Nativity Scenes are Disobedience to God

Nativity scenes, or manger scenes, feature a statue or picture of Jesus Christ as a baby. However, we are taught in the Bible to avoid making any image or representation of God. This command includes making pictures or statues of Jesus Christ. We should be very careful to obey this command, in spite of what our cultural tradition may be. Nations have been uprooted and destroyed because they practiced idolatry.

This is what the New Testament says:

Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. (1 John 5:21)

Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. (1 Corinthians 10:14)

And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk... (Revelation 9:20)

So, my friends and brothers, put away all idols, images, and statues of Jesus Christ, and of God. The nativity scene is a disobedient tradition.

Put away pictures of Jesus that may be in your homes and churches. Be different from the traditions that have led so many people astray. Always - always - look to the Scriptures for guidance instead of to the world and traditions.

We conclude this wonderful promise from God to be our Father if we separate ourselves from sinful ways:

And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. (2 Corinthians 6:16-18)

Featured Website: Berean Beacon and Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett of Berean Beacon is one of the clearest and strongest voices today who exposes the church of Rome in a biblical light. He was a Catholic priest for 22 years and speaks the truth in a humble, well-researched manner. If you listen to his messages or see his videos, you will get a taste of how the Reformers used to understand the Scripture. They discovered that the Bible teaches that papal Rome (the popes) is Mystery Babylon, and the fulfillment of the prophecies about the antichrist. In our modern age, we have forgotten much of what the Bible predicts concerning Roman Catholicism (e.g., 2 Thessalonians 2, Daniel 7,  1 Timothy 4, Revelation 13 & 17).

We encourage you to listen to what Richard is saying. It will help you distinguish between truth and error, not only about Catholicism, but also about other strange teachings, such as the emergent church.

Video Links
The History of the Papacy
The Papacy
The Inquisition
The Biblical Uncovering of the Pope and Papacy
The Antichrist Unveiled (YouTube)

Please see his ministry web site Berean Beacon for many articles and other video/audio links.

Anabaptist Charismatic Hybrid

I have often searched for fellowship that is both somewhat Anabaptist and Charismatic. The goal is to follow the word of God together more closely than has been possible in our cultural context. Essentially, we want to avoid human traditions that have often overgrown the word of God. We are not advocating everything that Anabaptists or Charismatics have ever taught. But where they have been strong in calling attention to overlooked areas of the New Testament, this is where we have much in common. One group tends to emphasize obedience to the Sermon on the Mount, and the other stresses that spiritual gifts are still relevant today. These are good qualities as part of a well-rounded and obedient Christian life.

We want to combine these good efforts at obedience (not to earn salvation, which is only by faith in God's gift to us in Jesus Christ). For an example, 1 Corinthians chapters 14 and 11 are almost never followed word for word in any church, at least not that I have encountered in our California setting. When, for instance, have you seen a church obedient in allowing supernatural spiritual gifts in the church AND only allowing speaking in tongues if it is interpreted AND allowing only two or three prophets to speak AND only allowing men to have speaking roles in the church AND following what is written about head coverings for men and women?

Most churches today follow only part of these sections of scripture, even though they are in the New Testament, and part of the Kingdom culture that the apostles taught and modeled in every place. In other words, what we find commanded or taught in the New Testament is for all believers everywhere. We are not to selectively choose what fits our own culture or mindset.

Here are just a couple of verses that show that the apostles expected all believers to follow their example and teachings everywhere, in every church:

"For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church."
(1 Corinthians 4:17)

[after writing about everything in 1 Corinthians 14] "If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. "
(1 Corinthians 14:37)

Read 1 Corinthians chapter 14 - the whole chapter - carefully and slowly. How are we doing at obeying this word of the Lord?

We do not believe that God's commands are optional. And since to raise these issues in most churches today would be considered controversial, it is hard to know how to proceed.