So many of the things that sound good to us and even make us laugh, things we have been raised with in our lifetime, were not Biblical, but planted a particular expectation or mentality in us that is actually against the truths of God.
"May you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows your dead."
An Irish Catholic saying I heard many years ago, even saying it to friends jokingly. The implication is that we should escape in some way the power of the devil over us, allowing us to sneak into heaven before he had a chance to grab us for his realm.
The white witch goes into the tent with Aslan, the lion who was representing Christ, to negotiate the penalty for sin in the "Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe", a novel and later movie by that same name written by C.S. Lewis.
Those who know the Bible would know this was ridiculous since the devil had no say whatever concerning the penalty for sin over mankind. It was the Father who set the price for sin, that being the shedding of blood.
So many things we think are innocent fun, teach us things, they teach us bad theology and a wrong view about God.
It has actually been stated by Christians who have allowed the movies to be their guide about Christianity, who did not know the Bible that; "I know the story of Noah because I saw the movie." This is frightening, so many Christians who will not crack their Bibles will believe the Hollywood versions of Bible stories, that are without a doubt, silly if not down right blasphemous.
We see the patently unBiblical nature of the movie, "The Passion of the Christ", while other believers who are not Catholic think it is wonderful. Because they don't know their Bibles and because they have never been in the Catholic church, they miss all the Roman Catholic symbolism and cultic overtones of that movie, even defending it as though it had value, when it taught principles against the Word of God. Even well known protestant ministers encouraged many to go and see the movie written by a drunken Roman Catholic movie star, Mel Gibson.
Then there was the book "The Shack" praised by many pastors in pulpits, even encouraging their congregations to read it and enjoy it's tenets. Sadly this book was blasphemous, unBiblical and ruinous to the faith of those who were sucked in by it.
The trend that is rampant throughout our culture is to place one's trust in literary works written by men, whose ideas were nothing more than imaginations in their own minds. Believing they were clever, they created a picture in the minds of people that worked against the principles of God while confusing many.
The devil has been using this tactic for as long as he has been around. He never attempts to convince believers to no longer believe in God, rather, he chooses to tempt them with a distorted view of God leaving mankind thinking of God in a way that demeans, mocks and negates His principles.
By the time we get to the people with the truth of the gospel, they have already been indoctrinated with so many versions of God, they are not able to see "up from down." Because of the confusion and dilemma in their own minds, they fight bitterly to retain the version they like. More often than not they choose the version that best fits their own desires, even showing hostility toward anyone who comes along with the Bible to show them their error.
In this "age of enlightenment", the devil is working harder by the day to deceive believers who do not know their Bibles. If he can get them to buy into a distorted and blasphemous false gospel, they can take their false message to unbelievers, perverting their view of God, leading them right into hell.
Thankfully anyone whose heart is inclined toward God will trust Him. God will see to it that those who want to be saved will be saved. No one will cause another person to go to hell, however anyone who brings a wrong gospel will be accountable before God for what they have done.
2 Corinthians 11:12-14 "…12 But what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting. 13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.…"
Please, please do not come here to argue that "God can use anything", it is a monstrous argument that we should be allowed to say and do anything we please just because God can use it. Just because God can use anything does not mean God is alright with the evil that men do. It matters how we do things, according to God's principles and the accuracy of the Bible.
The same God that can use anything is the One that will punish anyone who uses humanistic and blasphemous deceptive ways to convert others to a false gospel.
Psalm 86:11
"Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name."
Proverbs 3:6
"in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
Jeremiah 6:16
"This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it.'"
Micah 4:2
"Many nations will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem."
GOD CARES THAT WE LEARN TRUTH HIS WAY AND THAT WE SPEAK HIS TRUTH HIS WAY!!!!!
Saturday, April 30, 2016
Appearances Take the Prize in this Day of Apostasy!
America will never be great again because it has crossed the threshold into the most wicked of sins. We are living in the apostate age, the time for saving our country is over, our aim now has to be instructing believers and witnessing to the unsaved.
If our focus is saving America through leaders and legislation, we may spend too much time on that while neglecting the weightier matter of witnessing the gospel while the days are short.
As an American, there is the temptation to attempt to preserve the lifestyle we have enjoyed, the freedom, the prosperity, the opportunities of many things. However, as believers we were not placed here to preserve a culture or a nation, we were place here to bring the gospel to unbelievers and to encourage believers to walk in holiness.
Never again will anyone hear coming from my lips; "God bless America", to say this would be to ignore all the evil that we have brought to the world through the promotion of liberal and ungodly ideas and action. We are infinitely more wicked than we were 80 years ago, without sign of any slowing. In fact evil is increasing at break neck speed as we fly down the slippery slope.
2 Timothy 3:1-7
"3 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.
2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good,
4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions,
7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth."
I notice in these passages that one of the traits of the culture is the constant learning new things, continual studying, but little wisdom in all their efforts to be seen as intelligent. Appearing wise is all that matters in our day, actually being wise is not important to most. Appearance is everything now, trumping all sense of holiness or righteousness in the depth of one's soul.
The words of a culture are not a measure of it's condition, but the practices are what we can see lived out every day. Far too many people judge that something is good and are offended when someone judges something to be bad. God said we are to judge righteous judgment, that means we tell the truth when something is bad or good. It makes no sense to allow judging when we will be positive, but disallow judging when it is negative.
We are too judge all things, according to God's standard.
1 Corinthians 2:14-16 "…14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. 15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. 16 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ."
John 7:24 "24"Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."
Our culture tends to value those who "appear" to be good while devaluing those who walk in righteousness. Appearances can be a lie and often is, people tend to hide themselves when they are sinful. The way in which someone operates in life is what we should be watching not what they say. If they say something, then their words must match their actions and attitudes.
If our focus is saving America through leaders and legislation, we may spend too much time on that while neglecting the weightier matter of witnessing the gospel while the days are short.
As an American, there is the temptation to attempt to preserve the lifestyle we have enjoyed, the freedom, the prosperity, the opportunities of many things. However, as believers we were not placed here to preserve a culture or a nation, we were place here to bring the gospel to unbelievers and to encourage believers to walk in holiness.
Never again will anyone hear coming from my lips; "God bless America", to say this would be to ignore all the evil that we have brought to the world through the promotion of liberal and ungodly ideas and action. We are infinitely more wicked than we were 80 years ago, without sign of any slowing. In fact evil is increasing at break neck speed as we fly down the slippery slope.
2 Timothy 3:1-7
"3 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.
2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good,
4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions,
7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth."
I notice in these passages that one of the traits of the culture is the constant learning new things, continual studying, but little wisdom in all their efforts to be seen as intelligent. Appearing wise is all that matters in our day, actually being wise is not important to most. Appearance is everything now, trumping all sense of holiness or righteousness in the depth of one's soul.
The words of a culture are not a measure of it's condition, but the practices are what we can see lived out every day. Far too many people judge that something is good and are offended when someone judges something to be bad. God said we are to judge righteous judgment, that means we tell the truth when something is bad or good. It makes no sense to allow judging when we will be positive, but disallow judging when it is negative.
We are too judge all things, according to God's standard.
1 Corinthians 2:14-16 "…14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. 15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. 16 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ."
John 7:24 "24"Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."
Our culture tends to value those who "appear" to be good while devaluing those who walk in righteousness. Appearances can be a lie and often is, people tend to hide themselves when they are sinful. The way in which someone operates in life is what we should be watching not what they say. If they say something, then their words must match their actions and attitudes.
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