The Supreme Doctrine

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Colossians 2:6-9

With the continued immigration and procreation of non-Christian peoples into the Western World the extinction of that institution called the "church" is imminent if not already happened. I'm not referring to the organism, the Body of Christ, rather the visible organization called the church. No longer can Christians easily seek refuge where sound doctrine and discipline are taught. The pastor is to be a shepherd, protecting and nurturing the flock. Today, if a pastor calls out or denounces false doctrine he and his congregation are labeled bigots. The apostle Jude admonishes us to "contend for the faith once delivered to the saints". 150 years ago most churches in the Western world would do just that. Not anymore.

A driving objective of churches today is syncretism. Merriam-Webster defines syncretism as:

1 the combination of different forms of belief or practice

2 the fusion of two or more originally different inflectional forms

The modern church is a perfect example of syncretism at work in the Body of Christ. The modern church adopts the perversion of American culture on many levels. The modern church appeals to the hedonistic nature of Americans. We must be entertained. Americans do not want to think, they want to feel. Modern churches appeal to the amusement of Americans. Reverence for God is completely lost in the modern church. The mega-church is also a syncrestic incorporation of the modern box store. I recently joined Costco. Its huge and has a variety of things to "meet your needs" in large quantities. The church is not to exist for the purpose of "meeting peoples needs". The congregation of the Lord exists to worship God Almighty, not provide an array of social services to meet your needs.

Syncretism has been occurring for decades in different forms. The most prominent form of syncretism in the West has been the New Age movement. There are no clearly defined doctrines of the New Age. New Age thought is a form of syncretism accepting all forms of metaphysics and religion for the purpose of achieving a higher conscientiousness and oneness with the universe. Its roots are in Hinduism and Pantheism. Pantheism teaches that God is everywhere and in everything thus every thing is God. In the text above the New Age is found in those who follow after the "rudiments of the world". The word "rudiments" can also be translated "elements". Pagans worship the elements of nature; wood, fire, earth and water.

New Age thought has become so ingrained in Western Society that the term is rarely ever used anymore. In the majority of churches I have visited over the past 20 years, including conservative "bible believing" churches I have heard or observed New Age syncretism in some form. Because the average Christian today is not, "Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith" they accept things that sound good on the surface but underneath spiritual death is lurking.

Syncretism blends not only religious thought but culture as well. The domination of Western culture by Negro culture is syncretism. Every time you see a young Caucasian person listening to Negro music or emulating a Negro, that is syncretism. (Note: I do not use the term Negro in a derogatory manner. Negro is the proper designation of the race of people who come from Sub-Saharan Africa.)

Quite frankly, syncretism is satanic. God defined the boundaries of every cultural/racial group in Genesis 10 and when they defied God by integrating under Nimrods leadership God segregated them by confusing their ability to communicate with one another. Thus, language is God ordained segregation.

The most heinous damnable thing about syncretism is the denial of Christ as the fullness of the Godhead bodily. One cannot be warm and embracing of cultures and religions that deny this fundamental teaching that all Christian churches have accepted down through the centuries. Jesus alone is God in the flesh. To accept Muslims, Hindu's and Buddhists as your "brothers" is to denounce the exclusive deity of Christ.

Twenty years ago when I was backslidden from the Lord I was dating a woman who professed to be a Christian. As the relationship became more serious I could not avoid the question of how we would raise a child if we married and had children. Up to this point we had never discussed biblical doctrine. I took for granted that since she professed being a Christian she accepted the basic fundamental/orthodox doctrines of Christianity. Just to be sure I asked her. It really takes only one question to determine ones real standing with God. Who is Jesus Christ? She denied the exclusive deity of Jesus Christ, the sin nature, the resurrection, the necessity of being born again to enter heaven and the infallibility of scripture. This woman professed Christianity and yet denied every major doctrine of the faith.

I contend that the supreme doctrine of the Christian is the incarnate Christ. God in the flesh in Jesus Christ. If ones perception of Christ is wrong then it matters not what else they may have right. There are millions of people sitting in church pews in this country alone who do not believe in the exclusive deity of Christ. Oh, they may say He is divine but they also believe Buddha and Allah are divine.

We live in an age of great deception and it will continue to get worse with the domination of Western countries by people hostile to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Beware lest any man spoil you.