The current state of the church is of grave concern as the church is blighted by prolific heart disease, which in turn is causing sin to abound. I am not speaking of physical sickness but spiritual heart disease.
Many churches today, be it the Anglican Church, Roman Catholic Church, Methodist, United Reformed Church, and the Baptist Union of Great Britain, make decisions through emotion and political correctness instead of applying Biblical truth.
The Bible outlines how the LORD searches the heart and examines a person’s mind to reward each one according to their conduct.
“I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”
Jeremiah 17:10 (NIV)
We read in Genesis that God saw the wickedness of man was great amongst the earth and that the imaginations of their thoughts and hearts were continually evil.[1] Now, while the context of the passage in Genesis 6 pertains to why God floods the earth and the fallen angels, this does not negate the reality that men’s hearts are continuously evil. Furthermore, scripture informs us that the condition of the final generation before Jesus’ return is worse than previous generations. Hence, the judgment is like nothing that has been.
Concerning the heart, we read that the LORD blesses the person who trusts in the LORD whose confidence is in God[2] and not in the flesh. The one who puts their trust in mere flesh and turns away from the LORD is cursed.[3] The LORD states further that the heart is deceitful above all things.[4] We also read in Psalm 14:1 and again in Psalm 53:1 that the fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
Scripture is clear that man’s heart has been corrupted by sin, hence why God gives a person a heart transplant, supernaturally speaking, when they become a believer and surrender their life to Him and accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. God removes our sinful heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh so God’s righteous instructions can manifest within the new heart.
However, while a believer is given a heart of flesh when the LORD replaces the heart of stone, a person must then daily resist the devil and submit to God as they take captive their thoughts and bring them into submission to God’s word. Why is this important? Well, the heart, according to scripture, is the seat of wisdom, hence why God writes His wisdom–loving instructions upon them.
My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, Proverbs 3:1 (NIV)
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Ezekiel 36:26-27 (NIV)
I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. 20 Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. Ezekiel 11:19-20 (NIV)
The scriptures speak of a heart that is the seat of wisdom, a place where God’s word resides due to a person’s desire to seek God’s wisdom and to walk in it. A person who does this fears God and thus seeks His wisdom and therefore, as they walk in obedience they worship God. Such a person walks humbly before the LORD. Praise God this will be the condition in eternity as the hearts if believers will be circumcised having the instructions of God written upon them, thus ensuring they do not sin, but worship God throughout eternity, as God completes the good work He started in us.
However, today, many believers, ministers and bishops have no fear of God and have forsaken His wisdom. Consequently, the wisdom of God is not found in their heart. Instead, they have the wisdom of a perverse generation/world inscribed upon their hearts. They are driven by emotion, ideals and evil inclinations that stand in defiance of the living God. Thus, such people have a sick heart. One that, if not dealt with, will be severely judged by God.
It is because of this sickness of heart that the church rejects the wisdom of God and accepts sin into the church, therefore their worship is an abomination before God – true worship is doing what God instructs. However, sadly denominations birthed out of the fervour of the reformation and the zeal for the truth of God’s word now embrace heretical doctrines of demons. Such churches now allow the ordination of homosexuals. They allow same-sex marriages to take place in the house of God.
The Baptist Union of Great Britain, while rightly not allowing homosexuals to be ordained,[5] permit churches within the union to conduct same-sex marriages because each church is merely in union.[6] However, when a church goes against scripture, it should be asked to repent and desist from such sinful behaviour, and if not, it should be put out of fellowship. Furthermore, any minister who permits such lawless behaviour should be asked to repent and, if not, have their credentials revoked.
West Lane Baptist Church, Haworth, permits same-sex marriages. The then minister Chris Upton, who is now sadly the national lead for Waterways Chaplaincy, which seeks to proclaim the gospel, reflects on how the church accepted same-sex marriages states, “Eventually we decided that, albeit a fudge, we would take the vote and then see what the membership thought the ‘mind of Christ’ was saying to us.”
Consequently, the vote by the members to register for same-sex marriages reveals the condition of their heart and the lack of spiritual discernment. However, how can this be the will of God when He changes not? Simple, it was not! It was the will of the people whose hearts are lawless and do not worship the Living God. Instead, they worship a foreign god made in their image. Personally, I would not remain in such a church. But to say that the people sought the mind of Christ and thus why they registered to conduct same-sex marriages is blasphemous!
The above case is an example of the state of the church, but it is not the only Baptist church embracing the LGBTQ+ agenda; similarly, Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church allows same-sex weddings.[7] A further example is found in the inclusive network of churches now numbering just under 900 churches in the UK that embrace the LGBTQ+[8] doctrine of demons; such churches are no longer Christian but promoting the gospel of the antichrist and not the risen Christ who died for sin. Likewise, Affirm, a grassroots movement amongst Baptists in the UK, seeks to campaign for inclusivity within Baptist churches.[9]
However, the Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries in the US take things to a different level, as they have a seminary for LGBTQ+ ministers,[10] one such minister’s is in a polyamorous relationship and sees no problem with this.[11] Such profanity and blatant lawless acts should not shock as Lutheran churches like the United Reform, Methodists, and other denominations allow drag queens to take services, while others hold services to repent how the church has treated the LGBTQ+ community.
The above examples and references reveal the diseased heart of many churches, Christians and ministers who, through embracing political correctness and allowing emotive rationality, have turned away from the true Gospel of Christ and embraced the doctrines of demons. Consequently, such churches fail to challenge sin and thus allow people to go to the lake of fire, as they prevent a person from repenting and finding freedom in Christ. Instead, such churches allow people to be shackled to sin.
Furthermore, such Christians, churches and ministers have no fear of God. They do not know the scriptures, but they accept the lies and doctrines of men and demons as they base their arguments on philosophical interpretations instead of the scriptures themselves.
Consequently, the church is ripe for judgment. Repentance is required! However, repentance will not stop the judgment; things have gone too far, but it will reduce the severity and, more importantly, ensure the eternal state of the person’s soul and destiny. Yes, the church is inclusive. It must be for the gospel of Jesus is inclusive; however, to be a Christian requires us to submit to God and resist the devil.[12] To take captive our thoughts and bring them into submission to the word of God.[13]
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:1-2 (KJV)
It is as we submit our lives to the word of God that we worship God. Thus, in doing so we offer our lives as a living sacrifice. True worship is walking in obedience to God’s word, as we bring our thoughts into submission to the word of God, consequently, we submit to God and resist the devil. However, if we do not bring our thoughts into submission to the word of God but do what we feel is right in our own eye, we resist God and submit to the devil. Accordingly, we do not worship God but the devil, for worship is found in obedience. True worship of God is obedience, it always has be and will be, worship of the devil is lawlessness – disobedience to the one true God.
The question is, are we submitting to God and therefore worshipping Him? Do we fear God and therefore seek His wisdom, or do we seek the appraisal of men and thus reject God and do not bring Him the worship He deserves? Remember, the people of God are to walk in obedience to God’s word, for this is our reasonable service. What worship are you offering to God and to whom are you worshipping?
I urge you to audit your life. Is it built on the word of God – the firm foundations of Messiah and His word or is it built on philosophy and theology of men?
Judgment is coming the trumpets sound. Judgment is coming the trumpets sound, but the people sleep. Consequently, the Lord will come, and destruction will fall. For the LORD will not allow His Holy name to be tarnished amongst the nations. The LORD will judge the condition of each person’s heart as He searches the hearts and minds of each individual and judge accordingly.
Time is short. The question is, what is the condition of your heart? Do you seek the wisdom of God or the wisdom of men? I pray you will seek the LORD for His guidance and allow the Holy Spirit to speak and guide you, but remember, the Holy Spirit will NEVER contradict the written word of God!
I pray you will seek the LORD while He can be found.
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[1] Genesis 6:5 (NIV) The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.
[2] Jeremiah 17:7 (NIV) “But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.
[3] Jeremiah 17:5 (NIV) “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the LORD.
[4] Jeremiah 17:9 (NIV) The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
[5] The Christian Institute. (March 22, 2024) Baptist Union holds to one man, one woman marriage for ministers. Online, available from https://www.christian.org.uk/news/baptist-union-holds-to-one-man-one-woman-marriage-for-ministers/
[6] https://www.baptist.org.uk/Articles/463892/Responding_to_the.aspx
[7] https://www.bloomsbury.org.uk/a-bloomsbury-timeline-of-lgbtq-inclusion/
[8] https://www.inclusive-church.org/
[9] https://www.affirm.org.uk/
[11] Lewis Eggleston. (September 29, 2022) ELM Blog: What does a Queer Lutheran Family look like? by Anonymous. Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, available from https://www.elm.org/2022/09/29/elm-blog-what-does-a-queer-lutheran-family-look-like-by-anonymous/
[12] James 4:7
[13] 2 Corinthians 10:5
