"For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the Faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the Head of all principality and power."Colossians 2:1-10 A Spiritual State of Emergency The Apostle Paul wants us to know that we are in a great conflict. We are in a wold war of worldviews. We are involved in a spiritual emergency. Since Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden, the world has been in a state of emergency. Satan has been running rampant in this world and the Lord has, from the time of Abraham, been mobilising His people in a great counter attack. The Curse of the Lukewarm Church
There is a great conflict that anyone who has the responsibility of being a shephard of souls has noticed. I do not think the people of Colossi would have liked to have been with those in Laodicea, who are renowned as the lukewarm church. The church that makes God sick. The one's who are neither hot, nor cold. They are lukewarm. Who wants lukewarm tea? Or lukewarm coffee? Or lukewarm soup? You want it either hot, or cold. Cold can be refreshing, hot can be refreshing, but lukewarm is just nauseating. Laodicean Lukewarmness The Lord despises lukewarm Christians. They make Him sick. The Word is not "I will spew you out of My mouth", which is what polite translations put. The actual word in Greek is vomit. "I will vomit you out of My mouth." That just sounded too gross to put into any Bible translation. So most say "spew you out." What it is saying is that Laodicean lukewarmness is nauseating and repulsive to God. The Riches of Wisdom When the Apostle Paul says he has this great conflict, he wants their hearts to be encouraged, "being knit together in love, attaining to all the riches of the full assurance of understanding to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." The Adventure of Discipleship For people to think: 'oh I gave my life to Jesus', 'I am a Christian', 'I am going to Heaven', 'I am saved', 'I have arrived!' That is such nonsense. Conversion is not arriving. That is just starting. That is just the beginning. That is like a baby being born. That is not the end of their life. That is the beginning of their life. Being born again is not the end. It is not the attainment. It is just the beginning of all the potential that this whole adventure of life has in store for us and we have a great adventure of Discipleship ahead. Do Not Settle For Less than God's Best God has so much more for us to learn, for us to experience, for us do for Him. We cannot rest on our laurels, frame our conversion certificate, baptism certificate, or confirmation certificate, as it may even be at some churches, and feel like they have arrived! We have not arrived until we are in Glory. Until then we are a conflict. We are in an emergency. We have a Great Commission. We have a Cultural Mandate. We have responsibilities and duties. We are in a war. There are treasures of wisdom and knowledge. You do not want to be satisfied and settled for one thing, and think that is all we need to do. Do Not Be Deceived The Apostle Paul says in verse 4: "Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words." There is a real danger of deception. There are so many hundreds of warnings in the Scripture against being deceived. Even the elect are in danger of being deceived. There are great warnings. Do not be deceived. Many warnings. Here is another warning, and for Christians who think: I cannot be deceived, I am a believer. Or what they say is so persuasive. That is the point, do not be deceived by persuasive words! There are many bad things that have great marketing, tremendous packaging, really look appetising and interesting. Just as that forbidden fruit looked to Eve. Note how the serpent spoke with such persuasive words. At the very beginning, the first deceived person thought like that. What makes us think that all temptations since will not be subtle and attractive? The Bait of Satan Fishermen put bait on their hook and there are a lot of ways in which we can be deceived. Satan uses Hollywood, musicians, politics, education, and marketing tools in order to get us to take the bait in which is hidden the hook. "Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words." This is not just written for someone else. This is relevant for you. You can be deceived. Watch out! Do not be deceived! Steadfast Faith Survives Storms "For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your Faith in Christ." We must not be like those who are up and down and around and about and backwards and forwards. Emotionally unstable, and spiritually erratic. We need to be those who are steadfast, rooted deep in our Faith. When you look at the storm we have just gone through here in Cape Town, I am amazed that we have any leaves on any of our trees. That so many trees are still standing. A few fell over, but that normally indicates shallow, or rotten roots, or maybe a rotted or dead tree. But a strong live tree has roots growing deep down. It is extraordinary that most of our trees have kept most of their leaves. That is amazing when you think of the high rate of winds. We had winds exceeding 100km an hour sweeping through, and yet most of the trees have most of their leaves. The bird's nests must have been well built, as they are still up there! The trees have not all fallen over, as they were firmly rooted. Firm Foundations We need to be firmly rooted. There are Christians who blow over with the smallest breeze of opposition, not even a hurricane force wind! We need to be steadfast in the Faith. Notice verse six: "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the Faith…" This is speaking about a tree's roots, or a house's foundations, which go deep down. The taller the building, the deeper the foundation laid. The taller the tree, the deeper the roots need to go. The Discerning Heart Seeks Knowledge "Rooted and built up in Him and established in the Faith, as you have been taught…" Teaching is part of it. The Great Commission involves teaching. We must keep learning. If you stop learning, you soon forget what you already know. "The discerning heart seeks knowledge", "continue in the things that you have been taught." We need to continually follow these Scriptural injunctions. In verse eight, which we have quoted many times, referring to secular schools and universities, this is true in many areas, including to us: "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the Head of all principality and power." Lord of All Jesus Christ is Lord. He is King of kings. He is Lord of lords. He is the Conqueror. He is the Lion of Judah. He is the Almighty. He is not only our Creator, He is the eternal Judge in whom is all the treasure of wisdom and knowledge. Freedom Day Yesterday, being the anniversary of the Freedom of all the slaves, it was celebrated by many Christians worldwide as Liberation Day, or Freedom Day. It was a Day of liberation and the fruit of a lifetime of labours, sacrifice, hard work and good strategy by William Wilberforce and many other Evangelicals. It brought about one of the most momentous victories in history, the freeing of all the slaves in the British Empire. Then the British Navy was mobilised to set free slaves on the high seas and they set many of thousands of captives free throughout the 19th century. We had a contribution in this book, Enforcing Abolition at Sea, from 1808 to 1898, the Royal Navy verses the Slave Traders, which is a wonderful legacy. Seldom in history has any nation put so much of its resources into something that was totally altruistic and had no direct benefit for themselves. This was the fruit of Evangelicals involved in politics. An Historic Watershed Event William Wilberforce was a man who devoted his entire life to bring slavery to an end. Many others who joined him in this terribly difficult fight against the well entrenched and well funded opposition. On 1 December, I thought many Christians would note this. I was at a College Graduation and I thought they might have even chosen the 1st December to draw attention to this. But there was not the slightest reference, in an almost 3 hour service, of this momentous historical event. This was rather disappointing. If we do not know our history, we can be easily deceived. Do Not Be Deceived This passage is warning us: Do not be deceived. Do not let the world cheat you through its empty deceit and through its traditions and through the basic principles of this world. We need to build our lives around Christ, not around the world. Well, I was stunned. I sometimes think that a lot of what we teach and what we do and a lot of materials we have here should be well known by people in the church. You just assume that everyone else knows these basic principles of history and the Scriptures. Yet there I was at a Christian College Graduation and there was very little that was distinctly Christian about it. There was one good Christian Hymn sung: Great is Thy Faithfulness. There were a few strange things sung, but nobody, in the many speeches that we heard yesterday, focused on Christ. Conformed to the World Nobody read, or quoted, from the Scriptures at this Christian University Graduation. They did not quote from one single Reformer, or from one single Christian Theologian. Who did they quote from? The biggest, longest, most repeated quotes were from Martin Luther King. He was a very controversial, political rabble-rouser who may have spoken peace at times, but riots frequently followed. MLK was a serial adulterer, pornographer, vile, foulmouthed person, who was friends with every kind of communist. The transcripts of FBI surveillance noted multiple prostitutes and MLK was a blasphemous man. He was plainly a crook, criminal and plagiariser. The fact that Christians can reverentially quote from this man time and again and honour him, reflects badly on the level of discernment. Misquotes At one point, the guest speaker said: As Dr. Martin Luther said in his greatest speech, I thought at last we will hear a quote from a real Reformer, a real Christian. "I have a dream, a dream that is deeply rooted in the American dream…" I knew that Dr. Martin Luther never said that. They must be talking about Martin Luther King! Later he mentioned Martin Luther King. This speaker was so confused he even had trouble discerning who the real Dr. Martin Luther was! Ignorance and Arrogance Just a while ago we were on the radio and quoting from Dr. Martin Luther, and someone smsed us at the studio, saying: "You know nothing about history, Martin Luther was a monk, he was not a doctor. You are thinking of Dr. Martin Luther King. He was the one who had a doctorate." Oh my! That such ignorance is evident in churches should not surprise us, because college professors and heads of Christian colleges are apparently ignorant about the Reformer who laid the foundations for all Bible-Believing Evangelical churches worldwide. That all they can think of is some secular humanist idol and mouth his nonsense! Invictus That was not the worst. One of the most prominent people, in the first speech, quoted from Clint Eastwood's Invictus, an atheistic anti-God quote. He gave this quote as his key message to the graduating students, which included Theologians: "You are the captain of your faith, you are the master of your soul…!" Humanistic Arrogance That is not true! Not if you are a Christian. You do not believe that. Jesus should be the Captain of our Faith and the Master of our soul. The full quote which the Nelson Mandela character is reputed to have said, according to the Invictus film, quoting from this anti-Christian, anti-God humanistic poem, which is the title of the film: "to whatever gods there are, I declare, I am the Captain of my fate, I am the master of my soul!" This was repeated a couple of times with soaring music, even at the very conclusion of the film. Like a crescendo that climaxed the main message in the film, pounded home again. Deceived By the World Obviously this man, although he had no Scripture in his speech, or any Christian authority to quote from, he chose to quote from Invictus and apply a blatantly rebellious, anti-God message directly to the graduation students of a Christian college. Now what we have just read here is: "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ." That is exactly what had just been done. "Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words." 1 Colossians. That was what had just been done at this College graduation. They were persuaded and obviously more impacted by the world, more conformed to the world than transformed by the Word of God. Voltaire at a Christian Graduation It got worse, one of them quoted from Voltaire - positively! Voltaire was a secular humanist philosopher, whose writings are credited as the inspiration for the French Revolution, which was about the most anti-Christian Revolution in the history of the world, up to that date. The French Revolution was the prototype on which the Soviet Revolution was built. A Christian leader quoted from Voltaire. Not Blaise Pascal, not from any of the great Christian philosophers. No quotes from C.S. Lewis. None from Dr. R.C. Sproul. None from Francis Schaefer. But from Voltaire! A Secular Mindset Not only that, but throughout the whole presentation of the guest speaker, he did not manage to quote any Scripture, but his main message was that we must live in the present, we must be conscious of the past and be mindful of the future. That is all very well, but you could hear that in a secular university. His examples of the things we must deal with were injustice, violence, inequality, AIDS and apartheid. What is distinctively Christian about this list? Ghandi at a Christian Graduation One of the top student Valedictorians quoted from Mahatma Gandhi, in the most positive way. You would have been given the impression that Mahatma Gandhi was a dedicated, Bible-Believing, born again, Spirit filled Christian the way this student was quoting from him. Contrived Controversy At one point he said: "I know this is a very thorny, difficult, and very controversial point, but we need to ask ourselves: While abortion is legal, is it necessarily moral?" What was so controversial about that? Sounds to me like, how can it be moral and right? Was this not a Christian College? He said another extremely thorny, difficult issue, and buffered it around with how we do not want to judge and reflect badly on people, but while homosexual marriage is legal, is it necessarily morally right? Dogmatic Assertions Now those were apparently thorny, but what was not a thorny issue, was that the farmers in De Doorns are oppressing their workers and are not paying them "a living wage". Ignoring the medical care, the housing, the food, and all the other benefits they are given free. As though the farmers do not give all sorts of other benefits to their workers as well. So, it is apparently not controversial to condemn the farmers, but it is highly controversial to say whether it is right for a mother to kill her baby! Interesting! When Secular University Graduates are More Christian I thought back to a University of Cape Town Graduation I went to in the late 1970s. I remember exactly what the speech was. It was based on Micah 6:8. I will never forget it! "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" He made his three points on the basis of: You are to do justly, you are to love mercy and you are to walk humbly with your God. This was the main speaker at a University of Cape Town secular humanist university graduation service in the great Jamieson Hall at UCT. Very much more Scriptural. I thought, why is it that a secular university graduation could have more Scripture and be more Christian and God-honouring than a Christian College? If a secular university speaker could use Scripture to give a good three point presentation and expound that, why could a minister of the Gospel who was speaking at a Christian University not think of a Scriptural quote, or something from the life of Jesus, or from the lips of Jesus, or anything from any of the Reformers, Martyrs, Missionaries and Philosophers of the Church. Racial Quotas Recommended The best thing he could come out with was a Martin Luther King quote. He highly recommended and positively, many, many times, said how he praised God for Black Economic Empowerment. BEE is good, it is Scriptural, it is great, wonderful, it is important. It is what we need to do. He apparently thinks racism and racial quotas, with their unjust weights and measures, is good. Not having one law for you and for the alien in your midsts. He could reject Numbers 15:15, that you are only to have one Law for you and for the stranger and the alien in your midst. That he could say we should have racial quotas and racial discrimination is fine! Conformed to the World All I heard from the different speakers, faculty, guest speakers, students and others, as well as Board of Management, reinforced stereotypes, repeated well-worn socialist mantras, paid tribute to modern political idols, stringing together stock phrases, predictable, unimaginative jargon and repetition and giving reverence to Martin Luther King, Invictus, Nelson Mandela, Voltaire and Mahatma Gandhi. Not to any of the Church Fathers. Why the Church is in the Mess it is? Listening very carefully I had just seen a shocking example of why our churches are in the mess they are. If this is what Christian colleges are producing, no wonder so many in the pulpits are cowardly, compromising, worldly, lukewarm, half-hearted, weak, yellow-bellied wimps. Church of Tares I was then sent a link to a YouTube documentary, Church of Tares on what is going on in emergent churches today. It was deeply disturbing and ties in together with what this passage is warning us about. What Rick Warren is plainly teaching both in his book, The Purpose Driven Life and in his videos and meetings, is the gospel of "Believe and Receive". In fact he says it that clearly, he even says, pray this prayer (without a mention of the Cross, the Blood of Christ, our sinfulness, the Law of God, confessing, repenting, or converting). It is just God I want to know what Your plan is for my life. Help me to obtain my potential. Then he says: if you have said that prayer sincerely, welcome to the family of God! The Only Saviour is the Lord Jesus Christ "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him." Colossians 2:6. There are many people that say today that you can accept Jesus as a Saviour without submitting to Him as Lord. I have heard this many times and many different places recently, and this is what we had reflected in this college graduation. It is very disturbing that anyone could consider separating Salvation from the Lord, Jesus Christ. It betrays an inadequate understanding of the problem of sin, of the Holy nature of God, who is a God of wrath, who hates evil. It betrays a misunderstanding of Christ's Mission on earth. He did not die to make it easy for us to sin, to get away with it. It betrays a misunderstanding of our purpose on earth and our calling as Christians. Would it have been sufficient for Moses to have proclaimed to the Hebrews while they were slaves in Egypt, "you are free". Just accept that in Yaweh you have perfect freedom, even while chained, whipped, and enslaved in Egypt? Would anything less than deliverance from Egypt have been good enough? Would anything that left them under the bondage of the whip of Pharaoh have been considered deliverance and freedom? Exodus Example Exodus gives us the premier Old Testament picture of Salvation. They were slaves in Egypt like we are slaves of sin today. They were brought out by God's mighty hand, through the Red Sea, symbolising baptism. They were provided for in the wilderness, until they crossed over the Jordan into the Promised Land. Everyone agrees, this is a picture of Salvation as Corinthians tells us. These were written as our examples. Freedom God's eternal purposes required that the people of Israel survive the Angel of death on the first Passover, leave Egypt, cross through the Red Sea and be established as a free people, worshiping God in the Promise land. That is what was necessary for the Exodus to be a true deliverance. Just proclaiming to slaves in Egypt, you are spiritually free while you continue to serve Egypt's gods and masters under their whip, that is not deliverance! When we sound like the world, look like the world, dress like the world, listen to the world's music, enjoy the world's kind of entertainment, behave like the world, talk like the world, think like the world, but we think we are Christians! That is not true Christianity! That is as mindless and meaningless as if all the Hebrews stayed slaves in Egypt, but were somehow spiritually free, in their hearts… in some way… maybe! The Seriousness of Sin Sin is serious. We are far too tolerant of sin. Sin is far more defiling than dirt. When a person gets dirty, you want to clean yourself. Sin is more dangerous than an unexploded bomb. Which of us want to play with an unexploded bomb, or a mine? I have seen unexploded bombs and mines, mainly in Angola, Mozambique and Sudan, near schools, churches and Mission bases. Thorn bushes have been put around them so that people will avoid them and walls of dirt have been built around them just in case they go off. Unexploded bombs and mines are not something you would want to play with. Sin is far more dangerous that that. It is more life threatening than deadly disease. AIDS I remember walking around bare foot in prison in Zambia, where you knew many of these people were dying from AIDS. We were walking with cut, bleeding feet in areas where people spit, amongst filth and dirt. It was a disease factory. With my hyperactive imagination, and phobia of dirt, it was traumatic to just think of all the diseases I was threatened by. Sin is worse than any deadly disease you can think of. The biggest problem is the AIDS we have in the church today, it is an Acquired Integrity Deficiency Syndrome. Sin and Sins God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. We have two major problems. One is sin and the other is sins. I need forgiveness for my actions, my sins. I need to be saved from the guilt of my sin for what I have done. I also need deliverance from my nature, sin. Sins are actions. Sin is nature. It is not enough to be forgiven the penalty of my actions. I need to be delivered from sin, my nature, the power of sin, from what I am. Past, Present and Future The Scripture proclaims a full Salvation that is past, present and future. We were saved. We are being saved. We will be saved. All those aspects are in the Bible. If you are a Christian then you have been saved from the penalty of sin. You have been saved from the penalty of your actions. You are fully forgiven. If you are Christian, you are being saved from the power of sin. Your nature is being transformed. You are being daily freed. If you are Christian, you will be saved from the presence of sin. In Heaven you will be eternally delivered from even the presence of sin. The words we use for this is Justification, Sanctification and Glorification. Justification: The Son of God died for me, on my behalf for my forgiveness, to deal with my guilt. Justification is a legal word: Not guilty! Set free. Just as if I had never sinned. This deals with the penalty of sin. Justification is the past tense of Salvation. Sanctification: Jesus Christ lives instead of me, for my sanctification. This is the present continuous aspect of our Salvation. This can be called sanctification, dealing with the power of sin. Glorification: One day Christ will return to this world in glory and in great power. He will raise the living and the dead. In our new resurrection bodies we will be freed even from the presence and the temptation of sin. This is the future tense of our Salvation called Glorification. Full Salvation The Blood of Christ deals with what we have done. It cleanses us from our sins. The Cross of Christ deals with what you are, your capacity for sin. The return of Christ deals with the very implications and temptations of sin. In a real sense we can speak of "I have been saved. I am being saved. I will be saved." We have been saved in the penalty of sin. We are being saved from the power of sin. We one day will be saved from the presence of sin. In the Cross, we have forgiveness, because without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. A Prophetic Warning This is what is so disturbing, we see today many churches today preaching a Salvation that has no blood. In a prophetic warning over a century ago, the Founder of the Salvation Army, General Booth said: "A time will come when churches will preach a Saviour without a Cross, Salvation without Repentance, Heaven without hell and Christianity without holiness." Has that time not come? Beware Lest Anyone Deceive You We have some hard hearts. We have a lot of deceitfulness going on. The Scripture says: "Beware… lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words." These have been very well marketed. The Purpose Driven Life, the sinner-friendly Willow Creek, church growth syndrome, the whole mentality of what the emergent church is built around - how to make you feel comfortable. This has been pointed out in this Church of Tares exposé. You will not be likely to be convicted of sin in most services run by Rick Warren. Minimising the Seriousness of Sin When it was revealed, in a survey of Bill Hybels mega church, Willowcreek, something in the region of 40% of their members were divorced and 68% were involved in some kind of sexual sin, his response was not a message of Repentance, but: "we are hurting people and God understands..." I am sure He does understand and that is why He condemns. Because He understands the sinfulness of our hearts and the way we can justify our sin and deceive ourselves. Victory Over Sin In the Cross, we have blood for forgiveness. We have death for the destruction of sin. The Son of God came for this very reason, to destroy the works of the devil. In the Cross, we have victory to conquer satan. At the Cross Christ conquered sin, death, hell and the grave. In the Cross we have provision for holiness. Without holiness no one will see the Lord. In the Cross we have a door to Eternal life. The gate to Heaven is narrow and that gate is a Cross. We cannot get to Heaven without following Jesus through the Cross. The Cross is a requirement for discipleship. Jesus said to His disciples: If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his Cross and follow Me. The Cross is part of our Gospel message. You are not hearing this in this marketed, sinner-friendly message. The Way Back to God There is a way back to God from the dark path of sin. There is a door that is open and you may go in. Calvary's Cross is where you begin when you come as a sinner to Jesus. I know a fount where sin is washed away, I know a place where night is turned to day. Burdens are lifted, blind eyes are made to see. There is a wonder working power in the Blood of Calvary. Atonement Our Salvation depends on Christ's Atonement, not upon our attainment. It is Faith in the fact of Christ's finished work on Calvary. It is not based on my temporary feelings, my emotions, my feeble attempts. The precious Blood of Christ purifies our conscience. It redeems us. It sets us free. It cleanses us from our sins. It obtains forgiveness and freedom. It sanctifies us. It gives us complete freedom to be in the presence of God and wins us the victory. Do Not Settle For Less It is not good enough for us to settle on this half pseudo-salvation that they are offering us. Aim for full Salvation in Christ. We must not settle for anything less than true discipleship. As the Scripture says: in Him are hidden all the treasures of the wisdom and knowledge of God, the fullness of the Godhead bodily. We are called to go so much further. We must be rooted and built up and established in the Faith as we are taught. Abounding in thanksgiving. There must be far more fruit, success, depth and fruitfulness in our lives. We cannot be satisfied with this worldliness masquerading as Christianity. The World is Changing the Church Effectively what has happened in the church growth movement, the Saddleback, Willowcreek sinner-friendly emergents - they are not so much Evangelising the world as they are making the church worldly. Take Up Your Cross We are called to committed discipleship, following Jesus' example, because he is the Way. We are called to consistent obedience, obeying Christ's teaching. For He is the Truth. We are called to constant fellowship abiding in Christ's love, because He is the Life. Jesus is the Way the Truth and the Life. I need to follow His example, obey His teaching, and abide in His love. Nothing less is real Christianity. He breaks the power of cancelled sin. He sets the prisoner free. His Blood can make the foulest clean. His blood availed for me. "For the grace of God that brings Salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly and righteously, godly in this present age, looking for the blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ who has come Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works." That is what we are called to. Jesus is Lord over all areas of life and we must apply His Lordship to every area of life. We dare not be satisfied with anything less than God's best. Reformation Today This is what the Reformation is pointing to. Catholicism offered Salvation in sin. You continue to sin, but you go to confession and mass and your slate is cleaned until next week when you come back again. You are saved in sin. The Reformation taught Salvation from sin. From the power of sin. Without true Repentance and without daily Discipleship and evidence of a changed life we are not saved at all. The Protestant Reformation proclaimed a full Salvation from sin. We need Reformation today! If the College graduation I went to, or the messages proclaimed by Rick Warren and Bill Hybels these days, are any reflection on what is going on in churches today, then we desperately need serious Biblical Reformation. We need a new 95 Theses to be nailed up on our church doors, or social media forums, whatever the appropriate method. We need to be calling people back to the Bible. "The fullness of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge which is hidden in Christ." Dr. Peter Hammond Livingstone Fellowship P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725 Cape Town South Africa Tel: 021-689-4480 Email: [email protected] Website: www.ReformationSA.org Website: www.Reform500.org See also: 95 Theses for Reformation Today
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