Your Brief Bible Study Ffor Today
Masons & Scouts - Can A Christian In Good Conscience
Belong To Them Without Sinning Against God?
An Application Of The First Commandment:
You Shall Have No Other Gods Besides Me Ex.20:3
The First Commandment tells us God wants our hearts to belong only to him, not to any other “supreme being” or “God”, whoever that may be. Honoring any other god is the sin of idolatry. Can a Christian, then, in good conscience belong to the Masons and scouts that speak only of a vague “supreme being” and “God” but not the Triune God and Jesus Christ?
In Isaiah 42:8 God says, “I am the Lord, that is my name; and I will not give my glory to another, or my praise to graven images.” The Lord refuses to give or share his glory, honor, or praise with any other “supreme being” or “God”. A Christian, then, cannot belong, without sinning against the First Commandment, to an organization that acknowledges the existence of a “supreme being” or “God” other than the God of the Bible.
God says in John 5:23, “ . . . that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.” God demands he alone be honored as the Lord--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He forbids the rejection of Jesus Christ, his Son. Organizations that require faith in a “supreme being” and “God” but do not mean he is the Lord and Jesus Christ his Son, encourage idolatry against the First Commandment. A reference to “God” in such a vague manner as a “supreme being” or just as “God” to avoid naming the Triune God and Jesus Christ his Son in order to not offend members of non-Christian religions, or the invention of the name Grand Architect for its “supreme being” for essentially the same reason, is a sin of idolatry.
Jesus says in Matthew 12:30, “The one who is not with me is against me, and the one who does not gather with me scatters!” Jesus leaves no middle or neutral ground. A person can either confess Jesus or refuse to confess him. A person cannot do both. An organization that refuses to confess Jesus is Lord and true God is against him. That organization is scattering and driving people away from him. It opposes him, his work of gathering people to himself, and his Word that proclaims him the Lord and Savior of all. A Christian in good conscience cannot be a party to opposing his Savior, can he?
First John 4:3 says, “Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and now is already in the world.” Organizations that acknowledge a “supreme being” or unnamed “God” but not the Lord Jesus Christ are not from God. They are antichristians who come from the other spirit – the devil.
In Psalm 106:36, 37 God said about the Israelites, “And they served their idols, . . . And they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.” Organizations that require faith in a “supreme being” or unnamed “God” but do not acknowledge that he is the Triune God and Jesus Christ his Son honor an idol, a false god that does not exist. Their “supreme being” and unnamed “God” is in actuality a demon.
God said in 1 Corinthians 10: 14, 20-22, “Therefore, my beloved, continue to flee from idolatry. . . the things that the pagans sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to become sharers of demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot participate in the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Or, are we trying to provoke the Lord to jealousy?” The Lord tells his Christian people to flee idolatry, which is the worship of demons. Christians, then, must flee from pagan organizations that require a belief in a “supreme being” or “God” but do not mean the Triune God and his Son Jesus Christ. Belonging to such organizations excludes a person from fellowship with the Lord and arouses his jealousy and wrath.
The Masons and scouts are guilty of doing all of the above contrary to the First and Greatest Commandment. If a Christian understands what God says in his First Commandment, how can he in good conscience belong to them without committing the sin of idolatry against God?
You Shall Have No Other Gods Besides Me Ex.20:3
The First Commandment tells us God wants our hearts to belong only to him, not to any other “supreme being” or “God”, whoever that may be. Honoring any other god is the sin of idolatry. Can a Christian, then, in good conscience belong to the Masons and scouts that speak only of a vague “supreme being” and “God” but not the Triune God and Jesus Christ?
In Isaiah 42:8 God says, “I am the Lord, that is my name; and I will not give my glory to another, or my praise to graven images.” The Lord refuses to give or share his glory, honor, or praise with any other “supreme being” or “God”. A Christian, then, cannot belong, without sinning against the First Commandment, to an organization that acknowledges the existence of a “supreme being” or “God” other than the God of the Bible.
God says in John 5:23, “ . . . that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.” God demands he alone be honored as the Lord--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He forbids the rejection of Jesus Christ, his Son. Organizations that require faith in a “supreme being” and “God” but do not mean he is the Lord and Jesus Christ his Son, encourage idolatry against the First Commandment. A reference to “God” in such a vague manner as a “supreme being” or just as “God” to avoid naming the Triune God and Jesus Christ his Son in order to not offend members of non-Christian religions, or the invention of the name Grand Architect for its “supreme being” for essentially the same reason, is a sin of idolatry.
Jesus says in Matthew 12:30, “The one who is not with me is against me, and the one who does not gather with me scatters!” Jesus leaves no middle or neutral ground. A person can either confess Jesus or refuse to confess him. A person cannot do both. An organization that refuses to confess Jesus is Lord and true God is against him. That organization is scattering and driving people away from him. It opposes him, his work of gathering people to himself, and his Word that proclaims him the Lord and Savior of all. A Christian in good conscience cannot be a party to opposing his Savior, can he?
First John 4:3 says, “Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and now is already in the world.” Organizations that acknowledge a “supreme being” or unnamed “God” but not the Lord Jesus Christ are not from God. They are antichristians who come from the other spirit – the devil.
In Psalm 106:36, 37 God said about the Israelites, “And they served their idols, . . . And they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.” Organizations that require faith in a “supreme being” or unnamed “God” but do not acknowledge that he is the Triune God and Jesus Christ his Son honor an idol, a false god that does not exist. Their “supreme being” and unnamed “God” is in actuality a demon.
God said in 1 Corinthians 10: 14, 20-22, “Therefore, my beloved, continue to flee from idolatry. . . the things that the pagans sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to become sharers of demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot participate in the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Or, are we trying to provoke the Lord to jealousy?” The Lord tells his Christian people to flee idolatry, which is the worship of demons. Christians, then, must flee from pagan organizations that require a belief in a “supreme being” or “God” but do not mean the Triune God and his Son Jesus Christ. Belonging to such organizations excludes a person from fellowship with the Lord and arouses his jealousy and wrath.
The Masons and scouts are guilty of doing all of the above contrary to the First and Greatest Commandment. If a Christian understands what God says in his First Commandment, how can he in good conscience belong to them without committing the sin of idolatry against God?