[UntoHim]

Upon reviewing many of the posts in this thread, and considering what are the practical implications of idolatry in the Local Church movement, I was reminded of the Lord’s own words in Matthew 5:28
“but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart”
(now don’t ask me why this verse all of the sudden popped into my silly mind…I guess I was thinking about how the Lord many times equated and connected one sin with another more serious sin – in this case he likened the simple act of looking with the very serious sin of adultery)

Originally, I went to check further on this word “committed”, and to my surprise, I found that the Lord Jesus used a certain Hebrew idiom here (translated “has committed adultery”). Above and beyond the obvious meaning, many sources give the following for this word “Moicheuō”
“A Hebrew idiom, the word is used of those who at a woman's solicitation are drawn away to idolatry, i.e. to the eating of things sacrificed to idols”

Now don’t get mad at me guys…I’m not the one who linked yet another sin to idolatry – that was done by the Lord Jesus himself and that was confirmed by several scholars of the biblical languages!

Look, most of us have been Christians and have been reading the Bible for many years. We know very well that every sin is not a sin of idolatry, and idolatry is not the basis of every evil in the Christian church or in the lives of most Christians. But we are not here discussing “most churches” or “most Christians” now are we?

My contention here would be very basic and very simple. (as if UntoHim is capable of more) Many, if not most, Local Churchers idolized the man Witness Lee. Many, if not most, idolized just about everything that came from this man’s mouth. Many, if not most, even idolized the “vision” that Lee and his co-workers so passionately and forcefully related to us day in and day out. Soon we found ourselves idolizing the religion of the Local Church that spring forth from this vision. Some of the teachings and practices of this religion were good and biblical, many were arguably harmful and unbiblical. The main point here would not be the percentage of good to bad or biblical to unbiblical, but that fact that the teachings and practices themselves were idolized.

Did we bow and worship the man Witness Lee? No, I never saw it. Did we literally bow down at the alter of the Life Studies and other speakings/writings of Nee and Lee? No, not literally. Did we climb to the top of a smoldering volcano and sacrifice our family members, spouses and children? No, I never saw it.

Now let me do some equating of my own and take us back to the sobering declaration of the Lord in Matthew 5:28… “but I say unto you that everyone who looks…has already committed..” – Sorry my dear brothers and sisters…we looked. Then we looked some more, then we looked some more. Now, from what I have seen and heard coming from the Local Church movement lately they are still looking...big time.