Our Lord’s strong language about the false teachers of the Jews ends here. Those who think that unsound ministers ought never to be exposed and held up to notice, and men ought never to be warned against them, would do well to study this passage. No class of character throughout our Lord’s ministry seems to call forth such severe denunciation as that of false pastors. The reason is obvious. Other men ruin themselves alone: false pastors ruin their flocks as well as themselves. To flatter all ordained men, and say they never should be called unsound and dangerous guides, is the surest way to injure the Church and offend Christ.
– J.C. Ryle
1816 – 1900
How vain is the presumptuous hope of the wicked, who, notwithstanding their continued defiance of God, nevertheless count upon His being merciful to them. How many there are who say, I do not believe that God will ever cast me into Hell; He is too merciful. Such a hope is a viper, which if cherished in their bosoms will sting them to death. God is a God of justice as well as mercy, and He has expressly declared that He will “by no means clear the guilty” (Exodus 34:7).
Today, virtually every heresy found in the Christian ranks can be traced back to some form of rejection of the Bible as God’s final authority. It may be pragmatism (which adds success to the Bible); mysticism (which adds experience); tradition (which adds the past): legalism (which adds man’s rules); or philosophy such as psychology (which adds man’s wisdom). The end result is all the same: the Word of God takes a back seat to the inventions and imaginations of men.
So why do Catholics think we are bashing them when we are demonstrating a compelling love to show them how to escape the eternal lake of fire? It appears to be a pathetically weak defensive ploy to hide their lack of biblical understanding. By calling someone a name, they are released from any obligation to consider Scripture and evaluate truth. In this way, they can proudly dismiss any further confrontation or correction.
We read not that Christ ever exercised force but once, and that was to drive profane ones out of His temple, and not to force them in.
In our preparation of people for the Gospel, we must bring them to the point where they realize they can do nothing. But even when people do understand their inability to do anything, many evangelists, missionaries, and preachers tell enquirers things such as, “Now, you must give your heart to Jesus.” Having told them they are unable to do anything, they then tell them what they must do. The result? Confusion about the Gospel.
We must be holy, because this is the only sound evidence that we have a saving faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
There’s an interesting story coming out of California in which a student’s freedom of speech was obstructed by the public school she attends. Apparently she wore a pro-life t-shirt to school and was forced to remove it. The “offensive” shirt contained two pictures of a baby growing in the womb but this is apparently too much for the public school to handle. The picture heading this post was what was on the girl’s shirt.
The following is a good article from 
The sinners of a nation are really the weakness of it. . . . Wicked men are they that betray nations and kingdoms, expose them to God’s wrath, and subject them to His judgments. Did Noah bring the flood upon the old world? Or did the wicked do it by their wickedness? Did Lot bring down fire from Heaven upon Sodom? Or did the Sodomites do it by their own lewdness? Did Jeremiah by his preaching, . . . and those few other godly in Jerusalem by their praying and weeping and mourning, bring on the captivity of that people? Or did not the people themselves, by their idolatry, their profaneness, their swearing, their Sabbath-breaking, their polluting God’s ordinances, their shedding innocent blood, etc.?
Compare yourselves with the Word. See how the Scriptures and your hearts agree, how your dial responds to the sun. Are your hearts, as it were, a transcript of Scripture? Is the Word copied out in your hearts? The Word calls for humility; are you not only humbled, but humble? The Word calls for regeneration; have you the signature and engraving of the Holy Ghost upon you? Have you a change of heart? Not only a partial and moral change, but a spiritual? Is there such a change wrought in you as if another soul did live in the same body?
If you are in a church that has resisted the temptation to professionalize worship, you are blessed. If not, my heart goes out to you. In any event, family worship will deepen your appreciation for biblical worship and make the corporate experience that much richer. However, I must caution you—family worship also has a tendency to open your eyes to the shallow, mundane, worldly aspects of the modern “worship” scene.
Christ Alone Wyoming 