Pretenders Claims

In the matter of the acceptance of transgender. Interesting, I see this mentality present in the church today, the acceptance of words and desires, above evidence, which would never hold up in a court of law.

Not that the church has accepted transgender.....yet..... but the mentality claiming to be something they are not has been embraced regularly. Many people like to "identify" as Christians but they have never been changed by the Holy Spirit, into a new creation, they remain as rebellious after conversion as they were before conversion, only with a little clean up to make themselves acceptable. These are the ones who minimize the reality and truth of the Bible, acting hostile when an authentic believer wants to use the Scriptures to settle a debate or address a problem of disobedience.

Trans gender thinking is nothing more than one deciding to declare themselves to be something they are not. Is this not true for the pretender who wants to identify as a Christian but has no desire to be authentically changed by Christ, according to the Scriptures?

A trans gender person is not the person they say they are, they are the person God made them, but they lie and say they are something they are not.

Is this not also true of the Christian who wants to be seen as a believer but has no identifying spiritual fruit that demonstrates their assertions! We learn who these people are soon after a challenge to think about their actions and attitudes as well as an admonition to go to prayer to ask God. I have yet to witness a pretender who will go to prayer to ask God, their initial response is to attack our character after which they gossip to bring people to their side.

Galatians 5:22-23
"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

The fruit of the Spirit that God speaks of in Gatatians is absent in most people who would identify as "Christian."

Words and claims do not make someone a believer or follower of Christ. When we have become born again it was because we believed Christ and want to be changed into a new creation by Him. Our mind is changed, our behavior is changed, but we are not doing it ourselves, we are submitting to Christ, He becomes the One who works miracles in us for cleansing.

We never fear telling the truth of God's principles because we do not fear the rejection of man.

Ephesians 2:10
"10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

Merely making the claim that we "identify" as something does not make that assertion true.

Our culture loves to pretend, appearances have become more important than substance. Joining the "group think" has become a measure of acceptance, but it is not authentic, it is pretense and rejected by Christ.

Proverbs 16:28
"A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends."

Pretenders are always causing strife within the body. They whine and complain as though accountability is mean when it is a command of Christ that we be closely tied to others, intimately entwined as brothers and sister should be in a family. Most gatherings do not allow this, it is discouraged out of fear that someone might get mad and leave.

If someone will not want to be accountable then it is wise to let them go, they will only cause trouble, infecting others as they defy God. If someone rejects the words of God because of their rebellious heart, then they are walking in pride and will resist, their attitude will cause division, they must leave to spare the rest of the flock.

1 Corinthians 5:5-7 "…5 hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord. 6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old yeast, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.…"

2 Timothy 4:1-3 "1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.…"

We are to speak truth to everyone all the time. Do not worry about "how" it is done, do it because of your love for Christ and concern for the siblings. Let the Holy Spirit be the One to speak through you and stop listening to those who would continually intimidate you into "doing it the worlds way", that is to soften the message so much that when they walk away they thought you were congratulating them on their sinful behavior.
It is interesting to me that these pretenders, those who say they are Christians but hate it when we bring in the Word of God to explain our actions, are never bothered by sin, but are enraged by correction, rebuke and admonishment. Seems like a clue doesn't it?

The Book of Truth

The Bible is not a book of suggestions! It's God's Word to us, do we love Him or not?

Blaspheming the Holy Spirit

Why do so many people who say they believe in Christ think it is perfectly alright to ignore His principles, the ones He gave us in the Bible.

They act as though as long as we have "love", and they have no definition for that except emotional feelings, we become the bad guy when we ask them to define love from the perspective of Christ.

John 14:15-16 "15 If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—…"

We cannot claim to love Christ if we think His commandments and principles are optional. When we love someone we seek to please them. When there is no desire to obey the commands and principles of Christ, there is no love for Him.

When there is no desire to help other believers to obey the commands of Christ, then there is no love for those people.

Love these days is defined as "emotional happiness." Thus we have the man-made rule of "lifestyle evangelism", a concept not written in the Word of God. We are to hear the promptings of the Holy Spirit and do as He directs.

Rom 8:13 KJV - "13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live."

Rom 8:14
"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."

We are not to adhere to the tactics and training of man in our evangelism, but only through the Holy Spirit do we obey God. Those who mock the Holy Spirit, treating Him as though He does not speak to us, placing man's teachings above the rule and power of the Holy Spirit, are in serious danger of blasphemy.

Luke 12:10
"10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven."

The Addictions of Divorce and Remarriage

Sometimes I think that divorce and remarriage has become an addiction in our culture, it's the first "go to " solution for many.

Endorsing Divorce and Remarriage

Why do so many endorse and defend divorce and remarriage? The answer is simple, they love their sin.

Pray for the Pretenders

Bitterness of Heart:

"A bitter person might spew their inner hurt and anger by saying and doing things that hurt the feelings of others, exhibiting ruthless verbal and emotional cruelty. Somehow, it makes the bitter individual feel better for a minute to see someone else suffer as they perceive themselves to be unfairly suffering. May 19, 2015" (from people also ask)

It is not bitterness to watch the world around us and sense a spirit of evil surrounding us, hating it and speaking against it. Sometimes people will say we are bitter because we choose our companions carefully and desire to have love, joy and kindness as our companions. This is not bitterness but Scriptural:

Proverbs 13:20-21 "20 He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm. 21 Adversity pursues sinners, But the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity.…"

1 Corinthians 15:33 "33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

A righteous person prays for those who have harmed and are unrepentant, but they do not have a relationship with them.

Those who say they are angry at God, are demonstrating bitterness, they wanted their own way, refuse to consult or worship Him and even blame Him for not having what they want from life.

Proverbs 16:28
"A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends."

Those who do not love God as we love Him, will cause division and contention continually. Nothing we say or do that honors God will be acceptable to them.

Amos 3:3 "Two cannot walk together if they are not in agreement."

Yes, we pray for those who do not love God, that they will one day become born again. However, constant companionship with them will not cause them to want God, only God can bring to them circumstances that make them see their need for Him.

Isaiah 26:10-11 " 10 Though the wicked is shown favor, He does not learn righteousness; He deals unjustly in the land of uprightness, And does not perceive the majesty of the LORD. 11 O LORD, Your hand is lifted up yet they do not see it. They see Your zeal for the people and are put to shame; Indeed, fire will devour Your enemies.…"

Proverbs 14:7
"Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge."

Psalm 26:4-5
"I do not sit with men of falsehood, nor do I consort with hypocrites. I hate the assembly of evildoers, and I will not sit with the wicked."

Many Christians today remain spiritual babies because they do not read their Bibles, they do not obey it if they do and their constant companions are those who are in the world, even those who despise the ways of God.

It is interesting that it is human nature to lean into whomever or whatever is around us, out of fear of being alone.

2 Corinthians 6:14
"Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?"

Those who love Christ prefer being alone with Christ to being surrounded by those who have no interest in Him. The truth of the matter is this; when we love Christ more than life itself we will be alone a lot. The peace of the Lord sustains us to a much greater measure than the companionship of those who are contemptuous toward us and toward God.

If we are in desperate need of human companionship, so much so that we would rather deny Christ, remain silent about His principles in order to have people around us, then we know that we worship and honor our own desires more than we do Christ. We lose our desire to be loved and adored by people when we have Christ living in us. We do desire the companionship of others who love Him, but if there are none in our community, then it is Christ we hang on to.

The more times we spend with Christ the less time we want to spend with the unsaved except to give them the gospel. It is not pleasurable to be with ungodly people, it is a mission to show them Christ.

Our pleasure as truly Bible believing Christians is to see someone come to Christ. Their accomplishments, their desires and their goals are nothing compared to their potential salvation. If losing everything brings them to the Lord, then that is the greater thing. The possessions and comfort is nothing in this life compared to the glory to come for those who have trusted Christ and walk with Him daily. Hallelujah!

Romans 8:17-18 "17 And if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him. 18 I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the revelation of the sons of God.…"

Notice that this passage is quite clear about our walk with Christ! We will be persecuted, mocked, demeaned, even by those who claim to be Christians because of the proliferation of pretenders that fill our churches. Many unbelievers attend church, but they do not know the Lord, so they will work against the one who loves 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.’"

2 Corinthians 6:16-18 "…16 What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.”
17 “Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”
18 And: “I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”…"
Pray for those who are lost to become saved, even those who are pretenders.

The Most Celebrated False God in America

Yes, all those who celebrate Christmas and include Santa in that celebration have a false Jesus. Christ would never endorse a false god.

Exodus 34:14 "14 for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God--"

When someone yearns for there to be a Santa, so much so that they look into the skies to pretend he is coming, teaching it to their children and even signing the gifts in Santa's name, leaving out treats for him, have made him a god in their hearts.

Most Christians in our country will not spend as much time talking about Christ as they do about Santa, in fact they almost never teach about Christ but will spend hours talking about Santa and his miracles that never really happen, but everyone wishes would happen.

Matthew 5:28 "28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

If God will call it the sin of adultery to so much as wish to be with another woman, how much more He is angered when someone yearns after Santa as their hope and their joy.