Sunday, April 09, 2006

Help stop the heresy of Jesus Worship

Matthew 19:16-17:
And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
Christ did not desire to be the object of worship, nor even to be called "good." He taught the doctrine of the Father. Christ worshipped the Father, and prayed to the Father.

If you have been worshipping or praying to Christ, you are not listening to his own teachings.

Let me clarify. There are two senses of "worship." One of them is appropriate to give only to the True God. To give it to any other being is to violate the first of the Ten Commandments, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3) This first type of worship is the type where we make sacrifices (whether they are flesh and blood, or personal, spiritual sacrifices), and set the being as the object of our prayers and thanksgivings. The other type of worship would be better fit into a different word, like to revere, respect, and honor. It is a limited sense, and this type of "worship" can apply to a number of worthy exemplars or even principles in our lives. Don't get me wrong: Christ was our great sacrifice. He is the only way to the Father. We are to seal our prayers to the Father in his name, because he is our redeemer. However, you must make effort to listen to and perform the things he actually taught.

If you HAVE been worshipping or addressing prayers to Christ, do not be fearful. There are several possible outcomes:

1. You were praying with real intent, and because of this, God was the actual object of your worship. You were being true in heart, and were unaware of the mistake. God heard your prayers, and dismissed your mistake as though you were a child using bad grammar.

2. You were actually trying to pray to Jesus Christ. This opens you up for the possibility of being deceived. It is not exactly necromancy, being that Christ is alive, but it seems to be in a similar vein. God condemns this behavior and forbids attempting to conjure spirits for these purposes:
Deuteronomy 18:10-12
There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
By doing this, you could have received many false impressions or lies from Satan or his minions, pretending to be the Spirit of Jesus Christ. It is up to you to decipher what has happened. There is likely a mixture of this and the previously explained outcome. You should pray correctly for help and guidance to know what is right and wrong. Once you taste of the Spirit as the response to true prayer, you will know it and it will be harder to fall into this trap again. Satan is a great counterfeit, and he wants to have all glory and power given to him. He is an Angel of Light, now fallen, who desires to have his throne higher than the throne of God. He will use any means to achieve his goals, even professing Christianity to prey on the weakness of man.

3. You were actually trying to pray to Jesus Christ, but this doesn't work. Your prayers were deliberately addressed to a being other than God, and therefore, they could have gone unanswered. No harm, no foul. Get it right next time.

It is my hope, that category #1 is where most people who have made this grave error have landed.

In conclusion, help spread the truth, and give the Glory to God by following the great example of Jesus Christ. Believe his words, and act accordingly. Be Christians, true followers of Christ, not Christ-Worshippers. Amen.

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