Aug 23, 2018
3 min read
Church Greed
“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.” 1 Timothy 1:12-13 (NKJV).
Paul was thankful for the grace that was bestowed upon him by God in allowing him to see Jesus and know the truth. Paul suffered for the truth and it is our great benefit that he did. Paul set forth to run his race of faith and to gather as many souls to Christ as possible in his lifetime with the opportunities that God permitted him and people believed, and followed.
Unfortunately the church that sprang up from the efforts of the Apostle of Christ was soon corrupted and truth to tell was corrupted while they were still alive as John attests to. Men have been given free will and so many of those men will seek to lift themselves up by whatever means necessary in order to obtain the life, admiration of others and monetary rewards that they feel are their due. In all the years since our Lord has died on the cross nothing has changed and it has led to a falling away from the church and a falling away from faith.
People are educated now and want scientific answers to their questions. Some use this as an excuse to forgo their faith and reject the gospel of Jesus. People don’t have the superstitions that they once did and can see clearly that those of previous generations were duped by clever people wanting to take advantage of them. People can look at the televangelists and see slimy salesmen just doing all that they can to get you to open your wallet and give your hard earned money to them. The church is corrupt. The majority of pastors are thieves and liars and don’t even believe what they are selling as is evident in the lives that they are leading. Faith and falling and Satan is winning to many, just too many souls are perishing because of this decline in belief.
Just because the majority is choosing to live life now and seek happiness and to enjoy everything that this world has to offer while forgoing faith, church and the hope of salvation does not mean that you should. Heaven is real and so is hell which means that you will end up in one of those places. That is the truth. Just because the churches have become corrupt and are run by so many corrupt preachers does not mean that the truth of heaven has gone away or the truth of hell.
So, what is the answer? The good book is the answer for today. The Holy Bible KJV or the NKJV is the answer. Your home is your sanctuary and since you can’t trust those T.V. evangelists or the preachers of the megachurches or maybe even the pastors of the local churches then trust yourself and be willing to pick up the bible and read it. Get to know what God wants from you, what Jesus wants from you and get to know what sin is and what sin isn’t. Don’t make excuses and give up on your faith because you see the greed in the church. That is man’s will to use God for his gain and believe me they will be judged for doing so and will pay the price. But don’t allow the corruption of another to drag you along with them into the pits of hell. Take control of your own life and give that life to God. Do what is right and come to know the Lord. You don’t need to go to a church to do so. Read your bible and trust in the power of prayer. Learn to ask God for a pure heart, a forgiving heart and a heart full of the truth of the Lord. When the truth of God is in your heart you will know if a pastor is righteous or not and will easily be able to find a church that is grounded in faith and will easily be able to discern if a pastor is off in his message and is geared toward greed or is skewing the gospel and will be quick to leave that church or you can just keep your relationship with God simple and worship in your home with your family. It is up to you to choose how you wish to pursue running the race and fighting the good fight.
Don’t take the sacrifice of Jesus for granted. Trust in His work and in the mercy of God.
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 (NKJV).
LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN
