The Deceivers
CATHOLICISM
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Rev. Ken Silva

President, Apprising Ministries

http://www.apprising.org

Pastor, Connecticut River Baptist Church (SBC)

I added my input into this article as well by highlighting stuff
and adding a few words in here and there.
Evanglist Michael Joseph Terran D.D.


Scripture New International Version unless otherwise noted


A thorough examination of the apostate Church of Rome will reveal why this proves an apt title. In our generation we haven't really been able to see the full deception yet, because just as the frog wouldn't notice the temperature of the water in a pot slowly rising until he would end up boiling to death, so we Christians in America didn't notice just how worldly Evangelicalism was becoming.

But godly men & women for example, like A.W. Tozer could see it. In the 1950's he wrote:

Sometimes we hear of a politician or other celebrity who is made an [honorary member of some organization]… Compare this to many evangelical churches, which have altogether too many members who are Christian by initiation, not by spiritual birth…

All the religious ceremonies invented by the prolific minds of all the religious leaders of the world cannot make a Christian out of a sinner. No man, regardless of how rich and mysterious his robes may be, can make a Christian out of another man… The best we can hope for there is religion by initiation. Seekers come out only as honorary Christians. The root of life is not in them - and they deserve more pity. Our Lord tells us plainly that we must be born again before we enter the kingdom of God" (This World: Playground or Battleground?, pp.80-81).


And Tozer couldn't have been more correct than when he said -

Christians habitually weep and pray over beautiful truth, only to draw back from that same truth when it comes to the difficult job of putting it into practice! Actually, the average church simply does not dare to check its practices against biblical precepts. It tolerates things that are diametrically opposed to the will of God, and if the matter is pointed out to its leaders, they will defend its unscrip-tural practices with a casuistry equal to the verbal dodgings of the Roman moralists…



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Since Christ makes His appeal directly to the will, are we justified in wondering whether or not these divided souls have ever made a true commitment to the Lord? Or whether they have been inwardly renewed? It does appear that too many Christians want to enjoy the thrill of feeling right but not willing to endure the inconvenience of being right!


Jesus Himself left a warning - I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead [Rev. 3:1b] (Renewed Day by Day, May 2, emphasis added).



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However, in what directly concerns the topic of this work, the false system of religion taught by the Church of Rome, we need to remember that Evangelicalism finds its roots in the Protestant Reformation. And history shows us that those Reformers would end up living out the unshakable truth of these insightful comments from William Wilberforce, an English reformer and anti-slavery activist in the early 1800's -

Christianity has always thrived under persecution. At such times she has no lukewarm professors, no adherents concerning whom it is doubtful to what party they belong. The Christian is then reminded at every turn that His Master's kingdom is not of this world (as cited in Nick Harrison, 365 WWJD?, p.75).

These courageous men and women - many of whom were murdered by orders from Roman Popes - never had the option of so-called "dialogue" over doctrinal issues with Rome that so many of our current Evangelical leaders have been seduced by. Instead these Reformers, who for the most part were themselves Roman Catholic priests working from within the Church of Rome, trying to bring its leaders back onto the narrow road, were simply rounded up and killed to silence them. And amazingly enough, not only just to silence them, but also in an attempt to keep the revealed Word of God - found in the Holy Scriptures - out of the hands of the laity.


Are we to believe this is the one true Church on the face of the earth - headed by the successor of the Apostle Peter - the Pope? Do we really think that it was God Who wanted these kinds of things done? For do you not realize: If the Church of Rome really is the true Church, then logically we would be forced to this very conclusion. As we continue you will see Rome's devious plan regarding the so- called ecumenical movement exposed as the subtle deception that it actually is.

And since our Evangelical Protestant leaders continue to give great lip service to what the Reformers did for the Church, do we really think that our Lord wishes His precious Body to then go back to the idolatrous Harlot that the Church of Rome truly is? How pathetic it was to see an article in a recent issue of Christianity Today praising Pope John Paul II - a heretic who lived in the lap of luxury - and accepted worship from men as their "Holy Father," all the while claiming the title "Vicar of Jesus Christ," both of which are titles that can only be applied to Almighty God himself! We must ask ourselves: Is that how Christ Jesus of Nazareth lived?


Our blessed Lord clearly told us in Scripture Who His true Vicar is.


But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and makingit known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you (John 16:13-15, emphasis added).


If you are a true Christian, and as you are made aware of these issues, it should begin to stir you. You should be able to feel the Lord's anger rise within you when His Church is being raped by these men from Rome who have - a form of godliness but [are] denying its power (2 Timothy 3:5a). Until we as His true Christians finally begin to rise against the muddled ideals and the false spirit behind the ecumenical movement (see- 1 John 4:1) - rather than running to join it as with the misguided Church Growth Movement - then people will continue to go to Hell in unprecedented numbers in our lifetime.

Don't you know; a very strong case can be made, that our generation is among the worst in this regard since the Reformation happened. Could it actually be that we will stand before the one true and living God having slept while millions went to a Christ-less eternity because we were busy attempting to get back into bed with one of most notorious spiritual whores in the history of mankind? And don't we know that absolutely nothing has changed since Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door of Wittenburg - except perhaps the zeal of the Body of Christ.

Let's quickly look at 2 Timothy 3:5 again, as I want you to see what the actual Vicar of Christ - God the Holy Spirit - has to tell us about the proper concept of Christian unity. And this is something which quite indispensable for us to become aware of because it concerns the Church of Rome and how it will do things to make it look as if they are Christians. But they will not receive the power that is for a Christian (NLT, emphasis added).

What does the next part of this verse say? "Make sure you focus your time and energy to put your 'differences' aside for the sake of unity before the world." No! It reads - Have nothing to do with them. Why? Because God doesn't want a phony unity of so-called "brotherly love." Instead He wants a people called out and separate from all that kind of lukewarm and "sicky-sweet" tripe. The Lord desires a holy priesthood (see-1 Peter 2:5) who will come out from (see-2 Corinthians 6:17) all those self-righteous fools as they walk together hand in hand down "Primrose Lane" along the broad road of religion that ultimately leads to destruction (see-Matthew 7:13), all the while ignorantly singing - "merrily-merrily-merrily-merrily; life is but a dream." The task of the true disciple of Christ is to tell them: Wake Up! Man; your dream ends in Hell!


The Holy Spirit says - There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death (Proverbs 14:12, NKJV). Further we must remember that God hates self-righteousness, as He especially knows that in our haughty culture, and especially among our young, who are being seduced by the self-aggrandizing Rap community - There is a kind--oh how lofty are his eyes! And his eyelids are raised in arrogance (Proverbs 30:13, NASB). The blatant pride of this generation has brought our nation ever closer to the perilous danger of suddenly incurring the wrath of Almighty God. He does not sleep, for the Scripture clearly says that the Lord will - not might - God will bring low those whose eyes are [proud] (Psalm 18:27).


And finally; in the "short" time that we have left in this Age of God's grace, the Christian will be required to sound the alarm that in 1 Corinthians 6 (vv.9-10) the Lord has warned with crystalline clarity - Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.



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In 1506, the Church of Rome undertook one of its grandest and most expensive projects - the building of a new St. Peter's Basilica as the centerpiece of the Vatican. The Church was to be so lavish and so huge that, when completed 150 years later, it was the largest Church ever built and it remained so until 1989.