Close
Good Morning,
We used to say, “Close only counts in hand grenades and horseshoes." Close has been a long-term weapon of Satan.
2 Kings 18:32 “Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, that ye may live, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, The LORD will deliver us.”
When the Assyrian army was attempting to conquer Israel, they said they would bring them to a place like their own, close, but not the real thing. After Solomon’s death, Jeroboam took over the northern kingdom. One of the things he did was appoint feast days and priests that were close to what God had set up for Israel – but close is not the real thing.
When I started our church in 1982, I did not know a Jehovah Witness, Mormon or Catholic who would call themselves Christians. They were called Latter Day Saints, Witnesses or Catholics, but they did not call themselves Christians. That term was reserved for those who put their faith entirely in Jesus Christ. Now it is very common for all of these religious groups to call themselves Christians. They are trying to make it look like we are the same with only small differences – but close to the same.
The Bible church is not the Baptist Church, otherwise it would be called a Baptist Church. The Bible church roots are different than the Baptist roots. Community churches are not Baptist, they are not really even close. Close is not the same; close is different!
Close may be okay when buying generic products, but in choosing a wife? I do not want close; I want the right one. When picking a church, I want the one that is what the New Testament says it should be, not something close.
When it comes to the Gospel, close might send you to hell. We do not want close in the eye glasses we wear. We do not want close in shoe size. When we are almost in an accident we might exclaim, “That was close!” We do not want to be in an accident; we want to stay far from wrecks. When it comes to instructions on how to rebuild a motor or to assemble a complex electronic device, you do not want directions that are close you want the correct directions.
No, close is not good enough when it comes to truth and biblical obedience. The church you are attending may seem as if it is close to your old Bible-believing Independent Baptist church, but unless it is an old-fashioned, Bible-believing, separated, Independent Baptist church, and using exclusively the King James Bible, they may pretend to be close, but we do not need close, we need the right thing.