Freedom Man Press

July 6, 2020 | by Gunner Steele

Several weeks ago, I wrote about how Christians Response to the Coronavirus was Shameful. That article received an incredible amount of support, along with some hatred. You know, haters gonna hate…

But its' time to take it to the next level. Because I am truly advocating that everybody who attends a weak church that shut its doors because of the "coronavirus scare" should leave that church immediately and begin attending another church—one that never shut down.

And this is not just my opinion. This is what the Bible says…

Just because something is called "Christian" or "the church," it does not necessarily mean that it is of God. From the beginning of time until now, there have always been counterfeits—designed to turn away the hearts of simple-minded people so that they would never come to the knowledge of God.

Jesus spoke of this directly to the faces of the people who were guilty of it:

Matthew 15:7-9 "Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."

In another place, he even speaks of people who, speaking on behalf of Christ's church, in his name, have done many wonderful works. But Jesus said that because they did not do the "will of God," then they would be cast aside because they were workers of iniquity:

Matthew 7:21-23 "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

Do you think it is the will of God to close churches when there is a virus scare? Do you think it is the will of God to engender fear when God's church is supposed to provide hope and healing? Do you think it is the will of God to be complicit with sinful governments who give unconstitutional, illegal, and immoral orders?

Just because a church feeds the poor, has prayer meetings, home bible study groups, serves coffee before church services, and does many other "wonderful works," that doesn't make it a godly church. If the church is not doing the will of God, then Jesus will say to them in the day of judgment, "I never knew you, depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

You must attend a church that bears the fruits of Christianity and the fruits of righteousness. The name on the front door does not matter. Check the fruit (Matthew 7:16-20).

Jesus Christ himself spoke of the foundation of his church and declared that it would be strong and powerful:

Matthew 16:18-19 "…upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

The church is supposed to be so powerful that not even the forces of hell could stand against it. And the true church was given so much authority by God that whatsoever they bound or loosed on earth, would likewise be done in heaven.

This is how and why there should be, and has always been, healing and miracles in the true church. This doesn't mean that we shouldn't learn the art and science of medicine and bring healing to the nations in God's name, but it does mean that there can, and should, still be healing and deliverance through the power of prayer and the authority of true church:

James 5:14-15 "Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up…"

The prayer of faith shall save the sick. Yet most Christians are so weak because of the spiritual emptiness of the assembly in which they attend, that when they get sick the first place they go is to the doctor instead of to the elders of the church. In fact, many professed believers would say that to trust in the prayers of the elders of the church with anointing oil is "silly" and is nothing more than the "rejection of science" by "outdated religion." And that is from people who profess to be Christian. Because everyone knows that believing in and trusting what the Bible actually says is for old fuddy-duddies.

If they have COVID symptoms, they go to the doctor, and the doctor puts them on a ventilator, which ultimately kills them. Then the news headlines come out, "Choir Member catches COVID-19 and Dies because the Church Failed to Comply with the Law." And the church gets used as propaganda to further facilitate corruption in government and abuse of power.

If there is confusion and fear, it is the church that should bring clarity and confidence, as we see multiple times in the Bible. Church leaders should be well studied, confident, logical, and powerful in their exposition of social issues, current events, national crises, and most of all, the Word of God. Church leaders should be on the forefront of knowledge and wisdom, making clear and confident statements about the coronavirus, government corruption, citizens' rights, and most importantly—Biblical law.

Instead, we see modern church leaders are weak, confused, complicit, and without direction. They spend their days downloading sermons from the internet, trying on new skinny jeans and flip flops, and making vague "spiritual quotations" on social media.

We can read about the exploits of God's true church in the book of Acts, which chronicles the history of the early church after being birthed on the Day of Pentecost in a miraculous fashion. Within moments of its origin, the Church was, by the power of the Holy Ghost, preaching defiantly in the face of adversaries, baptizing thousands, healing the sick, and fearlessly spreading the gospel throughout the world.

The church caused fear in political leaders, brought healing to the sick, confounded the wise, and brought hope to all people. In fact, by their own word, the political leaders who were fearful of the activity of God's true church claimed that the church had "turned the world upside down" (Acts 17:6).

Does that sound like your church? Is your church exhibiting this kind of power? Has it had any effect on sinful governmental leadership? Is their healing within its walls? Or has your church succumbed to every movement, action, and decree of sinful governments and the sinful desires of its own congregants?

It is remarkable that Jesus described his true church as being victorious over the very gates of hell, yet most American churches aren't even victorious over public fear about a weak virus.

So why do people continue to attend weak churches that do more harm than good to their families spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually? The Bible teaches us that sinful people want weak churches with weak leaders and low standards. This allows them cover to continue in their sinfulness, all while appeasing their conscience and making them feel self-righteous since they still "go to church."

2 Timothy 4:3-4 (Amplified) "For the time is coming when will not tolerate (endure) sound and wholesome instruction, but, having ears itching , they will gather to themselves one teacher after another to a considerable number, chosen to satisfy their own liking and to foster the errors they hold, And will turn aside from hearing the truth and wander off into myths and man-made fictions."

Can you endure sound doctrine? Can you handle it when a preacher calls sin, sin? Does it bother you to hear that homosexuality is sin? Or that sex outside of marriage is sin? Does it bother you to hear and know that abortion is first degree murder? Or that feminism is sin? Or that men and women are different? Or that a man who does not provide for his own family is worse than an infidel? Does the word "sin" bother you?

No worries, you can keep going to a church with teachers, leaders, and Pastors, who say exactly what you want to hear, so you never feel uncomfortable, and so you never have to make any changes to your life. And you'll ultimately wander off into myths and man-made fictions. Two common examples are the number of American churchgoers who believe in evolution or who think that socialism is a solution to societal problems—just myths and man-made fictions!

People hate hypocrites and the church, in general, is already known for being hypocritical. However, hypocrisy does not and should not define a true Christian church. On the contrary, hypocrisy is the attribute of false religion and Jesus opposed it and condemned it with great intensity (Mt. 15:7, 22:18, 23:13, 24:51; Lu. 6:42, 12:56, 13:15; Jn. 12:6; Ro. 16:18).

What is a church that claims to preach the truth, the gospel, and eternal hope, that instantly shuts its doors, in compliance with perverse governments, and cowers in fear? What kind of a church delivers the message of fear concerning a virus instead of the message of healing? What kind of church delivers the message of social compliance instead of the message of strength and hope in the midst of tyranny? It is a hypocritical church. And the Bible teaches us to separate ourselves from such people:

Romans 16:17-18 "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple."

If your church is operating in hypocrisy, teaching doctrines that are contrary to true Christianity, and demonstrating its weakness for all the world to see by shutting its doors during the "coronavirus crisis," then it is time for you to "mark them" and "avoid them." Stop going to that weak church. They are simply deceiving the hearts of simple-minded people through "good words and fair speeches." In other words, they make people feel good about themselves. They don't challenge people to become better or to line up to the Word of God.

The true church is strong and full of power as already discussed. The problem is that churches still have an air of spirituality about them, so they still attract people who want to be associated with Christianity. Churches have "Christian names" they talk about "God," and they do "Christian things." So yes, churches still have some form of godliness that attracts people.

But, if that church is not doing the will of God, then their form of godliness is irrelevant. If the church is weak and complicit with sin and sinful society, then it is denying the true power of God's true church. And if a church has a form of godliness, but denies the power of the true church, the Bible tells you that you must turn away from that church:

2 Timothy 3:5 "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away."

Turn away! Leave! Get out! This scripture makes it very plain that it is time to have a mass exodus in America from all weak churches. Plainly stated, every Christian who attends a church that closed down during the coronavirus scare, needs to leave that church immediately and never go back.

In this sense, maybe the coronavirus crisis was a good thing. For it put on public display all of the churches who were real and all who were false. It allowed us to see plainly who it was that was concerned with doing the will of God and who was just operating a social club.

This is a real and legitimate problem. In many places around America, there are literally zero decent churches to go to. And I'm not talking about doctrinal differences. If a church differs with you on a minor doctrinal point here and there, but does not cause or create divisions around it, then you should likewise be able to attend that church even if you feel its leaders err in minor doctrinal issues, without you causing division either. But the question is, is the church striving to do the will of God, teaching sound doctrine, and operating in the strength and power of the true church of the living God?

If so, they would not have shut down over COVID-19. If you find a church like that, start going there. Let the strong and godly churches fill up to overflowing!

And let the weak churches shut down permanently. Let their doors close forever and lets purge the nation of this spiritual blight.

If you can't find any such church, then start having home Bible studies and have your own mini house-church. This was a common practice in Biblical times (Ro. 16:5, 1 Co. 16:19, Col. 4:15, Phm 2). And with a huge vacuum of spiritual needs, perhaps then, and only then, will good men start answering the call to be true shepherds and bishops, leading new churches with renewed vision, Biblical power, sound doctrine, and without fear of viruses or governments. Let it usher in a brand new Great Awakening in America and the world!