It is not important at this time to delve into the interaction of the various popes and the kings of Europe. The interaction was political war and little else. We understand that there were numerous priests in humble parishes who taught righteous behavior to their flocks. But the denomination as a whole did not fulfill the Great Commission. It did not by example or precept teach the nations to obey the Sermon on the Mount. The government of the Catholic Church by its behavior did not bear a true witness of Jesus. It murdered, stole, and coveted wealth and power. Thus it often did not fulfill the Great Commission, neither living nor teaching the commandments of the Lord.

The Protestant churches of today are not fulfilling the Great Commission as it is presented in the Scripture. In many instances they are enlisting believers but they are not teaching them to obey the commandments of the Lord. They also appear to understand little or nothing of the authoritative and powerful provisions God has made for the transformation of the believer or of the absolute necessity in the Kingdom of God for such transformation.

The message of the evangelical churches, in addition to forgiveness through the blood of the cross and a few of the other Divine provisions and truths, is a mixture of humanism, capitalism, psychology, democracy, and a ceaseless repetition of how much God loves us and at any moment is going to snatch up the untransformed believers into Paradise, there to be married to the righteous and holy Lamb of God on the basis of "grace."

In addition, there also is much foolishness and silliness practiced during the worship services.

The Protestant churches in many instances are not living according to the commandments of the Lord and His Apostles or directing the nations to perform the righteous works commanded by the Lord. When we do have the opportunity to bring what is supposed to be the good news of the Kingdom of God we stress forgiveness plus the mixture of humanism, capitalism, psychology and so forth that we mentioned previously. None of this teaching transforms the believer into the image of the Lord. Only the good corn of the Word of God builds up Christ in the believer. This, plus the extraordinary emphasis on "church growth," is why we have the everlasting babyhood of the believers.

Sometimes medical and psychologic treatment is necessary because of the wide range of physical, mental, and emotional disorders prevalent in our society. An individual in distress is not able to take up his or her cross and follow the Lord Jesus any more than a person with a broken leg can run a race. However, bringing the believer to a state of health is not the objective. The objective is to be transformed into the moral image of Christ and to enter untroubled rest in the Father through Christ.

There is a stress today on "wholeness," the wholeness of the adamic personality. Imagine the Lord Jesus or His Apostles emphasizing that we should use the Gospel to create a "whole" adamic personality! There is one place to assign the whole adamic personality, and that is the cross of Calvary.

To be continued.