Edition 1.

Standing in the Gap

Ezekiel 22:30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

A Publication of: The Wheel Inside the Wheel Outreach Ministry

Standing in the Gap

Edition 1.7

I Believe in God but hate religion

By Dario McDarby

How many times have Christians heard the notion, from some self-appointed pseudotheologian, I believe in God but hate church? Or perhaps its a variation, Im spiritual but not religious, or all religions are a path to God so why bother. My favorite is, Im a good person so I dont need to go sit inside some building. Those are words of dunderheads and fools. Smugly believing this nonsense, they do the minimum and think God still loves them in their rebellion. Actually, these poor souls are wrapped in a blanket of sloth. They believe that they need not lift a finger in homage to Christ. These are the perfect examples of modern men. They have it all figured out. Just believe and wait for God to do the rest. This kind of thinking is actually the kissing cousin to agnosticism. Both come from the family of sloth. Agnosticism is intellectual, moral, and spiritual cowardice. It claims the possibility that God may or may not exist. How clever! These men and women stake a claim to a form of agnosticism. They do the minimum just in case He exists, but not too much to interfere with their useless lives in case He doesnt exist. They have it all figured out in their narcissistic theology of the self. For them, the self is their religion. And guess what, they are God in this delusional, self-centered religion. They worship in the church of self, the religion of me. For the self-isolated man who thinks he believes in God while dismissing religions as an evil, he, too, succumbs to sloth, the laziness of belief and faith that prevent Christians from being fully Christian. Sloth makes for couch potato Christians who find thousands of insignificant things with which to occupy their minds as they slip further and further away from what they claim they believe in, namely God. How pathetic. Christs words will resonate at their particular judgment: In The Gospel of St. Matthew, Chapter 7, <DRV>our Lord is crystal clear. In verses 2127 He admonishes (bold and italic added for emphasis): [21] Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. [22] Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils in thy name, and done many miracles in thy name? [23] And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity. [24] Every one therefore that heareth these my words, and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock, [25] And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded on a rock.

Standing in the Gap

Edition 1.7

[26] And every one that heareth these my words, and doth them not, shall be like a foolish man that built his house upon the sand, [27] And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof. Our Lord Jesus is clear. You must DO the will of the Father; you must have faith (your house) which is of the Triune God, and that faith must be built on a rock for it was founded on a rock. If not, you are a worker of iniquity and your house shall fall. Christ is eminently clear on the rock, too. Later in Matthews gospel we hear Christ speak, verse 18: And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. It is THE WORD OF GOD that He chose Peter as the Rock upon which He built His Church. Therefore, if you hate Church, you hate Christ. It is amazing that Our Lord chose Peter, the man who denied Him three times and who fled with all the Apostles, except His beloved Apostle, John, who stood with the women at the foot of the Cross. It was Peter, who, as the soldiers and traitor came to arrest Christ, withdrew his short sword, and cut off the ear of one of the soldiers. Peter was a twofisted man more prone to action and anger than to contemplation and calmness. Yet, Our Lord BUILT His Church upon this Rock. A Church without action and anger is a sterile church. Not only did Christ commission Peter to be the Rock of the Church, He also anointed him with this great and holy power. We hear our Lord in verse 19: And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven. Christians should know that the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ. He is its source and summit. He is its Master Builder. Peter was necessary for the temporal structure, for the formation of Christian souls, for the celebration and adoration of Holy God, and for the temporal activities of its vast membership. The structure was hierarchic: Christ is Head, while Peter is the steward. He is the chief steward, or custodian, of all lesser stewards. He was the temporal leader of the Church that went into the world, converted, and brought men and women to Christ. Peter was at Rome, while the other Apostles and disciples swarmed the world, established churches, converted, and spread the Gospel. Yet Peter was the Rock. The structure of Christs one Church comes from Peter through his commission by Christ Jesus. The vast sands of the seas that have become Christian are brought to Christ through His structure which He gave to Peter to administer. Peter is and his heirs have become the stewards of this temporal body, while Christ remains its sacred, invisible, holy, and undefeatable Body. So whenever the fool claims that religions are bogus, they are saying Christ is bogus. Whenever they say that religion is unnecessary, they are saying Christ is unnecessary.

Standing in the Gap

Edition 1.7

Whenever they say that going to Church is unnecessary, they are saying that being in His presence is unnecessary. Whenever they say they hate religion but love God, they are saying they hate Christ but love the god of this world who makes no demands upon them, lets them lounge in ignorant comfort, but prepares a special place in Hell for them. Their religion is the religion of the adversary. So rise up off the couch, take up that dusty book that says, Holy Bible, that you use as a coaster for your beer, blow off the dust, open it and read. Then rush to the nearest man of God to learn to know and understand the Word fully and truthfully. And while youre there.shut up and listen!