| The Church of Godly Deeds |
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| Written by David Lawrence |
| Monday, February 05 2007 00:00 |
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One of the elders of my church told me that recently, as he was driving around this area on business, he saw a sign in front of a church: The Church of Godly Deeds. Along with the sign was this further information: Earning our way to heaven one good work at a time. He said he did not see any cars at this church, otherwise he considered going inside and asking whomever he found inside if they had lost their minds. I asked him if it was perhaps meant to be satirical, and he told me he did not think so because the sign was permanent. It was evidently truly the name of this church! Both of us agreed that never before had we seen such blatant heresy advertised publicly, as both the name and the apparent agenda of the church. Surely even Pelagius would blush at such a total misrepresentation of the Christian faith. Paul would have had apoplexy! Can you imagine what he would have told the pastor if he had confronted him? Even though our initial reaction to this sign is shock and then perhaps amusement, I discussed with my brother the fact that at least they are honest about their beliefs. Most Christians today profess to believe in salvation by grace, but in their hearts still hold to the idea that they shall be saved because of their performance and what they have done to please God. In other words, though they profess a faith based on grace, they really envision a church of godly deeds and a journey to heaven accomplished one good deed at a time! They will sing of the wonderful grace of Jesus, pray prayers that thank God for what He has done and pray for Him to open hearts and guide lives, but often hear sermons of moral admonition that would actually teach that salvation is accomplished through our efforts. In other words, we sing songs of grace, pray prayers of grace, and teach works-righteousness! Most of the Christian world exists in a world of inconsistency and contradiction. No wonder people are confused. But at least this church knows and professes what it believes: that salvation is all about man and is left entirely in their hands. But as my brother observed to me further as we walked out the door of our church, “If that’s the case, then what need would they have of Jesus?” Good question!! |
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