Leaders of Church and Synagogue the Same
The
leaders of Israel constantly usurped His authority by using their
authority to promote their own ideologies. After the time of the
apostles, as the Gentiles gained stronger influence in the fledgling
church, teachings were developed specifically designed to increase
authority over the believer. The Catholic Church solidified this
control, but rather than use this authority for anything good they ended
up in the same corruption as Israel's leaders. The protestant
reformation was supposed to return authority to God's word and allegedly
promoted the idea of the 'priesthood of the believer,' but all they
really did is replace the Catholic masters with a plurality of
denominations, all teaching that "each man should do what is right in
his own eyes," while continuing nearly all of the Catholic pagan
practices. In one form or another, the thought is the same - 'I don't
want to obey.'
I may be un-schooled, but I can spot a wolf a mile
away, even if he is wearing a custom-made, hand-tailored, three-piece,
$2,000.00 Armani suit made out of 100% virgin wool. He's still a wolf to
me no matter how dressed up he is. And these wolves are today gleefully
leading the flock to the precipice, all the while proclaiming "Christian
love" and "peace," attempting to silence those who shout warnings and
plead with the sheep to hear and see.
I read a sad and bizarre
news article one time where a woman in Texas was accused of murder for
hitting a man with a car. Apparently the man ended up going through her
windshield and getting pinned there with his legs broken and could not
extricate himself. The sad/strange part is that she drove home, put the
car in the garage while the man was still alive, and for three days
ignored his pleas for help. He finally bled to death (the authorities
think). The bizarre part is that she apparently kept going out to the
garage and "apologizing profusely" for her actions, all the while
refusing to render aid or call somebody who would.
My point in
bringing this up is that, as deeply disturbing as this incident is, the
Church frequently acts in a similar manner. They 'drive' in a reckless
fashion, not caring who gets hurt. Someone ends up broken and bleeding
right in their 'house,' but they think that as long as they 'act nice'
or 'apologize' then they are okay. They 'agree to disagree' while
continuing in hypocrisy, and just watch people die. Their words do not
match up to their actions. There is no possible way that thinking right
or saying the right things is really right if their actions do not line
up with those that God has commanded.
But don't listen to me;
listen to His Word. Me, I'm just your embarrassing relative from the
country, a buck-toothed hillbilly from the back woods standing in bare
feet with pants held up by rope holding a jug of moonshine. My words
aren't smooth, I trip over my frustration sometimes, and I'm generally
an embarrassment to more civilized company. So don't pay any attention
to me, but study the Father's Word. You will see that I, and others,
have not departed from the Way.
"So now, Isra'el, all that Adonai your God
asks from you is to fear Adonai your God, follow all his ways, love him
and serve Adonai your God with all your heart and all your being; to
obey, for your own good, the mitzvot (commandments) and regulations of
Adonai which I am giving you today." (Deuteronomy 10:12-13, CJB)
"There is one body and one Spirit, just as
when you were called you were called to one hope. And there is one Lord,
one trust, one immersion, and one God, the Father of all, who rules over
all, works through all and is in all." (Ephesians 4:4,5 CJB)
May the One Father continue to conform you into the image of the
Messiah
Bruce Scott Bertram