[UntoHim]

How very ironic that in a thread entitled "What is the greatest error of Witness Lee and the Local Church" that there is the exposure of perhaps the greatest error of them all - the abject inhumanity of false religion and false spirituality, and the damage that it wreaks upon all concerned.

Let's face it, false spirituality doesn't come naturally to us humans, it usually gets ingrained into our hearts and minds from false religion. Most of us are probably familiar with the famous proclamation of Ezekiel 36:25 - "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." But wait, wasn't this addressed to the Israelites, God's people? Why didn't he give them a new heart and a new spirit from the start? The answer is in the verse right before: I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. (Vr 24) "From all your idols". This indicates false religion. And remember , false religion always begets false spirituality.

When the people all gathered around the women caught in adultery, they saw to it that Jesus was there. They wanted to test him and his spirituality to see if he would pick up the stones to throw at the guilty party. It turned out that they were all very mistaken about Jesus. His "spirituality" was not based upon their false religion - a religion that would have stoned the woman to death - a false religion steeped in abject inhumanity. Jesus exposed their inhumanity, and in shame and disgrace they dropped their deadly weapons, and disappeared from the scene of the crime.

Friends, readers, lurkers, brothers and sisters, this is what I really mean when I speak of "another Jesus". Another Jesus would have condemned this woman and picked up the stones with the rest of the members of their religion. Another Jesus would probably not have even been there to save this woman.....he would probably have been sitting on the front row of the temple pray-reading and calling on the Lord. What I really mean when I speak of "another gospel", I mean a gospel which condemns with a haughtiness and inhumanity, and offers no grace. No love. No compassion. No understanding. This is not the Gospel that was brought to us in the Person of Jesus Christ. I know that we all remember John 3:16. Those who use this verse as a hammer or tool of condemnation are preaching another gospel. We need to move on to the next verse. "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him".

I am sorry for all those who have come to this forum and only felt the condemnation and inhumanity of false religion and false spirituality. This was the last thing I wanted when I set up this forum. I experienced first hand another Jesus and another gospel for about 20 years in the Local Church of Witness Lee. I have two daughters who went to "children's meeting" for many years, and now want nothing to do with the God of the Bible because they associate him with the haughtiness, inhumanity and disingenuous false spirituality of the false religion of the Local Church of Witness Lee. So I understand all too well what false religion does to those young people who were raised in it. I "came into" the Local Church as a 17 year old Junior in High School. I moved into the "brother's house" on my 18th birthday with a couple of brothers who are now considered as "Blended Brothers". I do know what false religion does to the hearts and minds of young people.

So, was this forum set up to be a place for healing from false religion and false spirituality? I have always hoped so. I have always prayed for this. I have always hoped and prayed that LocalChurchDiscussions could be a place where people can come to find the real Jesus and the real Gospel. I am so sorry that some have been hurt by those of us who still have another Jesus and another gospel ingrained into our hearts and minds. I still believe that there needs to be a venue where all sorts of people in all sorts of places in their journey can come and have dialogue. Maybe we can find the real Jesus and the real Gospel together?
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