Authentic Salvation or Cultural Pretense

I knew of a brother who was treated like the golden child and was rude and mean, claiming everything was a joke. The parents thought it was funny and did nothing to train him differently because he was their first, they pampered him, and rarely, if ever, disciplined him.

 
He used his mouth to anger people. One day on the high school bus, he worked his mouth until another guy on the bus lunged at him, and this spoiled brother beat him up.

 
The story he gave, that the parents believed, was that he beat up a bully on the bus, and they were all proud of him. They told this story for years. It was only when the younger sister realized his ability to use his mouth to upset people that she knew he probably did that on the bus with that guy he beat up, and her brother provoked it. To this day, the other brother doesn't realize this; he still thinks the other guy was the bully.

 
The older brother used to call the middle brother an Orangutan because he had red hair. One time, he egged the other brother into acting like a monkey so he could laugh at him.

 
The middle brother's wife told him not to do it because she saw that he was being mocked. Sadly, the middle brother did it to get a laugh. The younger sister wasn't there, but in her heart, she wanted to punch her older brother in the mouth for this bullying, and she was not a violent person.

 
The younger sister had seen him call her middle brother an Orangutan in the past, and it angered her. She heard the older brother on many occasions tell the siblings, "You're too sensitive" to justify his rudeness. And, weirdly enough, the older brother's real name was "Rudy." He is in his 80s now and has not changed one bit. I guess he wanted to live up to his name.

The mocking, demeaning, and rude behavior continues to this day, and the refusal to admit the harm that was done negates his claim of being a Christian.

 
There has never been any repentance for the disobedience to God's word to love others. In fact, on the one occasion that he was confronted, he was not ashamed, but raged and refused to listen.

 
This older brother fishes for information about the siblings in order to have something to judge. When he has no information, he makes up a lie he thinks might be happening and shares it with others.

 
When we encounter bullies who refuse to be corrected and even rage without repentance, we have our clue that they may not have ever been born again.
When Christ changes us into a new creation our heart is not the same. Our heart has been replaced with the Spirit of Christ and is ashamed when we mess up. When there is no conviction of sin and no concern about harming others then there has not been a change.

God told us that born-again believers have the fruit of the Spirit of Christ. They do not walk consistently in a stance of arrogant pride that diminishes others. If they fall they are ashamed and quickly apologize. There is no lifestyle of rudeness toward others just to elevate oneself, in those who have been made into the likeness of Christ.

 
Those who enjoy hurting others never make a disparaging joke about themselves; it's always about others. This is how we know they are deeply self-absorbed without a conscience and probably never changed by Christ.

 
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
"4 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant.
5 It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered,
6 it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

The sad thing is that this brother believes he is saved and superior to everyone around him. The habit of diminishing others to elevate himself is evidence that he never repented of his own sinful nature, even believing he never sinned himself.
If the sister is wrong about this assessment, then the brother presented himself in such a way that he denied Jesus Christ through his lack of empathy and love to confess his sin and ask forgiveness of those he has harmed.

The command from scripture to go to your brother if you have sinned against him has been ignored completely.

 
We are commanded by God to confront those who sin against us.

Luke 17:3
"Watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him."

1 Timothy 5:20
But those who persist in sin should be rebuked in front of everyone, so that the others will stand in fear of sin.

Titus 3:10-11
Reject a divisive man after a first and second admonition, / knowing that such a man is corrupt and sinful; he is self-condemned.

This discussion has nothing to do with someone who has past forgiven sins; this is for those who remain in their sin and pride and refuse to repent.
Our hope is that one day the one who thinks they are saved will repent, realizing their pretense all these years was a sham, and they will be lost if they do not repent and submit to Christ.

 
Matthew 7:21-23 "I Never Knew You
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"

We are to comfort and grieve with those who are repenting, to help restore them or to help them learn the way of salvation. If they have never been broken over their sinful heart, then they are not saved. All who repent grieve at their offenses against God. No grief, no salvation.

 
The following passage applies to discipline within the church gathering when someone has repented, but it can also apply to those who thought they were saved but were not, when they finally realize they were never saved to begin with.

 
2 Corinthians 2:6-8
"The punishment imposed on him by the majority is sufficient for him. So instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. Therefore, I urge you to reaffirm your love for him."

The sister grieves more over the state of the heart of her brother than she did over his offenses. The offenses demonstrate a prideful heart of evil that needs to be broken; without that brokenness, this brother will never be saved from hell.

 
A good lesson and take away from this story is that so many people join a Christian gathering thinking they are "in like Flynn" on their way to heaven, merely because they say so, but have never been cleansed and changed by Christ.

 
This is the cultural Christianity we see every day among most people who attend gatherings. Their pride of how good they think they are is the first clue.

2 Corinthians 13:5 " 5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Can’t you see for yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you— unless you actually fail the test? "

God gave us what to look for in assessing whether or not someone is a brother or sister in Christ, we are to look for the fruit.

Galatians 5:22-23 "22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

Matthew 7:17-19 "17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.…

The Coming Plight of America

On another thread, someone was lamenting the political problems of our day as though there might be a fix! Here's what I said about that!

None of this matters; God is going to punish America because of the wickedness that dominates it. He has already done that to some extent by allowing the consequences of ignoring Him and His commands and principles. America's families are a mess, and children are arrogant and disrespectful.

 
Here is what America looks like to the discerning Spirit.

 
2 Timothy 3:1-5
"Perilous (ragingly insane) Times and Perilous Men
3 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,
4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!"

Under Bondage to Another Boss or Be the Boss Yourself

Years ago, men wanted their wives to stay home. Because women insisted on having their own money separate from the family money, they influenced the men to want it too, for the extra income.

 
This has led to emotional independence from one another. The two God made to be one have become divided in purpose. Dividing the household instead of uniting it has been the result, and subsequently, an increase in divorce.

God made the man and woman to have a united purpose, their roles were different, but the good of the family was the goal. Neither calling was less than the other, just different and unique.

 
In each role, the woman at home "holding down the home front" and the man as the wage earner in the workforce. When the woman did her job well using the household money to care for the needs of the household, she ultimately allowed for the husband to focus on his calling, that is, providing financially to the household income.

 
When each one was fully focused on their calling, it led to greater prosperity and stability for all family members.

 
The woman is better suited to running her household as she is the boss, while the husband provides for the running of that household. When each one performs their role as God intended the family is more stable, prosperous, and happy than it is today in the broken homes in which the roles of the genders have been blurred and even obliterated, utterly destroyed.

 
Satan managed to do with modern women what he did in the garden with Eve, that is convince them that God didn't know what He was doing and even meant them harm.

 
Women have always had the ability to create things to sell, buy a field and sell it for profit, but this did not take them away from their primary role as the managers of the home.

 
Women ruined their calling that kept them fulfilled and safe, for a career outside the home, full of problems and bosses over them. They placed themselves in more bondage than if they had remained their own boss at home.

 
The woman in the home does more than care for every need of her family; she also volunteers and is a companion of other women who share her values.

 
Read Proverbs 31 and discover how diverse and fulfilled a woman's life can be when done God's way. I know because I have followed this model for over 50 years now and have never been bored or lonely. Managing a home is a huge job if done with enthusiasm and creativity.

 
Ladies, don't ever let a feminist persuade you that you have no purpose unless you are working under a boss getting a paycheck; this is Satan's lie and full of pitfalls and bondage.

Passing on Filth is to Defile Other Believers

Please, brothers and sisters, do not waste time following all the muck in the world that promotes filthy thoughts; it is the devil's distraction. To repeat these things to others with the excuse of "informing" everyone is to cause a brother or sister to fall.

 
Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things.'"

We have nothing to gain by knowing the filth of the world that we cannot change. Just knowing stuff and passing it on is worthless and even less than worthless in the damage it can do to a clean and righteous mind.

 
Romans 12:2
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God."

Every time we put filth into our minds through news stories, the more we are influenced by it, whether we realize it or not. Passing it on to others only mucks up their cleansed mind with filth that will plague them.

 
It is interesting how hard it is to remove filth from our minds but hard to retain hopefulness. To know a lot of filth in the world is to saturate our minds with sewage that torments our hearts until we expunge it through prayer and the Bible.
Knowing filth in the form of news that the world engages in only serves to dilute the faith, hope, and peace we have in Christ, replacing it with worry and fear.

 
James 3:17
"But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere."

It is better to fill our hearts with the peace and love of God that we might impart to others joy and hope.

 
James 1:21-22 " 21Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls. 22Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.…"

It is not possible to "get rid of all moral filth" if we have it in our minds from the news articles. What is in our minds drives our attitudes and actions. Those who love to think about these things, pretending they are appalled, are indulging in it in their minds. There is something intriguing about it for them or they would have better things to think about.

 
God said not to lie to one another. This is what happens when we pass on something we cannot prove, only believing what we have read. PASSING ON LIES IS A SIN! What difference is there in passing on lies or passing something we have no way of proving is true? NONE, it is all gossip and worthless to the born-again believer.

 
Colossians 3:8-10
"But now you must put aside all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices, and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator."

May We Not Fear What Others Think of Us

The Body Has Many Parts that Support and Enhance the Rest of the Body.

One of the favored tactics of this generation is to exclude us so we cannot influence anyone else. When that doesn't work, the gossip begins, so that we are rejected by those who don't even know us.

Galatians 4:16 "16 So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth? 17 They eagerly seek you, not in a commendable way, but they want to shut you out so that you will seek them."

Thank the Lord that those who hate Jesus Christ and have contempt for us have isolated us from them, leaving us free to walk with Christ without their continual contempt and anger displayed in an attempt to mock and intimidate us.
We are never discouraged because we know the condition of this world and its tricks of the devil to control the people in it.

 
Romans 15:7
"Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring glory to God."

1 Thessalonians 1:6
"And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering."

Authentic believers agree together about the things of the Lord and they support one another in whatever calling God has for each one.

 
We do not intimidate one another into becoming like the group. We encourage and uplift through edification, for each one to be as God made them.
Placing cultural rules on others that God never commanded is ungodly.

 
Galatians 2:14
"But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?"

God made each of us to walk independently as we support the whole.
Each member has their own job to do, but in doing i,t there is support of the whole group.

 
1 Corinthians 12:15-26
"15 If the foot says, 'Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,' it is not for this reason any less a part of the body.
16 And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any less a part of the body.
17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But now God has arranged the parts, each one of them in the body, just as He desired. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be?
20 But now there are many parts, but one body.
21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again, the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”
22 On the contrary, it is much truer that the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary;
23 and those parts of the body which we consider less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor, and our less presentable parts become much more presentable,
24 whereas our more presentable parts have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that part which lacked,
25 so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same care for one another.
26 And if one part of the body suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if a part is honored, all the parts rejoice with it."

Many parts of God's body within the church are being ignored and rejected because they are not the designated leaders paid by man to do a job for man.

 
There are people within the body who are being ignored and even chastised for doing what God called them to do, simply because of the man-made hierarchy designed by men to control others. The body is now controlled by men instead of the Holy Spirit.

 
Many people within the body are not allowed to carry out their role as led by the Holy Spirit; therefore, the Holy Spirit takes second place to the man-centered hierarchy.

 
I am sure many of you have felt led to do something, and others have treated you as though you had no business doing a job that only hierarchy can approve.

 
I have even heard stories from others who told me the pastor disallowed a bible study in their home because it must be led by the designated "pastor." Please ignore these foolish men who place themselves above the Holy Spirit.

 
We are to do what the Holy Spirit tells us to do, not what men decide for us to do. Those who usurp the Holy Spirit have no authority over others. They are teachers who are to lead by example and teach; they have no power to rule over others in a dictatorial fashion.

 
Our culture values education above God! Do not follow the culture, follow Christ.