Today is Part 2 of What’s Wrong With Christianity. As I said in Part 1, these messages are not asking what’s wrong with Christianity. Instead, they are describing what’s wrong with Christianity from the viewpoint of the Body of Christ.
I’m going to repeat something that I said in the first message. Everything I’m going to talk about is predicated on one thing: that you believe what this book says. And remember, I held up my Bible? If you don’t believe what the Bible says, then you are not going to agree with these messages.
And that’s okay with me. I’m past being concerned about people receiving what I say. My single responsibility is to God. As long as I please My Father, I’m good. You see, as a teacher of the Gospel, my charge is to teach you the truth. What you do with the truth – well, you will either hear it and accept it or you won’t. My earnest prayer is that you will.
In the first message, we looked at several passages that shows the Bible teaching absolutes, teaching standards by which Christians are to live, and teaching living a holy lifestyle.
Absolutes is what’s wrong with Christianity – for most Christians. Please turn to Hebrews 11:6. “But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
There is only one way, one way, to please God and that is with faith. Not how much you give in the offering plate. Faith is the only thing that pleases God and when He sees faith, He rewards it. There are many in the Church who would disagree with this.
We also looked at James 1:13. “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.”
The phrase “neither tempteth he any man” refers to what was just said. God doesn’t tempt us with evil. If you’re in a car accident, it’s not God trying to teach you a lesson. But that is one of the strongest teachings in the Church today. And it’s not true! This is one of the absolutes that the Bible teaches and yet, many in the Church disagree with it!
The second thing that we looked at as being wrong with Christianity was Christianity teaches that the Bible IS THE ONLY STANDARD by which all of us are to live.
One of the verses we looked at was Psalm 119:128. “Therefore, I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right, and I hate every false way.” When God speaks, when the Bible speaks, whatever the topic, the Bible is right. Whatever the Bible calls sin is sin and it doesn’t matter what society says or how you feel about it.
The third and last thing we looked at was holiness. For most Christians, living a holy lifestyle is unobtainable and that makes it one of the things that’s wrong with Christianity. But the Bible is very clear on this point. Turn to I Peter 1 and we’re going to read verses 13 through 16 again.\
(13) Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
(14) As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
(15) But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation.
(16) Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
Again, holiness is not what you do. Holiness is who you are as a child of God. But, there are too many in the Church who really don’t care about living a holy lifestyle. Christianity has a set expectations that they don’t want to follow. And for those who continue to pursue unholy living without repenting, they could spend an eternity in the lake of fire.
Now, we’re going to look at some other things that are wrong with Christianity. Turn to Jeremiah 17. I’m going to read verses five through eight from the Amplified Bible. Follow along with me. When I read this ladies and gentlemen, it was “Wow!” Sometimes I don’t think we really appreciate what the Bible is telling us.
(5) Thus says the Lord: Cursed [with great evil] is the strong man who trusts in and relies on the frail man, making weak [human] flesh his arm and whose mind and heart turn aside from the Lord.
The strong man, ladies and gentlemen, is us, those of us who are born again with the life and nature of God living in us. We are the strong man! And God says we curse ourselves when we put our trust in the frail man – anything other than God.
When you’re a king, when you’re a priest, you call the shots. You are the strong man. A king does not go to his subjects and asks for help. The king is the one who helps his subjects. We want to be a king or priest the way the world defines it. That’s ungodly! God’s expectation of us as kings – we will go out and bring those who are lost into His kingdom! That’s why we have the title, the authority.
Very few of us in the Body of Christ have God’s heart. We see this world as providing things for us.
(6) For he shall be like a shrub or a person naked and destitute in the desert; and he shall not see any good come, but shall dwell in the parched places in the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.
This is the strong man who has put all his trust in the frail man.
(7) [Most] blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in, and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is.
(8) For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters that spreads out its roots by the river; and it shall not see and fear when heat comes; but its leaf shall be green. It shall not be anxious and full of care in the year of drought, nor shall it cease yielding fruit.
We know Philippians 4:19 says “For my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Turn to John 5. We’re going to read verses 19 and 30.
(19) Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but when he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
(30) I can of mine own self do nothing; as I hear, I judge and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
Christianity teaches, ladies and gentlemen, total dependence upon the Lord. Most of the Body of Christ is not at this place. Do you know where the Body of Christ’s dependency is? If you go to this church, you should know better. But for most of the Body of Christ, there dependency is on the tithe because if I give my tithe, God is going to bless me.
When I was growing up, my Mom or Dad would give me a nickel or a dime to put into the offering plate. Why? Because I didn’t have anything. I was totally dependent on them. Hello! Don’t you think God does the same thing, if He can trust you with it? Oops! Oops! There a lot of folks in the Body of Christ that God cannot trust with money.
If a person is truly dependent upon God, then having his needs met will never be an issue. God has already promised to supply them. What He looks for are people whose needs are met and who are willing to give out of what’s leftover.
The next thing wrong with Christianity – we’re going to begin in John 3. We’re going to read verses 14-18.
(14) And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
(15) That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
(16) For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
(17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world trough him might be saved.
(18) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned (going to hell) already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
If you don’t believe that Jesus is the only way to the Father, and you reject Him, then hell is waiting for you. Do you realize ladies and gentlemen, that what I am teaching you would get me kicked out of most of the churches in this country? They don’t want to hear what I’m saying. They want their ears tickled. Tell us what we want to hear and we will give you our money.
John 14. Look at verse 6. It says “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth the the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
What’s wrong with Christianity ladies and gentlemen? Christianity teaches that Jesus is the only way to eternal life.
Now look at Genesis 6:5. Now you may be thinking, Bro. Barry, what does Genesis 6:5 have to do with Christianity? Trust me. You’ll see. “And God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
So we see that prior to the flood, every thought, every imagination of man was evil continually. It wouldn’t be too far off to say man’s thoughts were evil 24/7.
Now look at 2 Corinthians 10. We’re going to read verses 3 and 5.
(3) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
(5) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
What this tells us is that in Genesis, you had men and women whose every thought in their hearts was evil continually. Here in 2 Corinthians 10, it tells us that we have the capability of taking every single thought that does not agree with God’s Word and bring it into subjection. The actual word, and I know people don’t like to hear this word, is slavery. We have the ability of making every thought a slave to the thoughts of God.
Christianity teaches the world’s way of thinking is ungodly.
We’re going to see this clearly in I John 2 and this will be our last passage. We’re going to read verses 15 through 17.
(15) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world: If any man love the world (Now pay attention to this.), the love of the Father is not in him.
Do you see this ladies and gentlemen? The Bible says if you love the world, if you agree with its ways, if you agree with the way it thinks, then you do not love your Heavenly Father. Let that sink in please. Why is this so, so important? Let’s pick it up with verse 16.
(16) For all that is in the world (He’s about to tell us what’s in the world. Pay close attention.), the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
The lusts of the flesh, in a nutshell, leads to unbridled immorality. Nothing is off limits. The lust of the eyes, again in a nutshell, is always looking for more. Proverbs 27:20 says the eyes of man are never satisfied. The pride of life – it’s all about what I have done, what I have accomplished. I didn’t need God. Now look at the sobering thought in verse 17.
(17) And the world passeth away, and the lusts thereof; but he that doeth the will of God (he that loves the Father) abideth for ever.
We have looked at three more things that many Christians find wrong with the teachings of Christianity.
? Christianity teaches total dependence upon the Lord.
? Christianity teaches that Jesus is the only way to eternal life.
? Christianity teaches that the world’s way of thinking is ungodly.
Ladies and gentlemen, until we come into full agreement with what Christianity teaches, we will never walk in the fullness of the promises that God has given to us as His children. In fact, our lives will continue to be dominated by the enemy of the soul, who is using our emotions to keep us from fully embracing the truth contained in the Bible.
Ladies and gentlemen, we must be like Jesus. Our wills must be wholly wrapped up in the Father’s will. And when that happens, true Christianity will not be wrong for us. Amen!
