Following Jesus - Confronting a man concerning Freemasonry

Following Jesus as you witness to a Mason

We have been given instructions on how to proceed

Some feel that it may be appropriate to approach church leadership before you begin. However, this is not necessarily required. If you do, you should take an educated witness. Many times, when Freemasons are present in a congregation, leadership condones it. If you are in church leadership and you do not condone Freemasonry, please contact us for materials which will help you follow Jesus.

Jesus gave us explicit instructions on how we are to proceed in Matthew Chapter 18:

"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector."

(Matthew 18:15-17)

Notice that Jesus did not say, "If your brother sins, first approach the pastor." However, going one-on-one is predicated upon being ready and willing to take a second brother. You can't do that unless the second brother understands the issues with Freemasonry and why a genuine Christian cannot and will not embrace Masonic teachings. It would be good to educate a mature brother first, so that he can properly function as the second. You should not mention the name of the Mason you want to lead out of the lodge until after you have gone one-on-one with the man. In that way, you can comply with the instructions of Jesus. You want to avoid any appearance of gossip.

If you consider approaching leadership, take the second brother you have educated along. It will change the dynamics in a Godly way. Obey any Godly, scriptural counsel leadership provides. If your pastor wants to address the issue himself, we can provide him with a wealth of authentic documentation to prove the case. (A most effective way to neutralize Masonic methods when dealing with Freemasonry from the pulpit is to deprive them of secrecy before they have a chance to act. If everyone in the congregation has seen Masonic documents which teach salvation without Jesus with their own eyes, it will be very difficult for any Mason to convince a member of the congregation that the pastor does not know what he is talking about. It is easy to make the issues black and white when you have the appropriate documents.) If those in leadership are Masons, you may safely disregard their instructions, most certainly in the area of Freemasonry. It is important to understand scripture to know when you are receiving scriptural instruction. If a pastor ever tells you not to oppose heresy or sin (i.e., don't oppose Freemasonry), you can be sure he is not someone from whom you can accept counsel. Such an instruction would be in direct conflict with a commandment of Jesus.

You need to be under spiritual headship. If the leadership of your congregation is not able to provide that, you might form an alliance with a pastor in another local church. The spiritual leadership to which you submit does not have to be standing in the pulpit for you to be following Jesus. You may be the one who leads an errant pastor back to truth. Unless you know your Bible and have solid evidence that your pastor is off base scripturally, do not oppose him. If you know he is off base, do not follow him.

Masons have tried to take the position that Matthew 18 does not apply in the case of Freemasonry, because they cannot be sinning against you. But, that is most definitely not true. Masons use the church as a cover while they meet in secret to teach salvation on the basis of another savior. They may ensnare your brother, your father, your son, or your nephew, unless something is done to stop them. If you act interested, they may try to ensnare you. Freemasonry is rather like vampirism. They operate under the cover of secrecy and darkness. They ensnare new members who also become enslaved spiritually. If you tolerate Masons in the church after you know the truth about them, you will share in their evil deeds, (2 John 9-11). Masons are in the business of leading souls to hell. You should want to get as many of them out of the business as you can. You can do that by driving the cross through their hearts, one at a time if necessary.

Step One

Plan to follow Jesus all the way, should repentance not be forthcoming. Plan ahead: Educate a second brother and obtain a copy of the church membership list with addresses and phone numbers now.

If you have a prayer group going, you will have spiritual cover. Pray for God's will before you meet with the Christian Mason you are trying to lead out of Lodge. Ask that God put a hedge of protection around you and the Mason so that he might be able to think and see clearly for the duration of the process. Meet with the Mason without explaining that you are going to oppose Freemasonry. Review the basics of the Gospel with him and discuss the implications of it both for those who have and those who do not have faith in Jesus Christ. You might use the "Roman road" sequence. Does he understand that all men actually deserve to go to hell? Christians have that understanding. Discuss John 3:16-18 and see if he agrees literally with those verses, particularly verse 18. Have him read John 14:6 and ask if he takes it literally. What you are doing is probing his Christianity, just a bit. If he seems to be a solid brother, then you can proceed. If he takes issues with the scriptures, you have no basis for agreement. Don't bother mentioning Freemasonry in that case; the man is not a Christian. You have given him what he needed, a good explanation of the Gospel. If he is in agreement on the teachings of the scriptures and the absolute necessity of faith in Jesus Christ as the essential requirement for salvation, you may continue. Document the existence of the Masonic plan of salvation using Grand Lodge documentation. The Masonic Monitor published by the Grand Lodge of your state is the best single tool that you can use, in addition to prayer. If you don't have a copy, you may obtain one from us. Examine the elements in ritual and talk about the plain English meanings of the words. How would someone who did not know about Jesus interpret the words? Likely, he would interpret the words from ritual using the plain English meaning. If a man believes the promises in ritual and depends on them for salvation, he will end up in hell. Tell the Mason that he is participating in, or standing with, an organization which is teaching a plan of salvation which does not require faith in Jesus Christ. Tell him that he has a choice to make: He can stand with the church and defend the Gospel of Jesus Christ, or he can stand with the lodge and defend a plan of salvation which depends on imitating Hiram Abiff. When presented in this way, with the Grand Lodge documents clearly visible, Christians always choose the Gospel. If he is a Christian, he will likely repent on your first meeting. Put yourself in his shoes. If he came to you out of concern that you did not understand the consequences of your actions and privately documented the truth, you would be grateful to him. That will often be the response with men who repent.

Those who choose not to repent will do many things which are intended to thwart your efforts. If you have solid documentation and the Mason knows that you know the truth, he will be much less likely to lie to you. If he thinks you don't know much, he will probably fill your ears with half truths and outright lies as he informs you that you are mistaken. That is why is it good to have the proper evidence. Sometimes Masons will admit the truth privately, yet not repent. Such men are not Christians.

If you intend to witness to a Masonic pastor, it will greatly help if you have a second and possibly third brother who can quickly be called in for the second step of Matthew chapter 18. A brother from the congregation would be best. It might be very effective to use another pastor from a church down the road as the third brother. But, be careful, pastors talk with one another. Make certain the man will hold his tongue until the appropriate moment. Most likely a Masonic pastor will have a solid base of Masonic support within the congregation. You need to influence him before the other Masons have time to influence him further. A Masonic pastor knows how solidly Masons stand together. He knows the opposition he is going to face if he repents. If you have several solid Christians who will take a rigid stand for truth, you will be in a much stronger position. If he repents, they can stand solidly with him to commend him to the congregation. Should he choose not to repent, taking step three, telling it to the church, could be devastating to a Masonic pastor, if there are solid Christians in the congregation. He would likely repent prior to a strong group of Christians confronting him in front of the congregation. In practice, it is unusual to have that many solid Christian allies in a church which has a Masonic pastor. Apathy is the rule. We have provided a special tract for dealing with Masonic pastors. It is entitled, "Which Gospel do you Embrace on Lodge Night.?"

If a Mason repents when you confront him with the facts about Freemasonry, then you have won your brother over. Repentance is the single necessary evidence which proves that there is such a thing as a Christian Mason. Some men drop Freemasonry like a hot rock when they see the evidence. Those men are almost always inactive Masons. Active Masons rarely repent. They know that Freemasonry has a plan of salvation and they don't care. The lack of repentance in the majority of cases is the single necessary evidence which proves that the Christian Mason is a rare animal. Most are simply Masons. But, you have won this man over! Encourage him to confess the sin to God and pray asking for forgiveness. (1 John 1:8-9) It would be good if he will notify the Lodge in writing that he can no longer be a Mason. He should give a short, solid reason, such as "Freemasonry has a false plan of salvation: The ritual says this, but the Bible says. . ." He should make it clear that he wants nothing to do with Freemasonry now, or at any time in the future. He should be encouraged to tell them, in writing, that he considers the oaths he took null and void. He might mention the scripture in Leviticus 5 which will let other Masons know that they can be released as well.

A sample resignation letter is provided. You may print it with your browser.

Writing such a letter can result in a major step on the road to spiritual healing. The letter should be written to the members of the Lodge. Masonic regulations require that it be read to the membership. Sometimes this happens. It is a great witness. It provides a sense of closure for the man. If he writes such a letter, it is doubtful that he will ever be tempted to return to the Lodge.

If the pastor is a Godly man, it would also be good for the repentant Mason to privately tell the pastor that he has renounced Freemasonry. This has several positive benefits. First, no one will ever be able to accuse him of being a Freemason, or of having unrepented sin in that area. Second, it will educate the pastor as to the nature of Freemasonry. Third, it will demonstrate to the pastor that your efforts lead men to repentance. You need to win the pastor over as well. If there are Freemasons in the church, he has not done all that God desires of him. If men are repenting, a Godly pastor will be open to your message. It is a hard thing to ignore.

Often, the oaths which they have taken keep them bound spiritually. Even after they renounce, they feel that they have to keep the secrets of Freemasonry. The curse of the oaths can be broken quite easily. The formula is found in Levitical law:

Or if a person thoughtlessly takes an oath to do anything, whether good or evil--in any matter one might carelessly swear about--even though he is unaware of it, in any case when he learns of it he will be guilty. When anyone is guilty in any of these ways, he must confess in what way he has sinned and, as a penalty for the sin he has committed, he must bring to the LORD a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.

(Leviticus 5:4-6)

The oaths of Freemasonry are taken before the man knows what he is swearing to keep secret. This exactly is the case with the passage above. The long Masonic blood oaths are give the the man, a few words at a time. Often, he is unable to comprehend the whole of them until later. When he realizes what he has done, he must confess it as sin. The required sacrifice is a lamb. The sacrifice of the Lamb of God has done away with the requirement of animal sacrifices. Jesus is the High Priest. The repenting Mason can simply cast the sin of the oath at the feet of Jesus and be completely free of it.

Step two

If the Mason you have witnessed to does not repent, he will most likely sound the alarm to all of the other Masons in the congregation. Your days of witnessing one-on-one in that church may well be over because Masons won't generally meet privately with those who oppose Freemasonry. He may speak to his non-Masonic friends and characterize you as a bad guy. He may claim that you were persecuting him for his good Masonic works. A good many of his friends will believe him. Freemasonry is such a nasty thing that many won't believe the truth without seeing the evidence first hand. That is especially true if they "know" him to be a solid Christian. If you are the pastor, rumors may begin to circulate about your involvement with another woman, or your inappropriate use of church funds. This is standard Masonic procedure. If he does not repent you need to follow Jesus through step two.

Step two is to take a second brother and witness to the man a second time. It will help a great deal if you have identified the second brother and educated him prior to taking step one. The second brother should be in agreement with you and should have examined enough of the evidence so that he can confirm that your position is correct and that a genuine Christian would be compelled to leave the Lodge. Don't threaten the Mason with anything. But promise him that if he does not repent, you will take the matter before the church. If step two is to have the maximum effect, he must know that you will actually take the matter before the congregation. The fact of the matter is that unless he repents, you will have to take the matter before the congregation if you are to continue to follow the commandments of Jesus. You don't have a choice, if you are His disciple.

How much time should expire between step one and step two? There is no instruction in scripture. If your material is solid, you should have presented an air tight case in step one. It should not take more than a day or two for a Christian to come to the conclusion that he cannot support the promotion of a false plan of salvation which promises salvation on the basis of imitating another savior. Many of the men who do renounce do so immediately on seeing incontrovertible evidence of the Masonic plan of salvation. Typically, time will not be the problem. The problem will be getting the second meeting arranged. The typical Mason will not agree to meet with you again, unless he is going to repent. If he agrees to meet with you again, make sure that the second brother is present. Follow the instructions of Jesus to the letter. If the Mason tries to avoid a second meeting, you may have to catch him off guard, with the second brother in tow. Possibly the second brother could set up a meeting without revealing the purpose. Consider catching him between Sunday School and Church, in a class room or in the hall. The second meeting need not take long. Literally ask the man to repent.

Step three

Step three does not require the cooperation of the leadership. However, that is the way which would most please God. Godly leadership will be willing to follow Jesus, just as you are. If they won't cooperate, you will know that those men are not really leaders in Christ's church. You no longer need listen to their counsel. But, you had better make certain that your actions are in agreement with scripture. It also might be a good idea to take a look at the bylaws of the church. In some churches, the procedure in Matthew chapter 18 is included. In that case, you have a legal right to demand that the procedure be followed. However, Christians do not take legal action against other Christians. Many attorneys are Masons anyway. Judges, as well. Its better to proceed in a way in which no one can bring legal action against you. There isn't much chance if you say only what you can prove and say it at the proper time.

If leadership cooperates, or they take the lead, the issue needs to be explained thoroughly to the church. The church must be made aware of the issues which make Freemasonry totally incompatible with Christianity before they can properly function as the church. They need to be educated that the Masonic Lodge in an organization which teaches salvation on the basis of another savior. The Lodge has been using the church as a cover to make it seem that Freemasonry is compatible with Christianity.

Much is to be gained by educating the church about Freemasonry. It is easier to keep men out of the Masonic Lodge than it is to get them out once they are spiritually ensnared. Those in the congregation are not the only ones who will be served. Sons, grandsons, nephews and male friends may be warned off by someone present who as seen the evidence. In some cases, Masons who have been visitors have come forward in repentance when the evidence was shared with a congregation.

Step four

After the facts have been presented to the church, the church will have the obligation to attempt to lead the man to repentance. They do this by talking to the man. If they can't get through to him, he should be treated as a pagan. In the case of a persistent Mason, the man is a pagan. He should no longer be considered a Christian.

When step four is carried out, either repentance, or a decrease in membership will occur. A church split is possible. If the man is the only Mason present, the membership will decline by a few families at most. If a number of Masons are present, some of them may repent. This is more likely if steps one through four have taken place quickly enough and quietly enough that the other Masons have not had time to rally. Other Masons may get belligerent. If the concentration is high, the Masons could take over the building. They could force the pastor out. The pastor could decide to lead the remnant out with him. The church would then move on to another location. Possibly they will meet in homes, or a school until they can secure another facility. It has happened over this issue, more than a few times.

Some people believe that a church split is the worst thing that could ever happen. That is simply not true. The worst thing that could ever happen is for the church to allow its members to meet with others for the purpose of teaching salvation on the basis of another savior. Church splits are ordained by God in cases such as this. In reality, the church was split before, but no one knew it. Which would be better, to retain the building and compromise the Gospel, or to compromise the building and retain the Gospel? The church will be strengthened by the purging which will take place. Our tract Should we Ignore their Secret Savior to maintain Church Unity? deals very effectively with division which results over the issue of Freemasonry. Church leadership will understand what they must do, if they are following Jesus.

What can you do if leadership will not take the lead or will not allow you to address the church? If leadership will not cooperate, you have the right, in fact the duty, to take the issue to the church directly - possibly by a letter to the congregation sent through the US Mail. In the educational process, spell out the specifics which make Freemasonry heretical. Do not mention individuals. You should make the letter clear and to the point. It is good to include some solid documentation, or explain how they can examine the evidence first-hand. (Most people have Internet access. Materials can be downloaded without cost. We would be pleased to help you share the truth with your congregation.) Send a copy of your letter to each member of the congregation. You might include a copy of Should we Ignore their Secret Savior with each letter. (Downloadable on this site.) You may face considerable opposition from leadership and you may not gain a great deal of support from the congregation. Having supplied solid evidence, or having given them access to solid evidence can make a significant difference. If you stand your ground, you will be blessed for the effort. You will be following Jesus. You will find that there are others in the congregation who will appreciate what you are doing. There is a remnant in most churches.

After the church has been educated and is able to function, then, the individual ensnared in Freemasonry can be taken before them.