Can a True Christian Backslide?

Certainly true Christians can backslide, if by that you mean they can regress into a period of spiritual dullness or disobedience. Those who do so will bring God's discipline (Hebrews 12:6-11). That's because God disciplines those who are true sons (v. 8).

But no, if you are thinking of backsliding as a perpetual state of willful rebellion or ungodly indifference on the part of one who professes faith in Christ. That situation is a sign of false profession (Matthew 7:21-23; 1 John 3:4-10).

The word backsliding is used two ways in Scripture. It is found only in Old Testament references to the nation of Israel (Jeremiah 3:22; 31:22; 49:4; Hosea 4:16; 11:7; 14:4, KJV).

• Sometimes it speaks of backsliding as the action of unregenerate people who turn stubbornly away from God (cf. Jeremiah 8:5). In that sense the Word cannot be used to describe true Christians.
• Other times true believers are said to backslide (Jeremiah 14:7). All believers go through times when they do not grow or are set back in their growth by sin--they seem to be sliding backwards like a calf on a muddy slope (cf. Hosea 4:16, KJV). In that sense the word could apply to true believers. 

From John MacArthur at gty

The Shack Author: "The God of Evangelical Christianity is a Monster"

From Lighthouse Trails Research

On Friday night, author and researcher Ray Yungen attended a lecture at Concordia University in Portland, Oregon to hear The Shack author William Paul Young. The name of Young’s talk was “Can God Really Be That Good?” During the talk, Young told the audience that “the God of evangelical Christianity is a monster.” He was referring to the belief that God is a God of judgment and will judge the unbelieving. Young also rejects the biblical view of atonement (wherein Jesus died as a substitute for us to pay the price of our sins). This view by Young is evident in a radio interview he had one year ago where he rejected the biblical view of the atonement. He echoes the sentiments of William Shannon and Brennan Manning, who both say that the God who punishes His own son to pay for the sins of others does not exist:

He is the God who exacts the last drop of blood from His Son, so that His just anger, evoked by sin, may be appeased. This God whose moods alternate between graciousness and fierce anger — a God who is still all too familiar to many Christians — is a caricature of the true God. This God does not exist. (Shannon, Silence on Fire, p. 110, also see Manning who stated the very same thing in Above All, pp. 58-59 )

Young told the audience that his book has now sold 14 million copies. He says that he believes his book has been a “god thing” to heal people’s souls because so many people have been tainted by this evangelical God.

Young said his book is so effective because when you put something in a story form it gets past mental defenses.

Young’s obvious distain for evangelical Christianity (in a derogatory manner, he said there are “1.4 million” rules in the evangelical church) is shown in his book as well when The Shack’s “Jesus” states: “I have no desire to make them [people from all religious and political backgrounds] Christian, but I do want to join them in their transformation into sons and daughters of my Papa” (p. 184).

Young asked “evangelicals,” “Do you want to hold onto your darkness?” and answered for them, “No, you want to get rid of it.”

Invitation to Pray

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. (Jeremiah 33:3) 

God encourages us to pray. They tell us that prayer is a pious exercise which has no influence except upon the mind engaged in it. We know better. Our experience gives the lie a thousand times over to this infidel assertion. Here Jehovah, the living God, distinctly promises to answer the prayer of His servant. Let us call upon Him again and admit no doubt upon the question of His hearing us and answering us. He that made the ear, shall He not hear? He that gave parents a love to their children, will He not listen to the cries of His own sons and daughters!

God will answer His pleading people in their anguish. He has wonders in store for them. What they have never seen, heard of, or dreamed of, He will do for them. He will invent new blessings if needful. He will ransack sea and land to feed them: He will send every angel out of heaven to succor them if their distress requires it. He will astound us with His grace and make us feel that it was never before done in this fashion. All He asks of us is that we will call upon Him. He cannot ask less of us. Let us cheerfully render Him our prayers at once. - Charles Spurgeon

(HT: The Spurgeon Archive)

Lord, Save Us from "World Loving Christian Cowards"

By Ken Silva

LORD SAVE US WITH SOME REAL GOSPEL PREACHING

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. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?  (James 4:4-5)

Give The People What They Want; The Powerless “Christianity” Of Our Tepid Times

With today’s mushy man-centered version of Christianity ruling the roost of squishy evanjellyfish it’s very rare to hear the Gospel preached as you will here in this devotion at Apprising Ministries. More often than not you’ll find people apologizing about their faith e.g. as in this movie Lord Save Us From Your Followers from a couple of years ago.

Dan Merchant says he’s just searching “for meaningful dialogue and the true face of faith.” Unfortunately he does so using half-truths and movie manipulation to do it. Essentially the premise of this approach to *cough* witnessing is, “Thank God I’m not like those Christians; you can like me because I’m just a little bit better than they are.”

As far as this particular film by “Writer/Director/Producer” Dan Merchant, in the synopsis we’re told:

If you were to meet ten average Americans on the street, nine of them would say they believe in God. So why is the Gospel of Love dividing America? Dan Merchant put on his bumper-sticker-clad jumpsuit and decided to find the reason… Lord, Save Us From Your Followers is a fast-paced, highly engaging documentary that explores the collision of faith and culture in America while opening up this important conversation to all of us.

As discussion of religion floods the media, the rhetoric is divisive, hyper, and most often, angry. With humor more common in a comedy-sketch program than a documentary, Merchant brings the sensibilities of someone who is deeply concerned with how his faith is being represented by others. (Online source)

Dan Merchant tells us he’s so concerned about “the Gospel of Love dividing America”; well, let’s see if we can clear up the big mystery for him by introducing him to the actual Jesus. The following is from “Writer/Apostle” Matthew who shares his eyewitness testimony of Christ’s exclusive and “dividing” message; Dan, you do know that He would end up being crucified for it, right:

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:34-39)

Well I dunno Dan, of course we take into account that I’m not a Hollywood figure or some big name Christian personality, but that doesn’t really sound like Jesus is trying to organize some all-inclusive Love Train to me. It also doesn’t sound like those of us who are Christians should be bowing before the feet of unregenerate rebels who hate God. O, I’m well aware that I have no right to judge their hearts; and you know what, I don’t.

However, this is what our Creator, Christ Jesus of Nazareth says:

as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” ”Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 

“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” ”Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” ”There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:10-18)

And God does know their hearts because He originally made them. So, if you don’t like what you’ve just read; as Christian apologist Dr. Walter Martin (1928-1989) would often say, “Your argument is with the Lord; when you win that one, come back and argue with me.” So I say: Yes Lord, may You save us.

May You save us from weak-kneed world-loving Christian cowards afraid of their own spiritual shadows who masquerade as ministers of God. Wake up Your Church and give us eyes to see the dark red sky this morning. O Lord, please send us some real men of God anointed to preach the Gospel in the Holy Spirit with power!

Men who know the hour grows late and who have the baptism of boldness to preach to the crowds:

“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 9Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Luke 3:7-9)

And God, may You raise up men powerful in Christ whose hearts break with Your compassion for those trapped in their sin; men who’ll preach to them the Gospel of repentance and the forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ Name, and may they love these people enough to tell them the Truth such as the following from Charles Spurgeon:

 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. (Luke 16:13, KJV)

O unclean man, how can you dream of salvation while you are defiled by filthiness? What, you and your harlot, members of Christ! Oh, you know not my pure and holy Master. He receives sinners, but He rejects those who delight in their iniquities. You must have done with your indulgence of sin if you would be cleansed from the guilt of it.

There is no going on in transgression and yet obtaining salvation: it is licentious supposition. Christ comes to save us from our sins, not to make it safe to do evil. That blood that washes out the stain brings with it also a hatred of the thing that made the stain. Sin must be relinquished, or salvation cannot be received.

I spoke very plainly just now, but some here of pure heart little know how plainly we must speak if we are to reach some men’s consciences, for it shames me when I think of some who year after year indulge in secret sin, and yet are frequenters of the house of God. You would think they surely were already converted or soon would be when you saw them here, but if you follow them home, you would quite despair of them.

O lovers of sin, do not deceive yourselves; you will surely reap that which you sow. How can grace reign in you while you are the slaves of your own passions? How can it be while you are anchored to a secret sin that you should be borne along by the current of grace toward the desired haven of safety? Either you must leave your sin, or you must leave all hope of Heaven; if you hold your sin, Hell will ere long hold you. May God deliver us from the love of sin, for such a deliverance is salvation. (At the Master’s Feet, November 7)

( HT: AM)

Mindless Mantras are an Abomination to God

By Justin Edwards

The following article from Paul Proctor can be read in full here: Dangerous Prayers. The context of the article is in reference to a recent exchange between The View's liberal co-host, Joy Behar and conservative co-host, Elizabeth Hasselbeck. The flame war likely only served to further muddy the interfaith swamp water, but emphasizes moral relativity infiltrating main-stream churches, and more specifically, the dangerous mystical practices of contemplative spirituality (e.g. contemplative prayer). Paul Proctor on the dangers of CSM (contemplative spirituality and mysticism):

When it was all said and done, the result was a dialectic disconnect that didn’t glorify God or scripturally edify anyone, but only engaged and enraged participants while leaving listeners to digest a lot of interfaith concepts and spiritual disinformation that muddied the waters of truth via groupthink.

“Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them... And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” – Ephesians 5:6-7,11

It may surprise those who were offended by Behar’s comments to learn that, although Hasselbeck was correct in her indignant response, Behar was not all wrong in saying prayer is “dangerous” when it “takes the place of logical thinking.”

You see, there are those in the Church today who practice what is called “Contemplative Prayer” – a New Age style mantra that is all about emptying one’s mind to allegedly “find God within” by repeating certain words or phrases over and over until the mind is disengaged and no longer thinking – achieving an altered state of consciousness or (alpha state) known as “The Silence” which is indeed “dangerous” considering it opens one up to what the Bible calls “familiar spirits” (demonic influences). It’s rooted in Eastern Mysticism where it is more commonly referred to as “Transcendental Meditation.”

Though Contemplative Prayer is widely practiced in the Emerging Church, it has unfortunately found its way into more traditional churches of late, especially among young people, thanks in part to a host of “Christian” authors who promote it as “Contemplative Spirituality” or “Spiritual Formation.” There is also “Centering Prayer,” “Breath Prayers” and “Lectio Divina” – all of which attempt to achieve the same trance-like state.


Lighthouse Trails Research, an excellent source of information on the topic, defines the occult practice and movement this way:

“Contemplative Spirituality: A belief system that uses ancient mystical practices to induce altered states of consciousness (the silence) and is rooted in mysticism and the occult but often wrapped in Christian terminology. The premise of contemplative spirituality is pantheistic (God is all) and panentheistic (God is in all). Common terms used for this movement are "spiritual formation," "the silence," "the stillness," "ancient-wisdom," "spiritual disciplines," and many others.

Spiritual Formation: A movement that has provided a platform and a channel through which contemplative prayer is entering the church. Find spiritual formation being used, and in nearly every case you will find contemplative spirituality. In fact, contemplative spirituality is the heartbeat of the spiritual formation movement.”

Now, considering Joy Behar’s other absurd views on faith, this probably wasn’t what she had in mind, but the show does illustrate a new spirituality at work, where nefarious notions and New Age nonsense are advanced or accepted wittingly or unwittingly by both sides of the political and ideological spectrum through pride-filled and emotionally charged confrontations that do little more than stir controversy and draw crowds with empty religious rhetoric that in the end always diverts attention away from God’s Word and our dire need of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

"But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking." - Matthew 6:7

Rob Bell's Jesus

Rob Bell is Definitely Not Like Jesus
Ken Silva - AM

Apprising Ministries continues to sound the warning concerning the false teachings of Rob Bell, who’s without a doubt the rock star pastor of the sinfully ecumenical Emerging Church. A year ago in Through Rob Bell “The Great Enlightened Ones” Tell Us Man Has Divine Greatness I brought to your attention that Bell had finally come right out of his mystic closet in his sermon I will say it again, and again, and again.
In that sermon Bell opined:

It’s interesting how many traditions (pause) When you read the great enlightened ones; meditation, centering prayer, reflection—in every tradition you can find the mystics—and what’s always at the heart of the spiritual lives, the everyday lives of the great ones was always a period of time.

Whether it’s prayers, chanting, meditation, reflection, study—whatever you call it—what is it essentially; it’s taking time to breathe. Because when you’ve been breathing, (slight pause) in a proper sort of way, you’re far better equipped to handle what life throws your way. (5:41-6:23)

Not a real surprise that Rob Bell would be among those who believe that the mystics, in whatever religion mind you, are to be considered “the great enlightened ones”; after-all, Bell’s long been a disciple of apostate (at best) Roman Catholic mystic Richard Rohr. You need to understand what’s going on here; we’re witnessing a new form of Gnosticism where the truly “initiated” and “enlightened” ones are those superior Christians who practice a form of meditation in an altered state of consciousness known as Contemplative/Centering Prayer.


In other words, we’re being told that these mystics have “more” understanding of God through their meditation in altered states of consciousness than we mere second class citizens do with only our Scriptures. Which now brings us around to the following segment below from the Fighting for the Faith program of Christian apologist Chris Rosebrough on Pirate Christian Radio. Among other things you’ll hear Rob Bell talking about his Christology; and as he does he reveals his own sinful ecumenicism and mysticism:

Over the years, spending time at the Dominican center, here in town; and reading Richard Rohr and Ronald Rolheiser…and finding in the Catholic Jesus a sacramental imagination…[a profound respect of the Eucharist] and what it is that brings us together—an integration—of my soul, and my heart, and my body, and nature, a-and a Jesus who brought it all together; instead of constantly dividing it apart.

Not a Jesus of components and pieces; but a Jesus who wove it all together and was fine [a holistic Jesus]…was fine, [he] could take all of me; was fine, I met the mystic Jesus.
(15:52-15:59; 17:03-17:08; 17:-48-18:10; 18:18-18:22)

Also of interest is earlier at 13:24 in Bell will tell us that he met “the Jewish Jesus”; he goes on to say:

This Jesus rescued me from the Clairol, Miss America, sash, white bathrobe Jesus, who floats; and he’s the fifth member of the Bee Gees… The Jewish Jesus; this Jewish Jesus had, like, flesh and blood, he was accused of partying too hard—I immediately liked him—this Jesus was earthy; He had opinions. There were discussions of the day and He took sides. (14:07-14:15; 14:26-14:43)

Indeed Jesus did, which is very unlike Rob Bell; for example, where is Bell’s opinion concerning the issue of homosexuality? This is without a doubt one of the most important “discussions of the day.” The hard-partying, earthy, flesh and blood “Jewish Jesus” took sides; but yet Rob Bell, this nearly larger than life postmodern rock star Emerging Church pastor does not. You may recall in Where Does Rob Bell Stand Regarding The Practice Of Homosexuality? I told you that Jim Luppachino of Watcher’s Lamp, who’s also a correspondent for Apprising Ministries, had written me to share an email he had sent to Mars Hill Bible Church.

Per my request Luppachino had written MHBC asking a very straightforward question:

Where does your teaching pastor Rob Bell stand concerning the following question — Can someone who is unrepentant in their practicing of a homosexual lifestyle also become a Christian?

But unfortunately an honest question to Rob Bell and MHBC on such a crucial issue of our time was met with a mere form letter from a “michelle.” The opening line of the letter is a hope that one will feel this non-response will be “helpful”; even in spite of the fact that it “might not answer all your questions or concerns.” Now certainly we fully expect that MHBC and Rob Bell, like any large conglomeration and/or any very busy person, would receive mail at such a ”volume” that undoubtedly it often proves “difficult” to be too precise “in each instance.”

However, those pushing this deviant and sinful lifestyle of having sexual relations with another of the same sex i.e homosexuality, and affirming its a viable lifestyle for the regenerated Christian, are already ripping apart mainline denominations. In addition it’s important you understand that the EC is already making full acceptance into Christian fellowship for those who are openly, and unrepentantly, practicing this sin of sexual immorality into an hot-button issue within mainstream evangelicalism. And yet all we get in answer to our question concerning Rob Bell’s opinion is a form letter from michelle of “Mars Hill Communications”:

We care deeply how Scripture is interpreted and how to discern living the way of Jesus, and in encountering differing viewpoints it is our aim to agree or disagree in love, keeping central a shared desire to know God and serve Jesus Christ. Regarding your comments or questions, we’d like to direct you to our mission http://www.marshill.org/mission, Narrative Theology http://www.marshill.org/believe, 

Directions http://www.marshill.org/believe/directions [shared values], and serving focus http://www.marshill.org/serving, available at marshill.org. You might also find our recent audio teachings http://www.marshill.org/teaching/podcast.php and archived series http://www.marshill.org/teaching/other.php as well as Rob Bell’s recommended reading list http://www.marshill.org/about/rob/recommendedReadingList.php to be beneficial.

His silence actually speaks quite loudly; and those of us following the neo-liberal cult of the Emerging Church, as well as its superstar pastor Rob Bell, already know it’s highly likely that it’s just a matter of time until Bell rings out in favor of same-sex sexual relations for monogamous couples.

Go here to listen to Chris Rosenberg: Rob Bell is Definitely Not Like Jesus

See also:
ROB BELL, CHRISTIANITY TODAY, TWITTER, AND THE GOSPEL?!
IS ROB BELL EVANGELICAL?
ROB BELL IN A NUTSHELL: THE BIBLE
RANK HERESY BEING PREACHED AT MHBC OF ROB BELL
DID ROB BELL FORGET THE CROSS?
ROB BELL ABSOLUTELY WRONG ABOUT SCRIPTURE
MARCUS BORG AND ROB BELL: THE BIBLE IS NOT A DIVINE PRODUCT WITH DIVINE FINAL AUTHORITY?

Exposing Dead Faith

"What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,' and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself" (James 2:14- 17).

Jesus said, "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 5:16). Your righteous deeds illuminate the path to God by reflecting His power and grace to others. That brings Him glory and proves your faith is genuine.

Your deeds also serve as the basis of divine judgment. If you practice righteousness, you will receive eternal life; if you practice unrighteousness, you will receive "wrath and indignation" (Rom. 2:6-8). God will judge you on the basis of your deeds because what you do reveals who you really are and what you really believe. That's why any so- called faith that doesn't produce good works is dead and utterly useless!

James illustrates that point in a practical way. If someone lacks the basic necessities of life and comes to you for help, what good does it do if you simply wish him well and send him away without meeting any of his needs? It does no good at all! Your pious words are hypocritical and without substance. If you really wished him well, you would do what you can to give him what he needs! Your unwillingness to do so betrays your true feelings. Similarly, dead faith is hypocritical, shallow, and useless because it doesn't put its claims into action--indeed, it has no divine capacity to do so.

I pray that your life will always manifest true faith and that others will glorify God because of your good works. - John MacArthur

From Drawing Near at gty

Surrender

By Justin Edwards

I'm giving you my heart, and all that is within
I lay it all down for the sake of you my King
I'm giving you my dreams, I'm laying down my rights
I'm giving up my pride for the promise of new life

I'm singing You this song, I'm waiting at the cross
And all the world holds dear, I count it all as loss
For the sake of knowing You for the glory of Your name
To know the lasting joy, even sharing in Your pain

And I surrender all to you, all to you
And I surrender all to you, all to you

Godly Sorrow or "Hopeless Repentance"?

By Justin Edwards

A powerful message on repentance by Pastor Loran Livingston: Godly Sorrow.mp3

NOTES:

• Until Jesus comes into your heart, you belong to the devil
• Until He comes in, you are the temple of the devil
• A nation or individual who tries to do better without calling on the true and living God is only setting themselves up for worse sin
• This happens every January 1st
• What needs to happen is a transfer of ownership, and this only happens when one professes he is a sinner in need of a Savior

• (Luke 11) Good intentions may change the appearance of the house, but it is still empty
• The later state of the man is worse than the first

• Cleaning up your life will not do a thing for you
• people are going to hell thinking they're saved
• they think because they quit doing something, they're better off
• And you don't go to heaven because YOU stopped doing something, you go because Jesus came and did a miraculous transformation in your life
• You can't stop doing things, He has to start doing something inside you!
• Today's church is offering people a cheap way to feel better about themselves without reminding them you must be born again!
• You got to go to the cross and humble yourself in the site of the Lord

• You have people in a repeated manner TRYING to do better, but you go a little further each time you revert
• Each time you try do better without salvation, you revert and go a little further
• This is what happens when YOU try to do better and for a while it seems like you're clean and in order, but the devil knows to come back in and fill you up and draw you farther and push you deeper, and if you do this enough, 2 things will happen:
• 1. Develop a seared conscious; 2. Hopeless repentance

Sidetrack:

• This nation has no conscious
• when you vote, you better make sure you know where he stands on abortion, same-sex marriage, and Israel
• You become responsible when you vote them in!
• And we're gonna pay for it.
• Both parties stink because both have lied, deceived, overspent, and in favor of anything that keeps them in office
• We don't belong to it, we belong to the Kingdom of God!
• We Christians need to get our minds off this world and on to the One that's coming! And get our hearts ready. You can't be home in this world anymore, you need to learn to say "Even so come Lord Jesus!"

Back to message:

• Hopeless repentance
• Judas Iscariot
• If you constantly attempt to straighten out your life without Almighty Help, and see yourself continuing to experiment and go deeper and do more things, a sense of hopelessness will overtake you
• "I will never be able." "It's impossible." "I've tried too many times." "I can't do this."
• You will actually feel you can't be saved and delivered from sin because YOU tried to do it and you can't.
• You will lose hope in God when you should have lost hope in you!
• But in God there's hope! There's the power to live right. God can change anybody. Yes Jesus! the Son of God can take what's wrong and make it right!

• Puffed up Christians
• Sorrow leading to repentance
• Sorrow in godly manner
• Sorrow - one is godly sorrow, one is a worldly sorrow
• Worldly sorrow - being upset with yourself because of a string of messes with yourself
• Never settled down, doing this or that, never getting caught, or getting caught - "I'm sorry I've lived this way"
• Worldly sorrow will kill you
• You can be sorry for your mistakes, even for your sins and still go to hell
• Because sorrow is not about how you have failed people or yourself, sorrow must first go back to Him...I failed Him! And until it's about Jesus, you're still lost.

• Men don't straighten up, but for a little while
• sinners can't straighten up until their sorrow is projected in the right direction, they WILL never straighten up and they WILL never see Jesus as Savior.
• worldly sorrow leads to death, but godly sorrow leads to repentance not to be regretted.

• It's not "look what I've done to people, look what I've done to my family, look what I've done to myself, look how may lives I've destroyed"
• When a person comes to Jesus, what they realize is and what they say is, "Look what I did to God! Look how I've offended heaven. Look what I've done."

• Here's how you know you've repented:
• not because you feel bad about it
• Here's a definition:
• that you've sorrowed in a godly manner;
• what diligence it produces - when you truly repent, you become diligent - read your Bible, prayer, get involved at church, surround yourself with believers, get off your knees and get into action, there will be an immediate and noticeable change
• living a way people will know I've repented
• I want to be clean before Him and before them
• I've had it - discipline enters your life
• fear - I'm capable of doing that again; I have the same nature inside me, but I must stay on my knees, and God, I don't want to fall!
• Vehement desire -- zeal!
• You can't be a relaxed warrior. Nobody is fighting when they're laid back
• I don't care what my friends do, what my family does--I'm going to heaven!
• Not because "we" are going, but because I got my mind made up!
• Vindication - going to show God how much I appreciate what Jesus did on the cross
• Gonna pick up my cross, carry it on my shoulders, and carry it daily
• In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter -- with your attitude and your actions you have proved you have repented, it is not a worldly sorrow, it is a godly sorrow.
• And when you live like this you're on your way to heaven!

• Psalm 51
• If David had been Joseph in a time of testing and temptation, he would not have had to write Psalm 51
• Joseph - "How can I sin, this great evil, against God?"
• A man that loves God, I can't handle this on my own
• I'd rather be in jail with a clear conscious, than on the throne with a guilty one
• This is not about me, this is about God!
• That realization that he owed God his life, kept him from doing a destructive sin
• David paid for it the rest of his life
• But Joseph ran
• I've been delivered, I don't belong to myself, I belong to the Lord!
• I have to reconcile every day
• Devil will tempt you every day
• Jesus has come into this house!
• With God's help, I'm going to live for Christ!
• You will never forget your sins
• You gotta fight, you gotta flee every day of your life
• Flee upward with eyes on Jesus!
• Fight, flee, and forgive

• 
  
• Do you want Jesus to give you the calm assurance that He has forgiven you, that He has forgotten?
• He can save anybody from anything anytime if you'll ask Him
• Remember, no matter how bad it was, this is what Jesus can do
  
• You can't make it on your own, you can't stop on your own, it has to be God's Holy Spirit
• You have to humble yourself, and mean business about living right.

The False Prophet

By Justin Edwards

We continue with the series When Christ Returns as Loran Livingston teaches on the False Prophet in the Great Tribulation period.

Direct download: The False Prophet mp3


The False Prophet

John | MySpace Video

Urgent Message Gospel Tract Resource (Free PDF Download)

By Justin Edwards

Many of you have read the Urgent Message over the last year and have shared in my excitement that Jesus is coming for His Church - and soon! Lately I have wanted to format it in a way to share it in person and was able to do that over the weekend. Most importantly, I updated with Scripture and made it more concise for easier reading. Perhaps some day soon I will be able to have these printed in bulk, but in the meantime, I am printing them from my computer.

I welcome you to do the same if you are able with your own printing resources. Printing the 2 pages front and back allows for the letter to be folded nicely. I recommend printing with the option "fit to printable area". I plan on handing these out and leaving in random places. I'm really looking forward to following in Mark Cahill's footsteps and leaving them in a case of beer - what a surprise that would be, huh?

In all seriousness, I pray God takes one of these pamphlets to stir someone to realize just how urgent it is they come to Christ today. Whether the urgency is to escape the tribulation to come or escape death itself, every person breathing oxygen is in dire straights without the Lord Jesus Christ. Please, if you do not use this message to share Jesus with the lost, by all means share Him any way you can - with Gospel tracts, your mouth, or through the internet.

Time is indeed of the essence, make sure you KNOW where you will spend eternity, and make sure you are obedient in proclaiming His name to the ends of the earth.

To download the pdf, please click here: Urgent Message PDF

I will keep you updated if I am able to offer these pamphlets in bulk.

God bless you all and continue to look up as our Redeemer draws near!

A Broken and Contrite Heart

By Justin Edwards

   Have mercy upon me, O God,
         According to Your lovingkindness;
         According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
         Blot out my transgressions.
   Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
         And cleanse me from my sin.
       
   For I acknowledge my transgressions,
         And my sin is always before me.
   Against You, You only, have I sinned,
         And done this evil in Your sight—
         That You may be found just when You speak,^[a]
         And blameless when You judge.
       
   Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
         And in sin my mother conceived me.
   Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
         And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
       
  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
         Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
  Make me hear joy and gladness,
         That the bones You have broken may rejoice.
   Hide Your face from my sins,
         And blot out all my iniquities.
       
    Create in me a clean heart, O God,
         And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
    Do not cast me away from Your presence,
         And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
       
    Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
         And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
    Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
         And sinners shall be converted to You.
       
    Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
         The God of my salvation,
         And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
    O Lord, open my lips,
         And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
    For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
         You do not delight in burnt offering.
    The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
         A broken and a contrite heart—
         These, O God, You will not despise.
       
    Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion;
         Build the walls of Jerusalem.
    Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness,
         With burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
         Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.

Psalm 51 

Dear Father

By Justin Edwards

Happy Father's Day to all of you men who have been blessed with the responsibility to raise a child in this world. Let us remember what God has intended for us through parenthood, and this great responsibility we have to raise our children in the truth of God' Word. Chuck Swindoll warns,

You want to mess up the minds of your children? Here's how - guaranteed! Rear them in a legalistic, tight context of external religion, where performance is more important than reality. Fake your faith. Sneak around and pretend your spirituality . Train your children to do the same. Embrace a long list of do's and don'ts publicly but hypocritically practice them privately... yet never own up to the fact that its hypocrisy. Act one way but live another. And you can count on it - emotional and spiritual damage will occur.

But rather, we should,

Proverbs 22:6

⁶ Train up a child in the way he should go,

      And when he is old he will not depart from it. 

The following is a timely article from Got Questions. May we be obedient to the standard God has set before us through the power and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:25,

²⁵ Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Question: "What does the Bible say about Christian fathers?"

Answer: The greatest commandment in Scripture is this: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Going back to verse 2, we read, “So that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.” Following Deuteronomy 6:5, we read, “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (vv. 6-7).

Israelite history reveals that the father was to be diligent in instructing his children in the ways and words of the Lord for their own spiritual development and well-being. The father who was obedient to the commands of Scripture did just that. This brings us to Proverbs 22:6, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” To “train” indicates the first instruction that a father and mother give to a child, i.e., his early education. The training is designed to make clear to children the manner of life they are intended for. To commence a child's early education in this way is of great importance.

Ephesians 6:4 is a summary of instructions to the father, stated in both a negative and positive way. “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” The negative part of this verse indicates that a father is not to foster negativity in his children by severity, injustice, partiality, or unreasonable exercise of authority. Harsh, unreasonable conduct towards a child will only serve to nurture evil in the heart. The word “provoke” means “to irritate, exasperate, rub the wrong way, or incite.” This is done by a wrong spirit and wrong methods—severity, unreasonableness, sternness, harshness, cruel demands, needless restrictions, and selfish insistence upon dictatorial authority. Such provocation will produce adverse reactions, deadening children’s affection, reducing their desire for holiness, and making them feel that they cannot possibly please their parents. A wise parent seeks to make obedience desirable and attainable by love and gentleness.

The positive part of Ephesians 6:4 is expressed in a comprehensive direction—educate them, bring them up, develop their conduct in all of life by the instruction and admonition of the Lord. This is the whole process of educating and discipline. The word “admonition” carries the idea of reminding the child of faults (constructively) and duties (responsibilities).

The Christian father is really an instrument in God's hand. The whole process of instruction and discipline must be that which God commands and which He administers, so that His authority should be brought into constant and immediate contact with the mind, heart, and conscience of children. The human father should never present himself as the ultimate authority to determine truth and duty. It is only by making God the teacher and ruler on whose authority everything is done that the goals of education can best be attained.

Martin Luther said, “Keep an apple beside the rod to give the child when he does well.” Discipline must be exercised with watchful care and constant training with much prayer. Chastening, discipline, and counsel by the Word of God, giving both reproof and encouragement, is at the core of “admonition.” The instruction proceeds from the Lord, is learned in the school of Christian experience, and is administered by the parents—primarily the father, but also, under his direction, the mother. Christian discipline is needed to enable children to grow up with reverence for God, respect for parental authority, knowledge of Christian standards, and habits of self-control.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). A father’s first responsibility is to acquaint his children with Scripture. The means and methods that fathers may use to teach God's truth will vary. As the father is faithful in role modeling, what children learn about God will put them in good standing throughout their earthly lives, no matter what they do or where they go.

"R.I.P." - Is That True? What Do We Say?

What Do We Say?

By Ron Graham

“For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:17-18.


A friend’s mother passed away recently, and the lady was a devout Jehovah’s Witness. She might have lived but she refused a blood transfusion. Another friend of ours mentioned “Well, at least she’s in a better place” to which my wife gently responded, “I don’t think so”.

Should we lie to people and tell them that their loved ones are in Heaven even though they were devoted to following a cult built on lies? “I think God will take into consideration that she was a good person and went to church every week”. Oh, really? Not according to my Bible. I guess because the JW’s have re-written the bible to say what they want it to say, they’re okay salvation wise. As my wife so appropriately states, “I don’t think so”.

So, how do we contend with people who, as they are grieving, make statements such as “at least they’re in a better place”, when we know that the deceased did not believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord? Where do we draw the line when it comes to being sympathetic? Considering that it’s too late for the dearly departed to change their minds about their faith in Jesus Christ, will it do any good to be honest when addressing the loved ones left here and grieving? I believe it will.


Those of us who are left here after our loved ones pass away must still contend with our choice in regards to eternity. Our loved ones who have passed on are gone for good. There are no further choices for them to make. They either believed the truth of the Gospel or they believed a lie, of which there are many. Either way they can’t change their minds and choose to believe the truth after they’re dead and gone. Those loved ones who remain can still make the correct choice when lovingly confronted with the truth.


Many of those who are left here grieving are just as lost as the ones that traversed the dimension of death. And these lost people comfort themselves with the thought that their dearly departed are in a better place. Whether they believe that place to be Heaven or some made up after life existence, they are comforted by a false assumption; they believe everyone who did good in their lives goes to that “better place”. They know they’ve done plenty of good things themselves in this life and so they find solace in the belief that they will someday be reunited with their loved ones in that mythical afterlife they’ve invented.


There are believers who will not go to funerals of people they know had rejected Jesus Christ for their entire lives. They say it’s just too hard to sit there and listen to a pastor make claims of how good that person was in their life, and even though they weren’t saved “Surly they are with God”. Some will say “Who really knows how God saw that person? After all, who are we to judge a person’s salvation status?” They may have believed in God and even trusted in God to supply their needs and to heal their ills; they just couldn’t get around the idea of God dying for them on a cross.” And there’s the rub. They didn’t believe Jesus Christ was and is the Savior of the world; thus, according to the word of God they weren’t justified (saved) in God’s eyes. They’ve condemned themselves “because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God”. John 3:18b.


We can know God’s will regarding salvation. All we need to do is pick up a Bible (His word) and read it. But we must read God’s word not, man’s made up words. Think about it. Does God pull any punches in His word? I would say no. In the Gospel of John we read “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6. This is Jesus Christ speaking. Jesus Christ is God and as such He has the authority to make the statement in the verse above. He did this so everyone who follows a lie, a false gospel, a Christian cult, or any religion that teaches another way to the Father, would have no excuse when they die in their sins.


Why is it deemed cold hearted to tell someone the truth? Why should we remain silent? The one who died is gone and there’s nothing more we can do for them. But those who still remain must be told the truth so they can make an informed decision and hopefully one that would keep them from following a lost loved one to that same horrible eternal existence.


How do we know? How can we say for certain when a person passes on, if they passed on to Heaven or Hades? We aren’t God. We don’t make that decision, that’s God’s domain. A person might have had a change of mind within the last few seconds of their life, and just before they expired they might have said yes to Jesus Christ. Perhaps never verbally speaking the words out loud so family and friends would know they made that decision. Well certainly if they lived a life as a Christ rejecter and in those last few seconds silently changed their mind, only God would know that. But when a person lives their life as a devout member of a cult, and throughout that life they continually rejected the deity of Jesus Christ, then more than likely when they breathed their last breath they did so in that same frame of mind.


Either way the truth needs to be promoted. The loved ones who knew their dearly departed family member was never a follower of Jesus Christ wouldn’t know if they silently made a confession to God just before death and so they would need to be told that if they don’t want to suffer the same end as their loved one they must make a decision for Christ while they are still breathing.


If we tell people, or even agree with people, that their loved ones have gone to Heaven because they were a good person, even though we know they were devout in their cultic faith, or had no faith in Christ at all, we are leading them astray. We might just as well be telling them that there are many roads that lead to Heaven. In a way we are denying Christ by not speaking the truth. He gave His life to give us the only way to Heaven, but if we tell others that a “good person” who dies goes to Heaven even though they had not accepted Christ, we deny His sacrifice.


“...whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 10:33. When we keep silent we deny Him, when we agree with a falsehood such as many paths lead to Heaven, we deny His payment for our sins. Either way we’ve mislead the loved ones who remain.


So what do we do when we have loved ones who are thoroughly immersed in a cult or some other false religion? Do we keep peace in the family by remaining silent about the truth of the Gospel? How will remaining silent or even condoning a cult or a false religion help to bring a loved one out of that false, and very damning, teaching? If we love them we must tell them the truth. Even attending a religious function with loved ones who are in a cult at their place of worship should be avoided at all costs. Those who belong to a cult might perceive a nonexistent softening towards their false religion or worse, a condoning of their practices by those who join them even as spectators of their rituals.


Should “In Christ” believers bend over backwards to keep civility and peace in the family, a family which is separated by those who have turned away from the truth of Jesus Christ and embraced a lie? After all, they’re condemned to Hell. How does keeping the peace with these folks show our love for them, especially when we keep silent about the truth? The truth of the Gospel is the only truth with regards to salvation. Love means telling people the truth about Jesus so they will not follow all the Christ rejecters who went to Hades before them.


Let’s see what Jesus says about keeping peace in the family. “Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.” Luke 12:51-53. Clearly Jesus knew that following Him would cause division even in the sanctity of our own families. But should we be deterred by this division? Absolutely not. We must continually and without hesitation remain faithful to Christ by contending for the faith.


Most would probably consider it common courtesy to avoid the subject about Heaven or Hell altogether at a nonbeliever’s funeral. After all, as long as we are saved that’s what matters, right? As born again believers we should all have a tremendous burden on our hearts concerning the lost. The lost who have passed on have reached a finality believers in Christ can do nothing about, but nothing is final when it comes to the lost loved ones who remain.


It is simple to stand on God’s truth. But if you don’t know where to find the answers to rebuttals and outright disparagements which will undoubtedly come from the lost, then you will probably just go along with their self affirmations of everyone goes to Heaven when they die. Jesus said “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Matthew 7:14. Here again Jesus makes it clear that there is only one way to Heaven and that is through Him and Him alone. He refers to Himself as the narrow way and few will find that way. And even fewer will find it if we keep silent.


“And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.” Luke 10:27. We’re commanded to love one another. If you love your neighbor as yourself you won’t just let them live a lie without explaining the truth to them.


Funerals are tough on the ones left here, but not on the one who departs. For the nonbeliever or cult follower who’s funeral we’ve just witnessed, Hell is their next destination and that’s the truth whether we want to admit it to the lost loved ones remaining at the funeral or not.


On the other hand, those lost folks who are left here in mourning, even though they are fully condemned to Hell, can still hear the truth from a believer and perhaps they will make a decision to accept Christ and avoid Hell. There’s no grey area when it comes to salvation, Heaven is only available to those who believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no other option, there is no other way, “...for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12.


God bless you all,


Ron Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

All Scriptipture is from the KJV

The Importance of Argument

(HT: Peter Cockrell)

From J. Gresham Machen’s  The Important of Christian Scholarship.
Posted by Andy Naselli.

Certainly a Christianity that avoids argument is not the Christianity of the New Testament. The New Testament is full of argument in defense of the faith. The Epistles of Paul are full of argument—no one can doubt that. But even the words of Jesus are full of argument in defense of the truth of what Jesus was saying. “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?” Is not that a well-known form of reasoning, which the logicians would put in its proper category? Many of the parables of Jesus are argumentative in character. Even our Lord, who spake in the plenitude of divine authority, did condescend to reason with men. Everywhere the New Testament meets objections fairly, and presents the gospel as a thoroughly reasonable thing.

Some years ago I was in a company of students who were discussing methods of Christian work. An older man, who had had much experience in working among students, arose and said that according to his experience you never win a man to Christ until you stop arguing with him. When he said that, I was not impressed.

It is perfectly true, of course, that argument alone is quite insufficient to make a man a Christian. You may argue with him from now until the end of the world: you may bring forth the most magnificent arguments: but all will be in vain unless there be one other thing—the mysterious, creative power of the Holy Spirit in the new birth. But because argument is insufficient, it does not follow that it is unnecessary. Sometimes it is used directly by the Holy Spirit to bring a man to Christ. But more frequently it is used indirectly. A man hears an answer to objections raised against the truth of the Christian religion: and at the time when he hears it he is not impressed. But afterwards, perhaps many years afterwards, his heart at last is touched: he is convicted of sin; he desires to be saved. Yet without that half-forgotten argument he could not believe: the gospel would not seem to him to be true, and he would remain in his sin. As it is, however, the thought of what he has heard long ago comes into his mind; Christian apologetics at last has its day, the way is open, and when he will believe he can believe because he has been made to see that believing is not an offence against truth.

Apostasy - Impossible for the Regenerated

Deception Begins with Unbelief

by Mike Ratliff

And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief. (Matthew 13:53-58 ESV)

As we continue to look at the evidence of God sending out a strong delusion upon professing Christians who appear to be running headlong into apostasy in ever increasing numbers let us look at what it is in these people that has brought this about. Why have they fallen into darkness and we have not? I read part of an article today that was written in response to Therefore God Sends Them Strong Delusion in which the author attempted to make it look like I was actually blaming God for the apostasy we were seeing. I have run into many with that sort of “mind-set” in my many years as a Bible teacher. I have always taught God’s Word as literal truth and there are many places in the Word that some professing Christians have a problem taking literally because, if we do, then it refutes their pet theology exactly to the point. That is the nature of God’s truth. I have had some very ugly discussions in Bible Study classes about doctrine in which certain people were insistent that a section of God’s Word cannot be taken literally even though the only refutation they have against doing so is human philosophy. This, my brethren, is unbelief in action.


Unbelief in Matthew 13:58 at the top of this post is the Greek word ἀπιστίαν or apistian, which speaks of faithlessness or uncertainty, distrust, or unbelief. It is used in the New Testament to show a lack of acknowledgment of Christ in Matthew 13:58 and Mark 6:6, a want of confidence in His power in Matthew 17:20 and Mark 9:24 and a want of trust in the God of promise in Romans 4:20 and Hebrews 3:12 and 3:19. Unbelief leads to a turning from obedience to follow what the flesh wants or what one wants to believe instead of believing God and walking by faith. This causes a hardness of heart to set in and become progressively worse unless God grants repentance, breaks through the hardness of heart and the person turns to Him in belief. If this does not happen then the heart will grow continually harder no matter how religious the professing believer becomes. Accompanying this heart hardening is spiritual blindness.

Professing Christians in this state of heart hardening and growing spiritual blindness are not regenerate. If they were, they would be spiritually alive and God would not allow them to apostatize, however, as John tells us in his 1^st epistle:

Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. (1 John 2:18-19 ESV)

Those who fall into irrevocable apostasy prove they were never truly Christians by this act. True, regenerate believers prove their authenticity by remaining faithful. However, there are professing Christians all over the place who are apostatizing, going after all sorts of false religions, trying to incorporate other religions into Christianity, et cetera, thereby proving that they are not truly Christians. They got to this point by starting with in their unbelief and disobedience. Eventually, they became so spiritually blind and hardhearted that they became open to all sorts of deception and that is what we are seeing all around us now. I used this passage in last night’s post.

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 ESV)

Here we see that these people become so hardhearted and spiritually blind that they get to the point that they do not believe the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness. A literal translation of verse 12 from the Greek would read, “that might be judged all the not ones trusting in the truth but having thought well in the unright.” They pursue what is not of God and take pleasure in it. They proclaim it to be right and true because they have rejected what really is truth, God’s truth, as the truth. They are in unbelief, are now so hard hearted, and spiritually blind that they are ready for the final piece of the puzzle. God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false. That is why we see so many professing Christians all around us right now falling all over themselves to go hard after false doctrines and follow men rather than God’s Truth and the Lord Jesus Christ and His good doctrines.

These professing Christians are not genuine believers because they are not regenerate. Their fall into apostasy began with unbelief and progressed into hard-heartedness and spiritual-blindness to the point that they found pleasure in unrighteousness. God then sends them a strong delusion to seal the deal. They believe the lie. They assume they are the real Christians and those who remain faithful are only dumb fundamentalists or whatever. They believe they are so cool and “with it” and “culturally-relevant,” but they have been deceived and it all began with their unbelief.

Soli Deo Gloria!

(HT: Possessing the Treasure)

When Christ Returns - The Rule of God

By Justin Edwards

We continue in this series with the rule of God when Christ returns. If you didn't get a chance to watch previous messages, you can find them at the following links:

When Christ Returns

The Son of Perdition

Pastor Loran Livingston

Scripture Ref: Revelation 12:1-5; 22:1-2; Daniel 7:13-14; Luke 21:24; Isaiah 53: 8-10; 9:16-17; Zachariah 14: 4, 10-11

Topic: End Times

Notes:

- True theocracy: the rule of God alone, judges, priests, kings and lords
- Rule from Jerusalem, leveled by earthquakes...
- Holy Oblation
- Temple North of City; Center of global worship
- Highway of Holiness
- River from altar of temple to Jerusalem, brings life to Dead Sea, life giving trees
- Beast with seven heads and ten horns
- Rule with a rod of iron; not about our happiness, but His holiness
- Happiness is to fall at the foot of the cross and live according to His rule

Direct mp3 download: When Christ Returns - The Rule of God mp3

A Call to Arms, Christian

Dear Chrisitan, Let's Press On

By Ken Silva

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained. (Philippians 3:13-16)



The Battle Begins To Intensify

You need to know that this age in which we live will be one of increased spiritual warfare, and that our time grows ever shorter before the return of our Lord. Now I make no prediction as to when Christ comes again—it may not be in our lifetime—but, I can tell you this: When Jesus returns, He will not be in a good mood. And further, because Christ Jesus is God, Paul is trying to remind us in our opening text, that we must put forth some kind of an effort, if we really want to know Him. Just because you are a Christian doesn’t mean that you immediately have a deep, intimate, personal relationship with God. 

This is not to confuse Law and Gospel; there’s nothing we can add to what God in Christ has done, I’m speaking of the working out of our salvation (Phil. 2:12). The Lutheran Study Bible puts it well in reminding us why we can press on:

the fulfillment of the imperative to live like Christ is supported by all Christ gives freely: the encouragement, comfort, love, and the mind of Christ, along with the participation of the Spirit. [1] 

The truth is the life of the genuine Christian can be very hard at times, and especially so in an evil generation like this when men call what is good, evil and what is evil, good (Is. 5:20). More than ever we must really be a family in Christ—united around our Savior and Lord—Jesus of Nazareth, the King and Commander of the Army of the living God, which is a real good reason to come home into His Church and to worship your Lord with your fellow soldiers. The Good News is there’s repentance and forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ Name for all who will come. 

Now, the United States Marine Corps is an organization with a very storied heritage, and this nation owes much to them. But what you may not know is that a recruit is not really considered a Marine, until he has finished their Basic Training Program.  Then in the graduation ceremony, there is a very special moment when the top Marine Commander turns to these soldiers and calls them a Marine for the very first time. And as you might imagine, it is a special feeling creating an unbreakable bond to a proud organization with a gallant history.

Well I pray that we here in the Body of Christ may feel this way as the Lord addresses us—the Church—His own even more storied and gallant organization of fellow soldiers that God has stationed here in this foreign mission field of increasingly pagan America. As the song goes — “God bless America; land that I love; stand beside her, and guide her; through the night with the light from Above.” O how glorious that Jesus—Who is that Light—has called us His Christians. And remember, all of us have special tasks in this Army called the Church of God.

Take Up Your Weapon And Join The Battle

I invite you to end your Basic as a recruit and to join us—fellow Christian—as we go to war for the souls of the lost here in America. As one looks at all the lunacy in the Lord’s Name going on in The Ecumenical Church Of Deceit it becomes obvious that God needs more soldiers for the harvest, as we move out on the offensive to take back the aisles of our local churches for Jesus. We need “special forces” who can attack Satan’s doomed troops with the Sword of the Spirit. We need “nurses” to tend to the wounded; “engineers” to do maintenance and “drill instructors” to equip our soldiers for battle.

And most importantly we need “Prayer Warriors” to fire our most powerful Weapon—the Prayers of the true Saints of God:

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)

Let me ask you—fellow Christian—does that sound like we should cower before our enemy, and just let him pound us until we break? For Jesus’ sake—no! You must understand that not even Satan himself can stand when God’s people go to their knees and pray! So beloved of God, won’t you come into His Army while there’s still room in His Church for you. And finally, don’t you realize that no matter how insignificant you may think you are, please understand, just by your coming into your local church each week you will encourage somebody there.

You may not even know which of your fellow soldiers it is, but they need to see you there, because you are an encouragement to them. It’s also very important to your pastor—your ranking officer so to speak—to see you there as well; for do you not know he misses you when you’re not there. In fact, all of your local church family does. As I close this short teaching, I am reminded of a television drama I’ve seen which follows a group of soldiers through their tour of duty serving in Vietnam in the late 60’s; while it was fiction, it really was pretty well done in showing what went on there.

In one episode as these soldiers are miles from home, on Christmas Eve it so happens that they get the chance to go to an orphanage and share a Christmas dinner with the kids. However, one soldier doesn’t have the chance to participate because someone has to stand out on Guard Duty, so the Sergeant volunteers. After a while the Lieutenant goes out to this soldier at his lonely post, and the C.O. tells his Sgt that he’s sorry he has to miss out on dinner and on the fun with the children because the Sarge had to stay outside in the cold guarding the orphanage.

However, the man looks at his Commander, slowly smiles and says — “You know sir, it’s really ok. I’m a soldier. Yeah, I know I’m miles from my home; but you see, I’m here doing what a soldier does. I like to think that I’m making someone’s world a little safer tonight. And you know what sir; it just feels kind of right.” So it is with us my fellow soldier; we are not yet in our home because God is using us to preach His Gospel that people may come in and be safe; and I can truthfully say, that deep in my soul; “it just feels kind of right.” How about you dear Christian; let’s press on…

(HT: Apprising Ministries)

U.S. Should Not Deport 'Son of Hamas'

By Joel C. Rosenberg
JoelRosenberg.com

Mosab Hassan Yousef, author of the New York Times best-selling non-fiction book, Son of Hamas, will be speaking by videotape at the 2010 Epicenter Conference next week. But I can’t wait until then to tell you the latest that is happening with him. He needs our prayers.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security may soon deport Mosab back to the West Bank where he very well could be assassinated. He is scheduled for a DHS hearing on June 30th that could decide his fate. U.S. officials believe his previous leadership role in Hamas is too great a risk to give him political asylum here in the States. But they are not properly assessing the totality of his story and the situation.

Here are the facts:

• Yes, Mosab is the son of one of the founders of Hamas and was a rising leader in the terrorist organization — he described his role in detail in his book.
• That said, Mosab renounced Hamas and risked his life to become a double agent working for the Israeli secret service (Shin Bet) against Hamas.
• In so doing, Mosab helped to stop scores of terrorist attacks and helped Israel arrest scores of jihadists.
• Then, Mosab renounced Islam and became a follower of Jesus Christ.
• His story was first revealed through the Haaretz, one of Israel’s leading and most credible newspapers. The Haaretz team carefully vetted his story and have done numerous follow up stories.
• The Israeli government has not denounced him as a liar — to the contrary, Mosab’s Shin Bet handlers affirm his story and say that he is telling the truth.
• Mosab has lived in the U.S. for the last two years and is actively speaking out here and around the world through the media and in speeches against Hamas, against Radical Islam, and in favor of the U.S., Israel and most importantly his Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.
• The U.S. has given political asylum to people who have done far less for the U.S. and the cause of freedom than Mosab — he deserves and should receive the right to stay in this country and become an American citizen.

Sign a petition on behalf of Mosab

I have gotten to know Mosab over the last 18 months and am convinced he is the real deal. I am, therefore, asking you to pray faithfully and consistently in the following ways:

• Pray for Mosab to have Christ’s peace and joy during such turmoil and stress.
• Pray for Judge Rico J. Bartolomei on June 30th to truly hear and understand all the facts and come to the proper conclusion that Mosab has truly renounced Islam and Hamas, that he is not a threat to U.S. national security in any way, shape, or form, that he should stay in the U.S., and that he would be in grave danger if he were sent back to the West Bank.
• Pray for Members of Congress to take up Mosab’s case and intervene on his behalf with the Department of Homeland Security (my colleagues and I are currently working on this, as are other friends and allies of Mosab).
• Pray that the Epicenter Conference will give his case more exposure so more people can pray — we will be showing video excerpts of my recent interview with him and this will be broadcast on many Christian radio and TV stations in more than 200 countries around the world.
• Pray, too, that the media will raise the profile of Mosab’s case so still more people can learn about it and begin to pray.

(HT: BPT)

10 Scriptural Reasons Not to Be Involved with Rick Warren's "Broad Way" Christianity

By Justin Edwards

The following from Warren Smith lists 10 reasons why Christians should not be involved with Rick Warren's brand of Christianity. If you are one who follows Warren and supports his ministry, please prayerfully consider the information. This is not an attack on Rick Warren or those who follow his work, but rather an attempt to show how he does not line up with the fundamentals of the faith in light of Scripture. When the world loves you, beware. 


10 Scriptural Reasons Not to Be Involved with Rick Warren's "Broad Way" Christianity

By Warren Smith
(from A “Wonderful” Deception)

Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven movement has, in a relatively short period of time, become what TIME magazine has referred to as a “Purpose Driven empire.”1 The word empire is defined in the dictionary as “supreme rule; absolute power or authority; dominion.” It also means “an extensive social or economic organization under the control of a single person, family, or corporation.”2 For all intents and purposes, Rick Warren has become the titular head—the almost emperor-like CEO—of an increasingly apostate postmodern church. But while Warren continues to be embraced by much of the world and much of the church, it is not too late for people to reconsider their involvement with him and his Purpose Driven movement. Here are ten scripturally based reasons why people with any love of the truth should not involve themselves in Warren’s “Broad Way” Christianity:

Ten Basic Reasons

1) Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven movement offers a “Broad Way” Christianity. One of the mysteries of the Christian faith can be found in Jesus’ warning that the way to life is “narrow” and that “few” would actually find it. Jesus is telling us in advance that the “broad way”—no matter how well intentioned—is not from Him. With Rick Warren’s reformation movement based on deeds and not creeds, everyone is invited to partake in this global effort. But biblical principles are watered-down and often cast aside.

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)

2) Rick Warren’s “Broad Way” Christianity does not declare “all the counsel of God.” Rick Warren teaches only what he wants to teach from the Bible. As a result, there are many important teachings that he skips over, de-emphasizes, and leaves out—particularly in regard to prophecy and spiritual deception.

For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. (Acts 20:27-31)

3) Rick Warren’s “Broad Way” Christianity does not discern the spiritual signs of the times. Just as the leaders in Jesus’ day discerned the weather but not the signs of the times, Warren discerns many of the social and economic problems, but not the spiritual signs of the times.

O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? (Matthew 16:3)

4) Rick Warren’s “Broad Way” Christianity is ignorant of Satan’s devices. Whereas the apostle Paul stated that he and other believers were “not ignorant of Satan’s devices,” Warren’s “Broad Way” Christianity states that Satan’s schemes are “entirely predictable.”3 By being ignorant of Satan’s devices, this “Broad Way” Christianity has fallen prey to Satan’s devices—particularly in the area of the New Age/New Spirituality/New Worldview.

Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. (2 Corinthians 2:11)

5) Rick Warren’s “Broad Way” Christianity does not expose spiritual evil. Warren’s version of Christianity does not sound a true warning about the deceptive spirit world and spiritual deception. There is much more to evil than the problems that Rick Warren is seeking to remedy with his Purpose Driven P.E.A.C.E. Plan. We are told to expose false prophets and false teachers, not to study under them, spiritually join with them, and further their plans.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12)
But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. (2 Timothy 3:13)

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. (Ephesians 5:11)

6) Rick Warren’s “Broad Way” Christianity does not “earnestly contend for the faith.” By not declaring all the counsel of God, by not discerning the signs of the times, by being ignorant of Satan’s devices, and by not exposing spiritual evil, Rick Warren’s “Broad Way” Christianity is not fighting “the good fight of faith.”

Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. (Jude 3)

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. (1 Timothy 6:12)

 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13)

7) Rick Warren and his “Broad Way” Christianity are loved by the world and its leaders. Jesus loved the world, but the world did not love Him. Jesus warned his followers they would be hated, persecuted, and even killed by the world—just as the world hated, persecuted, and killed Him. In his compromised effort to reach out to the world, Warren and his “Broad Way” Christianity have become the world.

They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. (1 John 4:5)
Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets. (Luke 6:26)
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. (2 Timothy 3:12)

And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake. (Matthew 10:22)
If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? (Matthew 10:25)

8. Rick Warren’s “Broad Way” Christianity is engaged in a process of ungodly change. Rick Warren describes himself as a “change agent” but in his attempt to change the world, he and his Purpose Driven movement are actually changing biblical Christianity. The Bible warns about those who push for unbiblical and ungodly change.

My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change. (Proverbs 24:21)
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. (Hebrews 13:8)
For I am the LORD, I change not. (Malachi 3:6)

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. (Amos 8:11)

9) Rick Warren’s “Broad Way” Christianity is frequently “double-tongued” and “double-minded.” Rick Warren’s attempts to seemingly distance himself from the New Age/New Spirituality while simultaneously spiritually aligning himself with New Age sympathizers is “double-tongued,” “double-minded,” and deceptively self-serving. In the Psalms, David refers to those who speak with “flattering lips” and a “double heart.”

Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. They speak vanity every one with his neighbor: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. (Psalm 12:1-2)
Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. (1 Timothy 3:8-9)

A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. (James 1:8)

10) Rick Warren’s “Broad Way” Christianity is “not valiant for the truth.” Warren has demonstrated, in numerous ways, that he is politically and spiritually expedient when it comes to the truth. His “Broad Way” Christianity plays to the world and embraces the world because it is the world. It does not hold fast to the truth because it is not “valiant for the truth.”

And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth. (Jeremiah 9:3)
If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:31) 

The Time is Here

The apostle Paul preached the importance of adhering to God’s Word. He warned that the time would come when believers would not endure sound doctrine but would find teachers who would tell them what they wanted to hear:

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

As Rick Warren’s “broad way” Christianity seems to be headed down the “broad way” of the New Spirituality, it is very clear that his Purpose Driven movement is anything but the “narrow way” that Jesus Christ described in Matthew 7:14.

It is important to understand what is at stake here—the centrality of the Cross as the one and only true Gospel—without which the hope of salvation is lost. Jesus Christ, dying on the Cross for our sins, is the central message of the Gospel. It is the plumb line for ultimately discerning truth from error. But in discerning truth from error, it is essential that we must adhere to all the counsel of God (Acts 20:27).

Jesus is the one and only Savior—the one and only true Christ. Science cannot and will not prove otherwise (1 Timothy 6:20). God is not “in” everything. We are not Christ, and we are not God. What is born of the flesh is flesh. What is born of the Spirit is spirit. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50). It is not “as above, so below.” The apostle John states:

He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. (John 3:31)

Jesus Christ is Lord. His name is above all names (Philippians 2:9). He is not the “Jesus” of The Shack, and He is not the “Jesus” of the New Age/New Spirituality. Most assuredly, He is not the “quantum Christ” of a deceived world and an apostate church.

The apostle Paul describes the simplicity of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3). According to many of today’s spiritual and religious leaders, it has taken humanity 2000 years to finally “get it.” They say we need quantum physicists, cellular biologists, Ph.D. mathematicians, New Age channelers, and emerging postmodern preachers to finally understand what Jesus was trying to tell us back in the first century. No, this is not the simplicity that Paul was describing. This is the deceptive work of our Adversary as he tries to transform the creation into the Creator and co-opt God’s creation to himself.

Unfortunately, many of today’s pastors have forgotten that Satan is the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4) and that we are to “stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). As a result, the church is now catapulting into great spiritual deception.

For those who still rightly divide and depend upon the Word of God, the Bible warns that the coming deception will be so great that most of the world will be deceived (Revelation 13:13-14). Jesus warned that His way is not the broad way but the “narrow way” of continuing in His Word (John 8:31). And it is His way that leads to eternal life.

And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. (Luke 21:28)

(HT: LHTR)