There are those gut-wrenching, spirit-deadening realities that true children of God must occasionally deal with whether we want to or not. In my case, such spiritually negative truths usually occur when speaking or writing while carrying out the ministry the Lord has called me to conduct.

As is sometimes the case, those things I had rather not think about are brought to my attention by my Lord so as to reinforce certain truths about which He has commissioned me to speak and write. What makes this ministry difficult is the fact that EVERYONE I deal with is infected with the same religious disease that causes them to automatically reject God’s Truth, the same Truth that He commands me to proclaim. Jesus spoke to Satan about that disease in Matthew 16:23. Salvation-seeking man’s deadly infirmity is manifested in his desire to please himself.

As a result, churchman hires as his spiritual leaders those who tell him what he wants to hear. Satan stands at the ready to aid him in the search for ear-scratching hirelings, his supply of which is unending. As a result, salvation seekers refuse to hear words that do not please them, which includes most of the Words found in the Holy Scriptures. As Jesus prophesied in Matthew 7:13,14, few people, especially church people, will listen to His Words spoken by those true ministers He has sent. I was sent to this area to lead a group of about 20 people, as I was told by their spokesperson. I was the one, they agreed en masse. Until, that is, I told them a Biblica Truth they did not want to hear. I have not seen them since and that was about 25 years ago. I have been living in this “church on every corner” area since 1985 and have spent that time speaking and writing God’s Truth. Yet I can count on one hand the number of people who have believed what He repeatedly proclaims in His Holy Scriptures. What religious man does, or fails to do, relative to God’s Word is the subject of this series.

As I have noted in the past, the Lord often arranges for me to be in “the right place at the right time” so that I can hear or see something that reminds me of the focus of my ministry. Such an event took place recently when I “accidently” overheard a statement that sent a chill through my mind. I overheard one person ask another person, “Has __________ been saved?” I immediately thought about the salvation hucksters on t.v. that offer eternal life to anyone who will perform a prescribed ritual that takes at most ten seconds. I timed one repeat-after-me-and-receive-instant-salvation message that had to be a record for salvation efficiency. The prayer lasted seven seconds. But wait, it gets better. I recently learned that one can now get saved on the internet. These religious snake oil salesmen literally “cast the truth to the ground” (Dan. 8:12). Ironically, the same theology put forth by the same “little horn” of Daniel’s vision continues to infect a d destroy modern day religionists who continue to cast God’s Word to the ground, in His name, all the while holding the Book containing the very Truth they are rejecting. Who but Satan could create such an anomaly? Now back to the question about __________ being saved. For convenience, we will call him Joe.

I know Joe very well. I spend time with him on a regular basis. Like everyone else who knows me, he rejects my spiritual advise. Joe is a liar and, by his own admission, a thief–though he does not see himself as a thief. According to him, if an acquaintance isn’t using an item, Joe’s secretly taking it is not wrong. Only God knows what else he is doing. He is just permanently borrowing it.

IS JOE SAVED!!! Herein lies the mind-numbing truth that was brought to my mind when the question of Joe’s salvation status was brought up: IN JOE’S RELIGION, THAT IS A NORMAL QUESTION. In his church, which is no different from all other churches, salvation is awarded for answering “yes” when asked to take Jesus as Savior. In his so-called Christian religion sinning is not merely tolerated, it is expected due to Adam’s sin gene transferal miracle which makes each human being guilty by reason of conception. As a pillar of “the church,” former seminary student and Sunday school teacher patiently explained to me, Jesus knows that we have no choice relative to sin–we simply must obey Satan. But not to fret. Due to God’s grace, His Son died so that church can do what comes naturally (sin) and get away with it. Another religious giant explained church sin in this way: “God doesn’t like sin, but He won’t do anything about it,” She mysteriously died in her sleep for no medical reason not long afterward.

Singing sensation Elvis Presley perfectly voiced why those in “the church” sin and grin. Upon realizing that he had been caught on film talking about the woman with whom he had spent the previous night., he reacted predictably. Looking into the camera, he said: “What a friend we have in Jesus.” His words, spoken through a Satanic smile, made me spiritually ill. Asking if Joe is saved is like asking if Elvis and the female religionist were saved. Read The Real Elvis. Key word–Elvis.

Several years ago I wrote about an episode that perfectly exemplifies the typical chuchite’s attitude toward sin. I will repeat the story for those who might not have read about it. As stated earlier, we know things we try not to think about. For example, I have Catholics in my family (by marriage). I knew what they believed and why, but kept that information buried deep in the catacombs of my psyche. However, God occasionally forces me to take a hard, cold look at religious reality so that I can address it without flinching. One such occasion took place many years ago, long before He placed me in this ministry.

I was working on a construction site with a young Catholic man who regaled me with stories about his sexual exploits. One day he asked me why I never talked about my sexual conquests. I told him that, as a Christian, I did not adulterate because it was a sin. After he declared that he also was a Christian, I asked him how he could repeatedly sin and call himself a child of God. He rolled up a shirt sleave and, while patting the tattoo of Mary on his forearm, proudly declared: “My lady takes care of it.” Though I knew what he believed, it was a shock to actually hear him admit it.

Later, while thinking about the episode, the Lord reminded me that Protestants are no different in their attitude toward sin, Christ’s death, salvation, etc. Then it came to me that the only difference between Catholics and Protestants is the name of the “lady” who makes their sins go away. The Catholic’s “lady” is named Mary. The Protestant’s “lady” is named Grace. In the eyes of God, there is no difference between Catholics and Protestants relative to sin. Also, there is no difference between churchite sinners and non-churchite sinners. Sin separates the sinner from God (Isa. 59:2). One who is separated from Him is not in agreement with Him and therefore cannot walk with Him by obeying Him (Amos 3:3) and is therefore a counterfeit Christian. Jesus speaks directly to this Truth in Matthew 7:21-23.

America is living proof that AS GOES THE SPIRITUAL, SO GOES THE NATIONAL. In other words, as goes the church, so goes the nation. In Leviticus 26:14-46 and Deuteronomy 28:15-68 the Lord explains what He will do to the nation that refuses to obey Himn that refuses walk with Him in unison of mind. America long ago followed the church into Satan’s open arms when she “cast God’s Word to the ground” in favor of what appeals to the flesh and away from the spirit. The moral, political, social, environmental, etc. sewer America has become is the result of her not merely casting God’s Word to the ground, but stomping It with her Satan-provided shoes.

Earlier this morning I saw a headline on the internet that summed up what has happened to my once-wonderful nation. The caption noted that conservative church people refuse to fly the pride flag at their churches because they want the nation to “return to the values of the 18th century” (1700’s). That, according to the accompanying article, would send the nation back to the spiritual stone age. That would place God in charge of deciding right and wrong, leaving man out of the decision-making process.

Speaking for myself, I would like very much for the church to return, not to the spiritual status of the 1700’s, but rather to the spiritual mind-set of the original church established in 31 A.D., to the status exampled by Jesus of Nazareth in what He said and did, and to the writings of the original apostles who not only knew the will of God, but spoke, wrote and lived it. The example set by Jesus is the spiritual model I wish the church and my country would follow. As the evening news proves, that is not the way it is.

The Prophet Daniel wrote what could be a newspaper article to and about modern America: “As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil has come upon us, yet we have not cried out to the Lord our God, turned from our iniquities and obeyed His Truth. Therefore, the Lord has watched us commit our evil and has brought its results back upon us. The Lord is righteous in all that He does to us because we have not obeyed His Word” (9:13,14). Enough said. L.J.