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. II Timothy 4:2-4
A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; The
prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my
people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof? Jeremiah
5:30,31
What
if every bit of Christian faith that you have been living is a lie? What if the
churches are not really Christian at all? The Bible is our handbook, our authority. It warns us of rampant
deception in the last days, our adversary the devil, and our deceitful hearts
(Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 7:18). This message is to warn you, that you may turn to
Jesus Christ in truth, and be saved. Read this as if eternity depended on it.
It
has been nearly 30 years now, since the Lord mercifully spared me from death,
and certain damnation. I was 23 years of age. As a teen, I was once on fire for
Christ, but fell headlong into the allures of the world, backsliding. I was a
Religion major in a church-based college when my return to sinfulness exploded.
Since
that point of grace in my life, it has been a long journey. God has finally,
ultimately redeemed me, and none too soon! Time is almost up for the world as
we know it, and our chance for making the right choice. How can the churches be
filled, but souls are empty? Can so many well-meaning, clean-living people be
in error?
Frankly,
the Bible says that such a deceived state will
exist at the time of the end. My wife and I were very much a part of this great
error, false Christian faith. It is only by the miracle of God
(Matthew 19:25,26), and of His mercy
alone (Romans 9:16), that we were enabled to see this deception and be freed.
You also need this miracle in your life!
The
Lord has granted a far greater understanding into this subject for me during
the past year. Wisdom and insight has been given, and truths affirmed. It is
time to share this message, while there is still time to repent. We will let
God’s preserved Word, the King James Bible, present the real
nature of Christianity.
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write;
These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of
the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I
would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither
cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich,
and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou
art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to
buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment,
that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear;
and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I
rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the
door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to
him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:14-20
This
is our “church,” the time we live in. We are not separate from the world
around us, but we are just like the world, without distinction. We are not a
church in Laodicea, but are a church
of Laodiceans. Nothing good is said of this group! This church sickens Jesus to
the point of vomiting. This church thinks
that they are saved, but are not, thus the reference to “blind and naked” (see
John 9:41). They are rich, and filled with “good works” of their own: they
neither follow God, or depend on Him for provision. They walk by sight, and are
without faith.
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter
into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in
heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in
thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many
wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart
from me, ye that work iniquity. Matthew 7:21-23
These
spoken of here did not come before God, hoping to deceive Him; they were deceived into believing that
all was well! Please note that MANY
will be in this state, and that these were “exceptional” individuals, who did
many great works. The way to avoid all this? We anchor down into the rock of
God’s Word, as is revealed in the next two verses (see Matthew 7:24,25). Man
needs to live by every word of God. (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4; Luke
4:4)
To
be saved, we must accept the truth of God’s Word. It shows us who we are before
God, and how we must receive Him. God does not accept sinners (Psalm
5:5). What God will accept is the repentance of the sinner (I John
1:9). The following is man’s spiritual state before the Lord;
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our
righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our
iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Isaiah 64:6
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There
is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all
gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that
doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues
they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is
full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction
and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There
is no fear of God before their eyes. Romans 3:10-18
This
is where the church has strayed, and actually reverses the truth, preaching
God’s love, acceptance, and friendship to the unsaved. Jesus says that His
friends are those that obey Him, and these are the ones He died for (John
15:13,14).
God’s
love or friendship with us is not like that between humans. God exemplifies His
love to us through the cross of Jesus, He bearing the just punishment for our
sin.
In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because
that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through
him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his
Son to be the propitiation for our sins. I John 4:9,10
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish
foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. I Corinthians
1:18
The
preaching of the cross is about our sinfulness, and the absolute need for the
blood redemption through Jesus Christ. Any kind of real emphasis on such preaching has now become foolish, in
“Christian” circles as much as anywhere.
For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ
died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet
peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his
love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans
5:6-8
So
there we were; ungodly, unrighteous sinners, and God sent His Son to die for
us.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for
our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his
stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every
one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 53:5,6
God
acted to save us, and only He could. The Lord also often makes good out of bad (Romans 8:28), but His outreach to us
doesn’t justify our position at the time of His outreach.
In
short, It is this; the church, in its outreach to the world, promotes the idea
to the unsaved that they are good. We wind up showing the unsaved that
even though they are technically
sinners, that there is still good in them, and that they do some good things.
Therefore, grace is turned into a works salvation, because we think that we
have done good before becoming saved.
God loves us because we meant well, and have good within: only superficial
changes, then, need to be made.
The
great majority today come to Christ with such understanding and therefore are never
really saved. But what of the few that do become saved with the initial
right understanding? They are ultimately led back into sin by the religious
Laodiceans;
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as
there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable
heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them…And through covetousness shall
they with feigned words make merchandise of you…II Peter 2:1,3a,18-20
For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they
allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were
clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty,
they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome,
of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the
pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse
with them than the beginning. II Peter 2:18-20
Why
is the latter end worse? Because now they do justify their behavior as being right with God! This is the
lukewarm state that Jesus hates. Such evils have been before, and this one is
again established in our day.
Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein
have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the
sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?
Malachi 2:17
Jesus
said that we must become as little children to be received in His kingdom
(Matthew 18:3, Mark 10:15). What does this mean? It means that we are starting
over! Children must learn everything
from their parents, and we must be taught from God in like fashion. We cannot
come to God, thinking we have “good” talents or abilities to offer Him—we are
hopelessly corrupt in our sinful flesh. Consider also the following;
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come
after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For
whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life
for my sake shall find it. Matthew 16:24,25
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old
things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. II Corinthians 5:17
But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for
Christ. Philippians 3:7
Jesus
expounds further on the radical
change which will take place in the real
Christian life;
And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is
written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of
the corner? Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on
whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. Luke 20:17,18
We
know that Jesus is that chief cornerstone: when we “fall” upon Him for
salvation, we will be broken. Those
rejecting Him are ground into powder.
The
Lord Jesus wants to put the “new wine” of His Spirit within us, but cannot do
so as long as we insist on our “old bottles.” We like the old wine (the way
we’ve always been) better! Indeed, many try to mend the rip in their spiritual
garment, by sewing new cloth to the old. Jesus said that this tear then becomes
worse.
Why? Because we have been deceived into thinking that things are right between
us and God, when they aren’t: this is far worse than if we had never been saved
(II Peter 2:20). See Luke 5:36-39 for this parable.
What
the visible church has done, is it has found its place in the world, making
“friends” with the ungodly (II Chronicles 19:2). The real church has no place in the world (Hebrews 11:13-16), and is
spiritual, not material (John 4:23,24). Friendship with the world is abominable
to God. Even Biblical instruction to love our enemies, or our neighbors as
ourselves, in no way indicates the making of “friendship” with the unsaved.
Making friendships with the world is,
in a nutshell, the main underlying source of corruption in the professing
church. Once, even twenty years ago, I heard a pastor instruct Christians not
to witness, until they had “made friends” with the people, first. Where do you
find that in the Bible? When we
emphasize friendship, or the promoting of church, we preach ourselves, not Jesus Christ (II
Corinthians 4:5). Making friends with the world hurts the real believer by (1)
Constant exposure will corrupt us morally, and (2) It gives the impression of
an acceptance of the rebellious, unsaved lifestyle.
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the
friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a
friend of the world is the enemy of God. James 4:4
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.
If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that
is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride
of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. I John 2:15,16
And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness,
but rather reprove them. Ephesians 5:11
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what
fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath
light with darkness? II Corinthians 6:14-18
It
is needful to include examples, for understanding. The Lord has reminded me of
a great example of the confused, polluted, Laodicean era church of our day. It
is a nearby “Christian” cinema, called Sight
and Sound Theatres. These are serious, quality productions put on there,
allegedly to entertain and edify. As far as I know, all shows expound on Bible
scenarios. Most professing believers think it is a great thing, but these have not the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:32).
(1) No additions to God’s Word. Any movie or play done to tell a
Bible story adds to God’s Word (Deuteronomy 4:2; Proverbs 30:5,6; Revelation
22:18,19). Actors and directors, as well as script writers, add their own
audio/visual interpretation of the Holy Word of God. The Holy Spirit is to be
our interpreter!
(2) No Biblical ground for Christian entertainment. Believers
carry these evil practices with them, supposedly, into their new lives for
Christ. Instead of opposing such worldliness, churches routinely only
incorporate these evils into their “outreach.” The “church” is emulating the
world!
Entertainment
is a great squandering of time and money, and shows that we are not God’s
stewards (Ephesians 5:15-17; Luke 16:11). If Jesus is really our Lord, it will show in everything.
(3) No substitution for Bible outreach. Typical reasoning to
justify “good” movies/plays, is that it is a way to reach “our” generation. In
other words, we regard the Bible as insufficient
in promoting salvation: we have contrived another
way of outreach, one that conflicts
with scripture, but believe it to be better. The Lord’s testimony in Luke 16:31
well addresses this phenomenon:
And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the
prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. Luke
16:31
(4) No “new life” for the convert. If one seemingly comes to know Christ through this, they will forever
cling to these worldly, unbiblical practices in his/her Christian life.
Remember, just because God reaches to us while we are sinners, this does not
imply justification for the medium through which He reached us. It is, rather,
a testimony of God’s faithfulness, and His greatness, in still being able to
bring good from bad (Romans 8:28).
(5) The love of money and lies. In the end, this is about the
love of money (I Timothy 6:10,11), and has exploited a worldly avenue that
addresses no real need of mankind (I
Timothy 6:8). It is a medium that is well accepted by the unsaved world, and
gains them esteem in men’s eyes (Luke 16:15). They also get rich:
believe me, it costs plenty to get in.
Then
again, they also espouse lies while
making their way in the world. This is a huge problem, for every actor has to lie in the performance of taking on
another’s persona. God will not allow liars in heaven, and because of
such will come strong delusion and judgment (II Thessalonians 2:10-12).
Years
ago, I worked at a local department store with the 23 year old son of a
minister. Once in conversation, I exposed the shortfalls of Sight and Sound Theatres to him. He
responded by defending them, and said he was “so touched” by the Easter
depiction of Jesus. Yet just 2 days later, I heard him excitedly talking with
another co-worker about the near release of Hell Raiser III on DVD: he
was very glad for it, and wanted to purchase it. Don’t be fooled by appearance!
Judge righteous judgment (John 7:24), and seek not to receive honor from men
(John 5:41), following the steps of Jesus Christ.
This,
then, is Christianity: mankind is spiritually evil, and rightly slated for eternal
damnation first in Hell, then the lake of fire (Galatians 3:22;
Revelation 20:15). God then shows His real love for us by the perfect
offering of His Son Jesus Christ, the only
possible atonement for our sin (John 14:6). Salvation is all about eternal life
for the soul and spirit of man, not the very temporary life of the flesh (II
Corinthians 4:18). What does the Bible say about the Christian life? Will you
embrace it?
The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above
his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the
servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how
much more shall they call them of his household? Matthew 10:24,25
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not
to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his
father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against
her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. Matthew
10:34-36
If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother,
and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also,
he cannot be my disciple. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh
not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:26…33
He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his
life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. John 12:25
If ye were of the
world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I
have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. John 15:19
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that
like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so
we also should walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4
For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually
minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it
is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are
in the flesh cannot please God. Romans 8:6-8
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are
above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on
things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid
with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1-3
Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh,
arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the
flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time
in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. For the time past of
our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we
walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and
abominable idolatries: Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them
to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: I Peter 4:1-4
Have
you really been saved through Jesus Christ? Are God’s values your own, and do
you seek them? Bring every area of your life into submission to God.
Hold up your actions in the light of Biblical truth (John 3:21). Do all men
speak well of you (Luke 6:26), or do you suffer persecution (II Timothy 3:12),
and tribulation (Acts 14:22)?
Again,
the message being given today is one of God’s acceptance for all people. It is therefore regarded that there is
good in all, and salvation becomes a mending of new cloth onto the old, which
makes things worse. This is that
“form of godliness, which denies the power”, spoken of in II Timothy 3:5. In
reality, it becomes a disguised works
salvation, such as is spoken of in the book of Galatians. Even if it
begins correctly, it falls away (II Thessalonians 2:3, I Timothy 4:1). Many are
the examples of this—I know, because my own life was corrupt in this same
fashion.
When
a person receives Christ today, typically, they then continue on with most of the same practices that they
have always done. They perceive it to be acceptable, because their hearts are
now “pure.” Biblically, Christians have no holidays (Acts 15:20; Galatians
4:9-11), but they continue on with pagan religious celebrations such as
Christmas and Easter. They believe these observances now, for themselves, are
pure, and honoring to God. Yes, they also celebrated these while unsaved! This
gives them the impression that there was always something good in them;
something that did good things, and
honored God. We therefore see how the churches have retained religious rites
from pagan tradition, thinking that such “works” pleased God.
The
visible church of today loves celebrities! Oh, how well they ignore Biblical
admonition regarding respect of persons
(James 2:9). When a celebrity claims to be, or to have become a born-again
Christian, churches love to ride along on their bandwagon of fleshly fame. If
such a one is really turned to the Lord, they are then encouraged to continue on in their career, because it
is thought to bring attention to the cause of Christ. I do not make of habit of
following such individuals, but even so, I am aware of very many that have
fallen back into that sinful life which fame and fortune brings. There is good
reason for this bad turnabout!
Over
and over again, God’s Word (KJV only) tells us to be holy. We are not to even touch the “unclean thing”, for then the
whole becomes unclean (Haggai 2:13,14; II Corinthians 6:14-17). Churches today
generally teach that Christians can “touch” almost anything, and they can make
it holy! With this, as with many things, the visible church, by practice, actually
opposes
God’s Word.
Yes,
today’s Christians readily partake in lavish vacations, rock music, sports
obsession, movies, television, and the like. How awful! We are just like the
unsaved world around us, but justify ourselves, and do not repent.
For if we would judge
ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of
the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. I Corinthians 11:31,32
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,
that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,
which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good,
and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:1,2
And
that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now
is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day
is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the
armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and
drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But
put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to
fulfil the lusts thereof. Romans 13:11-14
God
is challenging us to be the Christians that we profess to be (Matthew 12:37).
The Lord showed me the following simple truth, by which He greatly began transforming my life:
Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him:
but the just shall live by his faith. Habakkuk 2:4
This
verse has been precious to many Christians over the centuries, with the second
part of it being quoted 3 times in the New Testament (Romans 1:17; Galatians
3:11; Hebrews 10:38). Anytime I had heard this quote used, it was in reference
to the soul salvation, and eternal life. God emphasized to me that we are to live
by faith. Today, most believers take their faith only to be of benefit after they die. God really makes no
daily difference in their lives. They work things out themselves, though many
times stating that God is leading their actions! Such was the case that we read
of in Jeremiah 42:4-7, 43:1,2. These would only obey the Lord if it was
in accordance with their own determination.
Our
faith in God, lived out, will bring us into conflict with the unsaved
world. We must live out our faith every day, for without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews
11:6). Will you take the time to be sure
of your salvation? Time is running out for this world, and not one of us is
guaranteed tomorrow. Take time to separate yourself, and seek in prayer for
your shortfalls with God. Fall upon the stone which the builders rejected,
Jesus Christ: become broken in Him, and found your faith upon His Word (Luke
20:18; Matthew 7:24,25). What will a man give in exchange for His soul (Matthew
16:26)?
Bad
times are just ahead for this world. If we were warned that “the time is at
hand” almost 2,000 years ago (Revelation 1:3), how near is it today? War will
hit hard (Revelation 9:13-19), and then the antichrist shall come, with great
lying signs and wonders (II Thessalonians 2:9; Revelation 13). The churches,
having long cast away God’s Word, and real Christian faith, will readily give
their allegiance to God’s enemy (II Thessalonians 2:9-12). It will only be after
this period of antichrist, just over 3½ years, that the real Christ will
return to rescue His very few and scattered sheep; just before the world’s
judgment at Armageddon (Luke 17:28-30; Revelation 19:7-21).
Don’t
follow the faith of men (Matthew 15:7-9; II Corinthians 10:12,18), though they
may outwardly appear learned and well-meaning (Acts 4:13). Humble yourself
under God’s hand while there is still time, and receive His kingdom as a child.
The Lord alone can save you by His grace: trust in Him rightly by His Word,
while there is still time.
Be sober, be vigilant;
because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking
whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same
afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the
God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus,
after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen,
settle you. I Peter 5:8-10
