Have you ever been introduced to a product by someone and then buy it only to be let down when you realize that the product doesn’t perform according to all the hype that surrounded the product in the beginning? What about the purchase of a car that you thought would be the best performing vehicle since your Yugo only to find out that the Yugo was better? One of my sons just bought a remote-controlled helicopter. Before he purchased this helicopter he did the necessary research to confirm that his copter would withstand the brutality of a novice behind the controller. Little did he know that his purchase would not be what it seemed. In fact, this particular copter was advertised to be a very durable product. False advertisement along with deception gets us over and over, time and time again.
There is good news! Some things are what they say. Take for instance, God Himself. He is exactly who and what He says He is………..a loving creator that seeks to know you personally. What is depressing though is that I have found that within Christianity there are impostors. In fact, God Himself warned us about them in Jude verses 3 and 4,
” Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation. I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”
“For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Notice the strong words? We are exhorted to ‘contend’ for the faith ‘earnestly’. It seems that this contending is where the paths of the ‘ungodly men’ and the paths of the saints cross. It is not a secret that impostors are in the Church of Jesus. Yet, how do we know them? It is really hard to discern them, but I have learned from experience that you can find clues as to who they are viz. the ungodly men. I have also found clues to that show us just which one of us have been deceived or under their sway of wickedness.
The first clue is their hesitation or outright refusal to go by the Bible. What do I mean by this? Christians are to use the scripture as the ultimate standard for all that they ’do’ or ’think’. When you meet a Christian that says that they are going to impose unscriptural ‘RULES’ upon their congregants and that same Christian is closed-minded to anything you have to say about that, then mark that person as a potential ‘deceiver’ or ‘deceived’.
The next clue is that the deceiver will rally people around their agendas all the while labeling their opposers as heretics and liberals. This can play out differently depending on the circumstances but the main clue again is that their agenda will take precedence over the written word of God.
Another clue to examine is that the deceiver will have a history of authoritative embellishments. ’I'm the man of God around here”, he might say. Or a more humble appearing deceiver will say it more humble, ” God placed me here as pastor and I’m responsible for these people.” Or he may reinforce his authority in such ways as to deceive the masses, “I’m the ‘Daddy’ of this congregation, the Deacons/Elders are the Mommy’s and you laymen are my children. The Bible says to obey your parents children”. Yet when you confront this ‘man of God’ about his unbiblical ideas, he resorts to all previous clues………..no submission to the word of God………..attack the characters of those opposing.
The final clue is deadly. Yes this clue is the “God told me to do it”. Yep, if all else fails just say , ”I’m doing this because God told me audibly, to remove such a person from leadership”. Afterall, he’s the Daddy right? Wrong!
While it is possible that any Christian Church could experience this scenario. Many have doctrinal beliefs that help in controlling such an outright opposition to Christianity. During the reformation when the masses broke free from the authority of the Pope and the corrupt Roman Catholic Church, people began going by Scripture alone. They soon found out that man is broken free from the grips of sin only by Grace alone and Christ alone. Nothing more was needed. It was during this time that a small group of people began re-baptizing adults that were previously baptized as infants in the Catholic Church. They desired to go by the Bible as they baptized ‘believing’ adults. This group became known as Anabaptist, which means, more or less, baptized again. It wasn’t long afterwards that a man named Menno Simons became one of the forefront leaders of this movement. Now mind you, he did not look to himself as some authoritative figure, but only as a servant of the lord, equal to all other brothers and sisters in Christ. Harold S. Bender comments,
“……….These ideals of Menno have been the major formative ideals throughout the four hundred years of Mennonite history, for they were shared by the Swiss-South German Mennonites as well. They constitute the genius of the Mennonite Church. Out of them were born such ideals as separation of church and state, freedom of conscience, the supreme sovereignty of Christ over His own in this present evil world: ideals in advance of their day, but which have become the common possession of a large section of English and American Protestantism.”
Notice that the ideals of Menno is said to be the major formative ideals? While it is not the scope of this article to examine in detail those ideals it is my goal to show that Menno was well aware of the persecutors of his time. In Menno’s writings you see his quest to see all Christians free in conscience as they find out what God’s word would have for them to believe. While you would think that it would be normal for ‘Mennonites’ today to reflect some of his distinctive doctrines such as; no literal sabbath, no tithing law, no Christmas observance, no hierarchical church leadership, this is far from true. Why do many Mennonites disparage Menno’s teachings, all the while pridefully sporting the ‘Mennonite’ name? The answer could possibly be the fact that they have exchanged their heritage of being a free people in regard to man’s traditions, to a people who are heavy laden with nonsensical requirements that reflect the commandments of men. Menno describes the heretic and impostor,
“ If then they are truly heretics who, without Scripture, make themselves a faith, then I truly do not know where to find more miserable and more deplorable heretics than those who daily combat, upbraid, betray as damnable heretics, and persecute us poor, scattered, and rejected Christians. For there is no uglier, nor more abominable heresy under heaven than is found among our opponents, for they shamefully change and pervert the Word and the perfect ordinance and institution of our beloved Lord Jesus Christ.” ( Complete Works of Menno Simons page 231)
So who is the Mr. Mennonite? He is the imposter that has crept in unnoticed. They could be the leaders or they could be the laymen that move the leaders like pawns in their hands to accomplish the works of the anti-christ. Who are those looking in from the outside? They are the very ones who are the Anabaptist in spirit. They have found the word of God to be the only source for proof of the proper paths of life. Yet Mr. Mennonite holds them hostage, not allowing them to openly walk in the grace and freedom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus. Menno further says,
” This command and word, I say, Christ commanded all true messengers and preachers to observe, saying, Preach the gospel. He does not say, Preach the doctrines and commands of men, preach councils and customs, preach glosses and opinions of the learned. he says, Preach the gospel………………………..All the true servants of God in the Old as well as in the New Testament taught nothing but God’s Word, as may be seen and read in many and diverse places in the Scriptures. ( Complete works of Menno p.165)
You see Mr. Mennonite, there is now a new generation, perhaps your children, that see clearly the word of our living Saviour. We have decided that we would rather look in from the outside than submit to you on the inside. We are the generation that chooses to echo God’s word and walk down his paths and not yours. As we stand out here and stare through the glass and our eyes are filled with tears as we weep for your salvation, it is then that we see our reflection in the glass, the image of the true Anabaptist………………. so then, how about removing the Mennonite name, that’s false advertisement!
