Matthew 24:24
"For there shall arise false christs and false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."
Did we notice the last phrase, "they shall deceive even the elect."
No matter how good things look right now for this country, we are in a great deception, it is only appearances, it is only smoke and mirrors.
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Appearances Rule the Day
Most people today who say they are Christians are deeply vested in "appearances" far more than holiness.
Superficial Christianity rules the day, everything is based on what others think of us and what others expect, rather than on Christ Who lives in us.
1 Corinthians 1:18 "18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
Very few people are invested in authentic relationships, even their relationship with Christ is based on appearances rather than substance.
Ephesians 4:25 "25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another."
Indulging in a false persona is the same as lying. Pretending to be something to impress others is deceit.
Philippians 1:9 "9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,"
When we are authentic and confess our sins one to another, there is love and concern for one another. We cannot gain discernment without honesty about ourselves and others.
Superficiality is based on love of self, others are not very important unless they elevate the one who desires to impress those around them.
1 John 4:18 "18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love."
If there is fear of being discovered, then there is probably an intense self focus. The real us emerges when the pressures of life as well as those who would point out our sin, begin to burden our soul. When rage appears at the pressure mounted, then we know there is much more work to be done in seeking Christ for cleansing of pride.
Isaiah 37:28-29 "…28"But I know your sitting down And your going out and your coming in And your raging against Me. 29"Because of your raging against Me And because your arrogance has come up to My ears, Therefore I will put My hook in your nose And My bridle in your lips, And I will turn you back by the way which you came."
Superficial Christianity rules the day, everything is based on what others think of us and what others expect, rather than on Christ Who lives in us.
1 Corinthians 1:18 "18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
Very few people are invested in authentic relationships, even their relationship with Christ is based on appearances rather than substance.
Ephesians 4:25 "25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another."
Indulging in a false persona is the same as lying. Pretending to be something to impress others is deceit.
Philippians 1:9 "9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,"
When we are authentic and confess our sins one to another, there is love and concern for one another. We cannot gain discernment without honesty about ourselves and others.
Superficiality is based on love of self, others are not very important unless they elevate the one who desires to impress those around them.
1 John 4:18 "18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love."
If there is fear of being discovered, then there is probably an intense self focus. The real us emerges when the pressures of life as well as those who would point out our sin, begin to burden our soul. When rage appears at the pressure mounted, then we know there is much more work to be done in seeking Christ for cleansing of pride.
Isaiah 37:28-29 "…28"But I know your sitting down And your going out and your coming in And your raging against Me. 29"Because of your raging against Me And because your arrogance has come up to My ears, Therefore I will put My hook in your nose And My bridle in your lips, And I will turn you back by the way which you came."
Obeying Christ Above All Else
I have met some women over the years that justify their sin against God because their husbands wanted it. They used the excuse of obeying their husband in order to excuse themselves from their own responsibility of choosing sin.
When we meet someone like this we can rightly judge that the woman who makes this excuse is treating her husband as an idol, he is her god above Christ.
When our husbands want us to sin to validate their own sin, then we are to decline to obey that and go with God.
Acts 5:7-9 in the case of Annanias and Saphira, the wife conspired with her husband to deceive. She was also punished for going along with his sin. They were both killed by God.
"7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out."
We are to obey God whether or not our husbands choose to do so. We will stand before God alone one day to account for ourselves. God will not be asking if we did it because our sinful husband told us to do it. We make our own choice to obey Christ, no matter what anyone else wants.
Acts 5:29
"29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men."
I do believe there are woman who would rather be controlled by someone else so they don't have to think or respond, they can always use others as an excuse for their own sinful choices. Those who would rather be controlled by man than allow the Holy Spirit to control them, have a weak and beggarly faith. They cannot stand alone with Christ, they must have others to blame, others to excuse them and others who validate their lack of commitment to Christ.
There is salvation in Christ alone, no other human being should be doing our thinking for us. It is sin to allow others to manipulate our thoughts, commitments and decisions toward God.
Acts 4:12
"And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."
1 Peter 2:24
"and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed."
When we choose to work with our husband as he leads, it is our commitment toward Christ that motivates us, not a human rule we think we have to follow. When we have to say no to sin, then we must be strong in Christ above any other human pressure.
There are many women who do not have godly husbands, to obey their husbands in their sin is to deny, mock and demean Christ. If someone has an unsaved husband, he may be won to Christ by observing our commitment to Christ no matter what. Our behavior has more weight than our words.
Words have little value when they are not backed up by our behavior. Our behavior cannot be godly when or if we obey the sin of our husband.
1 Peter 3:1-2 "1 Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your husbands, so that even if they refuse to believe the word, they will be won over without words by the behavior of their wives 2 when they see your pure and reverent demeanor.…"
Bottom line: We obey the authorities over us when they obey Christ, when they do not, we refuse to accommodate their sin. So the conclusion of the matter is to obey Christ all the time no matter what the pressure of the culture or the devil to disobey Him. The only way we will be able to do this is if we are walking daily with our Lord, He is pre-eminent over everyone and every thing all the time.
When we meet someone like this we can rightly judge that the woman who makes this excuse is treating her husband as an idol, he is her god above Christ.
When our husbands want us to sin to validate their own sin, then we are to decline to obey that and go with God.
Acts 5:7-9 in the case of Annanias and Saphira, the wife conspired with her husband to deceive. She was also punished for going along with his sin. They were both killed by God.
"7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out."
We are to obey God whether or not our husbands choose to do so. We will stand before God alone one day to account for ourselves. God will not be asking if we did it because our sinful husband told us to do it. We make our own choice to obey Christ, no matter what anyone else wants.
Acts 5:29
"29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men."
I do believe there are woman who would rather be controlled by someone else so they don't have to think or respond, they can always use others as an excuse for their own sinful choices. Those who would rather be controlled by man than allow the Holy Spirit to control them, have a weak and beggarly faith. They cannot stand alone with Christ, they must have others to blame, others to excuse them and others who validate their lack of commitment to Christ.
There is salvation in Christ alone, no other human being should be doing our thinking for us. It is sin to allow others to manipulate our thoughts, commitments and decisions toward God.
Acts 4:12
"And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."
1 Peter 2:24
"and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed."
When we choose to work with our husband as he leads, it is our commitment toward Christ that motivates us, not a human rule we think we have to follow. When we have to say no to sin, then we must be strong in Christ above any other human pressure.
There are many women who do not have godly husbands, to obey their husbands in their sin is to deny, mock and demean Christ. If someone has an unsaved husband, he may be won to Christ by observing our commitment to Christ no matter what. Our behavior has more weight than our words.
Words have little value when they are not backed up by our behavior. Our behavior cannot be godly when or if we obey the sin of our husband.
1 Peter 3:1-2 "1 Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your husbands, so that even if they refuse to believe the word, they will be won over without words by the behavior of their wives 2 when they see your pure and reverent demeanor.…"
Bottom line: We obey the authorities over us when they obey Christ, when they do not, we refuse to accommodate their sin. So the conclusion of the matter is to obey Christ all the time no matter what the pressure of the culture or the devil to disobey Him. The only way we will be able to do this is if we are walking daily with our Lord, He is pre-eminent over everyone and every thing all the time.
Denying Christ Through Lying Against His Word
It is astonishing to some believers the laxity and flippancy, with which others who claim to be Christian, deal with the Word of God.
Many people who say they are Christians justify wrong beliefs, mostly because they know they will have the support of the rest of the culture. In order to be accepted by others and enjoy many friends, these people compromise the Word of God for the sake of their own popularity.
Divorce and remarriage is one of those principles that superficial Christians love to defend. They use every excuse possible why their situation or the situations of their friends, were special cases. They take one or two passages from it's context to explain away the sin they find themselves in or in order to continue enjoying the company of worldly friends and family.
Those who justify divorce and remarriage, perhaps not by doing it themselves, but by accepting the remarriages as well as even attending the weddings of those who are remarrying, have allowed themselves an excuse to sin through acceptance of these things. Using human wisdom rather than God's Word they declare it is alright with God, mocking and demeaning Him through lies about Him.
God clearly states that if we participate and validate the sin of someone, we are also guilty participating in that sin.
Those who justify sin because of the lies of their culture actually think God is just like them. They refuse His statues and principles to follow the culture, so they have made a god in their own image, while rejecting the One true God.
There is only one cure for this sinful contemptuous mentality, that is repentance in the heart, confession with the mouth and a returning to the ways of God. Anyone who will not do this remains in their sin and will be dealt with by God.
Psalm 50:16-23
16 "But to the wicked God says,
“What right have you to tell of My statutes
And to take My covenant in your mouth?
17 “For you hate discipline,
And you cast My words behind you.
18 “When you see a thief, you are pleased with him,
And you associate with adulterers.
19 “You let your mouth loose in evil
And your tongue frames deceit.
20 “You sit and speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
21 “These things you have done and I kept silence;
You thought that I was just like you;
I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.
22 “Now consider this, you who forget God,
Or I will tear you in pieces, and there will be none to deliver.
23 “He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me;
And to him who orders his way aright
I shall show the salvation of God.”
Acts 5:7-9 in the case of Annanias and Saphira, the wife conspired with her husband to deceive. She was also punished for going along with his sin.
"7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out."
Proverbs 1:10-19
10 My son, if sinners entice you,
Do not consent.
11 If they say, “Come with us,
Let us lie in wait for blood,
Let us ambush the innocent without cause;
12 Let us swallow them alive like Sheol,
Even whole, as those who go down to the pit;
13 We will find all kinds of precious wealth,
We will fill our houses with spoil;
14 Throw in your lot [a]with us,
We shall all have one purse,”
15 My son, do not walk in the way with them.
Keep your feet from their path,
16 For their feet run to evil
And they hasten to shed blood.
17 Indeed, it is [b]useless to spread the baited net
In the sight of any [c]bird;
18 But they lie in wait for their own blood;
They ambush their own lives.
19 So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence;
It takes away the life of its possessors."
Ephesians 5:3-7
"3 But immorality [a]or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among [b]saints; 4 and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know with certainty, that no [c]immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them;"
Acts 7:57
"57 But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse."
2 John 10-11
"10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; 11 for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds."
Failing to rebuke those who are sinning is also a form of participating and validating sin.
Ezekiel 3:17-21
"17 “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me.
18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.
19 Yet if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered yourself.
20 Again, when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I place an obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand.
21 However, if you have warned the righteous man that the righteous should not sin and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; and you have delivered yourself.”
Ephesians 5:11
"11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even [a]expose them;"
Most people in our "Christian culture" are not exposing the sin of adultery through divorce and remarriage, but rather are accepting it and embracing those who do it.
1 Timothy 5:20
"20 Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning."
Those who expose the sin of adultery in divorce and remarriage are those who are rejected. This is the state of this world today, many will defend the sin while beating up on the one who exposes sin. I know there are those of you who have experienced the same thing. You speak God's truth, from that moment that you do, you are targeted for mocking, demeaning and isolation, you are essentially invisible to those who claimed to love you, because you will not give into the pressure to accept the worldliness of the superficial Christian.
2 Tim. 4:2
"2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,"
Those who claim to be Christians and reject the Word of God as He intended it, are hypocrites, claiming one thing and being another.
When we know the truth and refuse to defend it, we are playing into the hands of the devil, doing his dirty work in defying God, merely to be accepted by the world.
Many people who say they are Christians justify wrong beliefs, mostly because they know they will have the support of the rest of the culture. In order to be accepted by others and enjoy many friends, these people compromise the Word of God for the sake of their own popularity.
Divorce and remarriage is one of those principles that superficial Christians love to defend. They use every excuse possible why their situation or the situations of their friends, were special cases. They take one or two passages from it's context to explain away the sin they find themselves in or in order to continue enjoying the company of worldly friends and family.
Those who justify divorce and remarriage, perhaps not by doing it themselves, but by accepting the remarriages as well as even attending the weddings of those who are remarrying, have allowed themselves an excuse to sin through acceptance of these things. Using human wisdom rather than God's Word they declare it is alright with God, mocking and demeaning Him through lies about Him.
God clearly states that if we participate and validate the sin of someone, we are also guilty participating in that sin.
Those who justify sin because of the lies of their culture actually think God is just like them. They refuse His statues and principles to follow the culture, so they have made a god in their own image, while rejecting the One true God.
There is only one cure for this sinful contemptuous mentality, that is repentance in the heart, confession with the mouth and a returning to the ways of God. Anyone who will not do this remains in their sin and will be dealt with by God.
Psalm 50:16-23
16 "But to the wicked God says,
“What right have you to tell of My statutes
And to take My covenant in your mouth?
17 “For you hate discipline,
And you cast My words behind you.
18 “When you see a thief, you are pleased with him,
And you associate with adulterers.
19 “You let your mouth loose in evil
And your tongue frames deceit.
20 “You sit and speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
21 “These things you have done and I kept silence;
You thought that I was just like you;
I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.
22 “Now consider this, you who forget God,
Or I will tear you in pieces, and there will be none to deliver.
23 “He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me;
And to him who orders his way aright
I shall show the salvation of God.”
Acts 5:7-9 in the case of Annanias and Saphira, the wife conspired with her husband to deceive. She was also punished for going along with his sin.
"7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out."
Proverbs 1:10-19
10 My son, if sinners entice you,
Do not consent.
11 If they say, “Come with us,
Let us lie in wait for blood,
Let us ambush the innocent without cause;
12 Let us swallow them alive like Sheol,
Even whole, as those who go down to the pit;
13 We will find all kinds of precious wealth,
We will fill our houses with spoil;
14 Throw in your lot [a]with us,
We shall all have one purse,”
15 My son, do not walk in the way with them.
Keep your feet from their path,
16 For their feet run to evil
And they hasten to shed blood.
17 Indeed, it is [b]useless to spread the baited net
In the sight of any [c]bird;
18 But they lie in wait for their own blood;
They ambush their own lives.
19 So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence;
It takes away the life of its possessors."
Ephesians 5:3-7
"3 But immorality [a]or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among [b]saints; 4 and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know with certainty, that no [c]immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them;"
Acts 7:57
"57 But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse."
2 John 10-11
"10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; 11 for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds."
Failing to rebuke those who are sinning is also a form of participating and validating sin.
Ezekiel 3:17-21
"17 “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me.
18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.
19 Yet if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered yourself.
20 Again, when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I place an obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand.
21 However, if you have warned the righteous man that the righteous should not sin and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; and you have delivered yourself.”
Ephesians 5:11
"11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even [a]expose them;"
Most people in our "Christian culture" are not exposing the sin of adultery through divorce and remarriage, but rather are accepting it and embracing those who do it.
1 Timothy 5:20
"20 Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning."
Those who expose the sin of adultery in divorce and remarriage are those who are rejected. This is the state of this world today, many will defend the sin while beating up on the one who exposes sin. I know there are those of you who have experienced the same thing. You speak God's truth, from that moment that you do, you are targeted for mocking, demeaning and isolation, you are essentially invisible to those who claimed to love you, because you will not give into the pressure to accept the worldliness of the superficial Christian.
2 Tim. 4:2
"2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,"
Those who claim to be Christians and reject the Word of God as He intended it, are hypocrites, claiming one thing and being another.
When we know the truth and refuse to defend it, we are playing into the hands of the devil, doing his dirty work in defying God, merely to be accepted by the world.
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