In January of 1968, I was installed a Worshipful Master of a Masonic Lodge of about 600 men. As far as I was concerned, I had reached the pinnacle of life. As a Worshipful Master, I had total autocratic authority over the affairs of my Lodge with accountability only to the Grand Master of my State.
I was married, had two children, a great job, pay and benefits, as well as great health. In fact, I even believed that I had obtained a special knowledge of God, mankind, the Universe, Heaven, and how to live a successful and fruitful life. What more could a man ask for?
Very early during my term as Worshipful Master, while conducting a Masonic business meeting, one of the brothers present voiced his objections to the closing of Lodge prayers in the name of Jesus Christ. Masonic tradition in Maryland had been to close the prayers by saying:
May every moral and social virtue cement us, Amen, So Mote it Be
In all my years as a Mason, I had never heard one objection to the name of Jesus being used by our Chaplain to close his prayers. I assured the Masonic brother who objected that I would take up the matter with the Grand Master.
Several days later, I met with the Grand Master and explained the problem with the prayers, as well as other concerns. The Grand Master informed me that Freemasonry accepts for membership men of every faith or religion, so long as the prospective member believes in a Supreme Being (whomever he may be) and in the resurrection of the body to a future life (however and through whomever that was accomplished.) This was a great shock to me. I had not realized that those who were members of anti-Christian religions could become Masons.
The Grand Master informed me that one of my duties as a Worshipful Master of my Lodge was not to offend any brethren who were not Christians, even if this meant I had to refrain from using the name of Jesus Christ in my prayers. He advised me that as Grand Master he had the authority to disband my Lodge and remove its Charter as a Lodge, if I persisted in using the name of Jesus with members present who objected.
In March of 1973, The Grand Lodge of Maryland Committee on Masonic Education approved the following statement regarding prayers in a Masonic lodge:
All prayers in a Masonic Lodge should be directed to the one Deity to whom all Masons refer as The Grand Architect of the Universe. We address Him as our Heavenly Father, Eternal God, Almighty, or Everlasting God. We should close our prayers with an expression such as, 'In Thy most holy and precious name we pray...’, using no additional words which could be in conflict with the religious beliefs of other Masons present at the meeting. The brother who offers up the prayer does so for all members and visitors present, rather than for just himself. (Maryland Mason Magazine, March 1973).
Needless to say, my faith and trust in the teachings of Masonry were shaken. After all, my pastor and the deacons of my church were all Masons. They believed in the Jesus of the Bible, didn’t they?
In the center of every Blue Lodge is an altar. Resting on top of the altar is what many Masons refer to as the Great Light of Masonry, the Bible. I later discovered that Freemasonry declares the sacred book of any and all religions in the world equivalent to the Bible. Any "sacred book" may rest on the altar in a Masonic Lodge, to oblige a Mason who does not accept the Bible as God's word.
I now had an irresistible force meeting an immovable object, namely the God of the Universe, Jesus Christ, and the god of Freemasonry, Satan. How could both belief systems be regarded as truth? I believed that the primary purpose of every Masonic degree was to depart spiritual light, wisdom, truth, and knowledge regarding life, death, the hereafter, and our interpersonal relationships with others.
After reading and studying various Masonic authors, I realized that Freemasonry considers Jesus Christ as no greater than Moses, Elijah, Mohammed, or Buddha.
I began to converse with pastors, read the Bible, pray, and debate with other Masons, including the Grand Lodge of the State of Maryland, about who Jesus Christ is, and where absolute truth is to be found. This went on for two years, until one night I decided to watch a Billy Graham crusade on TV. Reverend Graham was preaching on Hebrews 4:12:
‘For the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edge sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart’.
He also discussed Romans, 3:10-18, which describes the total depravity of mankind, before coming to Jesus Christ for salvation.
For the first time in my life I saw myself as God saw me, a sinner without hope and on my way to Hell. That night I got on my knees and asked Jesus Christ to forgive me for my sins, come into my life, save me, and be the Lord of my life. At that moment, I accepted the God of the Universe, Jesus Christ, and rejected the god of Freemasonry. The irresistible force of God’s Holy Spirit pushed aside the immovable object of the lies of Masonry, as only He could do.
At last I was free, as God’s word states in John 8:32:
Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.
I was set free by the One who is The Truth, Jesus Christ. The shackles of Masonic lies were broken. God’s word reveals that as a born-again Christian, I am clothed with His righteousness, as stated in Ephesians 6:14, having shed the soiled garments of sin. (Romans 3:10-18) Thereby, by the grace of God, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, I went from rags to riches that night.
I obeyed God’s word in 2 Corinthians 6:14:
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness, and what communion hath light with darkness?
I renounced all of the branches of Freemasonry that I was a member of, including the Blue Lodge, Royal Arch Chapter, Knights Templar, and the Shrine (A.A.O.N.M.S.). They all teach doctrines contrary to God’s word, and lead men to Hell, instead of to Heaven.
If you are a Mason, spend much time in God’s word, especially the books of John and Colossians, comparing them to the teachings of the Lodge. My prayer for you is that our Savior will open your spiritual eyes to the only absolute truth found in the Person of Jesus Christ, and that you will reject the god of Freemasonry, Satan.