On the Offensive

When Damon Thompson said to “Win the lost, offend the religious, provoke the Church!” – he might have had me in mind. I don’t know about you, but I am getting sick and tired of pussy-footing around people for fear of ‘upsetting them’. I am getting just a little bored with all the political correctness and the sheer stupidity of some of the minor edicts that come out of mayoral parlours. Edicts like, you can no longer hold any kind of public religious meeting on the streets and say that “homosexuality is, according to God’s word, wrong.” Or even, “don’t criticize Muslims, you may upset or even offend them.”

When Jesus was here, did He ever say anything that the Pharisee’s wanted to hear? Not on your life !! He called them “white-washed sepulchres” and “a brood of vipers.” I can only imagine the offence He caused them. And what about when He found the temple full of moneychangers and traders – did He say “Excuse me, would you mind stopping what you are doing?” No – He got righteously angry, made a whip, and drove them out of the temple saying, “You have made My Father’s house into a den of thieves.” I can guarantee that didn’t please many of them !!

As I heard a preacher say recently, “I hope I don’t offend anyone, but if I do, the door’s over there!” I want to literally offend the hell out of you !! I want you to be so offended by what I am going to say that you repent and leave hell behind you for ever.

Get this, and please hear me fully before you start ranting at me.

There will be NO Pentecostals in heaven. None – not one. By the same yardstick, there will be NO Catholics there either – not a single one. NO Baptist will ever go to heaven – nor a Calvinist, nor an Anglican, nor a Methodist. Not a single one of any of these groups – and many more – will go to heaven !!

Only God’s Kingdom People will be in heaven.

Of course, there are Kingdom people in each and every one of those denominations I just cited. Many of them in fact. How many of you know that God hates all our denominations because they prevent true unity of the Body of Christ – His Church and His Bride? When Jesus returns to take us all away, our denomination will be stripped from us instantly and only the clothes of God’s Kingdom people will be allowed into heaven.

Brothers and sisters, can we not all start behaving like God’s Kingdom People. Can we not all start to pull together instead of against each other. Satan’s greatest achievement has been the sectarianism caused by denominations. Personally, I don’t care what your label is, if you worship the Lord with a clean heart, then I want to worship with you. I believe in divine appointments – that is how I met my precious wife. I believe in the unity of all believers – one church under one Father, one Son, and one Holy Spirit. I believe in baptism by immersion. I also believe in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit – but I am a Pentecostal so what do you expect :-) I don’t care if you don’t believe in all that I believe and accept.

Most importantly, I do believe in John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” It’s that word ‘whoever’ that is important to me, so whoever believes this one scripture is one with whom I would have communion – the communion of ALL saints.

United together as God’s Kingdom People.