This is a prophetic correction and direction to the collective church body, believers from all around the world.
Isaiah 5:20 NASB
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
In recent years, two bloodthirsty cultures arose, gaining prominence throughout America. Without righteous contention they grew like plagues, destroying the good and the bad, the saints and the sinners, while redefining good as evil, and evil as good. The two demonically driven movements are “cancel culture” and “expose culture.”
The rise of social media has allowed individuals, referred to as trolls, to hide behind the screens of their smartphones, tablets, and laptops, exposing people with little to no evidence, igniting movements with the aim of canceling people, organizations, and businesses through harassment, the threat of mob violence and/or monetary retaliations.
These movements have been attempting to permanently remove our freedom to choose freely and think freely, forcing people to conform, or else. The growing influence of these vile cultures has changed the fabric of our society, our nation, and our lives. Creating a society that is quick to speak and slow to listen.
These cultures are attempting to erase crucial historical events, events which we are supposed to learn from, while establishing new and false narratives built on fear and hate. The reason history constantly repeats itself is because we didn’t listen or learn the first time.
A nation where the majority originally ruled, is now ruled by small groups with large voices. These few rule with fear, lies, intimidation, threats, shame, guilt, and condemnation. Causing the majority to bow to the works of the spirit of fear, fear of exposure, fear of cancellation, fear of retaliation, and fear of violence. And today, many Holy Spirit-filled believers cower to the obnoxious voice of the spirit of fear, rather than listen to the Holy Spirit who is the spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. I heard the Lord say, “The voice of the spirit of fear is just a clanging cymbal.” If God is truly Love (1 John 4:8), then a world ruled by fear is not a world where Jesus Christ reigns.
Over a few short decades, the demonic has slowly infiltrated our lives through our schools, entertainment, media, and government, leading to the normalizing of demonic doctrine in our everyday lives.
Proverbs 31:8-9 NASB
Open your mouth for the mute (those without a voice), for the rights of all the unfortunate. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.
The truth is, our silence against evil becomes our approval of them. And once evil was “approved,” like wildfires, it swiftly gained momentum, reaching heights and influence no one anticipated, not even the people who initially controlled and weaponized them, people who were destroying others for the deeds, doctrines, and beliefs that they were also guilty of doing. Which is the definition of hypocrisy.
Hypocrisy is a PRETENSE of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, that ONE DOES NOT really possess.
Hypocrites in the church are people who project fake personas, fake character, fake morals, fake spiritual beliefs, and fake principles, in hopes of gaining favor, building a following, gaining influence, and collecting clicks and views. I heard the Lord say, “Hypocrites are fake, goats and wolves, users of smoke and mirrors.”
Romans 12:9 NASB
Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor (hate or be disgusted by) what is evil; cling to what is good.
Research scripture and you’ll find that God loves man but hates sin, hypocrisy, pride, witchcraft, idol worship, sexual immorality, and these seven things listed in:
Proverbs 6:16-19 NASB
- haughty (arrogant) eyes,
- a lying tongue,
- and hands that shed innocent blood,
- a heart that devises wicked plans,
- feet that run rapidly to evil,
- a false witness who utters lies,
- and one who spreads strife among brothers.
Cancel and expose culture are vessels of hate and hypocrisy, and once the people, businesses, organizations, and historical events were successfully canceled, the movements unsurprisingly turned on the groups who ignited them, the hypocrites, people who too were guilty of doing the deeds that they accused and condemned other for. I heard the Lord say, “With hypocrisy, its flames will eventually consume the people who spark and weaponize its fires.”
EXPOSING WITHIN THE CHURCH
Proverbs 3:11-12 NASB
My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord or loathe His reproof, for whom the Lord loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.
When the Lord disciplines, He disciplines with the hopes of restoration and redemption; restoring and redeeming the person receiving correction back to Himself, whenever possible. However, cancel culture and expose culture has affected the church body differently than the world. Rather than holding leaders and church members accountable for their actions or unbiblical doctrine, we responded by overcorrecting, and establishing a culture of acceptance and tolerance. This overcorrection caused the church to conceal and justify sin, allowing it to fester without opposition. I heard the Lord say, “Those who accept and tolerate every belief stand for nothing.”
The truth is, Jesus has never condoned sin to redeem the person. Rather, He corrected and exposed sin with His purifying light, mercy, grace, and love, with the hopes of redeeming the person caught in sin back to Himself. I heard the Lord say, “The fear of the Lord, in the church, has been superseded by the fear of man.” Since God only corrects those He loves, a culture without correction is a culture that lacks the revelation of the love of Christ.
The fear of being labeled as unloving has created a church culture that resists rightfully dividing good from evil, right from wrong, and Godliness from wickedness. The church has become so fearful of becoming “like the world,” that they have canceled their own authority to judge and expose righteously. (Proverbs 31:8-9) I heard the Lord say, “Righteousness exposes to redeem. While, wickedness exposes to destroy.” The Bible explicitly warns against calling good evil and evil good. A church that does not practice correcting evil deeds of darkness, condones them. So, rather than calling out heresy, the church has used the cultures and traditions of the world to justify or explain away the heresies infiltrating its own body, dismissing the transgressions as acceptable practices within specific people groups and geographic regions which are completely contrary to the teachings and example established by Jesus. Now practices such as: idol worship, blatant witchcraft, the merchandising of spiritual gifts and blessings, necromancy, praying to saints and ancestors, occult teachings such as teachings on the third-eye and meditation, and other unGodly practices are accepted within the church.
If there are things within the American way, the Chinese way, the African way, the Latin way, or any other way that don’t align with God’s ways, we must expose those ways to the light of the Lord and allow the Lord to prune them completely off and spiritually consume them with fire as a burnt offering.
Colossians 2:8 NASB
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
There are many things which the cultures of the world permit that God explicitly rejects. The “inclusive culture” created by the world has also infiltrated the church, deceiving even “the elect,” through seductive words which puff up leaders with pride causing the establishment of elitism with its body. Elitism is what the Pharisees practiced, placing titles and works above relationship and righteousness. Jesus Christ referred to the Pharisees as hypocrites throughout scripture, describing them as white washed-tombs, clean, white, and beautiful on the outside but inwardly filled with dead man’s bones and uncleanness.
“The elect,” has forgotten that the Savior, they claim to follow, came NOT to be served but came ONLY to serve.
Matthew 20:26-28 NASB
“It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
The elect here are leaders, men and women, who have been deceived and bewitched, blinded by pride and the pursuit of power and influence. When a leader implies that men should blindly follow them, without seeking God and searching scripture themselves, they are no longer leading people to Jesus but are leading for the devil who, leading people to themselves. There are no elitists or dictators in the Kingdom of God, only servants and sons.
Galatians 3:26-28 NASB
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
No one person sees and knows it all. The Bible teaches that we see and know in part. This is so that no person may boast of themselves.
Matthew 5:29-30 NASB
“If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.”
In this scripture God is not talking about the physical but the spiritual. Even though it is specifically referring to the severe approach we need to take to cut off any part of our life or relationships causing us to sin, He is also talking about the approach within His body, the church.
So I ask this question:
Should INTENTIONAL heretical teaching in the church be exposed by the church? The biblical answer is “yes, absolutely.”
The Bible explicitly instructs that the deeds of darkness must be exposed to protect the entire Body. Below are a few works within the deeds of darkness.
Galatians 5:19-21 NKJV
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery (sex outside of marriage), fornication (sex before marriage), uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery (witchcraft), hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Some other dark deeds are: occult and pagan acts, practice of divination, following and teaching the doctrine of demons, doing seances, and the use of mediums, fortune tellers, etc. to gain knowledge, power, and influence.
Ephesians 5:11-15 NASB
Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even EXPOSE them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are EXPOSED by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,
Although the scripture above explicitly calls the church to expose darkness, the biblical act of exposing, is never with the intent of canceling a person but rather exposing their acts, false doctrines, and deeds of darkness to the light of Christ, to protect the church body and with hopes of true repentance, and reconciliation to God.
So some may ask, “Pastor Jonnathan, doesn’t scripture command us not to judge?”
Romans 2:1-2 NASB
Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.
The scripture above is explicitly rebuking hypocritical judgment, the judgment of others by those who practice the same lawlessness and sin that they do. Like the Pharisees did, over and over. With that said, I also believe that even our judgment of the unsaved is considered hypocritical. Because judging the unsaved disqualifies those who are spiritually dead and lost, from receiving their salvation through the same grace which saved us. Also, 1 Corinthians 5:13 states that God judges the unsaved.
Ephesians 2:8-10 NASB
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
A person with the full revelation of God’s saving grace will never boast of their salvation. Rather they would boast only about Jesus, His cross, and His mercy and goodness. In contrast, a person who believes that they are saved by their works (religion and the law), lacks salvation revelation and will always boast of their perceived salvation through their own goodness rather than God’s.
1 Corinthians 5:12-13 NASB
For what have I to do with judging outsiders [nonbelievers]? Do you not judge those who are within the church [believers]? But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.
This scripture explicitly instructs us to do the contrary to what is taught and accepted currently in church culture. Rather than not judge at all, God’s Word instructs us to correctly judge within the church with even the possibility of removing a person from the group when necessary, taught as the ripping off an eye or hand (Matthew 5:29-30).
After our church first launched, we had a woman, who secretly gathered young girls to gain influence with them. She taught them that it was biblically legal for them to have sex before (fornication), and taught them, if they so desired, to intentionally get pregnant, out of wedlock, if they wanted a child. After we addressed the issues with her, one-on-one, she rebuked us and threatened to expose us publicly and to the pastors who ordained us. We called her bluff and looped the pastors into the email and text message conversations. As leaders, we must refuse to remain silent on salvation issues within the church, even with the possibility of cancellation.
We also had similar examples with individuals who practiced witchcraft and new age within our church or people who were learning from individuals who openly practiced and taught witchcraft and new age, such as third-eye activation, shamanism, astral projection, and divination.
CONFESSING SIN
James 5:16 NASB
Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
To confess your sin is to expose it (exposing it to the Light of Jesus Christ).
Do you know why God instructs us to confess our sins to each other? Because confessing our sins leaves the enemy with nothing hidden in darkness he can use as a foothold to leverage to control and destroy you with.
Four major keys to overcoming vile cultures are humility, transparency, vulnerability and willingness to lose your dignity about your own shortcomings and weaknesses. I heard the Lord say, “If you never think more highly about yourself than you ought, you will never fight to keep any false perceptions you created.”
1 John 1:8-9 NASB
If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The church is called to judge righteously, judging the deeds, the sins, and the doctrines taught within its own body.
1 Timothy 4:1-2 NASB
But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron.
When an animal is branded, they are seared with a red hot iron. Sealed with the brand of its owner. Whose seal is branded on your heart?
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 NASB
Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.
HERETICAL BEHAVIOR
The doctrine of demons is the heretical manipulation of scripture to justify unrighteous behavior. And this doctrine, the doctrine of demons, will cause new believers, mature believers, and even some elect to be deceived, stumble and fall astray, if possible.
God holds the leaders He establishes accountable, clearly warning them who intentionally preach false doctrine or teach and/or openly practice witchcraft and the occult causing His beloved little ones to stumble, to refrain from such things.
Matthew 18:5-6 NASB
“And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”
Romans 1:18 NASB
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness…
The two new testament warnings above should put the fear of the Lord in all our hearts.
CANCELING WITHIN THE CHURCH
Cancel culture has created a counterculture within the church causing people to avoid, at all costs, exposing and correcting deeds of darkness and even preventing the removal of individuals who refuse to repent. The truth is, a church that does not practice biblical correction of unrighteous deeds and false doctrines is like a doctor who knowingly allows a small infection or a tiny cancer to fester the bodies of their patients, hiding in plain sight until they become too large to treat eventually destroying the entire body.
Deeds of darkness are the elephant in the room, everyone sees it and no one wants to address or question it. For example, the leader who has gone astray, who loathes correction or the teaching of false doctrines, the doctrines of demons, that are always contrary to biblical truth. Remember that a little leaven ruins the whole batch.
The Lord is explicit in His instructions to expose and correct these things hidden within the church.
How do we biblically correct? Here are His directions, from the mouth of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 18:15-17 NASB
“If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”
Reminder that God only corrects those He loves. So, if you’ve knowingly done something wrong, something against God’s will, or been disobedient and you haven’t been corrected, I advise you to draw closer to God and find out why, knowing He only corrects those He loves.
What does the church do if the person refuses to receive corrections? Like the woman we corrected in our church, who was unapologetically promoting fornication and the pursuit of pregnancy outside of marriage, once she refused to repent and after much prayer and wise counsel, we asked her to leave the church.
1 Corinthians 5:13 NASB
Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.
The removal of the goats, the wolves from the flock, and the tares from the wheat must be done once the Lord reveals their motives and they’ve been confronted with truth and refuse to repent. Once these steps are done, we must remove them biblically and in God’s timing. We must expose the sin, witchcraft, and deeds of darkness, following the steps of biblical correction, and when all else fails, being willing to cut them loose.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 NASB
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be
- lovers of self,
- lovers of money,
- boastful,
- arrogant,
- revilers,
- disobedient to parents,
- ungrateful,
- unholy,
- unloving,
- irreconcilable,
- malicious gossips,
- without self-control,
- brutal,
- haters of good,
- treacherous,
- reckless,
- conceited,
- lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
- holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these.
We are called to have nothing to do with these types of people, if they refuse correction. Why?
1 Corinthians 15:33 NASB
Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”
God drew a line in the sand on the cross. Separating the righteous and the hypocrites, the wheat and the tares, the sheep and the goats, and exposing the wolves masquerading as sheep.
God is turning up the heat, creating a greater divide between the scorching hot and the lukewarm and those who walk in light from those who dwell in the darkness and the shadows, the gray area. The devil’s playground is in lukewarm waters and the gray area.
God is calling the righteous to boldly stand for righteousness and clearly stand against wickedness. God is raising up a mature generation of followers who will embrace the fear of the Lord and live for Him.
Ephesians 4:14-16 NASB
As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we must choose daily if we will live completely for Him in the light or remain lukewarm in the shadows. The devil owns the shadows, gray areas, and the fence created by our own human reasoning and intellect.
Acts 20:29-30 NASB
I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.
This is a call for consecration, “Bad company corrupts good morals.” We must arise and let our “Yes be a resounding Yes” and our “No be an absolute No.”
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