Although the thought of bringing today’s message didn’t occur to me until recently, I’m firmly convinced I must preach it. Because of some of the feedback I’ve received concerning my recent sermon entitled Deceived, feedback which included constructive criticism such as, “Mike, “Although the opening paragraph was an attention grabber it was too strong. It may have turned some people off and taken away from the main things you were trying to say, but especially certain comments from another friend whose feedback I also appreciate; I’ve decided that this is my last sermon. Allow me to share part of that critique, but first, I want to assure you that what I’m about to read is not something I made up. After expressing whole hearted agreement with my remarks in the first half of the sermon, my friend had a change of heart and wrote:

“Mike: It was going so nicely and I thought of forwarding your sermon to my friends Mark and Jennifer the college students who visited your church with me last summer, until I got to the Catholic bashing part. I would never send that to them. Their hearts would be broken to know you have such hate for the church they both love. Imperfect as it may be, they still love it. Both of them absolutely hate what we know some of the priests have done. They’ve called it despicable, disgusting, sinful, and beyond belief and they can barely speak of it, Mike. But I cannot forward your sermon to them. They wouldn’t step foot in your church again if they knew how you felt about the Catholic Church. Neither of them would listen to anything you’d ever have to say if they understood how much hate you harbor for their church.”

“I’ve been praying for you Mike. My specific prayer is that the Lord would free you of the hate you have in your heart for the Catholic Church. It’s not a good thing to hate with such ferocity. There are other churches that preach stranger things, more hostile to Christ than what comes out of the Catholic Church and Catholic Mass these days. I don’t think it’s an evil church Mike. I think it is deceived in some areas and yes it preaches what we would consider odd things, wrong things, manmade ideas like purgatory, praying to Saints, etc., but I think it’s easy to show that those teachings are a bunch of hogwash. I think the church is sincere in its love for Christ, but it falls short. But we can say that of Methodist, Charismatic name it and claim it type churches, Mormon, Jehovah Witness, Episcopalian, etc. But you don’t seem to have such vehement hate for these other churches and I don’t know why. Many are deceived by the Pastors and leaders of these churches too. How come you don’t hate them with such intensity? It seems like such a waste of energy and time to hate so fiercely. Isn’t there something else you could do with all that hate energy? When was the last time you went to a local Mass and really listened Mike? You’re not going to go to hell because you enter into a Catholic church and listen. I’d encourage you to go to a Catholic Church on a Saturday evening and hear for yourself what is being preached. Or make an appointment to sit with a local priest, and ask him some questions instead of just hating so unabashedly. Try to understand why they believe what they believe and focus on showing them the light, the truth, instead of just hating them so much. You’re not going to convert anyone with the strong hateful thinking you have in your heart right now. Isn’t the whole idea to lovingly show people the truth and allow the Holy Spirit to work within their hearts? I hurt for my Catholic friends such as Mark and Jennifer when you go on and on about their church the way you did in this last sermon, Mike.” End of quote.

Needless to say, that sermon had quiet an impact on that person, who incidentally is still one of my friend’s. In case you weren’t counting, the words hate, hates, hating and hateful were used a dozen times to describe my feelings towards the Catholic Church. I have to admit that particular critique has made quite an impression on me. So much so, that the title of this morning’s sermon which is: “THIS IS MY LAST SERMON,” popped into my mind within a matter of minutes after reading it a few times. The question I had to ask myself was: “did I sin in anything I said or in the manner in which I spoke when I preached that sermon. Was I biblically accurate and factual and did I deliver that sermon in a spirit of love or of hatred.” Before we consider those thoughts I want to assure you I harbor no anger, bitterness or resentment toward a single Roman Catholic the Lord has caused to cross paths with me. In fact, since I have become a Christian I try to treat all people with kindness, respect and dignity. I haven’t always succeeded and sometimes I have failed miserably, but I do try. In fact, I start each day asking Him to strongly incline and then give me the strength to do so. God’s Word tells us:

Ephesians 5:6-17 (ESV) Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. ⁷ Therefore do not associate with them; ⁸ for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), ¹⁰ and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. ¹¹ Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. ¹² For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. ¹³ But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, ¹⁴ for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” ¹⁵ Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” And that’s exactly what I attempted to do in my sermon when I spoke of “some of the teachings and activities taking place within,” what I referred to as being, a colossal “Church of Darkness.”(A)To whatever extent I wasn’t factual or didn’t present my opinion in a spirit of love, please let me know as some folks already did in the comments they entered in my web page guest-book. The truth of the matter is I am very angry with some the Church’s official teachings as well as some of the practices which occur during a Catholic Mass, and I believe I have legitimate justification for feeling that way. I also believe if I wasn’t angry enough to speak out in the manner in which I did, I would have joined the ranks of “man pleasing pastors,” who one day will be required to justify their indefensible silence and apathy toward a system which I would characterize as being “the Devil’s masterpiece of deception.” I can relate to the Apostle Paul who once declared “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16), and I must say “woe to me if I don’t’ speak out in protest towards that Church of Darkness whenever possible. I would also have to take a good hard look into my own heart and make absolutely certain that my calling and election is genuine and that I really am a true Christian. Finally, I have to know if I’m sinning by deciding never to attend a service in a Catholic Church again, or in exposing its works of darkness at every divinely ordained opportunity. Concerning my anger, God’s Word says:

Ephesians 4:26-27 (ESV); 30-31 (NIV) ²⁶ Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, ²⁷ and give no opportunity to the devil. ³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.

A quick reading of verses 26 and 27, “In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry and do not give the devil a foothold,” coupled with verse 30: “and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption,” and then part of verse 31 which says, “Get rid of all bitterness and anger,” may seem to confirm my friends assessment of my attitude toward the Roman Catholic Church. I must admit I have been and continue to be upset, even to the point of actually hating some of its teachings and practices every bit as much as I do with what cancer and AIDS does to a human body.

At this point some of you are probably being tempted to characterize me as being intolerant and perhaps even fanatical concerning this issue. Years ago folks who shared my views were simply referred to as being Protestant’s and many of them were burned at the stake because they wouldn’t recant their convictions.  And, it’s sad to say there aren’t enough of us around these days even in some allegedly Evangelical Protestant pulpit’s in America. I don’t expect to win any popularity contests any more that the Protestant Reformers did. I also have no idea how many cold shoulders I’ll receive or friends I may lose as a result of my sermons. There is however one Person I would rather die than part company with and that is the Holy Spirit. It’s because of Him that I’ve drawn this “line in the sand,” so to speak, about deciding not to attend a Catholic Mass any more. I know I won’t go to hell if I do attend one, but I also know I will break His heart and grieve Him very much if I did.

Commenting on what Catholics refer to as being “Holy Mother the Church,” Martyn-Lloyd Jones reminds us of why this is so. “The Church herself comes between us and the Lord Jesus Christ. She claims she is essential to salvation. Outside the Church—“extra ecclesiam,” there is no salvation—“nulla salus.” She is absolutely essential. She puts herself between my soul and the Lord Jesus Christ. She arrogates that position to herself. You do not find anything like that is the New Testament; but you find it in Roman Catholicism. She alone knows what truth is, she claims. She describes it and she alone can define it and interpret it. She and she alone is able to understand the Scripture and to tell us what to believe. She says this partly because she claims that she has received “continuing revelation.” She does not believe as true Protestant’s do, that revelation ended with what we have in the New Testament. She claims continuing and a continuous revelation. She therefore does not hesitate to say that you must add to the truth in the Scriptures. While saying that the Bible is the Word of God, she claims that her tradition, which she adds on, is equally authoritative and equally binding. And that is the way in which she takes from the Bible, because she says things in what she adds on in her tradition that deny biblical teachings and take from it. That is where the subtlety comes in. In the end it comes to this, that she claims our totalitarian allegiance. She claims to govern us in what we believe and in what we do. She claims to be responsible for our soul and its salvation. We must therefore submit utterly and absolutely to what the Church teaches us. She has a totalitarian system. There is no question but that she binds the souls of her people absolutely, as much as Communism does, as much as Hitler did under his horrible system. It is a totalitarian system. The church is supreme and thus stands between us and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (C) Please correct me if this teaching really isn’t evil. And please get a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and compare it with The Bible and then judge for yourself whether or not Lloyd-Jones assessment of this abominable system is accurate. And, as I’m constantly reminding you, search the Scriptures for yourselves to see if what I’m saying is Biblical truth. I’m not infallible or too old to learn and be corrected.

Do you know how God wants His children to view evil? He tells us we should, “hate evil and do good,” (Amos 5:15). Christians must hate evil and hate it with a passion! We must have nothing to do with it! And we must have nothing to do with this humongous work of darkness, and give anyone the false impression that we think certain teachings and practices are not that big a deal by our presence at a Mass; especially if the Christian is a evangelical pastor such as I am. Instead, followers of Jesus should expose it at every divinely ordained opportunity.

I doubt very much if most Americans who consider themselves Roman Catholics have a clue as to everything a real Catholic believes, but I assure you every single Catholic priest without exception does. I know there are some true Christians who have deceived themselves into rationalizing their continuing involvement in one way or another with the Catholic Church. They don’t believe some of its official teachings which my friend earlier referred to as being “hogwash” any more than you and I do. In fact there are some Catholic priests who don’t either. There are priests who firmly believe the truth of: Ephesians 2:8 (ESV) ⁸”For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” Nevertheless, they grieve the Holy Spirit by not proclaiming this truth from the pulpit just as all too many of today’s allegedly Evangelical pastors who only tell the people what they want to hear do. How can we explain their silence? I believe part of the problem lies in their not fully understanding what it means by grieving the Holy Spirit. Allow me to once again quote Lloyd-Jones who in a different work offers the following insightful comments when he wrote that all too often we “persist in regarding the Holy Spirit as no more than an influence or as a kind of power. But we must realize that He is a Person! You cannot grieve an influence; you can only grieve a person. You cannot hurt a power; you can only hurt a person. He can be disappointed in us. A principal cannot be disappointed. And here, I say, is one of the most vital and important things for us ever to grasp, that we are in this relationship to the Holy Spirit; if we are Christians He is in us, He dwells within us! Wherever we are, He is! And let us never forget His tenderness. Is He not represented in the Scriptures as a dove? He descended upon our Lord at the baptism in the Jordan in semblance of a dove! And that is the Spirit who dwells within us. He is in us; our bodies are His very temple.”

“Now obviously all this is only true of those who are believers; it cannot apply to a non-Christian. An unbeliever can resist the Holy Spirit, but he cannot grieve Him. The only person who can grieve Him is one who belongs to the family, and is in this personal relationship. It is in this way that I, as a Christian, must look at sanctification; not simply in terms of particular actions or happenings or experiences. I must forget all that, as it were, and realize that the Spirit is in me and is always with me. My every action is known to Him, and it is possible for me to grieve Him. That is the meaning of this term grieve. How then do we, or may we grieve the Holy Spirit of God? And the answer is plain before us. Anything that we do which is not holy is grieving to Him.” (C)In other words, you and I grieve Him whenever we sin.

The Holy Spirit is in me! Regardless of where I am or what I’m doing; He’s right there inside of me. I can’t leave Him outside when I enter a Catholic Church. It’s impossible! I can’t even begin to comprehend the magnitude of how broken hearted He must be whenever He is brought into the Church of Darkness by a Christian who apparently has forgotten the indescribable agony Jesus experienced on his or her behalf and who are now “part of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that they may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called them out of darkness and into His marvelous light,” (1 Peter 2:9). Brothers and sisters in Christ; don’t ever forget to remember that ^{8 “}at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), ¹⁰ and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. ¹¹ Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” Ephesians 5: 8-11 (ESV). Personally, I have no more desire of going into a brothel than I do a branch of the Church of Darkness. I don’t want to break His heart by being in one of those churches and committing spiritual adultery.

Thanks for allowing me to share where I am in my pilgrimage through this dark sin-infested world on my way to my real home. There are many other anti-Christian abominations which are taught and practiced within this system which is truly the Devils masterpiece of deception. However, as far as me preaching again about my decision never to attend a Catholic Mass goes, all I can say is, “this is my last sermon, unless the Lord has other plans!!!”

Lord willing, soon….

(A) http://s128601634.onlinehome.us/sermons/deceived.htm

(B) ROMAN CATHOLICISM by D. Martyn-Lloyd Jones, © 1985 The Trinity Review, Number 42 March/April 1985.

(C) DARKNESS AND LIGHT, An Exposition of Ephesians 4:17-5:17, © 1982 by D. Martyn-Lloyd Jones Baker Books, P. O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, Mi. 49516-6287, pages 269-270.