Working in Concert

Ezekiel 18:20 "The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son.".

 
The principle here is that each person will be accountable for their own sin. Anyone who approves of sin in their friend participates in that sin through their affirmation of it.

 
Luke 17:3 “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him…”

Ephesians 5:11 "Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them."

James 4:17 "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."

2 Thessalonians 3:14-15 "If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother."

1 Corinthians 5:11 "But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one."

To spend time with a brother in Christ who is sinning without warning them is to be party to their sin.

 
1 Timothy 5:20 "As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear."

James 4:4 "You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."

James 5:19-20 "My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins."

1 Corinthians 15:33 "Do not be deceived: 'Bad company ruins good morals.”
Remember Annanias and Sapphirah, who conspired together to lie to the Holy Spirit about the amount of the sale of their land. To accept sin in another is to support them in their sin.

 
Sometimes I wonder if Sapphirah would have lived if she had not agreed with her husband and refused to lie. Or, I wonder if she would have been able to talk Annanias out of lying if she had refused to do it. We will never know this, but the beginning principle in the article is that no one will be held accountable for someone else's sin if they refuse to accept it or participate. Acts 5:1-11

We have laws in our country that say if someone was with the one who robbed the store as a lookout, they will be held accountable for whatever the robber did while in the store. It is called "working in concert" with the robber. It is Biblical in nature that anyone who helps a criminal will also be accountable for their support of that crime.

 
How many times have Christians thought the way the Corinthian church thought, believing they were being kind by not chastising the young man who was committing adultery with his father's wife?

1 Corinthians 5:1-8 "5 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and sexual immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, namely, that someone has his father’s wife.

2 You have become [b]arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.

3 For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present.

4 In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus,

5 I have decided to turn such a person over to Satan for the destruction of his body, 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 leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?
7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.
8 Therefore let’s celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

It was a boastful mentality that led the people to accept the sin. Their worldly mindset viewed acceptance of sin as a kind act. When it was not kind to the sinner, nor was it kind to the entire body that would be influenced by the sin.

 
When we love others, we are more concerned about their spiritual well-being than we are about whether or not they like us, or how we may appear to others who don't understand.

 
Withholding truth from a fellow believer is a lack of love and worse, "self-love." When appearances and acceptance is more important than the truth, then it is also more important than God.

How Satan is Using AI Videos to Trick MANY Christians.. Be Advised!

Toxic People are Exhausting

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/e9PHRLnnfB0

A Famine in the Land

Amos 8:11 "11 Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord GOD, when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD."

It may not seem like it now because there are so many church buildings and Bibles all over this country.

 
But there is a famine in the land of truth because the truth is being changed into a lie, adding to it many secular and pagan beliefs to it, making it all wrong.
Half-truths are whole lies; they are much more covertly deceptive than an out-and-out lie because they sound so right.

 
John 6:35
"Jesus answered, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst."

John 4:13-14
"Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. / But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”

Matthew 5:6
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."

While the church is focused on physical and emotional desires they are missing the Spiritual blessings of being led by the Holy Spirit. They know this is more important because they pretend to be led by the Holy Spirit while they are negating God's Word.

 
John 7:37-38
"On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. / Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’”

1 Peter 2:2
"Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,"

Hebrews 5:12-14
"Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to reteach you the basic principles of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food! For everyone who lives on milk is still an infant, inexperienced in the message of righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil."

Glorifying Man or Glorifying God

When man does the work without the Holy Spirit, then the men are glorified; when the Holy Spirit does the work in the man, God will be glorified.

John 16:13-14 "13 However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you."

Evangelicalism is a System not a Calling

Evangelicals think their system is working because of the numbers it brings in, whether or not anyone's hearts have been changed into a new creation, as long as they can get people to say they are Christians, they consider themselves as having converts.

 
Sadly, these converts are converted to their system instead of to Christ. We know this is true often because of the number of people who claim to be Christians but defy much of God's Word and fight against truth when it doesn't suit their desired cultural methodology.

Just ask the average person on the street if they have ever been born again, and they will tell you which church they attend, not how they found and trusted in Christ.
God called men who brought the gospel "evangelists," not "evangelicals" as a system, men of God who brought the truth of the gospel to the world. Man turned the act of bringing the gospel into a system. Whenever this happens, it becomes about method instead of Holy Spirit unction.

 
Using all sorts of tricks, rules, and enticements, Evangelicals have managed to grow rapidly as they dumbed down the gospel, adding man-made rules to keep people in obedience to them instead of Christ.

 
People influenced by the system of Evangelicalism are, in their minds, joining a club that serves them and keeps them safe.

 
This is the reason so many people joining the club follow the club rules, whether or not they are Biblical, and bring in a few of their own influences and rules as they change the nature of the club.

 
2 Peter 1:16
Eyewitnesses
"16 For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty."

2 Timothy 4:2-4 "…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. 4 So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.…"

This passage was written to the church, demonstrating the dangers of turning from the Holy Spirit, leading to human formulas and rituals. The Holy Spirit is no longer sought for truth, and the Bible is used as a book of suggestions from which to choose. Obeying the Word has become legalism to those who have denied the Word of God while claiming to be Bible believers.

 
They deny Christ every time they negate the Bible and embrace human leadership rather than the Holy Spirit.

 
John 16:13-14 "13 However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you.…"

When man follows man instead of the Holy Spirit, it will be man who is glorified. When it is the Holy Spirit Who leads men, then God will be glorified.

Pride the Enemy of the Born Again Believer

Pride is your enemy! When we respond in anger to someone who provokes us, we are giving them power over us. Strength is not needing to prove a point or win over someone else.

 
Those who provoke others are weak, emotional children without filters, with no ability to discuss matters in an adult-like manner to resolve something. Resolving matters so everyone is considered is not anything the rager wants; they love the tension and fight foolishly thinking if they can irritate others, they are more powerful, when really they are without control and power.

 
Adults want to resolve things for the best of both parties involved. Emotional infants want only to win, no matter how silly the win might be, or at least a win in their own mind it is a win.

 
Proverbs 29:8-10 "…8 Mockers inflame a city, but the wise turn away anger. 9 If a wise man goes to court with a fool, there will be raving and laughing with no resolution. 10 Men of bloodshed hate a blameless man, but the upright care for his life."

Ecclesiastes 7:9
"Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool."

Matthew 7:6
"Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces."

Fools become angry easily, while wise men do not!