Why do we need the New Testament if our church leaders are hearing from the Holy Spirit who is telling them what the words of Jesus really mean? I also question that if we’ve had it all wrong for the last two thousand years, is this really a ‘new thing’ or just some old thing believers have over looked? Two thousand years is a mighty long time to over look something as important as the treatment (or mistreatment) of the sexually immoral. If we use Genesis as are starting point then this misunderstanding goes back to around four thousand years. I would have thought God would have straightened us out long before now.
Would the God of perfect justice have allowed His creation to misunderstand His laws and mistreat another part of His creation for four thousand years? I cannot know the mind of God but I just do not think this would be the case. Yet, if you listen to many at the pulpit this is exactly what they would have you believe. Of course they do not come right out and say this because that leads to a lot of unwanted questions about the legitimacy of the god that they want us to accept. If this god wanted us to embrace and encourage those living a homosexual life style then why did he allow suppression of their desires and feelings for the last four thousand years? Why, when he had is son become incarnate two thousand years ago, did his son not specifically say something to correct this incorrect notion?
Perhaps because their god is not the real God and is maybe some fallen angel who is up to no good? Perhaps this fallen angel never had a son to become incarnate two thousand years ago that could clear these things up. Maybe, just maybe, this god has no spirit to whisper in to the minds of church leaders the truth of scripture but instead has a demon speak enticing lies about a ‘new thing’ that will lead Christian believers in to a new era of peace and love and tolerance of the nature of sinful man. Perhaps this delusion is so strong that those who fall under its spell cannot see that their church is disintegrating before them and instead believe that it will soon grow and draw all sorts of people to the true faith.
This demon might even tell them that people can leave the church, but property and money cannot and then confuse them into believing that the church is really about the buildings and not the people who fill those buildings. An unholy spirit uses a well placed whisper from a sweet sounding demonic voice to cause the church leaders to violate Sacred Scripture and sue Christians for the material that the church wants to possess? Would the church elders allow themselves to be encouraged by this fallen angel to deny Christians a place to worship, a place some have worshipped all their lives and still view their behavior as good and approved by their god?
Could they eventually become so tolerant of heresy and apostasy that they mislead people in to believing that the sins of the people are really gifts that should be cherished because these gifts are from god who loves them and wants them to exercise their gifts as often as possible. Whispering demons speaking from the pulpit, disguised as shepherds, leading the sheep down the wide path and through the broad gate that ultimately leads to condemnation and hell fire. Could all this happen and with only a few realizing the truth of the matter but no one listening until it was too late? The answer to all of this seems to be yes.
How could all this happen? That question is an easy one to answer. It has the same answer as the question at the beginning of this article which I will restate now. Why do we need the New Testament if our church leaders are hearing form the Holy Spirit who is telling them what the words of Jesus really mean? The answer begins with believers who fail to study scripture and instead rely on having it hand fed to them from the pulpit on Sunday mornings and Wednesday night. Once they accept that they are hearing the truth and only the truth from the pulpit and that there is no need to dig for the truth themselves in scripture their fate and the fate of the church is sealed. They can no longer distinguish between a lie and the truth because they no longer have something tangible to base the truth on. Once the first little lie is told from the pulpit and is believed it becomes easier to feed the sheep bigger and bigger lies until their diet is no longer the food of eternal life but the lies of the father of lies meant to lead the sheep astray.
Martin Luther made some pertinent deductions concerning scripture and the need of people to read and study and understand scripture. Luther said, “Let the man who would hear God speak read Holy Scripture.” According to John Piper in his book ‘The Legacy of Sovereign Joy” in the section on Martin Luther Piper says scripture is necessary to solidify the image and teachings of Jesus Christ; that if we to rely on the accounts of the historical Jesus then “the historical Jesus becomes the wax nose shaped by the preferences of each generation.” In short, without scripture to keep us on track we will redefine His teaching and meaning to suit whatever agenda we wish to pursue and put forth. Is this not exactly what is happening within the Episcopal Church and will many other mainstream denominations? Instead of holding open a door to allow those who would an escape from the world we instead are becoming a mirror in which the world is reflected.
As this new Anglican providence is formed and stands as witness to the heresy and apostasy within the old Anglican providence it must not hesitate to not only encourage but demand that those who sit in the pews read and learn scripture. The faithful must be educated and know the sounds of apostasy when they hear it and then stand against it. If they do not do this then perhaps the new Anglican Church of North America is destined to take the same path as that of the Episcopal Church, the wide path with the broad gate at its end. Because this is a corrupt society and that corruption is virulent the faithful most inoculate themselves with the vaccine of Holy Scripture. In the face of demons bent on our damnation the shield of The Word and the Word made flesh is all we have to protect us.

Another Pilgrim