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Whose Slave Are You?Most Christians that I know (and have known)
are all too ready and willing to believeand trust ANYTHING they
hear from their church and pastor. In todays church/religious
viewpoint, it is said that professing Christians must "belong to
the local church,"that is,become "members of the local church,"
something about which nothing is said in theScriptures. Very
precious few have no real idea of what it means to be free in
Christ.They have always been slaves of the churchand its so-called
rulers.
Virtually no one in the church knows how to stand on their own
feet spiritually; maketheir own decisions about what they will do
in serving the Lord; how, when, where theywill serve and follow
Jesus. In current practice, the local church organization,
controlledand ruled by the eldership, makes all the decisions for
all the member/slaves! (marriage,
job, where to live, is this or that right for me, going here,
going there, etc., etc)The Eldership/Lordship perversity controls
everything! You control nothing! You havenothing to say. You have
no freedom in the corporate/institutional local church.
TheElders/Rulers will "rubber stamp" every member into total
conformity with their pattern.The Eldershipruns the show with no
questions asked. The Eldership/Lordshipdecisions are claimed to be
the very decisions of Jesus Christ, whether it is in regardsto the
hiring of a new elder or right down to the paving the parking lot.
(Dont be fooledby the so-called church business meetings; a meeting
where you are led to believe thatyour vote counts for something. It
doesn't!) All decisions relative to the church and itsoperation
belong to these church officials, i.e. the elders.Like the Pope to
the Catholic Church, these "elders"stand in the place of Christ for
you.You are to obey the elderas a slave-member, in all their
decisions and decrees. Youare to arrive at the appointed
headquarters building, at the appointed times, to do theappointed
things, in the appointed way, week after week, just as this body of
lords havelaid it out! You are to submit fully. Remember, "Your
Elders"preach that to obey themis to obey Christ and to disobey
this local pontifical body is to disobey Christ!
Do you really grasp the significance of that statement? Are you
gullible enough toswallow that and bow your heart, will and life to
the enslavement to men?
As a church member, YOU are in slavery to a church institution
under the absolutecontrol of men! If that isn't slavery, then there
isn't any such thing as slavery. Churchmember/slaves need to
realize what their situation really is. The church
("Eldership")directs and controls your life and service to the
Lord. You are not free. You have novoice or vote in anything.
Slaves never have such a right. Your role is (1) to obey and(2) to
pay.
Whose slave are you? Who is really your master? Jesus said: "No
man can serve twomasters.."(Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13).
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The apostle Paul plainly taught: "You were bought with a price;
do not become slaves ofmen"(1 Corinthians 7:23). Note that you were
bought with a price; the life of Jesus, soyou belong to the one who
bought you.
After Jesus was raised from the dead He told Peter, Feed My
sheep. Notice that the
Lord did not say He would give Peter some sheep of his own to
rule over. He wasn'tgiving Peter anything to have as his own. He
didn't tell Peter to go start a church andbegin gathering people
together in his own name. Neither did he tell Peter to go
gethimself elected to take the place of Jesus as the new leader of
the disciples.
In fact, no one has ever been elected to take the place of Jesus
after He was taken upinto heaven. Why? Because He is still the
Head, and He is still the Good Shepherd. Henever laid aside that
role. Do you understand this? There is ONE flock and ONEShepherd
and nothing belongs to any individual.
Many times in church I have heard "the elder"speak of my people,
my flock, or my
sheep, as though they possessed something. What impudence! What
effrontery!Understand that the elderor the eldershipowns nothing!
The Scripture plainly says thatwe are the sheep of His Pasture.
Everything belongs to the Father, Who has committedall things into
the care of His Son, the Good Shepherd. No eldershipcan claim
anythingor anyone as belonging to them personally. Is it any wonder
why we don't see theLord's sheep being treating with greater
respect and humility? How can a man lord oversomething that doesnt
belong to him?
Jesus is your Master. No one can serve two masters. You are to
receive your ordersand directions from the one Lord (Ruler), Jesus
Christ. He is the Head over all things toHis ecclesia, His redeemed
people; not "Your Elders."
He never placed it on the Pope. Neither did He place it upon any
other man nor anygroup or body of men, even if they do claim that
the Eldership has such authority andcontrol. It is another big lie,
like the claim of the Pope. Jesus Christ is the one and onlyMaster
and Lord. Is He your one and only Lord?Remember that Paul said: "Do
you not know that when you present yourselves tosomeone as slaves
for obedience, you are the slaves of the one whom you obey"(Romans
6:16).
Consider the following very carefully. When you apply for
"membership at church"andagree to obey The Eldership(men); to
submit to their rule; to that master; that youbecome a slave of men
and you give up Jesus Christ as your Master and Lord? For Hesaid
Himself that no man can serve two masters. Do you go forward and
"agree to workunder the authority and oversight of the Elders?" Did
you do that? If so, you are aslave of men and not Jesus Christ! If
you ever were before, you are now no longer aslave/servant of the
Lord Jesus Christ. You can't have it both ways.
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What you should have done, as one other brother had done, when
he was asked by theelders if he would publicly agree to submit to
them as required by 1 Peter 5:5; thebrother replied,"...I would if
you at the same time would agree to submit to me as required by
thesecond sentence of the same verse..."Obviously, the meeting
ended and the brother was "rejected."This is the unholy place into
which the doctrines and commandments of men has ledpeople. This is
what institutional religion will do and necessitates. This is the
result that"the local Church"as an organization, brings upon the
Lord's people. It follows Rome,not the Lord Jesus. Can't you see
this truth?You were bought with a price, the precious blood of
Jesus. Do not become slaves ofmen. If you have done this, and all
church membershave done it, even with honestintentions, you must
cease being slaves of men and human institutions. Slaves in or
to
an institution of men is to become slaves of men. Slaves of
Christ, Yes! Slaves of men,institutions, or religious systems,
No!Come out of slavery! Give your entire allegiance to Him who
bought you (and owns you)with His life. Serve Him and Him alone!
Have the faith and courage to come out fromthe bondage of men.Whose
slave are you?Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye
separate, saith the Lord, Andtouch no unclean thing; And I will
receive you. 2 Corinthians 6:17The Christians of the early era
would not have tolerated such blatant violation of clearNew
Testament teachings and practices for one minute!
We claim that the New Testament documents provide God-inspired
direction for theNew Covenant people of God, just as the Old
Testament Scriptures structured life forIsrael and yet construct
and maintain institutions that contradict its words.
Whose slave are you? Are you a slave to Jesus Christ and Him
alone or are you aslave to a monstrous freak sustaining itself
through fear, control, authority, and ofcourse, money to bankroll
their craft?Ken Cascio
