In my last post, I asked, “Is your church enabling you to sin?” That’s the problem with many so-called “Christian” churches today. They don’t teach the Gospel Truth. They don’t teach repentance, forgiveness, and the truth about the Salvation of Jesus Christ. What we need is a New Reformation. October 31 is Reformation Day when in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Thesis to the door of his church in Wittenberg, Germany. He called out the Roman Catholic Church for not teaching the truth about salvation. Unfortunately, he failed to reform the Catholic Church. What he did was trigger the Protestant Reformation. We need another one. Right now.
Don’t get me wrong. There are many “remnant churches” that preach the Gospel Truth. Unfortunately, they are getting fewer and fewer as we get closer to the Rapture and the End Times.
The New Reformation Church: Return to God
Gratefully, God wants us to return to Him. God said…
3 Therefore, say to the people, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.’
Zechariah 1:3 NLT
12 That is why the Lord says,
Joel 2:12-13 NLT
“Turn to me now, while there is time.
Give me your hearts.
Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.
13 Don’t tear your clothing in your grief,
but tear your hearts instead.”
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is merciful and compassionate,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
He is eager to relent and not punish.
7 Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty.
Malachi 3:7 NIV
God didn’t go anywhere. Jesus didn’t change. The pastors, priests, and people did.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Hebrews 13:8 NLT
What Does a New Reformation Church Look Like?
Study the Book of Acts. Get back to basics.
- It is the pillar and foundation of the Truth. God’s Truth.
- The pastors, staff, board of elders, and all the leadership fear God.
- It teaches that Jesus Christ died taking our sins away once and for all and we don’t have to do anything to guarantee our salvation.
- Preach the Word of God — stop following the “liturgical calendar”. That’s just a crutch for lazy preachers. Talk about what’s going on and apply the Word of God to it. Be bold and courageous!
- Show what true humility is.
- Acknowledge that we have only ONE KING — JESUS. Be the church of the Living God.
- Acknowledge the sanctity of life.
- Stop enabling and condoning sin and preach repentance, forgiveness, and the true salvation of Jesus Christ.
- Have a call to repentance at the end of each sermon/message/homily.
- Study the Bible deeply. Don’t water it down, twist it, change it, or delete what you don’t like. False Prophets need not apply!
- Follow the 10 Commandments.
- Hold Bible Studies and Prayer Meetings weekly.
- Acknowledge that God created humans in His image and He loves everyone but hates sin and everyone will be judged at some point.
- Acknowledge that marriage is between one man and one woman.
- Put God First. Serve the Lord. All Glory goes to God.
- Help fulfill the Great Commission, not just filling seats or coffers. Empower true discipleship.
- Don’t be afraid to discipline bad behavior.
- Study and don’t be afraid to teach Bible Prophecy. Be a watchman on the wall.
- Love and support Israel. Stop Antisemitism and reject Replacement Theology.
- Put on the Armor of God.
Paul wrote…
14 Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.
15 See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.
16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
19 Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. 20 Do not scoff at prophecies, 21 but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. 22 Stay away from every kind of evil.
1 Thessalonians 5:14-22 NLT
We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. 5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. 6 And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient.
2 Corinthians 10:4-6 NLT
I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he comes to set up his Kingdom: 2 Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.
3 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will reject the truth and chase after myths.
5 But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.
2 Timothy 4:1-5 NLT
In fact, both letters to Timothy are a great how-to guide for preachers and teachers of the Bible.
Study what Jesus said to the 7 Churches of Revelation
Jesus repeated this phrase several times. When something is repeated in the Bible, that means that God wants you to remember it…
Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.
Revelation 2:7 NLT
- Ephesus: “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.” Revelation 2:4-5 NLT
- Smryna: “But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.” Revelation 2:10b NLT
- Pergamum: “Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” Revelation 2:16 NLT
- Thyatira: “You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols…And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve…But I also have a message for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching (‘deeper truths,’ as they call them—depths of Satan, actually). I will ask nothing more of you 25 except that you hold tightly to what you have until I come.” Revelation 2:20, 23b, 22 NLT
- Sardis: “I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is almost dead. I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God. 3 Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again. If you don’t wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief.4 “Yet there are some in the church in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes with evil. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.” Revelation 3:1-4 NLT
- Philadelphia: “I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me. Look, I will force those who belong to Satan’s synagogue—those liars who say they are Jews but are not—to come and bow down at your feet. They will acknowledge that you are the ones I love.” Revelation 3:8-9 NLT
- Laodicea: “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! 16 But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! 17 You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.” Revelation 3:15-17 NLT
Obviously, Jesus sees EVERYTHING that’s going on.
Related: A video series on the Book of Revelation.
What Can You Do?
If you’re just a parishioner or layperson, it’s OK to challenge your pastor or priest on why they’re not teaching the truth from the Bible. If they don’t own up to their sin, or change course, you can simply go to another church. When you’re church shopping, it’s nice that the majority of churches have their services/masses/messages/sermons on YouTube or Vimeo. Watch a few of them. Do they make sense? Are they teaching the truth from the Bible?
Be like the Bereans. From the Book of Acts chapter 17…
That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. 12 As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.
Acts 17:10-12 NLT
They verified Paul’s teachings with what was written in the scriptures. Back then, they only had the Old Testament. Today, we can search apps like the YouVersion Bible App to find something and verify it in the Bible.
We can’t mention the Reformation without the 5 Solas…
The 5 Solas
- Sola Scriptura (“Scripture alone”): The Bible alone is our highest authority.
- Sola Fide (“Faith alone”): We are saved through faith alone in Jesus Christ.
- Sola Gratia (“Grace alone”): We are saved by the grace of God alone.
- Solus Christus (“Christ alone”): Jesus Christ alone is our Savior, Redeemer, Lord, and King
- Soli Deo Gloria (“to God alone be the Glory.”): It’s all about God, not us.
A Final Message from Peter…
3 Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. 4 They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”
5 They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. 6 Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. 7 And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed.
8 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. 9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.[a]
11 Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, 12 looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. 13 But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.
14 And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.
15 And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him— 16 speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction.
2 Peter 3:3-16 NLT
What About You?
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
Believe. Repent. Be Baptized. Receive the Holy Spirit.
- Believe — have Faith — that Jesus is the Christ and He died taking your sins away forever and that He rose from the dead 3 days later.
- Repent of your sins — stop sinning! Do a complete 180-degree turn in your life and surrender your life to Him. When you ask Jesus to forgive you He will. ALL your sins will be wiped clean — past, present, and future! And All means ALL!
- Be Baptized by water baptism — show the world and yourself that you have died to your old life and are born again in Christ.
- Receive the gift of Holy Spirit in your heart.
