From across the pond comes word that the Scottish-Presbyterians are very close to allowing pastors to marry same-sex couples. Apparently, the Church of Scotland’s Commissioners approved drafted legislation, known as the Overture, at the 2021 General Assembly. The vote was 319 – 217. One reason for considering this ecclesiastical legislation is a declining membership. In 2018, membership in the Church of Scotland dropped to 325,695. Officially changing the constitution of the Church of Scotland will not clean up the cesspool of sin in that religious structure. Already, local congregations can call pastors in same-sex civil marriages. (Jeffrey Walton, The Institute on Religion and Democracy’s Blog) Why is this happening? Because it is easier to change the modern-day local church, than the eternal Word of God.
In Europe’s largest Lutheran denomination, hundreds of clergies, staff, and congregates of the Church of Sweden, have declared, in an open letter that it is now a trans-inclusive institution. While the hearts of the faithful Christians are broken, while heaven weeps, while the demons of hell dance in delight, the modern-day church is changed. Why? Because it is easier to change the local assembly than the eternal Word of God, which lives and abides forever.
In Rome, the Vatican is now home to a woke Pope, who allowed South American animistic religious rituals in the opening of the recent pan-Amazon Synod. Kathy Clubb writes in the conservative Catholic publication, The Remnant:
“Idol worship was on full display in preparation for the Pan-Amazon synod, with the tacit approval of Pope Francis. Although the Synod hadn’t yet started, the celebration of pagan ceremonies added weight to the concerns being voiced by prominent prelates and laymen that the Synod will be a vehicle for apostasy.”
To embracing idol worship, Pope Francis is said not to believe in the eternal divinity of Jesus as the Son of God. Instead,
“Pope Francis conceives the Christ as Jesus of Nazareth, a man, not God incarnate. Once he took flesh, Jesus ceased to be a God and became a man until his death on the cross…
Pope Francis has said to Eugenio Scalfari: ‘There is proof that Jesus of Nazareth, once he became a man, even a man of exceptional virtue, was in no way a God’.” (Mark Powell, CALDR@N POOL on the web; see also, Fatima Perspectives #1343)
Why is the woke Pope Francis (b. Dec. 17, 1936), head of the Catholic Church, and sovereign of Vatican City, changing Catholic dogma? Because it is easier to influence and change a vast religious institution than to change the Word of God, which says: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Ex. 20:3). Concerning the eternal divinity of Christ, the Bible says, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory” (1 Tim. 3:18).
Within the Southern Baptist Denomination, an important requirement for pastoral leadership, in some local congregations, is being changed. No longer are pastors required to be the husband of one wife (Titus 1:6; 1 Tim. 3:2). No, No. The new language in the constitution of the local Baptist church is being rewritten that the congregation prefers the pastor not be divorced.
In May, 2000, the divorce of Dr. Charles Stanley, from his wife of 44 years, Anna Stanley, has helped to pave the way for the erosion of the Biblical standard that an elder not be divorced. God does not care if a man has been the president of the Southern Baptist Convention. God does care that local church leadership reflect the eternal and intimate relationship between Christ and the Church (Eph. 5:25).
Why is this particular Biblical standard being disregarded? The answer is not difficult to discern. It is easier to change the constitution in the local church than it is to change the Word of God, which is settled in heaven, forever (Psalms 119:89).
Someone has said, “I looked for the Church, and found it in the world. I look for the world, and found it in the Church.” The word ICHABOD has been stamped on many a local church door, but only spiritual eyes can see that the glory of the Lord has departed.
