Pretenders are Those Who are Lukewarm

Revelation 3:16-18 "…16 So because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to vomit you out of My mouth! 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked."

There are many pretenders in the church gatherings who walk in self-righteousness, disobey the Word of God regularly and even have a disdain for anyone who will correct them according to the Word. This is called the apostasy that God said would happen in the last days.

Proverbs 13:7

"There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches."

Those who are poor in spirit, who know they had to be saved from their sin and realize it is only Christ Who is good, these are the rich ones who will see their inheritance with Christ.

Luke 18:9-14

"He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ ..."

Those who boast of their own goodness are doing it because they know they are not and need to convince others as they attempt to convince themselves.

Titus 3:5

"He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,"

Those who became born again were those who knew they were wretched and in need of a Savior. No one will be saved who believes they deserved the grace of God. These people walk in pride thinking they are better than others.

Ephesians 2:8-9

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

Romans 10:3

"For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness."

Remember it is only Christ Who is good, no one else can claim they are good.

Proverbs 30:12

"There are those who are clean in their own eyes but are not washed of their filth."

Matthew 7:21-23

“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. 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?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"

My prayer is that those who are full of themselves thinking they are earning their way to heaven will repent and see the need to trust Christ and become cleansed by Him.

He is the only One Who can cleanse us, He is the only One Who can save us from ourselves.

Luke 10:27

"And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

It's Getting Darker But There Is Still Hope - Carter Conlon #Shorts

Gossips are Bullies

If someone is a gossip, guessing things they want to believe and passing them on, they are bullies!

Believing Gossip is Sin!

If anyone believes gossip and treats the one gossiped about disrespectfully they are bullies.

Aggravation at the Breaking of the Constitution

So many Christians are aggravated that our president makes statements that defy the Constitution of our country. I admit too that it is wrong and clearly against the Constitution to allow tenants to remain when they will not pay their rent.

These people will say the president admits it is probably not constitutional and yet he is going to implement the mandate anyway.

He says he knows that it is not constitutional for the government to mandate an eviction moratorium in which tenants are allowed to remain in a home when they are not paying the rent to which they agreed when they entered the apartment or house.

Many of the people who are displeased with our government ignoring the constitution of our country will have no problem ignoring the commandments of God and His principles in His Word.

Which is the higher Law than the laws of the government? God's Law is higher than that of any government, and yet the believers place the Constitution above God's law. These people complain that the Constitution was violated in a particular area but do not seem to care that God's law is violated continually by Chrisitians.

Yes, they are right in their assertion that it is wrong to allow people to renege on their agreement to pay rent to a landlord for the use of the landlord's property.

My quandary is why these laws of the land and the rights of the landlord are so important while the laws of God's word are ignored and even rejected by the same people who believe we should follow the Constitution. Why would the Constitution be the major discussion while the continual violation of God's Word is accepted and even defended?

If a country would obey God's Word there would be no need for a Constitution. The Constitution of our land is made up of some Christian principles based on the bible and some human ideas, a mixture of humanism and religion.

The Constitution of a land that obeys God would be the Bible. It would be the "go-to" document for the standards in the land. Do you see why I am looking forward to the Millennium when Christ will rule? There will be no need for a Constitution made by men, our God will be on the throne and available for consultation in any question.

Do you see where I am going with this?

The instruction book for the born-again believer is the Bible. The Bible was given to bring the message of salvation for the unsaved and instruction for living for the born-again believers.

The Constitution of the country was drafted to keep the lawless people from destroying the land. Believers do not destroy the land they do what is right even when no one else will. Believers obey God's law because they love God, but the lawless person obeys the law of the land when they can't get away with lawlessness, so they will not be caught and suffer punishment.

The born again believer loves doing what is right but the one who is unsaved only worries about being caught suffering consequences.

Now that many consequences have been take away by the liberals of the land, many more people break the rules and laws who might not have done so before. Laws restrain the wicked, the righteous need no restraint.

1 Timothy 1:8-9 "…8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately. 9 We realize that law is not enacted for the righteous, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for killers of father or mother, for murderers, "

As long as the leaders of our land are ignoring the constitution or changing it without the knowledge of the people we will see the irrational lawless mentality continue unabated.

Notice something, when the land becomes lawless there comes pressure to bear on the righteous to remain silent or accept the sin, even endorsing it.

As long as "Christians", or pretenders continue to ignore the Bible, even defending sin, we will see increased lawlessness in the lifestyles of those who think the Bible is a book of suggestions.

When God said lawlessness would abound in the last days He was not only referring to the unsaved ignoring the laws of the land but also the "Christians" who continually disobey God, even defending their sin calling it good.

The born-again believer needs no law because they love to do what is right in the sight of God. However, weak believers will soften toward sin when intimidated enough.

We have many laws in this country that are being ignored and even extinguished unlawfully because we are living in the days of lawlessness just as Christ described.

Matthew 24:12-13

"12 And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will become cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved."

The evidence that someone is born again is the adherence to God's ways even when there is societal pressure to capitulate to the ways of the world. This is why God said, "you will be hated by all because of me."

"Anomia is usually translated as “lawless” (Blue Letter Bible) meaning "deliberately disobeying a specific standard."

This is what many believers are doing when they defend divorce and remarriage, gossip against those who bring scripture to bear in the lives of those around them as well as are reject and isolated by others for standing for the truth of the Bible.

If you walk with Christ and you love His word you will be rejected, isolated, mocked, and even demeaned for your love of Christ.

The Fruit Proves the Heart

God never said you shall know the believer by what they say. He never told us to believe them, He told us to test the spirit.

1 John 4:1-3 "4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. "

The word "Confess" here denotes from the original language (confess through the way they live their life). Confession is not just words, it is a lifestyle that demonstrates the fruit and character of Christ. The first of this fruit is love, this will be seen even more than any of the other traits. Without God's love, not our idea of what love is, but God's kind of love, no one can be a child of God.

God said you shall know them by their fruit, by their love of the Brethren, and also there will be a strong connection with them that is spiritual and Spiritually discerned.

Many people say whatever they want to make themselves look spiritual, it is not their words that prove their heart.

1 John 3:13-15 "…13 So do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that eternal life does not reside in a murderer.…"

Matthew 7:15-20
You Will Know Them by Their Fruit
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
Here is the fruit, it is the character qualities of Christ:
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."

John 13:34-35 "…34 A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are My disciples if you love one another.”

How Do We Know if Someone is Born Again

I was asked the question of how we can know if we are born again and how can we know if someone else is born again. Here was my answer;

God said you shall know them by their fruit, by their love of the Brethren, and also there will be a strong connection with them that is spiritual and Spiritually discerned.

1 John 3:13-15 "…13 So do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that eternal life does not reside in a murderer.…"

Matthew 7:15-20

You Will Know Them by Their Fruit

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?

17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.

19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

Here is the fruit, it is the character qualities of Christ:

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."

John 13:34-35 "…34 A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are My disciples if you love one another.”