“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...Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” (Jude 3, 24-25)
“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except
- there come a falling away FIRST,
- and [then] that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” (II Thessalonians 2:3)
Massive apostasy, AKA “falling away,” for the purpose of “falling to” triggers the resurgence of “the fallen ones.” You’ve got to love the literary clues.
Many cultural Christians think church is a good thing, but they are not committed.
They are not involved in any ministry.
They don’t sacrificially give.
They couldn’t tell you the last time they told someone about Jesus.
They come to church about once every couple months, because they are “just so busy…”
Ask any of these people if they are saved, and they will say “yes.” They will tell you about a time when they prayed a prayer and got baptized. But they don’t live their lives as if Jesus is Lord.
Aren’t these like the branches that God removed from Israel?
“Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, though a wild olive branch, were grafted in among them and have come to share in the rich root of the cultivated olive tree, do not boast that you are better than those branches … they were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but beware, because if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.”
– Romans 11:17–21 CSB
The same transgressions that got Israel removed from the tree—compromise, taking their salvation for granted, giving lip-service to God, and going through religious motions without their hearts really belonging to him—are rampant within the church today.
I am especially concerned for children who grow up in church, are raised in Christian families, and live up to expectations by, at some point, “getting saved.” They avoid most major sins—at least, the ones they think are major. But in their heart of hearts, they know Jesus is not Lord.
If this is you, Paul says, “Wake up! If this is what God did to the sons and daughters of Abraham, it’s what he will do to you, too!”
Sometimes Christians will use a perverted version of the doctrine of eternal security to assure themselves they belong to God. This doctrine says, “once saved, always saved.” That is, once you are truly saved, you can never lose it.
Eternal security is a glorious and comforting truth. But notice what Paul says in Romans 11:20: You will be kept if you avoid the unbelief that overcame Israel and “stand by faith.”
If.
We have two seemingly contradictory truths: On the one hand, the Bible says that once God saves you, you’ll always be saved (e.g., John 10; Romans 8); on the other, it says that only if you endure to the end will you be saved (cf. Hebrews 3:12–14).
You have to put the two together. One of the essential marks of truly saving faith is that it endures to the end. The real doctrine of eternal security reads like this: Not only “once saved, always saved” but also “once saved, forever following.”
Having a faith that endures to the end is evidence that you possess the salvation you could never lose. Not enduring to the end is evidence you never had it to begin with.
Saving faith is staying faith.
You see, the evidence of saving faith is not the intensity of emotion at the beginning but its endurance over time. Think of it like a marriage: You don’t judge the sincerity of a marriage vow by the lavishness of the wedding ceremony but by the faithful commitment that follows it.
When it comes to God, a lot of Christians are all ceremony, no marriage.
And that lack of a commitment to God is reflected in a lack of commitment to their families.
- 25.1 percent are evangelical (“born-again”) Christians.
- Catholics came in next, at 22.75 percent,
- Protestants at 22.7 percent…
According to Pew Research, evangelicals make up 26.3 percent of the American population; Catholics comprise 23.9 percent; mainline Protestants make up 18.1 percent…In other words, the survey results reflect the larger population…
Why does Scripture require monogamy? Because God knows the effects of adultery: horrific pain for spouses and children, intense guilt and depression, violence, sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies and abortions.
“Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.” (I Corinthians 6:15-18)
This is not a moral condemnation. This is an understated medical fact.
From the esteemed medical journal The Lancet:
A new surveillance report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), released on April 12, shows that the rates of chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and syphilis across the country have been climbing since 2013, and the majority of cases are occurring in adolescents and young people.
- chlamydia is the most commonly diagnosed STI, with 1·6 million new infections [per year] (481 per 100 000 population) remained unchanged since 2016
- since 2016, rates of gonorrhoea have increased by 45%, syphilis by 52%, and congenital syphilis by 235%.
Young people aged 15–24 years accounted for 53% of new STIs in 2020; 62% of new chlamydia cases were in adolescents and the greatest rises in both syphilis and gonorrhoea were in females aged 15–24 years. Escalating rates of congenital syphilis mirror syphilis infections in women of childbearing age.
In the nineteenth century, neurosyphilis was one of the most ubiquitous [common] and fatal forms of degenerative mental illness known to psychiatry...At the time, as many as one-third of patients in mental hospitals had symptoms that could now be clearly traced back to syphilis.
In 2020, 30,635 people received an HIV diagnosis in the United States and dependent areas.The annual number of new diagnoses decreased 8% from 2016 to 2019…An estimated 1,189,700 people in the United States had HIV at the end of 2019, the most recent year for which this information is available. Of those people, about 87% knew they had HIV.
STDs are an important global health priority because of their devastating impact on women and infants and their inter-relationships with HIV/AIDS. STDs and HIV are linked by biological interactions and because both infections occur in the same populations. Infection with certain STDs can increase the risk of getting and transmitting HIV as well as alter the way the disease progresses. In addition, STDs can cause long-term health problems, particularly in women and infants. Some of the health complications that arise from STDs include pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, tubal or ectopic pregnancy, cervical cancer, and perinatal or congenital infections in infants born to infected mothers.
People tolerate the adverse effects of promiscuity out of a desperate need to connect, to be in relationship, to feel vibrant, however fleeting.
Because they have no faith, nothing to hope for in the future, no evidence of things not seen, no understanding that the worlds – this one and the world to come – were framed by the word of God. So they “enjoy the pleasures of sin [only] for a season.” (Hebrews 11:1-3, 25)
A sex partner / god who offers benefits in exchange for sacrifices made to him is so much easier to trust to come through on, at least some of his promises. Who ever experienced anyone who was 100% faithful?
Don’t you think that the testimony of people who identify themselves Christians but enjoy all the pleasures of sin in this world destroy the testimony of God’s word?
Without a doubt, one reason it is so hard for people to place their faith in the Word of God is because his claims are so unbelievable in light of the little experience we humans have of sacrificial love by his people who claim to be inhabited by his Spirit.
Witnesses from both the biblical and pagan accounts of sexuality invariably lead to the medical conclusion that evil spirits / demons inhabiting microscopic organisms invade higher quality hosts through sexual activity.
A surge in demonic activity, empowered by Rome’s sexualized society, was a hallmark of The Savior’s first coming.
”And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force…Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not… thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.” (Matthew 11:12-24)“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God…And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine [teaching] is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him. And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee...they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils…And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.” (Mark 1:1-34)
How do so-called followers of Jesus Christ NOT understand that WE cast out the evil spirits’ control over OUR lives when WE REBUKE and REFUSE them to control US? They are not invisible entities! They manifest through humans seducing us by abandoning our faith in every aspect of life – what we believe about the Bible, about God, about the consequences of sin, about sexual immorality, and on and on.
“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry…” (I Timothy 4:1-3)
“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: Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead…But the end of all things is at hand be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” (I Peter 4:3-7)
“See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil…
- love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply…
- But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods [powerful beings], and serve them…ye shall surely perish,” Deuteronomy 30:15-18)
There is always the most basic toggle option to every decision we face:
- align our plans with the Creator’s / Author’s system design by doing things right – i.e. be right-eous,
- or not.
We identify with the Singularity source of life, or we don’t. There is no neutral ground in life vs death. It’s one or the other.
“Don’t be ridiculous! I’m not a Satanist”!
Lucifer’s prime directive, his fundamental lie, is that anything can exist apart from the Singularity.
Anyone who chooses to believe, like Lucifer, that it is possible to achieve “I will!” independent of the Singularity / Source of Life has made him, like the Woman in the Garden, their father / authority and has like the Woman with willful intent rejected the truth of God and his way of self-less righteousness.
Of all the choices we make in this life, the one that matters most is the same one made by the Adams.
- I am going to reject God and make myself the authority in my life despite my evident powerlessness to ensure desired results OR
- I am going to acknowledge the fact of a superior powerful immortal God through the evidence provided in his Creation as well as his written word and physical manifestation, and submit to his authority in my life thereby placing myself under his protection for my life, now and in the hereafter.
That should be a no brainer. How many of your own problems have you been able to fix?
“The LORD is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness. And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure...Now will I rise,saith the LORD; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself…And the people shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire. Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might. The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the [permanently live with the neighboring] devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings [that forever don’t touch us]?
- He that walketh right-eously, and speaketh up-rightly;
- he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes,
- that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;
He shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off…For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us…And…the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity. (Isaiah 33:5-24)
Wow. That’s quite an unscientific assertion for someone who claims to be scientific.
- To be ignorant is to be unaware of the facts. Where are the facts of evolution?
- Calling someone stupid is just insulting.
- Mr. Dawkins is not qualified to diagnose mental illness, and in any case, no professional calls a mentally ill person “insane”.
- And how can anyone be “wicked” if there is no God defining good and evil? Ahhh, apparently Richard Dawkins is god.
- And there’s that disarming grin. Apparently that’s what people are putting their money on.
Just imagine how the New York Times would report this if a well-known preacher, such as Billy Graham, made the reverse statement, for which, I might say, there is biblical evidence.
“It is absolutely safe to say that if you meet somebody to claims to believe in evolution, that person is ignorant, stupid or insane (or wicked, but I’d rather not consider that).”
The difficulties encountered in
- learning the truth from one who already knows it, then,
- breaking free from an entrenched existing belief system
is entertainingly depicted by Neo’s/ New man’s faltering trust in Morpheus / God dreams in The Matrix, but is in reality accomplished by placing trust in God’s Word. From day one, God has given humans the same message of salvation from sin and death.
“Behold, I am according to thy wish in God’s stead: I also am formed out of the clay…I have heard the voice of thy words, saying, I am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me…Behold in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, that God is greater than man. Why dost thou strive against him?…If there be a messenger with him / man, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew unto man his [God’s] uprightness: then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit [eternal death]: I have found a ransom…He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will render unto man his righteousness…if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; he will deliver his soul from going into the pit…to be enlighted with the light of the living. ” (Job 19:6-30)
“To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice [accepts and responds to, like a Nanny to the cries of her charge – “I hear you, I hear you!” as she hustles to the toddler’s side].” (Jesus Christ quoted in John 18:37)
We find that the people most willing to accept salvation as a gift of God are those who have reached the end of their own resources, and are facing the stark reality of their helplessness to save themselves from the misery of drugs, broken family ties, poverty – the worsening consequences of a spiraling decline of bad choices.
“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. Ye cannot serve God and mammon / pursue wealth. And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men / influence, power, social status, wealth is abomination in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:8-15)
“Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth…And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve.” (Joshua 24:14-15)
Kingdom Come 