Be Ye Doers. . . Of The Word!

Funk and Wagnalls Dictionary gives one definition of rape as follows: Any gross violation, assault or abuse. I contend that the church is being violated, assaulted and abused at this very hour. The church is the bride of Christ. She is to be pure and holy, without spot or wrinkle. Instead of being the virgin that God directed her to be, she is being violated by unscriptural doctrine and prac tice.

What response will those who allow this abuse to continue give Christ on the judgement day? Might they not say, "How could such a thing happen? We were all there; why didn't we try to stop it? I wish I could go back and do those things differently." These are common reactions when someone has been victimized by rape. But what about a situation when someone has been raped and the people close to her don't even know it? Such is the case with the bride of Christ. Those who were given guardianship over her to protect and keep her pure, have absolutely no idea of the grave injustices being done to her. Most would say, "This is intolerable! How could this happen and we not even know it?" We may ask, "Who did it; why did it happen; what can be done to stop it?"

Who Did It?

Most of the time we give too much credit to "isms." Communism, atheism, liberalism, materialism and denominationalism are not the cause. These are the by-products. The hidden power behind the "isms" is Satan himself. The Bible says in John 8:44 that the Devil is the father of all lies. No matter what the "isms" are, they are full of lies! The real power behind them is Satan. We, in a real sense, are not fighting "isms." We are fighting the Devil. These "isms" are part of his tool chest, and he uses them to dismantle the church —to make her utterly use less for God.

The tool that he uses so effectively is de- nominationalism. It is extremely lethal. It looks like the real thing; acts like the real thing; and proclaims itself as the real thing. Actually, it is man's doctrine perpetrated upon a biblically ignorant populace. It is a self-made time bomb set to self-destruct at the coming of our Lord. Until then, it will continue to cause millions to be lost, when in fact they could be saved by simply returning to the New Testament pattern of wor ship.

If denominationalism just effected the world, it would be terrible enough. But the Devil has injected this deadly virus into the church. This inside move has been so effective that it has crippled a large part of the body of Christ. It is seeking to dismantle her altogether. Instead of being one (John 17:21), we are being fractured at every point.

Why Did It Happen?

I believe, without a doubt, that it hap pened because of a lack of knowledge. The words of Hosea ring in my ears as I write this article. "My people have been destroyed by a lack of knowledge." (Hosea 4:6)


The body of Christ is being victimized by Satan because of our inexcusable ignorance of the word of God. We have, for the most part, become ignorant and illiterate of the wonders of His word! Just ask the church to name the books of the Bible. If you do you will not only be embar rassed, but so will they. Ask them to name the Apostles. Where do you find the plan of salva tion? After you ask these three simple questions, you will find out for yourself what shape the church is in.

We used to be a people of the book. Our vocabulary didn't include the things I hear today. "I feel; I think; it's in there somewhere." Every thing we believed was based upon the word of God! We were a people of the book, chapter and verse! Some tell me I'm out of step with the times. Well, times have changed, but God Al mighty hasn't! Our cry ought to be, "WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED!" We need to be planted like an old oak, deeply into the word of God — "unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord." (1 Corinthians 15:58) Until we as a people revert back to the word of God , we will be an Israel — wondering aimlessly in the desert of denominationalism — a people without direction or purpose.

The terrifying thing is that most of the church is crying peace and safety, when in fact we, as the body of Christ, are moving toward the sewer of denominationalism at an alarming rate. Our preachers are quoting Swindoll, MacArthur, McDowell and Dobson instead of Jesus, Peter, John and Paul. When we see women elders, open membership and joint worship meetings with denominations, we know that God's sheep have indeed gone astray. It won't be long before we will see women preachers everywhere in the "Lord's Church." When will it end? The church is headed toward apostasy, and the choir is sing ing "Hallelujah!" When this terrible tragedy becomes reality, the victims will cry, "Why did it happen?" The answer is simple, but it is hard for many to comprehend. Just as the Pied Piper emptied the city, denominationalism has piped a tune that is sweet to the ears, but deadly to the soul. It has emptied the word of God from the place of prominence it should have. Why did it happen? It's simple. Just like the church of Ephesus, we have left our first love. In doing so, we have left His word!

What Can Be Done?

It is time for God's people to rise up and reclaim the kingdom for Christ. We need to pray as we have never prayed before. We need not only to pray, but to do what God told Joshua. Israel had been defeated by Ai, and Joshua was praying. God spoke to him and said, "Stop pray ing and get up and do something about it!" I'm, imploring you today to not stop praying, but after praying, get up and do something about it! We need brethren everywhere to stand up and be counted. We are His only hands! We are His only feet! We are His only voice! The time is now! We are either a part of the problem or the solution. God is counting on you. You are to stand for His Son. You are to teach His word. You are to stand for truth. I'm not just talking to preachers, elders or deacons — I'm imploring you! You may be the one that will make a differ ence. The time is now! The day is today!

Brethren, the church is composed of three types of individuals. They are the shirkers, jerkers and workers. The shirker is always shirk ing his responsibilities. His cry is, "Send some one else." The jerker is in and out — never faithful. The faithful's cry is, "You can't send him." The worker is always abounding in the work of the Lord. His cry is, "Send me!"

Which one correctly describes you? Only you can stop the rape. Will you?