RADICAL CHURCH: Part 1 – Jim Wallace Interviews Frank Viola on “Pagan Ch...

The Pastor is NOT Biblical - Frank Viola

What is adultery or an adulterous generation?

Most people think of an emotional or physical relationship with someone other than their spouse. While this is true it is not the only form of adultery.

Matthew 16:4

"A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed."

Adultery is the mentality in the heart of preferring others, or money or goods or political parties over God. God hates that anyone or anything would take priority over Him.

In a marriage it is a form of adultery when a spouse prefers their parent or siblings or other family members above their spouse. When one spouse is disregarded by the other spouse in favor of extended family, then the spouse is preferring, in an adulterous affair against the other spouse.

I have heard it said that a man was having an emotionally adulterous affair with someone they are not sleeping with but enjoyed their company more than the company of their wife.

There probably was adultery in their heart in the preference for this woman just as there is an emotional connection of a husband or wife toward their own families over and above their husband or wife.

Whenever someone prefers an extended family member over their spouse they are committing adultery in that partiality toward the extended family member.

When our allegiance s spread beyond our spouse in a preferential way it is a form of adultery, causing the spouse to feel unloved and abandoned.

Our spouses should always take priority over any extended family or business partner or friend outside the marriage relationship.

When a wife feels left set aside as the husband prefers his family over her nurture then he is neglecting his wife. This is true also if it is the wife preferring her family over the spouse.

Just because someone is not sharing a bed with someone does not mean their allegiance and attention are proper. It is one thing to be friends with the opposite gender, and quiet another to prefer that friend over our own spouse.

There are some people who will pay more attention to and enjoy others outside the marriage relationship while neglecting to show that same attention to their spouse. Narcissists often do this, they will attend strongly to the desires of others while negating the desires of their spouse.

We do not have a physical relationship with God, it is Spiritual and lovely and He does not want us to prefer any person over Him. When push comes to shove we must always take our side with God.

When someone is treating our spouse disrespectfully we must always take the side of our spouse, never the side of the one who abuses.

Many marriages are ruined by extended family who attempt to divide our allegiance with our spouse to prefer them. This is devilish and the people that do it must be removed from the relationship.

No one should be allowed to come between or be superior to our spouses.

Genesis 2:24

“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh”

If there is anyone in extended family or in business or any other relationship who causes adultery in our hearts to divide our marriage devotion, they must be removed.

I have seen marriage relationship in which one spouse will join with the extended family against their spouse to be accepted by the group, this is sin and destructive to the marriage.

Leaving family when we get married is the best way to develop our own oneness to each other. Remaining with family while under the family's influence will destroy or delay the development of a strong marriage bond.

The Lord took us away from family for career reasons when we were first married and it was the best thing that could have happened to us. When we came back to family years later is when the problems began to emerge when family attempted to insert themselves into our marriage without knowing anything about the dynamics of our relationship.

Then once again God removed us as we moved across the country for career reasons, helping us to return to the marriage we had when we first left. It is very rare that extended family supports and encourages a marriage to build their own traditions, choices and closeness to one another.

Too many people in a marriage relationship is more likely to ruin the closeness than it is to develop it.

Closeness comes when two people depend on God first and then one another without interference from those who love to judge, dominate and influence one spouse over the other.

God said to "leave and clever" for a reason, He wanted the couple to grow in their own oneness without interference from those who do not understand the dynamics of the couple or their personal desires. Working things out together without the opinions of a "group-think" will cause emotional and Spiritual growth for a strong marriage.

Genesis 2:23-24 "… 23 And the man said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of man she was taken.” 24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh."

No one else in the extended family should be inserting themselves into another couple's marriage.

Proverbs 2:17

"who abandons the partner of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God."

Preferring the companionship of others outside the marriage relationship is a form of spousal abandonment. It carries with it a greater pain than physical abuse because it is unseen to anyone but the one who has been abandoned, this one who feels deserted and without protection, left in loneliness because of the emotional and spiritual adultery of the one who places family above their spouse.

Just because someone is not committing physical or emotional adultery as we think of it do not think it is alright to place others above the marriage.

God's Love of the Devil's Evil

God's Biblical Love

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

4 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant.

5 It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered,

6 it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away with; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away with."

What God hates:

Proverbs 6:16-19

16 There are six things that the Lord hates,

Seven that are an abomination to Him:

17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,

And hands that shed innocent blood,

18 A heart that devises wicked plans,

Feet that run rapidly to evil,

19 A false witness who declares lies,

And one who [b]spreads strife among brothers."

We can "be" the love God speaks of in His Word, through consulting the Holy Spirit and Scripture constantly. And, by not enabling bad behavior but by refusing to become like those who abuse others.

Notice I said "be" the love God speaks of, because we will not continue in love if we just "do" what is right, we will do what is right without thinking when we "are" permeated with the Love of Christ in our very being. The Love in us must be a part of our being before it will be authentic and permanent.

The more we focus on the abuse the more likely we are to lose that joyful loving Spiritual connection to Christ in us and the more we will respond in ways that displease God and please the abuser.

Satan loves to see us act in ungodly ways to ruin our witness to the world of the glory of God. Let us not allow the devil and those he uses to turn us into them.

Luke 6:27-28 "27But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. "

However, we are also commanded to remove ourselves from those who practice rudeness and dishonesty through a false persona.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 "Avoid people such as these." And, especially if these people claim to be Christian. They can keep us stuck in frustration with the temptation ever present to be ill-mannered to defend ourselves.

When we are confronted with rudeness we can ignore it, or call it out, but should never respond in kind. When the response to our challenge that they must stop their rudeness is met with further rudeness then we know it is time to exit.

There are some people we should completely ignore because we know any response or attempt to teach them something will only be met with an escalation of their anger. We know that those who are rude on a regular basis have a weak and angry spirit that will not hear a correction.

Proverbs 9:7-9 "…7He who corrects a mocker brings shame on himself; he who rebukes a wicked man taints himself. 8 Do not rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. 9Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will increase his learning.…"

Bottom line: seek the Holy Spirit and when the time arises to have to deal with rude people, the Holy Spirit will give you what to say or compel you to remain silent and walk away.

Matthew 10:18-20 "…18 On My account, you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to respond or what to say. In that hour you will be given what to say. 20 For it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.…"

It is a blessing and peace that we don't heave to depend on making someone else understand, we can be what we should be and leave others to the Lord.

Do Not Fall Into the Deceptions

Do not be deceived by other religions that have taken on Christian language to fool you into thinking they are just like Christians.

I am astonished at all the people who would consider themselves Christians who are confused at whether or not Catholics are Christians too. The problem is that the Catholic religion is now using Christian verbiage to fit in with what true Christians say but with different meanings.

Some people have been excited about the Bible studies that are occurring in Catholic churches. In an effort to draw Catholics away from Christian Bible studies they have their own now but sadly these gatherings are using scripture twisting to make the Bible fit their own doctrines.

As a former Catholic, I saw this evolution over the years. Catholics who despised us for leaving the church are now attempting to entice us back with these deceptions. I use these opportunities to speak the real gospel to them but it has little effect because they just see the truth as another opinion they disagree with.

When someone becomes born again in spite of their Catholic influence they will leave that devilish system because Christ in them opens their eyes to the deception and if they argue with the priest about the Bible they will be rejected or mocked.

The only way for a believer to be protected from these deceptions is to know the scriptures well and whenever the Catholic states a principles that sounds good ask them what they mean, this will clear it up and expose the deception.

2 Timothy 4:3: "For there will come a time when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, because they have itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in line with their own desires".

We are Living in the Last Days of the Last Days

2 Timothy 3:1-5
"1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult (ragingly insane) times will come.
2 For people will be lovers of self,

 
lovers of money, (excessive desire to acquire wealth)

boastful, ("showing excessive pride and self-satisfaction in one's achievements, possessions, or abilities.")

arrogant, (exaggerated sense of self importance)

slanderers, (someone who intentionally harms another person's reputation by spreading false and damaging statements about them.)

disobedient to parents, ( intentionally not following what a parent or authority figure says, or what the law or a rule requires.)

ungrateful, (not feeling or showing gratitude.)

unholy, (sinful; wicked)

3 unloving, (not loving or affectionate)

irreconcilable, (incapable of being brought into harmony or adjustment)

malicious gossips, (disgraceful gossip about the private lives of other people)
without self-control, (being unable to control one's actions or feelings)

brutal, (savagely violent)

haters of good, (people who are cruel, unloving, and unforgiving, and who hate what is good:)

4 treacherous, (guilty of or involving betrayal or deception)

reckless, (irresponsible. reckless)

conceited, (excessively proud of oneself; vain)

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."

This is the gist of what we face regularly now as we walk through a dying and godless world.

Families are being destroyed by those who have such a high opinion of themselves that no one else matters except their own self-exaltation. This is the very mentality of the devil and it is his thoughts and his way that permeate the minds of those who are perishing.

Nothing can change the way things are when the world becomes like the days of Noah and Lot, the only thing left is for God to destroy it with disaster.

 
Matthew 24:37-39
37 For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be."

This final and overwhelming disaster of the world is coming in the tribulation. The first half of the 7 years will be terrible natural disasters when 1/4 (8.2 billion people now on the earth and more if time passes, 1/4 of that number) of the people on the earth will be destroyed. This is when the people will be looking for a man to repair everything for the world, this man will be the antichrist. He will promise amazing things bring horrible persecution to the world.

 
Some of those who have trusted Christ during this time will be martyred and others will be protected in the rocks. Those who trust in the antichrist will be oppressed and dominated in ways never before experienced on this earth. Those who take his mark seal their fate of hell by their act of worship in taking the mark.

 
We are walking in times that are being set up for this one-world antichrist system. Those of us who are born again will not see this antichrist, we will be in heaven celebrating the marriage supper of the Lamb while this 7 years of God's wrath is occurring on earth.

 
At the end of the tribulation, the church will return with Christ to destroy evil in the church, we will be with Him but He will do the job of expunging evil from the earth and set up His kingdom on earth in Jerusalem where He will reign for 1000 years and we will reign with Him.

 
The born again believer watches the world implode with wickedness now but it does not destroy our faith because we know the end of the matter and that brings great hope and joy.

 
Luke 21:28
"Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads because your redemption is drawing near.”

From our Mind Out our Mouths to Someone Else's Ears

Remember that narcissists are those who judge harshly often because of their own jealousy toward someone. Their judgments are unfounded and determined by what they wish to believe about their target but are not factual.

Since narcissists walk in fear and are full of the need to be superior they will choose their desired belief and pass it on as facts to others who will listen to them. Truth and facts don't matter to the narcissist, only their superiority and the neat to always be right, overrides good reasoning.

Proverbs 11:13 "A gossip betrays a confidence,

but a trustworthy person keeps a secret."

I notice too that narcissists are terribly secretive about their own lives out of fear that others will gossip about them the way they gossip about others.

It is never wise to bare your soul to a narcissist, they will not care what you are going through but rather enjoy twisting what you said into their version of it and passing that false information on as fact.

Ephesians 4:29 "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

If someone does not have a need to know something about another person then it is best to keep the knowledge to ourselves. And, it is never acceptable to make "guesses" about what might be happening when we were not there to see it for themselves. There are many people in the world today who cannot be trusted with personal information.

Someone once shared gossip with me about a woman whose husband left her for another woman. The gossip was as, the gossip guessed that the wife drove off the husband to cause him to do what he did. I noticed in this testimony from those who didn't live in the house with the woman who was betrayed, claimed she drove her husband to sin.

It was interesting that the gossip didn't guess that perhaps the husband who ran off with another woman must have been at fault in the marriage. If I were going to "guess" about this situation I would have thought that the one who betrayed his wife was continually emotionally abusing the wife or he never would have betrayed her in this way. Why choose to believe the wife was at fault when it was the man committing adultery and abandonment?

Again, "my guess" based on life experience, that it is that the gossip who didn't like the wife so they concocted a scenario that best justified their contempt for the wife, while excusing the husband's wicked behavior.

When someone "guesses" what they think "might" have happened they are engaging in the worst kind of gossip, deliberately making the innocent party seem like the perpetrator without proof.

Proverbs 10:18 "Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips

and spreads slander is a fool."

Proverbs 18:8 "The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;

they go down to the inmost parts."

I notice too that those who engage in judging others without knowing the whole truth never tell on themselves and they become angry when someone points out the evil of their guesses.

Proverbs 6:16-19

"There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers."

Those who "guess" about the situations of others love drama and discord among the brethren. They want a reason to feel superior or even to justify their own sin against those they gossip against, so they attempt to convince others to treat the target with the same contempt that dwells in the heart of the gossiper. The more they can gain to their side the more entrenched in their false belief they become.

It is only Christ Who can take these gossipers through discipline and the discipline must be severe because these types always have excuses and everything is the faul to someone else.

James 1:26

"If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless."

This is the reason I have such a problem with tabloid news about celebrities. Praising them when we do not know their lives, yes even praise can be gossip, or denigrating them because of news stories is all gossip, none of it can be proved so it is best to ignore it all.

Perhaps remembering the following passage will help remind us to be mindful of what comes out of our mouths, and before that what goes on in our minds. When we keep close accounts about our heart and mind we will not allow ungodly thoughts to fly out of our mouths let alone into someone else's ears.

Matthew 12:36

I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,