From day one there was never a doubt as to whom this ministry was directed–the Institutional Church–that 3,000,000,000 strong, two-headed counterfeit religious organization owned and operated by the serpent/dragon of Genesis 3 and Revelation 12 who has deceived the entire world (Rev. 12:9). So deceived is his church (Catholicism/Protestantism) that his parishioners cannot identify sin which separates them from the Lord (Isa. 59:2). So deceived are they that they do not realize that their is a separation. Church people are told from day one that they are sinning when they do not attend church on Sunday, do not observe Christmas and Easter and do not embrace all the other heathen beliefs and practices upon which their church is founded. Sins such as lying, cheating, stealing, adultery, etc. are easily recognized and corrected. Having done so, the now “saved” parishioners spend the rest of their lives “knowing” that they are right with God. They “know” that God does not expect them to obey His Scriptural instructions, only that they know about them. They “know” that they do not need to know God, but only need to know about Him. They “know” that “works” play no part in salvation, which they “know” they already have. They “know” that obedience to the Ten Commandment Law is one of those “works” that God rejects. They “know” that holiness on their part is impossible and is therefore not required for salvation. All of which is refuted by the Lord in Romans 6:19-23 and 1 John 3:4, as well as many other passages. Read chapters two and three of 1 John.

How is it that 99% of professing Christians do not know that they are headed for eternal death if they do not affect a 180 degree turn from their “Christian walk” in which they embrace dozens of heathen doctrines and customs. Why does the church not know that she is wallowing in the mire of false Christianity and is in fact “without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12)? The answer is summed up in two words: ignorance and unbelief–ignorance of God’s Word and unbelief of what little she knows. As a result, her parishioners find themselves unwittingly plodding along Satan’s broad path that leads to destruction (Mat. 7:13,14), all the while “knowing” that their personal mansion awaits their arrival in heaven. Ignorance of God’s Word prevents salvation seekers from realizing that the “walk” God commands is strait (difficult) and narrow (allows no options). The existence of multiple churches proves that religious man has totally rejected God’s concept of one Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12-14), one gospel, one Truth, one God the Father, one Lord Jesus Christ, one church whose members have the “mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16). This is the Christ in Whom there is “no shadow (hint) of turning” (changing ) (Jam. 1:17), no duplicity, no optional points of view. With God and Christ it is take it all or leave it all. Considering the price They paid, They have the right to demand strict obedience to Their Word.

Those within Catholicism/Protestantism do not know the God of the Scriptures. They recognize only the god of their particular religious group, a god which they themselves have created. The Apostle Paul wrote about this possibility in 2 Corinthians 11:4 where he warned about the church accepting “another Jesus” if someone came along with a more user-friendly version. Not only did the Corinthian church embrace another savior, the entire early church joined her by following Satan. The only exception was the church at Philadelphia. See Revelation 3. The religious descendants of that fallen religious system is today known as “the church.”

The Lord’s strait and narrow way to His kingdom is laid out in the Holy Scriptures. The “map” He has drawn is exact and unchangeable. His slave must follow that map until the end in order to be saved (Mat. 10:22). Having counted the cost of enslavement–separation from and persecution by non-slaves– the God seeker must choose to enter the Lord’s strait gate and walk His narrow way. Once on that path the traveler has the option of leaving it. If this happens his Master will welcome him back, provided he has made the prescribed changes. Let it be known that God is not, as one famous evangelist called Him–“the hound of heaven.” He is not out seeking the prodigals who have deliberately rejected Him by rejecting His way (Lk. 10:16). Recall that in the parable of the prodigal son the father did not search for his wayward son who had left on his own accord. The son, having voluntarily rejected his father’s rules of engagement, had to voluntarily embrace those rules in order to be welcomed back by the father. The prodigal example applies to all salvation seekers. “But what about the parable of the lost sheep,” one might say. Note that the parable involved a sheep that had inadvertently wandered away from the shepherd without realizing it. The two situations are totally different, as are the actions of the shepherd/father. L.J.