I Pet.4:11 - If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God;
There is only one truth in the world, God's Word. Everything else, even if it is true, is always subject to change. Most things that are acknowledged as truth are based on man's acceptance, observation, and social metamorphosis which all have their origin and refinement in the fallen intellect of man. Let us look at morality without God's Word. Homosexuality would be perfectly acceptable without the teaching of God's Word. Think about abortion, polygamy, adultery, and all other similar behavior; all legitimate mores without any absolute guidelines. What about stealing, lying, cheating, and even murder? If there is only man's opinion then why are they wrong? As a matter of fact, who said there is any such thing as right and wrong? Without God's Word all the laws that govern man's behavior come from man's mind, and there will always be wide and varied opinions.
The most dangerous deception, therefore, is that which is true but not based on God's Word. Let me illustrate. We would approve of our children's teacher telling our kids not to lie. But what if that teacher is openly gay and his teaching about not lying is based on humanistic reasoning not God's Word. You see, the devil uses that which is true, apart from God's Word, in order to create a moral bridge and deceive our children into accepting homosexuality because the teacher is not only nice, but he has moral standards. Anything, and I mean anything, that does not have the Word of God as its foundation and source is based on the reasoning of fallen man and ultimately is a house built on sinking sand.(Jesus, circa 26 A.D.) We have enough trouble disagreeing over interpretation without creating moral bonds not wholly based on the written Word of God. This notion that anything that is based on the "Judeo-Christian" ethic(which is a man made term) is acceptable is the spirit of antichrist. If any view does not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the only way to eternal life it is a deceptive spirit, no matter what it believes about the ten commandments. The martyrs did not die over moral teachings, their blood was shed because they preached Christ and Christ alone!
From Rush Limbaugh to Dr. Phil to the most conservative politician, they may espouse certain moral issues but they do not claim the Word of God as their foundation, and God teaches us that that "every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist"(I Jn.4:3). The "moral and good" spirits are the most "familiar", and they are the hardest to discern. If you think that the war is over morality in any form, you are already deceived. The war is over the Son of God. The rest is moral deception. As an amateur astronomer I am well aware that most scientists are not believers and present truths out of their own observations, and that always changes. Our calling as followers of the Lord Jesus is to read, believe, preach, and conform to the Word of God. Period. Our cause is eternally different and distinct from all other causes on the face of the earth and cannot be compromised by any alliance with other causes, no matter how "moral". Our calling is not of this world, it is Supernatural.
God has called us to be separate from the world. One of the major causes that we as believers have lost the power that was evident both in Acts and other times in the church, is that we now have earthly alliances. Israel was forbidden to join with other groups, and when they did they backslid. If a group is pro-life, pro-family, or against gay rights it should not matter to Spirit filled believers, our calling is to "go into all the world and preach the gospel". When we champion moral causes we misrepresent to the world that we are some kind of moral sheriff. In love we should preach Christ and Him crucified to a lost and dying world. Anything else is asking a dead man to straighten his tie.
Remember, judgment must begin at the house of God. To preach morality to the world in the condition the church is in is not only hypocritical, but obviously ineffective. It is more important to God that His church be revived than our government ban gay marriage. No matter what the government does clerically about gay marriage, homosexuals are still committing sodomy in your neighborhood. And they will gleefully continue, and teach others to do it, unless they become born again followers of Jesus Christ. And the gay community, as well as the whole community, will not be significantly reached unless God sends a supernatural revival among His followers. We need reformation, the world needs regeneration!
The spreading of the seed(God's Word) under the power of God's Spirit is the ONLY answer. Oh how we need an awakening! The church in America is so powerless and assimilated culturally that we are like Samson who,"knew not that his power was gone". We shed more tears over the death of our dogs than over the lost. The early church was built by agonizing, today we organize. I personally do not have revival, I am just a voice who God has awakened to the need. You could say,"Physician heal thyself", and you would be right. Of course that is another deception of the enemy, look at someone else. Get alone somewhere and ask Jesus personally, "Lord, where am I, and where am I supposed to be?". We only have this one life to sacrifice for Him; we'll soon see Him
One of the attributes of God's Word along with it being utterly true is that is as unchangeable as God. I is an eternal rock of truth that we never should doubt. Also, why look at philosophy or the doctrines of men (religious hypocrisy) when we have the Word of God to test the spirits? Oh yeah, that would mean we would have to test the spirits in obedience instead of lazily being tossed to and fro by every wind of deception er...doctrine.
ReplyDeleteIn Christ
Mike Ratliff
Amen and amen. Too many "Christians" are swayed by the "wisdom" of man, knowing little of the wisdom of God as delivered in His Word.
ReplyDeleteWe who know Christ must walk in the light and boldly proclaim the diety and unique Gospel of Christ Jesus.
From 1 Tim 6:20 - 21 "keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith."