Let's Kick The Rock...
Let Us Go and 'Kick the Rock'...
Persecuters of the Church that Jesus Christ Founded, Take
Heed...
And He (Paul) Said, "Who Art Thou Lord?"
And HE said, "I AM JESUS, WHOM THOU ART PERSECUTING." Acts
9:5.
" I (Paul) Am The Least Of The
Apostles, And Am Not Worthy To Be Called An Apostle, Because I Persecuted
The Church Of GOD." 1Cor 15:9, Gal 1:23...
Why do some people ignore such powerful verses as these
of Holy Scripture? Why do they expend so much energy in trying to 'Kick
the Rock' and to no avail, when they could be using that same energy to
preach love to their flock? People have been kicking the 'rock' for centuries
and what has it proven? Only that if you kick the 'rock', the 'rock' will
not budge, but you will hurt your foot. Some might prefer to butt their
heads against the 'rock', but this will only give them a headache. This
is proven in the indisputable fact that the Catholic Church has grown in
membership over the centuries to over one billion members. All of the Ellen
Gould Whites, and Charles Taze Russells combined, have not been able to
deter the growth of the Catholic Church. Instead, all of the 'kickers'
have lost 'market share' while the Catholic Church has gained it. So, of
what use is it to 'kick the rock'?
Is there a reason why 'kicking the rock' is a waste of energy? Yes, there
is a very good reason. It is because, truth always wins in the end. You
must remember what Abraham Lincoln said about 'fooling' the people. He
said, "You can't fool all of the people all of the time."
You can prove a truth, but you cannot prove a lie. For those who enjoy
'kicking the rock', here are some indisputable facts:
1. Jesus Christ founded 'A' Church
in Mt 16:18.
2. Jesus Christ also said in Mt 16:18, that "The
Gates Of Hell Shall Not Prevail Against It." That means,
Jesus Christ Himself will defend His Church from Without and From
Within. That verse applies to the detractors and to the 'rock kickers'.
You will NOT
prevail because Jesus Christ said
you wouldn't. History has shown this to be true. Why do
some simply do not believe the words of Jesus Christ?
3. In Mt 28:20, Jesus Christ said He would be with His Church
until the end of the world. If you think your church
is the church He was talking about, was it in existence at the time He
said these words? If not, then how could He be talking
about your church? Was Jesus Christ telling the truth
when He made this statement? Apparently the detractors and 'rock kickers'
do not believe He was.
4. Name 'A' Church that you can trace all the way back to
Mt 16:18. It should be easy as you only have one choice.
5. ALL protestant churches were founded by mere men over
1400 years after Jesus founded His Church in Mt 16:18.
6. In Jn 14:15-17, Jesus said, "I will ask the Father
and He will give you another Advocate to dwell with you forever,
the Spirit of TRUTH whom the WORLD cannot receive, because it neither sees
Him nor knows Him. But YOU shall know Him, because He will dwell with you
and be in you." Jesus said here that a permanent Advocate will come
and be with His disciples forever. Who are His disciples? Was Jesus telling
the truth here also?
7. The Church which Jesus Christ founded is what and where?
His Church, or His 'Body' are the people and He is the
head, 1Cor 10:17, Eph 1:22-23, Col 1:24. Since His Body is the people of
the Church, then the detractors and 'rock kickers' are kicking me, and
the other members of Christ's Church. If anyone would
like to refute these factual truths I have listed, I would certainly
like to hear from you...
******************************************************************
A CHALLENGE TO 'ROCK KICKERS' AND DETRACTORS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH...
IF, IN YOUR OPINION, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IS NOT THE CHURCH THAT JESUS
CHRIST FOUNDED, THEN PLEASE TELL ME WHICH CHURCH IS THE TRUE CHURCH?
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND BEFORE YOU ANSWER, THE WORDS OF OUR LORD IN MATT
28:20, "I WILL BE WITH YOU ALL
DAYS, EVEN UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD."
******************************************************************
Love comes from GOD, and hate
only comes from satan. These people think they are doing the world a service.
When instead, it is a disservice and reflects on themselves and not on
the 'Rock'. Now what does the Bible have to say about detractors,
calumnizers, liars, 'rock kickers', and 'sins of the tongue'?
1. Start with Prov 6:16-19. "Six things
there are which the Lord hates, and the seventh His soul detests: haughty eyes,
A LYING TONGUE, hands that shed innocent blood (abortion), A HEART THAT DEVISES
WICKED PLOTS, feet that are swift to run into mischief, A DECEITFUL WITNESS
THAT UTTERS LIES, and HIM THAT SOWS DISCORD AMONG BRETHREN.
" Hey, any 'rock kickers', do you see yourselves here? Seems to me if you
do any of these things, you are betting your soul with where you will spend
eternity. These verses should be enough to make any thinking, and GOD fearing
person to think twice before kicking the rock, but there are many more verses
on these subjects.
2. Lying: Jer 7:8, "Behold, you put your
trust in lying words, which shall not profit you." Jer 9:3-9,
"They have bent their tongue...for lies and not for truth...and a
man will mock his brother, and they will not speak the truth, for they
have taught their tongue to speak lies...thus says the Lord of Hosts, I
will melt them and try them." Ez 13:8, "Because you have spoken
vain things, and have seen lies, ...I come against you."
Jn 8:44, "...the devil...When he tells a lie he speaks from his very
nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies." Acts 5:1-10, Ananias
and his wife both lied about the price they got for their
land and both were immediately struck down and died. Rom 1:25, "They
who exchanged the TRUTH OF GOD FOR A LIE." Eph 4:29, "Let no
ill speech proceed from your mouth..." "Col 3:9, Do not
lie to one another..." There are many more if you want to check them
out, Job 13:4, Dan 11:27, Mic 2:11,6:12, Hab 2:18, Rom 3:13, 2Thes 2:3-12,
2Tim 4:3-5, Tit 1:9-14, and just see what will happen to liars in
Rev 21:8.
3. Calumny: A false statement maliciously made to
ruin anothers reputation. Harming the name and good reputation of
persons by lies. Wis 1:11, (see separate file on the deuterocanonicals),
"Keep yourselves from murmuring which profits nothing, and refrain
your tongue from detraction."
Sir 5:15-16, "...the tongue of the fool is his ruin." Sir 28:12-26,
see what happens to calumnizers. Mt 5:11, 11th beatitude. Mt 5:44,
"Pray for those who persecute and calumniate you." Again
there are many more, Eccl 10:20, Mt 10:25-31,11:16-19, Mt 12:24-37, Lk
6:28,
2Pet 2:12,3:16.
4. The Tongue: Prov 18:21, "Death and
life are in the power of the tongue: They that love it, shall eat the fruits
thereof." Sir 28:15, "The whisperer and the double tongued is
accursed, for he has troubled many that were at peace." James 3:1-12,
"...the tongue is a little member...that can defile the whole body and
setting on fire the course of our life, being itself set on fire by HELL....but
the tongue no man can tame, a restless evil full of deadly poison..."
Again, there are many more verses, Sir 4:20-31, Sir 5:16,14:1,20:1-20,23:7-15.
5. Rock Kicking: "Do not be a stumbling
block to the Church of GOD," 1Cor 10:32. Hey 'kickers'! Did you gloss
over this one?
In order to be a true Christian, you have to pattern your
life after what Holy Scripture tells you. If it says it is wrong to do
something, then it is against Scripture to do it, and you will be judged
accordingly.
Does Scripture tell you to speak ill of another person or group?
Does it tell you to attack another Church?
Does it tell you to judge others?
Does it tell you to propagate 'stories' about another individual group,
or person, without knowing if the story is true or a lie?
Does Holy Scripture tell you to hate others, to try to destroy their reputation,
to disparage their name?
NO! None of this is in Scripture. In
fact, Scripture implores you to do just the opposite.
The entire Bible can be summed up in One Word...Love, Gal 5:14.
The first three of the ten commandments concern love of GOD, and the last
seven are love of your fellow man. Jesus Christ summed the ten commandments
into just two, Love of GOD, and Love for each other,
Matt 22:34-40.
"Love is the fulfillment of the law," Rom 13:10.
Okay, 'rock kickers', detractors, disparagers, calumnizers, show
me your justification for what you are doing. Show
me where the Bible preaches hate. Show me where it says 'Be Thou the Judge
of Others'. You can't find it? Well here is a list I found that you can
use...
1. ...........hmmm, guess what, I didn't find any justification
for those actions either...!
Now do some soul searching.
1. Read what Scripture says to do, and do it.
2. Then read what happens to those who do just the opposite.
3. Ask yourself if you are doing what I have shown that Scripture
forbids.
4. Examine your conscience.
5. Eternity is a long long time. Each decides for himself
where he will spend it.
Written by Bob Stanley, May 25, 1997
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