The Lulling to Sleep of the Church: How Prevailing Doctrines Are Weakening and Destroying the Church

© 2023 by M.L. Brooks

ISBN (Print Edition): 979-8-35091-939-4

ISBN (eBook Edition): 979-8-35091-940-0

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – for example, electronic, photocopy, or recording – without the prior written permission of the author, except as permitted by U.S. Copyright law.

All Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Printed in the United States of America

Where there is no vision, the people perish:

but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

– Proverbs 29:18

Contents

Preface

Introduction: The Parable of the Ten Virgins

1. Peace and Safety: God Loves You No Matter What

2. Truth: God Is a Rewarder of Them That Diligently Seek Him

3. Peace and Safety: Only Faith Is Required, Any Other Requirement Is Works

4. Truth: You Are a Servant of God, Obedience Is Required

5. Peace and Safety: There Are Essentials and Nonessentials in the Bible

6. Truth: All of God’s Word Is Essential, That’s Why He Gave It to Us

7. Peace and Safety: Preach Fables

8. Truth: Preach a Two-Edged Sword

9. Peace and Safety: God Will Give You Success, Wealth, and Power in This World

10. Truth: Our Kingdom Is Not of This World

11. Peace and Safety: Our Church Is Large or Growing, so God Is Happy with Us

12. Truth: God Chose to Save the Lost through the Foolishness of Preaching

Conclusion: Our Solution: Repentance and Seeking God after the Due Order

Bibliography

Preface

The church has been the cornerstone of people’s lives in the United States since our country was founded. It has gained and waned in strength over the years, with several revivals bringing it back in force at times. However, in recent years the church seems to be losing its strength and vigor. It has been unable to retain people, especially young people, and most churches have cut back on the number of services because of a lack of interest. The members today are not as committed to the church as members were of past generations. Christians do not have the knowledge of the Bible that people did in the past. Furthermore, churches often grow as a result of Christians leaving one church to go to another, so the number of people converting and becoming Christians is relatively low. What has happened to the church? Why is the church weak and dying? What is the church doing wrong? What can be done to reform and revive such a church? I will attempt to answer these questions with Scriptural and pragmatic remedies. As is often the case in the things of God, the solution is simple (to understand) but not easy (to perform), and without faith, nothing will be accomplished.

I want to be clear that this criticism of the direction and teaching in the church is not directed toward any specific denomination or group. I believe and see clearly that despite the doctrinal statements of particular denominations or churches, these teachings are prevalent everywhere. Often, people do not know the denomination or doctrinal stances of the church they attend, and if they change to another church down the road, they do not see doctrinal differences between the two churches even though the churches supposedly believe very differently. As this demonstrates, nearly every evangelical church seems to believe in these detrimental teachings to some extent, and it has been highly destructive to the individual believers and the church as a whole.

In the following chapters, I will establish that the church is spiritually asleep. Then, I will show how various teachings have affected the church and resulted in the spiritual slumber. I will use the Scripture to demonstrate why these teachings are wrong and set forth the correct doctrines that should be taught instead. Finally, I will present a solution to the problem of how to awaken the church and make it a vigorous and powerful witness for our Lord Jesus Christ once again.

Introduction

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

The parable of the ten virgins tells us that the church is sleeping. However, some doctrinal background from the Scriptures is needed to help us understand the events this parable references. These doctrines include the teaching that Jesus is coming back for the church and that the church is the bride of Christ.

First, it is clear in the Bible that Jesus will come back for His church. He makes this promise in John 14:3; after speaking about going to prepare a place for us, He says, And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also (ref. Jn. 17:24). Thus, He will one day come again to take us to be with Him in that place (heaven).

In addition, angels told Jesus’s disciples that just as He had ascended up into the clouds, He would also come back down from the clouds. After the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again, He appeared to many for forty days; then, He ascended into heaven. The disciples watched him ascend, and they stood by, staring up where He had gone away. Two angels appeared standing next to them and said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven (Acts 1:11). We know from these Scriptures that Jesus is going to come back down from heaven one day, and this event is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18,

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Jesus will descend, and the dead in Christ will rise to go with the Lord to heaven. Then, the living Christians will also rise to meet the Lord in the air and ascend up to heaven with Him! What a comfort! What a blessed hope for the church! This is the day that the church is to be longing for! Our Lord will come again to take us home to heaven to be with Him. I Corinthians 15:51-53 describes it in this way,

Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep [die, refers to death in various Scriptures, signifies that it is a nonpermanent state, see Jn. 11:11-14, 1 Cor. 15:16-22], but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

Then, death is swallowed up in victory (1 Cor. 15:54, ref.¹ Isa. 25:8). Death will have no more power over us! Hallelujah! Whether dead or living, we will be changed from this mortal, corruptible body to a glorified state with a body that will not perish. The battle for our souls will be over, and what a sweet victory to be with our Lord!

The Scripture also presents Jesus coming back for His church as an analogy. Christ is the bridegroom, and the church is His bride. 2 Corinthians 11:2 says, For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. Thus, the church is the chaste virgin to be presented to her husband, Jesus Christ. In addition, Revelation 19:7-9 says,

Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

There will be a feast (marriage supper of the Lamb) in Heaven on that wedding day when the Lord Jesus Christ (the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world) comes down in the clouds and calls His pure and spotless bride (the church) home to heaven to forever be with her bridegroom and Lord. What a glorious day to meet the Lord in the air and forever be with Him! As a young lady anticipates the joy of her wedding day, in like manner, the church is to anticipate the joyous day of our uniting with our bridegroom, Jesus, when we will have a great marriage supper and forever dwell with Him in heaven.

I have presented some basic Scriptures for the doctrine of the rapture or catching away of the church when Christ comes to take His church to heaven. The word rapture comes from I Thessalonians 4:17, caught up, or in Greek, harpazo, and in Latin, rapturo. Thus, rapture is a word borrowed from Latin that means the catching away of the church. It is the blessed hope of the church (Tit. 2:13). There are two examples of raptures in the Old Testament, which include Enoch (Gen. 5:24) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11). The church is told in the Scripture to be ready for this event: But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only (Mt. 24:36). It is going to come like the flood in the days of Noah and the fire and brimstone from heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah in the days of Lot (Mt. 24:37-39, Lk. 17:26-30). People are going to be going about their days like they always do. There will be signs that the Lord will return soon, but nearly everyone will not pay any attention to those signs. Instead, they will have no thought that anything very significant will happen that day, and when they least expect it, the Lord will come and take His church away (1 Thes. 5:1-4). Then, He will bring judgment (1 Thes. 1:10, 5:9, Rev. 14:7-11, 19-20). Only about a handful of people were saved during the days of Noah and Lot, so those that are raptured probably will be very few, but they will be the ones that belong to the Lord, that He finds still doing His will on that great day of His return. We are told to Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come (Mt. 24:42). Also, Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh (Mt. 24:44). Throughout the Scriptures, particularly in Matthew 24-25, Mark 13, and Luke 17, the church is reminded and warned by the Lord that we need to be watching and waiting for Him to come back because if we are not ready, we will not go with our Lord; we will miss it.

In this context of our Lord Jesus Christ coming back for His bride, the church, we read the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13.

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so: lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they