by Kim Josephson

In 1 Timothy 4:1 the Word says, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils...”

These are the last days and God's people are under attack as never before. Unleashed against the Body of Christ are the hosts of hell. The enemies of the Church abound. This generation of sinners is more wicked than any before and yet, what is our response? Where are the men of God?

Instead of a clarion call for righteousness and holiness the Church is frittering away her last hours in covetousness and shame. Instead of pronouncing the absolutes of God, apologies are made for the narrowness of His holy demands. Instead of prophets and preachers proclaiming the truth, today they are pushing soul dope from the pulpits of America.

Pretending to have vision, they are building their own empires on the backs of God's precious people. Rather than blasting satan and sin, they are pretending to believe that everything is OK while the whole Church is reeling around them. Settling for a form of godliness they are denying the power thereof. Week after week a placebo of words is administered to people starving for the power and presence of God. Paul, Peter, John and Jude all warned that a day would come when damnable heresies would creep into the Church. That day is here! That time is now! Soul dope is damning America.

This particular brand of soul dope is worse than any the world has ever seen. Why? Because there's just enough truth mixed with it to make it somewhat palatable and easy to swallow. A half-truth is a no good lie. It is more despicable than any other simply because it is so deceiving. Satan is a master-brewer of this blend and is serving it up in a frenzy. In fact, there's just enough truth in this mess to essentially vaccinate the masses from the power of the Gospel.

Hear me! Like all dope, soul dope is addictive. It gives a false sense of satisfaction and leaves you with a craving for more. Unfortunately, the poor addict loses track of reality and sacrifices his all for another dose, in this case, even his own soul!

What are some of the tenets of soul dope? One of the primary doses of delusion is humanism in the Church. Some of the “angels of light” are quick to point the finger at “secular humanism” in the schools and its disastrous effects on the welfare of our nation but from the same pulpit they preach a gospel that gives the primary position to man. They would make man the center instead of God. Week after week they propound that God is here to make you happy. God is here to help you - to fix you - to please you - to make you succeed - to do any thing you want Him to. One can see, the You continues to get bigger and bigger and God's desires are dwarfed by our own. God loves us and He wants to bless us but the truth is, God is God! He created us. He is not here to please you. You are here to please Him! Christ suffered, died and rose again to make you Holy not happy!

Consistently Christians complain about their circumstances and in this generation they even have the audacity to be angry with God and then dare to tell it - preach it and even laugh about it! God have mercy! Who do we think we are? God is not on trial! His behavior is not in question. The question is - Are you making God happy? Are you pleasing Him?

Along the same line, because of the false sense of man's position, faith formulae have been twisted in the mouths of the proud to try to coerce God into some kind of behavior all in the Name of Jesus! Again, God have mercy on us for such presumption and pride!
Another tenet of soul dope is rationalism. Rationalism is the theory that man's reason provides the only valid basis for action or belief and that reason is the prime source of knowledge and spiritual truth. This too exalts man's centricity and is so prevalent it must be examined on its own.

It is the oldest of satan's tricks. It was first seen in the garden of Eden. There, satan approached Eve and dared to question the Word of God. “Hath God said?” In our generation preachers preach this sermon for satan themselves! First a man claims to be a defender of the faith. He claims to believe every word of the Bible from cover to cover and then week after week instead of agreeing with the Word, he assails it and its validity for today. Instead of being faithful to Jesus, he defends the doctrines given to him in some seminary all at the expense of Christ. He toys with the words of Jesus always redefining them - diluting Christ's holy demands. Being born-again becomes a state of mind rather than a radical experience with Almighty God. Men are taught that they are saved by their church preference rather than their relationship to Christ Jesus. They are taught that they can go to heaven by accepting Jesus as their saviour yet never making Jesus Christ their Lord. It's soul dope! Even Jesus' promises are “dispensationalized” away from today. “The early Church needed signs and wonders to convince the heathen but we don't.” So goes the argument for why Jesus Christ is not the same yesterday, today and forever! (Heb 13:8) It's blasphemous! How dare they sit in judgement on Jesus' words! If Jesus' words offend your doctrine, change your doctrine not the Bible!

Across this nation, denominations are picking and choosing what they want to believe and that which they don't want, they simply de-emphasize into oblivion. This includes even the nondenominational denomination called the Word movement.

A case in point is the doctrine of Hell. As I cross this nation with the Gospel, in church after church I find the children of God, some in their 40's who have never heard one sermon on the reality of Hell. Jesus told us more about it than anyone else. Why now is it ignored? Jesus thought it was important enough to speak on numerous times, but then He wasn't afraid of being accused of trying to “scare people out of hell” and He also wasn't worried about the offering. Instead it broke His heart that men because of their foolishness and pride were dancing on the edge of Hell itself. As He loved them so He warned them! Would to God that preachers would follow His example!

Nowadays if a man preaches against sin and begs men to repent, he is slandered for being too hard and branded a “sheep beater”. Is a man your enemy because he tells you the truth? (Gal. 4:16) Read Matthew 23. Jesus would be censored in our day for such an assault!

Professing ourselves to be wise we have become fools. How dare we challenge the Word of God! Leave that to the infidels. Leave it to the God-hating atheists. Don't be seduced by the spirit of rationalism. Let God be true and every man a liar (Rom. 3:4).

Time and space in this article will not permit analysis of many of the other tenets of soul dope. Let it suffice to say that every word, every deed, every thought and motive should be subjected to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Soul dope is dangerous. It is seductive. It is a killer and it is damning millions! Soul dope has cut the very heart out of the message of Jesus Christ. It is “another gospel”. It is powerless to change men's lives. Rather than experiencing the new birth, men now “turn over a new leaf”. Instead of regeneration we have reformation. How can we be content with such compromise? Are we unaware that our God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29)? What will we say at the Judgement Seat of Christ?

Soul dope, just like narcotics, leaves the users unproductive. Week after week the Church awaits her fix content to sing and dance in a sanctuary somewhere while the rest of the world goes up in flames. The Church has been drugged! How else can you explain her barrenness? The great commission unfulfilled? The lost still untold? How can we explain this to Jesus?

In Jesus' name shake yourself - embrace the truth and do what Jesus has commanded. Don't wait another day. Forsake this soul dope. Repent if you've preached it. Repent if you've taught it. Repent if you've gotten “high” on it and have missed God. There is mercy with the Lord. Truth is the antidote for soul dope. Truth sets us free. Be free and allow the Spirit of the Lord to use you to end the captivity for others.