For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? (Luke 6:43-46, KJV)

The State Of Confusion

Today the Church of Jesus Christ in the United States is a very, very confused place. I have pointed it out before, and as long as the Lord chooses to sustain me, I shall continue to point out that much of evangelicalism never renounced its inherent humanism and sadly was crippled from its very inception. The testimony of history is clear that the man-centered seeds of the false philosophy of postmodernism and the centered on self psychology of the “new reformation” ala Robert Schuller were there from its inception. And the postevangelicalism that it would spawn is far worse with its mind-altering Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism. Anyone with eyes that see will plainly observe this Gnostic mysticism is actually what is weaving together the three major pillars of Satan’s Ecumenical Church of Deceit (ECoD).

The ECoD, daughter of the corrupt Church of Rome with her apostate Roman Catholicism, faithfully following her master’s seducing spirits and spreading her doctrines of devils has actually been able to sow much confusion into this fading evangelical camp. A timid bunch of rather spiritually obtuse leaders has been duped into accepting a twisted tolerance which is actually steeped in the flawed philosophy of relativism–masquerading as postmodernism–until they are now almost convinced that the Protestant Reformation has somehow been done away with. Such is the corrupt fruit of the ECoD and in our text Jesus quite clearly tells us:

“For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit” (v.43).

Sowing The Seeds Of The Flesh

Evangelical churches experiencing sagging attendance for many years in secularized America began to look with envy at the seeker sensitive churches which were expanding swiftly through the man-centered pragmatic principles espoused in the Church Growth Movement. Satan then hatched the pragmatic semi-pelagian Purpose Driven Church of Rick Warren, who unquestionably looked the example of Robert Schuller, which then blurred doctrinal distinctives and approached church growth just as one might as they start a local business. If you want a successful restaurant, find out what kind of food the people in your area want, and then serve plenty of it. So, it was assumed, if we want more people to attend church then we need to “give them what they want” and then our churches will grow.

But Christ Jesus, the Great Shepherd, has always been faithful to His sheep. The Master has always provided them with good undershepherds among the many hirelings they choose themselves. Let us now consider the God-given wisdom of A. W. Tozer:

Our constant effort should be to reach as many persons as possible with the Christian message, and for that reason numbers are critically important. But our first responsibility is not to make converts but to uphold the honor of God in a world given over to the glory of fallen man. No matter how many persons we touch with the gospel we have failed unless, along with the message of invitation, we have boldly declared the exceeding sinfulness of man and the transcendent holiness of the Most High God.

They who degrade or compromise the truth in order to reach larger numbers, dishonor God and deeply injure the souls of men. The temptation to modify the teachings of Christ with the hope that larger numbers may “accept” Him is cruelly strong in this day of speed, size, noise, and crowds. But if we know what is good for us, we’ll resist it with every power at our command. (Tozer on Christian Leadership, October 26)

However, this Purpose Driven selfishness still wasn’t reaching those who supposedly desired a deeper spiritual encounter with God, nor was it drawing the younger set who were looking for more of a cause to live for. So the Devil began the emerging church movement with even less emphasis on doctrinal distinctives and added so-called “Christian” mystic practices that are actually culled from the unbiblical monastic traditions of Roman Catholicism. No longer emerging this Emergent Church, whose more prominent leaders e.g. like Brian McLaren and his disciple Rob Bell approach the Bible from a highly suggestive and existential neo-orthodox view (at best) has now become a full blown postliberal cult of alleged “followers of Jesus” complete with their reimagined version of the social gospel.

But the Emergent Church needn’t have missed the mark so badly with their so-called “missional” emphasis. Christ had already sent men before them like Oswald Chambers who wrote in What Is A Missionary?:

A missionary is one sent by Jesus Christ as He was sent by God. The great dominant note is not the needs of men, but the command of Jesus… The ideal is to be true to Him, to carry out His enterprises.

Personal attachment to the Lord Jesus and His point of view is the one thing that must not be overlooked. In missionary enterprise the great danger is that God’s call is effaced by the needs of the people until human sympathy absolutely overwhelms the meaning of being sent by Jesus. The needs are so enormous, the conditions so perplexing, that every power of mind falters and fails.

We forget that the one great reason underneath all missionary enterprise is not first the elevation of the people, nor the education of the people, nor their needs; but first and foremost the command of Jesus Christ – “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations”…

The astute mind behind is the Mind of God, not human wisdom at all. We give credit to human wisdom when we should give credit to the Divine guidance of God through childlike people who were foolish enough to trust God’s wisdom and the supernatural equipment of God. (My Utmost For His Highest, 221,222)

Satan Has Set Up Shop In The Church

And the other major pillar of the ECoD, the wacky Word Faith Church, has actually been around for many years with its roots deeply in the Gnostic metaphysics of the Mind Science Cults. This group is actually a perfect fit for the arrogant and boastful who insist that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is actually about becoming prosperous, both healthy and wealthy, because after all we are “the King’s kids.” Of course the only place that this faulty philosophy of greed will fly is here in opulent America. Leaders like Kenneth Copeland and the fast rising Rod Parsley teach that God wants His Church to take dominion over the earth for Him by speaking “faith-filled words” that supposedly declare God’s intentions and then create new realties for Him.

Unfortunately when men like Joel Osteen, another following in the footsteps of Robert Schuller, in addition to teaching the blasphemy of Copeland, simply accentuate the positive to eliminate the negative they offer a false hope. How then will people who come to Christ in spite of their preaching understand this Biblical truth from Charles Spurgeon based on Hebrews 12:6-7:

For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

It is true He takes the rod into His hand and sometimes causes them to weep bitterly by reason of His chastisement. He applies the rod to their very soul and brings the iron into their inmost spirit; He makes them smart and cry and groan and sigh; but all He does is in pity,…

Just as the physician will not let men go without his medicine, because he pities them in their disease, so God will not let His children go without His chastisement, because He pities their sin. (At the Master’s Feet, October 26)

But such is the current sorry state of what is passing for the Church of Jesus Christ here in pagan so-called postmodern America. If someone can think of a nicer way to inform people who are not listening that the Devil has brazenly walked right into the House of our Lord and set up shop without a fight, well…you let me know and I’ll see what I can do. Until then all I know how to do is faithfully climb to the rooftop of the little “internet pulpit” my Master chose to give me and to continue to shout this at the top of my voice! And if you personally don’t wish to come to the front lines, this is fine by me, but I am not too proud to tell you though… I sure could use your support…