I only recognize atheists as those in rebellion against God, liars who claim to not believe in Him but are choosing it knowing He exists.. Sort of like telling the woman who bore you, "You're not my mother because I don't recognize the fact."
I see the people who say they are Christians but deny much of the Bible to fit their own desires and their culture. These people are lying, when we love Him we are dedicated to His Word.
John 14:15-17 "“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him."
When someone does not like you because you have stirred the wrath of the demons who influence them, they will pretend something is wrong with you so they don't have to listen to you. Denying things and people to justify wicked actions and attitudes is common among the apostate church.
Satan did this with Eve in the garden. He went after the most influential person in the marriage relationship to impact the husband.
Eve was the one created to be the helper to the man, to influence him when necessary and support him in his calling. Satan knew the power of the woman to sway the man, so he addressed her to disrespect God. Notice Satan didn't go to the husband, but to the wife, not because she was more easily duped, but because she was powerful in the relationship. We know that Adam, was easily manipulated because he took what the woman gave to him. Both husband and wife were easily duped by the devil, after all, Eve bought into the lie and shared it with Adam and he partook.
No one in the marriage was duped more than the other, they were both fooled.
This is why it is so vitally important that godly women seek God continually so that her influence in the husbands' life will reflect the will of God.
God created Eve to be His Spiritual and emotional advisor, when she does her job her husband will be more powerful in all that God has called him to do.
The man is not independent of the woman or the woman independent of the man, they are two sides of the same coin. When one falters the other is there to pick them up or bring them back to obedience to God.
The godly marriage relationship is one of leader and supporter. That support comes in many forms, it may be encouragement to keep doing what the man is doing or it may be a warning not to do what the man is planning.
Whatever the case, the man must obey God even if his wife does not. And, the woman must obey God when the husband will not.
Notice that when confronted by God those who sinned blamed others for their own sin. Adam blamed God because He gave the man the woman and Eve blamed the serpent. Both blamed others instead of taking responsibility for their own actions.
We see this all the time in human relationships, rather than humbling themselves and saying; "I did it and it was wrong", they say; "So and so made me do it." or "You caused it", or "you did something else wrong that caused me to sin."
All excuses and reactions in haste to protect pride are sins. There can be no cleansing from the guilt and desire to sin without confession and the resolution to not repeat the sin.
1 John 1:9
"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
God will only cleanse us of sin if we admit it and desire to no longer engage in it.
Those who refuse to admit sin and continually justify it will grow weaker and more bitter as they slip deeper into depression for the weight of sin on them.
Sin is never resolved by ignoring it, pretending it never happened or blaming others, it always grows like a cancer eating away at all decency, kindness and empathy until there is nothing left of goodness.
The only way to expunge the sin from our lives is to admit it, ask God to cleanse us, and resist the devil when he attempts to influence our minds with temptations to return to sin again.
As we grow in holiness from the process God gave us to remove sinful desires from our hearts, we will become more Christlike and less worldly. Sin will appear darker to us than it was before because we will see more clearly to avoid it and people who would impact us to be like them.
This is why God told us to "avoid such people" in 2 Timothy 3, those who are full of anger, hate, and revenge so that we will not emulate them from overexposure to their attitudes and actions.
2 Timothy 3:1-5
Difficult Times Will Come
3 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.
2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,
4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these."
There are many in these last days who say they are Christians, even knowing some Bible verses but who work against holiness and all the fruit of God's Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23 - "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
Let us confess often allowing Christ to continually grow us so that our light can shine for Him.
