Judgment Starts with the House of God-Intro

It is time for Let’s Get Real. It is time for some meat, not milk. It is time to deal with sin in the camp. It is time to address what all is taking place in the American Church, especially the Charismatic Movement, but also the entire body of Christ in America. There so much to cover, this will be a series of articles, and I will be posting YouTube videos addressing this topic.

If I have accomplished what I am being called to do, the pot should be stirred up well, and there will be Christians from All Camps that will be disturbed by what I have say (that lines up with the Word) and either repent or reveal their true colors-that they love their false teachers, godless leaders, pastors with a form of religion and no power. Hang on tight!

The Solution

Before I go any further in this article I want to jump to what will be the conclusion, the solution regarding the American Church Epidemic. The fulfilling of the Great Commission, winning individuals to Christ and making disciples is the solution. The call to Repentance. The call to holiness. Souls and becoming the spotless Bride is all that matters, not what happens to the ‘American Church’. The church systems will collapse but the remnant will rise up, and there will be more entering into heaven if the focus is souls.

God’s Judgment of the American Church

Notice, God has been judging His people since the beginning. God has been refining His people since the beginning of time. So, it is not a new thing that God would be exposing and judging the American Church. Instead the exposure, the heat, has become much hotter and is clearly revealing evil within the American Church. Again, the Holy of Spirit has not started a new work of exposing and judging. But it has intensified, and because there has not been repentance there is the exposing and ‘taking down’ of unrepentant Christian leaders and ministries.

1 Peter 4:7
For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

When read in context it is clear that God can uses persecution to bring judgment, that judgment is used to refine, and bring consequences to those that do not repent. According to 1 Peter 4:1-12 Christ Followers are to walk in holiness. When we do not judgment/consequences come.

! Peter 4: 14-18
 ¹⁴ If you are insulted and reviled for [bearing] the name of Christ, you are blessed [happy, with life-joy and comfort in God’s salvation regardless of your circumstances], because the Spirit of glory and of God is resting on you [and indwelling you—He whom they curse, you glorify]. ¹⁵ Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or a thief, or any sort of criminal [in response to persecution], or as a troublesome meddler interfering in the affairs of others; ¹⁶ but if anyone suffers [ill-treatment] as a Christian [because of his belief], he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God [because he is considered worthy to suffer] in this name. ¹⁷ For it is the time [destined] for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not respect or believe or obey the gospel of God? ¹⁸ And if it is difficult for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the godless and the sinner? 

The True Church-Bride of Christ

I want to make it clear that even though this series is going to cover the extreme dysfunction of the American Church, there is a difference between the Church and the true body of Christ-the Bride, the Remnant. The American Church will ultimately collapse, but the Bride within America will rise up. The Lord through His Sovereignty will cleanse and purify to reveal who is the Bride and who is not.

‘Spiritual Diseases’ within the American Church

We will have several articles addressing various spiritual diseases within the American Church. They are not listed in any specific order. BTW, I am an American, Charismatic, Conservative Follower of Christ, but I honor and serve Jesus Christ alone. My identity is in Christ, not in any man-made system or any other entity.,

The ‘spiritual diseases’ listed are found in various portions of the American Church. When combined, the American Church is a mess.

The American Gospel
This includes so many things, but here are some of the ‘symptoms’. Focusing on blessing and avoiding any form of persecution. Preaching to tickle ears. Entertainment instead of worship. Worship as a means of income and celebrity. Unhealthy worship of Christian leaders. The preaching of ‘Christian’ politics instead of the Gospel. American Nationalism mixed with Christianity. Us versus Them mentality. All of this is wrapped around a mindset of The End Justifies the Means. The American Gospel is a False Gospel.

Celebrity Christianity
Multitudes of Christian leaders are more focused on having a following and a good source of income than leading others to follow Christ. Everyone and his brother/sister uses Youtube and Social Media to get Christians to follow them. Organizations, ministries, Christian leaders are ‘worshipped’. Almost all of these Christian Celebrities have various forms of false teachings.

American Nationalism and the Church
American Nationalism and Christianity has become so mingled together that in some instances it is hard to separate. American Nationalism and Kingdom Now Theology embrace each other and the ultimate goal is Christianity as a National Religion. Many American Patriots have been deceived by this movement.

False Prosperity Gospel
This false gospel has been around for decades, there has been tons of exposure but it still is a major symptom in the American Church. Sadly, it has increased than lessened in the increasing of the bank accounts of these preachers and adding more false teachers. False teachers can promote their false teachers all over social media and build a ‘kingdom’ from monetization. Reminder, it is always the promoters of this false gospel that prosper, not the followers.

Charismatic Horror Stories
The corruption, the deception, the sexual abuse, the cover ups, the protecting of the guilty parties and condemning of the victims, the worship of the false teachers, the…is absolutely horrific. It has required the Sovereign Lord going into full exposure mode and the collapsing of ministries to get the Charismatic Movement to deal with all this.

Sadly the gifts of the spirit, the move of God, is used for personal gain instead of for edifying the body and truly equipping the saints. Sadly, emotions and feelings are lifted higher than the Word of God.

Sexual Abuse
It has become clear that sexual abuse has been rampant for decades in the American Church among every denomination, and that the coverups have been taking place for decades. The goats are being exposed, and justice is finally starting to take place. But there are still too many Christian leaders trying to protect their kingdoms.

Liberal Theology
Liberal Theology has taken over the American Church. It has invaded ALL denominations. Secular humanism has taken over many church organizations. Instead of the American Church influencing the culture, the culture has overtaken much of the American Church. There is a massive departure from the Word of God.

Dry Bone Religion
Religion with no power thereof has always been an issue within Christianity, but the major decline of Christianity in America has as one of its root causes is multitudes of Americans who proclaim to be Christians only have religion, not relationship. The Bible Belt in America is more of a Religion Belt. An extreme emphasis of “Once Saved, Always Saved” has certainly played a part in multitudes of individuals having Jesus as their Savior, but not their Lord. The end result is self is lord not Jesus. Thus, individuals claiming to be Christians are walking in bondage and far from being the Light.

Carnality
To a large extent the American Church is a carnal, worldly church. Self-centeredness, me, self-pleasure, what can I get away with and still be saved. How close can I get to the fire and not be burned. The call to holiness is seen as legalism.

Extreme Fundamentalism, Legalism
There is a portion of the American Church that is consumed with the letter of the law, has an extreme Us versus Them mentality, judges and condemns all that do not agree with them, extremely inward focused, and more concerned about being right than about souls. Their fellowships are like a polluted pond, not a living spring.

Cessationism
Cessationism, the belief in the miraculous gifts no longer exist, that the gifts listed in 1 Cor 12, that the deliverance from demons has ceased has fueled Dry Bone Religion. It has fueled an American Church that has no power, no authority, the Holy Spirit has been pushed out of the American Church.

The end result is many have head knowledge salvation. Many saved but not delivered because there is no room in the movement for individuals to be set free from demonization or demonic influence. The end result is Christians carrying around much baggage.

It should be noted that Cessationism, along with “Once Saved, Always Saved, are relatively new belief systems, not coming about until the 1500’s.

Deconstruction in Christianity
Many who have called themselves Christians have allowed feelings, emotions, life experiences, the culture, to be more authoritative than Scripture in their life. They are either abandoning their faith or in reality realizing they never were truly born again. The blatant sin in the camp of the American church that has not been dealt with certainly has been an impetus to the Deconstruction Movement.

Is There Any Hope?????
With all of this spiritual disease within the American Church is there any hope? Absolutely!!!
There is hope if the main goal is not to save the American Church but to save souls. It may be too late to save the American Church, but it is not too late for souls to be saved. God can still use the American Church for Kingdom purposes.

There needs to be a call to holiness. A call for a holy fear of God. A call to repentance. A call for renewal. There needs to be major reform in church structure, getting back to biblical leadership. We need nationwide revival, but revival must start in us first. If there is true revival it will flow to the hearts of the lost.

It the American Church will make the Word of God and the Great Commission its number one focus we could see a powerful move of God and nationwide saving of souls.

Bottom Line
The American Church may or may not be saved from its own destruction. The Spirit of God will still rule and reign and souls will still be saved and transformed because there is a remnant of God in America that will remain faithful. The question to ask yourself is if you will be part of the remnant.

In this series we will address the various spiritual diseases and what is the cure for each of them.