Jesus Christ proclaimed that not everyone who calls Him their Lord, accepts Him as their Savior, is baptized, joins the church, reads the Bible, etc. is one of His spiritual brethren–a true child of God (Mat. 7:21-23). In 15:9 He explains why, noting that those who substitute their own commandments for His Truths: “… WORSHIP ME IN VAIN.” Note that these salvation seekers do indeed WORSHIP HIM, CALL HIM LORD, ARE SUPER RELIGIOUS, HAVE MANY PERFECT ATTENDENCE PENS. SOME TEACH SUNDAY SCHOOL, PREACH, PASTOR CHURCHES, SERVE ON THE MISSION FIELD, ARE EVANGELISTS, HAND OUT PAMPHLETS ON THE STREET, HEAL THE SICK, CAST OUT DEMONS, ETC. He said that on the Day of Judgment He will say to them: “I never knew you.” How is this possible? How can one be a pillar of “the church” and not have an intimate relationship with the Lord–not “know” Him on a brethren level?

Because, relative to God’s Word, they are unteachable. I deal with such people either directly or indirectly in the conduct of this ministry. Of the thousands of people who have read or heard me teach God’s Truth in the area of Texas where I live, I know only five personally who believe the Scriptural references I provide from the same Book they carry to church every sun god day–Sunday. These unwitting souls cannot be taught God’s Word because they choose to remain on the infant level spiritually. The Prophet Isaiah faced the same problem in his day, as did all of the prophets and later the apostles. In chapter 28 Isaiah asks the ultimate question relative to the learning of God’s Truth: “Whom can He (God) teach knowledge? and whom can He cause to understand doctrine? They who are WEANED FROM THE MILK AND DRAWN (REMOVED) FROM THE BREAST” (vs 9).

According to the Almighty, the only people He can teach His Truth are those who have been “weaned from the breast.” To learn the things of God one must have been weaned from the mother church’s “milk” and have developed an appetite for the “meat” of God’s deeper, stronger Word. In childhood we sang: “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” Which is true. However, due to the lack of spiritual maturity, decades later what we hear coming from the mouths of modern salvation pimps is the same message: “Jesus loves you. Repeat after me and you will be saved, born again and will know that heaven is your future home”–all of which is GUARANTEED by the religious hucksters. Which is NOT true.

The problem is that those who are supposedly saved by repeating the “sinner’s prayer” never leave the church’s breasts from whence come “Jesus loves you” and little else. John 3:16,17 is as deep as church infants ever go into the Bible. On the physical level, if milk is all one is fed, one will die early on. Yet in the spiritual realm, milk is all that is available from mother church. For this reason God commands that honest Truth seekers leave her and follow Him (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1). Then, AND ONLY THEN, will He become one’s God and one will become His child. This proves that while one is in “the church” one is a CINO–a Christian In Name Only. Read Who Are God’s People? Key word–People.

Listen to what Paul wrote to the Hebrew Christians about the One Who serves as our example. In 3:1 he address his “holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,” telling them to “consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.” In 5:7-9 Paul writes about Christ’s maturation process: “Though He was a Son (of God), YET HE LEARNED OBEDIENCE ….” And being MADE PERFECT, He BECAME the AUTHOR OF ETERNAL SALVATION to all who OBEY HIM” (as He obeyed the Father). Notice that Jesus, a human like all other humans, had to LEARN how to obey God. He had to be MADE perfect so as to BECOME the Author of salvation by partaking of His Father’s strong food. Milk cravers never get beyond the mother church’s “Jesus loves you; repeat after me and you are saved, ….” message. Their leaders feed what they were fed. As a result, both are blind and “fall into the (devil’s) ditch” known as “the church” (Lk. 6:39).

In Hebrews 6:1,2 Paul tells salvation seekers that they must leave the milk of mother church and “go on to PERFECTION.” This, he says, is possible only by rejecting the church’s “breast milk” and choosing God’s “strong meat” (5:12,14) which is found in His Holy Word. I call church “milk” God’s “Headlines” and His “strong meat” His “fine print.” Religious man craves milk but hates meat. For example, the church loves Leviticus 26:1-13, but hates verses 14-46. Now let us examine God’s instructions relative to hunting for, finding and consuming His “strong meat” known as the Gospel–the good news of the coming Kingdom of God.

In Isaiah 28:10,11 the prophet explains how the Holy Scriptures must be studied in order to glean the Lord’s total message: “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.” In verse 13 he repeats the instructions, proving that this is the only way one can learn His Truths. The Apostle John carried on this method of Truth provision and spiritual maturation. In His Gospel begins his teaching program with 3:16 then moves on to 8:31, then to 14:15 and 23, then to 15:10 and then to his first epistle culminating with the third chapter versus 1-10. Note the progression of maturation, the movement from milk to strong meat. He finishes his meaty presentation with the Book of Revelation. Spiritual infancy is found in John 3:16,17. Spiritual maturity is found in First John 3:1-10. Revelation is his warning to those who refuse to listen to Jesus Christ.

In Isaiah 28:9-13 the Lord, through the prophet, tells us twice exactly how to learn His Truths. But then notice verses 11,12 where He tells us that His study formula provides the (spiritual) rest with which the weary could have been refreshed, “… YET THEY WOULD NOT HEAR.” Nothing has changed. Like Isaiah, those who teach God’s ways today see ancient Israel’s spiritual descendants following in her spiritual footsteps. Jesus warned that this would be the case. He warned that few would find His strait gate, enter it and walk His narrow way to the rest they seek. The vast majority, as verse 13 reveals, would “fall backward and be broken, snared and taken” by Satan into his religious web known as “the church.” Sadly, He was right.

The key is to know God’s Word–the Holy Bible–believe and obey it. If we want to be educated in the Bible we must learn from the Master Himself. Otherwise, we will be following men, hearing and believing their respective versions of the Gospel, each of which Paul calls “perverted” in Galatians 1:6-9. This is what happens when a religious group (church, denomination, faith, etc.) chooses to follow its prophets who offer “another Jesus” (2 Cor. 11:4), one who is a coaxer, not a commander, a suggester, not a dictator, whose way is broad and inclusive, not narrow and exclusive. Each religious group has its own jesus, its own god, its own truths, etc. Satan has convinced each of his groups that it is the one true body of Christ.

God commands the Truth seeker who finds himself in one of those groups to “COME OUT OF HER (FALSE CHRISTIANITY) AND BE YE SEPARATE (FROM HER). DO NOT TOUCH THAT UNCLEAN THING.” THEN, AND ONLY THEN, WILL ONE BECOME A CHILD OF THE LIVING GOD. As long as one is in that unclean thing one is following man, which is a curse (Jer. 17:5). As long as one is under that curse, he/she will be deceived. We must not follow men who have been deceived into following the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4). Do not follow me. Follow Christ. L.J.