Just as the Old Testament Jews disobeyed God, so also did the Christians of the New Covenant disobey commands, and vitally critical aspects of the faith He expected and needed them to keep.

This message discusses six major non-negotiable dealbreakers that shaped what is known as the public face of “the church” since the death of the last apostle John, circa 100 AD, until now.

What is said is easily verifiable and absolutely true, and in keeping with the scriptures.

The effects of what this will outline are deeper, broader, and wider than many imagine. No one, not even you, is unaffected, and you likely are more so than you may immediately realize. This is because the church affected all of western civilization and by extension the whole of mankind for the past two millennia. It has had a hand in the culture, ways, laws, understanding and thinking of those who name the name of Christ, and the general world at large.

Please pray to God, search the scriptures and see whether what is laid out here is so. It discusses cause, not just effect. It deals with the root, not just bad fruit.

This is of necessity a lengthy message. It is 1 hour 53 minutes long, and it is advised you take it in when undistracted and fully awake.

What it says is profound and affects everyone.

May the Lord bless you.

Outline notes – 6 Ways the Church disastrously disobeyed Jesus Christ – and the unintended consequences

• Hindsight is 20-20.
• Clearly observable in light of what the God asked for versus what He was given.
• A massive percentage of nominal Christians who somehow think this is OK?
• Take name of Lord in vain
• Acid test – test of fruit.
• Mainstream dumbed down Christianity
• Did not produce the results He asked for
• God wanted a unified witness. He never got that. This in itself indicates a deeper problem than many know
• Did not keep to original faith

Apostles doctrine
Acts 2 – 40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this [l]perverse generation.” 41 Then those who [m]gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ [n]doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

1) ROOT – Using religious mind to create carnal Christians instead of spiritual ones

Define religious flesh – mind apart form God. Natural self. Carnal man. Intellect, feelings, sensibility

Two identities sow to spirit

Gal 5 – 7 You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump.

Rom 8 – 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be [b]carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the [c]carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Galatians 5:19-21 – 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: [d]adultery, [e]fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, [f]murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Col 2 – 18 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has [l]not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.

1 Cor 3 – And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?

Spiritual blindness – Capable of comprehending the Bible, even deep truths. Capable of agreeing with them, teaching them, getting passionate about things, calling out error in others.
Jeremiah 17 – 5 Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
And makes flesh his [b]strength,
Whose heart departs from the Lord.
6 For he shall be like a shrub in the desert,
And shall not see when good comes,
But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,
In a salt land which is not inhabited.

History – Councils, decrees, arguments …
Did not know Jesus voice.

Contrast –
Acts 20 – 22 Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas,[g] and Silas, leading men among the brethren. … 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: 29 that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual[j] immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.

People bear witness against one another
God does not contradict Himself
He wants people to succeed
He is able

Requires meeting conditions of discipleship.

Religious flesh yielded
All false teaching, False doctrine, divisions, ineffectiveness to fulfill Great Commission,

Western civilization shaped by a Christianizing influence by a substitute Christianity.

Church history – Catholics 1200 yrs – Mary, purgatory, indulgence, Pope, church supremacy, priesthood, prayer to saints, prayer for dead, Mass a re-sacrifice of Christ

Western Civilization

Goes deeper than repeating history.
We actually have been shaped by this history. – culture and thought of the world, and church. The paradigm of this life on earth has been formed by what was portrayed as Christianity.

The church as we know it today
How we understand God, the gospel, Christian life, all …
Affects who will go to heaven or hell.
Bible teaches spiritual blindness
Repeat of Pharisees Matt 23

2) Breaking John 13:34,35

Witness.
What do people think oif when they think of this?

Is it a noble goal among Christians?
Flesh cannot do it. Rom 5:5
Doesw world think of this?

Clergy with mistresses, divorcee, perversion, martyrs, pedophiles, intrigue, personal ambition, prosperity gospel, worldliness, unholiness…

3) Breaking John 17:20-23

Catholics tried to enforce this
Protestants never understood.

4) Merging world with church

Constantine

5) Clergy laity model

6) Never restoring the apostles’ mission

Other commands –
Walk in spirit
Abide in Christ
Know Jesus voice
Surrender all
Become as little child

The goal of Christian is not to focus first on their own salvation. But rather, focus on obeying Jesus and bringing Him glory by our lives. In doing so, we will be granted salvation.

Western civilization shaped by a Christianizing influence by a substitute Christianity.

Eph 4 –
1 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the [e]edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as [f]the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Jn 6 – 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who [i]has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the [d]Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Develop new man

Spirit.
Born again
Meet conditions of discipleship

Witness of transformed lives

2 Pet 2