you to call me names. But do remember that the church is leading you to hell –
not me!
Culled: PUNCH
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