Grace and peace to the Brethren, and greetings to the lost.

We resume our expose’ of the Charismatic Movement.  Let us continue to examine the Statement of Faith of a charismatic church with statement # 5: 

“In His earthly ministry He lived a sinless life, performed miracles, and died on the Cross as a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures.”

There is a tremendous problem with this statement that must not be overlooked.  Jesus was sinless, it is true, and He did perform miracles and die on the cross.  These are true statements.  But He was not merely a sacrifice for our sins, He was The—meaning The Final—Sacrifice for our sins.  There need not be another sacrifice. 

“But this man, after He had offered one sacrifice (READ The Last Sacrifice) for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:12).

It is important to understand that though this may seem like an exercise in semantics, in actuality the seemingly innocuous use of the indefinite article here obscures the most important teaching in all of Christianity: That the vicarious death of Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary was the absolute Final Sacrifice for the sins of all mankind.  Our very salvation hinges on the verity of that statement.  If Jesus’ sacrifice was not sufficient, then we are still in our sins.  And if we who believe are still in our sins, then “we are of all men most miserable.”

Now you may think this is unimportant, but it is crucial—nay, vital. 

The Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah.  To them, His crucifixion was nothing more than the righteous murder of a demon-possessed blasphemer, who went around saying that He was the Son of God.  Because they don’t accept Jesus’ sacrifice as sufficient atonement for sins, Scripture says that they will reinstitute animal sacrifice for atonement of sins during the Tribulation, and in so doing, “cast down the truth to the ground” (Daniel 8:12, 9:27).  The truth that they will cast down to the ground, is that Jesus is the Last Sacrifice.

The Roman Catholic church purports to be Christian, yet it crucifies Jesus Christ twenty-four hours a day every day all over the world in the continuing bloodless sacrifice of the mass.  Why would they do this if they believed Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient atonement for sins?  I assure you they do not believe this, as every Roman Catholic (and Lutheran for that matter) that I have talked to about the issue of salvation has been uncertain if they are going to heaven.  They all say they don’t know if they have been “good enough.” 

Remember, Roman Catholics believe that when they die they are going to Purgatory, where they will spend an indefinite length of time until their sins are “purged” away.  The length of time they will spend there, they believe, depends, among other things, on how “good” they were in this life.  This is unscriptural, as the Bible says:

“For by grace ye are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.

“Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). 

That is why the performance of good works is so important to Roman Catholics.  They are not trusting in the blood of Jesus Christ.  His sacrifice means nothing to them.

Jehovah’s Witnesses claim to be Christian, yet not one Jehovah’s Witness believes he will go to heaven.  According to their doctrine, the only ones who are assured of entrance into heaven are the “144,000,” the elite “inner circle” of the Jehovah’s Witness organization, most of whom are now dead.  Never mind that the Bible teaches that the 144,000 are JEWISH (Revelation 7:4-8), not to mention that they are supposed to be virgins (Revelation 14:4); they still adhere to this blasphemous doctrine.  When I mentioned this to one Witness I witnessed to (pun absolutely intended), she said that this refers to “spiritual” Jews and “spiritual” virgins.  Sigh.

Now, since the average Witness believes he cannot see heaven, what does he think will happen when he dies?  He doesn’t know for sure, but he believes he may be able to reign with Jesus Christ on earth during the Millennial Kingdom if he has been “good enough.”  What does he do to be “good enough?”  He tirelessly goes door-to-door canvassing neighborhoods passing out literature and trying to gain converts.  That is why you see them out there under some of the worst conditions.  To them, their salvation depends on it.  The Witnesses, also, base their “salvation” on works, which, again, is unscriptural.

I am not just talking out of the side of my neck.  I have heard this from conversations with real Jehovah’s Witnesses.

I have great respect for most Jehovah’s Witnesses.  Most of them are some of the hardest working, diligent, and sincere people you will ever meet.  But they are terribly deceived.  They consider themselves Christians, yet they deny the sacrifice of the very God whom they claim to follow and are trying to obtain salvation by their own efforts.  But they will fail miserably.  They have denied a free gift from the Almighty God, Who, by the way, they deny is Jesus Christ.  To the Witnesses, Jesus was merely a created being.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, commonly known as the Mormons, also claims to be a Christian denomination, yet they too, deny the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  For one, they teach that Jesus Christ and Satan are brothers.  That’s right.  Brothers.  

They believe that there was a heavenly council held by God (Elohim), Jesus Christ, and His brother, Lucifer, to decide who was going to go to earth to “redeem” mankind.  It was decided that Jesus would be given the chance.  When Lucifer heard that, he got angry and rebelled against God, taking a third of the angels with him.  There is a lot to this story that Christians need to know, for Mormonism is but a spawn of Satan and is steeped in occultism and Freemasonry.  In fact, “prophet” Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, was himself a 33^rd degree Freemason.

But to make a long story short, Mormonism teaches that Jesus failed to redeem mankind when He was crucified.  So, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, according to Mormonism, did not free mankind from sin.  As a matter of fact, Mormonism explicitly teaches that there are some sins that the blood of Jesus Christ cannot atone for, such as the marriage of a Mormon to a Black person.  They teach that an individual guilty of such a sin must have his blood shed by a member of a group specially commissioned for this purpose called the Danites.  I kid you not.

The Mormon is not concerned about reaching heaven anyway, as his religion teaches that if he follows Mormon doctrine and teachings, which include marrying plural wives (though many Mormons deny this is practiced today) and having as many children as possible, he will achieve godhood and will one day be given his own planet to populate. 

All this may sound incredible, but according to Ed Decker, former Mormon and author of The Godmakers, it is absolutely true.  Get the book and read it.  The sound of your eyes popping open will be heard for miles. 

By the way, if you are Black, understand that Mormonism and Black-ness are seriously incompatible, despite their recent efforts to include those of the Negro persuasion.  When you read The Godmakers, you. will. be. angered.  If you are Black and are a Mormon, you, my friend, have been marvelously deceived.  I could tell you what the Mormon doctrine is concerning the Black race, but it is so incredible that you will not fully appreciate it until you read it for yourself.  I want you to do your own research.

In case you believe that this is merely anti-Mormon propaganda, check out the video version of The God Makers.  It is very enlightening, to say the least.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfz6pG5JRQY

Notice the Mormon chairman says that “if they are worthy” a Mormon will dwell forever in the presence of the Father.  This confirms that the Mormon church teaches that salvation is “works-based” rather then faith-based.  This teaching rejects Jesus’ sacrifice for the sins of the world, and bases salvation on our works rather than on the finished work of Jesus Christ.

I could go further, but I think you get the point.  As you can see, the issue of the efficacy of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for remission of sin is crucial not only to our salvation, but to our identity in Christ Jesus.  It is what makes us Christians.

So, you see, a doctrinal statement that calls Jesus’ death on the cross merely “a” sacrifice for our sins, is not only an exceptionally gross understatement, it is actually false.  Jesus was the Last Sacrifice—THE Last Sacrifice.

The danger of this statement is that it says that Jesus’ work was not finished and justifies the need for other means of salvation such as the continuance of the Roman Catholic mass and the performance of “good works.”  Moreover, those religions that call themselves Christian, yet deny the efficacy of Jesus’ sacrifice as sufficient atonement for sins, are in actuality calling Jesus Christ a liar.  For Jesus said,

“It is finished” (John 19:30).

If Christians would trust in Jesus as the Final Sacrifice for sins and if Christian churches and ministries would emphasize this fact, there would be fewer Christians who are unsure of their salvation, and more Christians would be aware of the differences between the true Christian Church and the many imposters which teach “another Jesus, another spirit, and another gospel.”

As you can see, the devil truly resides in the details, and one must be very careful to read a church’s statement of faith under the auspices of the Holy Spirit.  Charismatic churches are very deceptive. 

Not convinced this church is charismatic?  You will be.  We are nearing the meat and potatoes of this charismatic statement.  God willing, I want to finish this study in the next couple of days.  When we finish, you will have no doubts that the Charismatic Movement is not of the Lord Jesus.

“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 

“For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him” (2 Corinthians 11:3-4).

Click here for Part 3.  Click here for Part 1.

Be encouraged and look up; your redemption draweth nigh.

The Still Man

Copyright © 2011 Anthony Keeton, The Still Man ®.  All Rights Reserved.