Does God Need Our Help?

I was strolling through my Facebook feed as I do regularly looking for prayer opportunities and to see how my friends and family are doing. As usual, I came across many different kinds of advertisements, some for health programs some for religious events/activities.  One of the advertisements raised my spiritual antenna. It was promoting a text program for churches who are struggling with dwindling church attendance. I read the body of the advertisement and what stood out immediately was there was not one word about God or the Holy Spirit.  Now I do understand and see nothing wrong with 'church' members using current technology to communicate with each other, but this advertisement was talking about how to get 'new' members or how to keep those who just visit a few times.  The next day I was looking at news websites and noticed on one of them, another advertisement about another program to help churches 'retain' or get new members using email.  Again no mention of God or The Holy Spirit.  Then I went online and googled 'texting in church' and many different 'programs' came up. Some of wording in the body of their webpages mentioned some things like,
"It can be disheartening for you to see new guests visit your church but don't return" and that "'texting' programs to help retain membership and help with follow up visits". Many of the other text or email recommendations echo the same underlying message, "You Need Some Man Made Method To Keep People In Your Church Or To Get New Members In Your Church".  A few mentioned that the 'church' needed to represent Christ when guests arrived but otherwise nothing about God or the Holy Spirit or Jesus.

Why I am posing about this? Because of the alarming trend to supplant the work of The Holy Spirit and God/Jesus in the workings in the current church body with 'man made traditions/technologies'.  Does the bible say that 'Paul' added to the church daily?  Or John, Peter, Matthew, or any other apostle? Is it the work of man that keeps a church together?  Was it that the 1st Century church had a good 'music program'; or maybe it was their great 'social activates' program.  It is a fact that God works 'through' people. We are the clay He is The Potter, humans are His vessel, God through His Holy Spirit indwells 'real' Christians and that power is shown 'through' people.  The POWER works through the people for them to do good works. The bible tells us 'how' the church grew in the beginning, why do we think that the way it grows today should be any different? The apostles and other disciples went through the land with POWER-healing, casting out demons, working other miracles and preaching the gospel, and the new 'converts' lived together, and shared everything/sold property to the benefit of the whole body, they ate together and studied the word of God together and "GOD added to their 'church body' daily. Acts 2:47.   Jesus's last commands before ascending back to heaven were, "GO into all the world, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit". Matthew 28:19.

Fast forward to today, how many church bodies are 'going' out into the world to 'preach the good news'?  No where in the Bible in the New Testament does it say ANYTHING about Paul, Peter, John, Andrew, Bartholomew, James, Matthew, Matthias, or Simon EVER going out into the world to tell the lost , 'go to the church is Ephesus, Philippi, Thyatira, Laodicea, or Corinth or any other church to 'get saved' or 'go to one of these churches to hear a sermon' or  'come to our church for pancakes and to hear about God'. Paul stated in 1 Corinthians Chapter 1:18-24:

"The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent." Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? HAS NOT GOD MADE FOOLISH THE WISDOM OF THIS WORLD? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; BUT WE PREACH CHRIST CRUCIFIED, to the Jews a stumbling block and the Greeks foolishness, but TO THOSE WHO ARE CALLED, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."

And in the following chapter, Paul says starting at verse 1, "And I brethren, WHEN I CAME TO YOU..."(Paul went to them, not the non-believers coming to him.) And again he reiterates that he did not spend time with the Corinthian believers telling them about how great the music program was, or what a great youth ministry they had, or how God was going to prosper them, Paul said in verses 2 through 5, "For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in DEMONSTRATIONS OF THE SPIRIT AND OF POWER, that YOUR FAITH SHOULD NOT BE IN THE WISDOM OF MEN BUT IN THE POWER OF GOD."

These 'programs' say they can 'teach' churches how to 'attract' and 'retain' 'members.  Does God call all men to repentance or does a church text or email saying, "Glad you visited our church, we would love to see you again, please contact us if you have any questions." satisfy the requirement of 'going' into all the world with the good news of the gospel?  and another question, why are people visiting and not staying in churches around the country?  All the studies on religious activities show 'church' attendance is down, and that is one of the reasons we have all these new 'build your church' programs have sprung up. But what is sad is how many churches buy into these type of programs. Some of these programs charge $200 to $1000 for using their services.  When did the Holy Spirit need 'help' appealing to people? God said He knows who are His, that His true people hear His voice.   True believers in Christ 'plant' the seeds, that is tell the lost/unbelieving about the whole gospel, if they believe, then they get directed toward a local church established body. But the part of making the lost believe is not our job. We tell the gospel and God makes the heart transplant, IF the person is willing to allow Him to do it. Jesus says in Revelations 3:20 " Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him and him with Me" and "Many are called but few are chosen." Matthew 22:14. The point is we don't know who's heart is open to the gospel, only God knows this, but what we do too often is judge the outer appearance of a person and make assumptions that that person will not listen to the gospel. "Do not look at the appearance or at his physical stature...For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7.We are charged with sharing the gospel to the whole world.  We should not be treating the lost like a buffet line- 'well I don't like bikers, but I will talk to older people; I don't like black people, but I will talk to Hispanics; Young people won't listen to anyone, there's no point in talking to them.'' God is no respector of person, why are we?

No where in the New Testament is there anything direction on what to do if a church starts to lose members, what it does say about 'losing' members is that we are living in the time that 1 John in  Chapter 3, warned believers to be aware of, that true believers are not to love the world or anything in the world, and that those who love the world- the lust of eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life- that some of those worldly people would be a part of the church, but when they leave, the church was not told to outreach them, check in on them, John says that they, those who left' WERE NOT REAL CHRISTIANS! Johns directions to the church were not about how to 'build the congregation' it was about keeping those who were real Christians abiding in the truth.  Now in the church body, something that is completely lax in today's churches, is church discipline. Jesus says that we confront our brother about their sin, if they won't listen then we tell one or two more, and then if they still won't listen, then we tell it to the whole church, if they still won't repent, then "But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector'. Matthew 18:15-17; and real Christians are not to even 'eat' with with an unrepentant 'believer' those who call themselves "Christians" but they habitually live a life of blatant sin. The church turns those people over to Satan, and it is up to that person to repent and God to brings them back to the church body. The key is this is for 'believers'. So when actual church members decide to stop going to 'church' meetings, you let them go, as per the word they were never really in the church to begin with.

The early church did not have a problem with church 'retention' because it was the Grace of God and the Power of the Holy Spirit and the Love that each church body had within them to keep them together. Many of the churches today may have many 'good' programs, but one thing is missing, actually that is One person is missing, Jesus. Jesus tells us this in Revelation Chapter 2, verses 2 through 4, "I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil...and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My names's sake and have not become weary. NEVERTHELESS, I have this against you, that you have left your first love." Why are young people leaving the faith they grew up with? Why are church buildings closing? Why are churches turning to text/email or any other man made gimmicks to 'retain' membership in their congregations? One of the reasons is the lack of love in them. I've attended some church services and would have gotten a better reception at a cemetery. I've been to other church services where I could not tell the difference between the church and a club scene, especially by the manner of clothing worn by the women-the same clothes they wear 'bouncing in the club', they feel no shame in wearing to 'church'. Some churches preach that the gifts of the spirit are no longer available, when this contradicts what is in the Bible, Jesus said that He will NEVER leave us or forsake us, why would Jesus give the new church power but then take it back from current believers? Jesus did not say, "Just for a few years, you will be able to take poison, be bitten by serpents but they won't harm you, that you will be able to cast out demons, heal the sick, give the blind their site, but this power is only good for a few years and then you are on your own". That is how many churches operate today, on their own.  The church system today brings to life fully the verse, "EVERYONE DOES WHAT IS RIGHT IN THEIR OWN EYES." Today we have a collidiscope of choices: Lutheran, Baptist, Episcopalian, 7th Day Adventist, Church of Christ, Church of God, Church of God in Christ, Mormon, Jehovah's Witness, Methodist, Rastafarian, Pentecostal, Non-Denomination, Catholic, and many other variations of 'Christianity'.   It's like Baskin Robbins, just pick your favorite flavor.  There's also no truth, just the doctrines of men.

JESUS SAID "I DO NOT PRAY FOR THESE ALONE, BUT ALSO FOR THOSE WHO WILL BELIEVE IN ME THROUGH THEIR WORD; THAT THEY ALL MAY BE 'ONE', AS YOU FATHER, ARE IN ME, AND I IN YOU; THAT THEY ALSO MAY BE ONE IN US, THAT THE WORLD MAY BELIEVE THAT YOU SENT ME. AND THE GLORY WHICH YOU GAVE ME I HAVE GIVEN THEM, THAT THEY MAY BE ONE JUST AS WE ARE ONE" JOHN 17:20-22

One of common judgments about Christianity today that the perishing say, "Why should I become a Christian when you guys aren't even united." and "What is the point of becoming a Christian, you're life is no different than mine." It is understandable why they think these things, because they are partly true.  It is true that Christians today are not united, and it is true many self proclaimed Christians lives look no different than an unbelievers.  But a person is making a serious mistake in denying the gospel based on those truths, because there is no excuse for not believing. Man is without excuse when the evidence for God is crystal clear in this world and by His Word, the Bible.  When each man/woman stands before the Judgement Seat of Christ, they will not be able to blame fake Christianity for their reason for not believing; and on the flip side, those fake Christians will have a very rude awakening because they will be without excuse as well for the same reason, we all have the Word of God and His Word with instructions for how to live a godly life, acceptable to God; and it says that His own are indwelt with the Holy Spirit. If you don't have the Holy Spirit, you are not saved. "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace, because the carnal mind is an enemy against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, or indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, IF INDEED THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELLS IN YOU. NOW IF ANYONE DOES NOT HAVE THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST, HE (THAT PERSON WITHOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT) IS NOT HIS (DOES NOT BELONG TO CHRIST)." Romans 8:6-9;

Christians are to go out into their communities, their jobs, their schools, where ever proclaiming the good news of Jesus.  If people are not staying in a particular church, the answers they should be looking for are not outside, but inside, the key question to ask themselves is, WHY ARE THEY LEAVING IN THE FIRST PLACE? Just because a church may have a large number of members does not mean that God is blessing that church.  Jesus tells us that WIDE is the way to destruction and NARROW is the way to truth and FEW find it. Are people staying in a particular church because they truly feel God's presence and they actually experience the real miracle doing power of God and the love of God can be clearly seen and they want to learn and grow more in Christ or are people staying in a particular church because they like the music, they like the pastor, they like the social outings, they like the fact that the church service ends exactly at 12:00 pm and the pastor tells them exactly what they want to hear, that it's okay if you engage in homosexual behavior God loves you, it's okay if you can't help sinning, God understands and forgives you, and they don't talk about hell or repentance or any of that 'scary' stuff? They say, "Come as you are", and some do come, but they leave the same way, unchanged, unconverted, even when they 'join' that particular church body.

This quote is an example of one of the problems in the church.  Jesus said, "Don't Judge". Did Jesus say that the church is not to talk about sin and what happens to those who don't believe in Him? Absolutely not. I have already given the scripture that Jesus Himself said to confront sin the the church.  If you see a brother or sister in a clearly defined sin, and you say to them, "Hey, stop doing XYZ". That is not judging, that is warning and trying to help them as instructed by God. Now if you said, "Hey, stupid idiot, stop doing that you are going to hell".  That is judging. You don't know the heart of a person, only God does. Only God knows who are truly His. When we take on Christ, it does not mean we live perfect sinless lives from that point on. God does forgive when the person is truly repentant, but that does not give us a license to just keep living in sin. I won't go into that as I have covered that in a previous post, but just to reiterate that there are very dire warnings for the fake 'Christian'. And there is an answer to this anonymous quote, the 'reason' they do the 'things they do' is because they are born with sin and they cannot save or cure themselves, only God can. Period.  Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians Chapter 5 that we are to, with the power of Jesus Christ, to 'deliver up the sinning Christian' and to expel/put away/kick out the immoral/evil person from that congregation. How would a church expel the evil person without first identifying ie' 'judging' their behavior and coming to the conclusion that it is sin in the first place?

In Luke Chapter 10, Jesus is instructing His disciples on what they are to do when it comes to 'evangelizing: saying, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few;" and that those disciples were to GO to houses/cities with the gospel message, not that the disciples were to bring people back to Jesus or to a church building. It is a verifiable fact that the  'laborers are few'. Statistics on church evangelism 'programs' are abysmal, many congregations do not even bother to send their members out into their world to share the gospel. Barna Group's, a respected research program, research on religious beliefs and on one particular study on church evangelism shows that not only is evangelism going down across the board, that over 70% percent of Protestants believe they have the responsibility of sharing their faith but when it comes to actual action less than 30% actually do share their faith with ONE person in a 12 month period!  And other denominations score even less. One interesting point of the research was the result that high income earner "Christians" are the least of all to share their faith. 

You are in denial if you don't think America is not sick. America is sick to it's very core. When you have churches turning to man and not God for help with soul winning, we know there is a serious problem. When you have a person with a medical disease at first you can't tell anything is wrong, it is when the disease breaks out on the skin, and the sores and warts and breakdown of tissue lets you know that something is really wrong.  The sores are showing in America. EVERY SINGLE DAY, murder, abuse of innocent children, shootings, corruption, sexual immorality is made into law, preachers preaching that sin is okay, young people addicted to drugs and incurable sexually transmitted diseases are rampant, billions of babies are murdered in the womb, and every sin that God will condemn to eternal hell is showcased on TV, in the movies and in the homes; and the one's who are supposed to have the truth, soul saving, life changing message of hope and restoration, keep silent until that congregation dies a slow and painful death. But there is still hope, God is NOT dead and His grace and mercy still abound abundantly.

There is going to be a Day of Judgment, and God will judge everyone who has ever lived, His wrath is going to poured out on all the wicked and ungodly. The eyes of the unrepentant wicked need to be opened and the ears unplugged so they can see and hear the truth.  The Good News  is Salvation is a free gift from God, you can't work for it or buy because the price has already been paid with the Blood of Jesus Christ. and  Believing in Jesus saves us from the righteous wrath of God. But that is not all, He gives us a new heart and mind NOW, and we receive some of His blessing from heaven NOW and are equipped to be able to live a life that is holy and acceptable to Him NOW.
1. Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is real, He lived and died and rose from the grave.
2. Believe that you are a sinner, repent-turn from your sins and realize and accept you need Jesus.
3. Confess that Jesus is your Lord and God
4. Find a local Bible preaching church that does obey the commandment for water baptism for the remission of your sins and to identify yourself with Christ.
This is just the first step to a lifelong journey of growing in truth and love with the God who created this earth and everything in it, including every human being that has ever lived.

Bible verses related to this post: Matthew 28:19;Acts 2:47 ;Revelations 3:20; 1 John Chapter 3; Galatians 6:1: Titus 3:10: Matthew 18:15-17; 1 Corinthians 5:11; Revelations 2:2-4; Judges 17:6; John 17:20-22; Luke Chapter 10; 1 Corinthians Chapter 1:18-24; 2 Corinthians 1-5;Matthew 22:14; 1 Samuel 16:7; Romans 8:6-9; Romans 1:18-23; 2 Chronicles 7:14
references: https://www.barna.com/research/is-evangelism-going-out-of-style/

God Did Not Bring You This Far To Leave You

God's mercies and compassions are new every morning.

Life is hard.  To those without a saving faith in Jesus Christ, there is one saying that sums up the total of their purpose on this earth, "Life sucks and then you die".  But the belief of the true Christian should be completely opposite of a hopeless life and then hopeless death. Jesus did not come to earth so that His followers could continue to live as if they have no hope.  Jesus came and died to give all His people life and not just a hum-drum, pessimistic, 'oh woo is me' kind of life; no Jesus came to give us an abundant,  joyful, peaceful, secure, and blessed kind of life. Now His idea of joy and a worldly view of joy is drastically different.  The world's joy is "eat, meet, and be merry", they get their joy from material things, from artificial and temporary things.  The problem with worldly things is they don't last.  You eat that delicious meal with all the fixings, but as it goes down into the digestive track it turns into dirty nasty refuse; that double meat cheese burger with all the extra fixings with a side of extra large chili fries and a large chocolate milk shake, it all goes down well, but the going out of all that food is a different story. That is how sin is.  It's good going down, but what comes out is broken down feces.  Sorry to use such an illustration, but I want to bring home the sharp contrast of holiness versus worldliness. The temporary things are just that, temporary, they don't last, you eat one meal but you will have eat another, even if it was the best tasting most expensive meal, it still goes and comes out the same, regardless if you spent $5 dollars or $1000 a plate. That points to the absolute silliness of depending on worldly things knowing that at the end of day, they don't matter; when you die, it won't matter that you lived in a 50 bed room mansion and had 10 cars in the garage, or had millions of fans or that you were homeless with the sky for your ceiling and the dirt and a rock for your bed and pillow.  If your name is not written in the Lamb's Book of Life, it does not matter whether you were rich or poor,  the life you spend on 'dining' and 'living' in the world's system will come out in the end to total destruction, your soul will be 'flushed' down the eternal 'toilet' of hell. 

Here is what survey takers say that a majority of people think about 'Christians' today: "Christians are bigots" "Christians are hypocrites" "Christians are self righteous"  "Christians are racists"  "Christians are out of touch with reality" "Christians are stupid"  "Why should I follow Christians, they can't even get along within themselves"
Numerous studies are done on human behavior, one study that really stood out to me was a study I heard about from a sermon on Bible School Radio, the pastor talked about this survey and it was pretty disheartening.  The study was on customer service in restaurants from the worker's point of view.  One of the questions asked of the waiters, 'what was the worst part of their job?', the common answer was the waiters hated Sundays, that the 'church' people were the worst customers, the most rude, and were the cheapest tippers.  What kind of sermon did these 'church' people listen to?  Where in the Bible does it say that God's people are to act this way?  Well the Bible does talk about 'unsaved' people who act like this:

• Brother against brother
• They lie and cheat
• They are thieves and murderers 
• They are fornicators and adulterers and homosexuals and sodomites
• They are covetous, jealous
• They are drunkards and revilers
• They are extortioners
• The are witches, and those who consort with all occult practices
• They are fearful and cowardly
• They are hateful, selfish, and prideful
• They think they are serving 'God' but they are really serving devils.

Jesus said that real Christians will be known by their love, not their hate.  Jesus also said that the world will hate and persecute His true followers.  

ALL WHO DESIRE TO LIVE GODLY, IN CHRIST JESUS WILL SUFFER PERSECUTION.

Why I am talking about being a real Christian?  Because it needs it needs to be crystal clear, the promises of God are for His people and His people alone. God says that if we will diligently obey His voice, to observe carefully all His commandments, He promises to bestow all of His blessings on those who will believe and obey. Now there are some differences between the old testament blessings under the Mosaic covenant and the New Covenant established in Jesus's blood, but the issue of receiving God's blessings are way greater than anything the world has to offer no matter if it's the old or new.  Some things did not change in the New Covenant, like, God will never leave us or forsake us;  that with God ANYTHING is possible; that with God we have NOTHING to fear.  "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear, What can man do to me?" Hebrews 13:6; that we are not to trust in ourselves but completely in the Lord- "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and trust not in your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5 and Matthew 6:33. Christians can have 'the peace that passes all understanding' NOW, not in some future state.  The blessings of God are not for those who reject Him and His laws, period.  The wages of sin is death, that means if you are an unrepentant sinner, the work you do in the flesh-sin- what you get paid back with is death/curses, not life and blessings. "The ungodly shall not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous...but the way of the ungodly shall perish." Psalm 1: 4-6.   That is why it is so ridiculous to think that God will bless us when we are living contrary to His word. Now, we can't 'earn' our blessings from God, they are His gift to us, we have to have faith to take what He is giving us. We are to obey God's commands because we want to, not because we have to, and God's gives us the ability to obey as we should because it is impossible to live the holy and totally opposite way of the world without the help of the Holy Spirit. It is God who makes us complete "in every good work to do His will, working in us what is well pleasing in His sight, though Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever, Amen." Hebrews 13:21; 

So, if you have the Holy Spirit of God, we don't despair like the lost thinking, "life sucks and then we die". "The fool has said in his heart, there is no God"-Psalm 41:1, It is foolish to disbelieve. Christians have a better promise that we can depend and live on and base our very life on. Jesus tells us, instructs us, "we do not live on bread alone, but every word that comes from the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4.   "Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance."Psalm 42:5.  Jesus promises His people that, "...I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" and "Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb" and "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain...HE WHO OVERCOMES SHALL INHERIT ALL THINGS AND I WILL BE HIS GOD AND HE SHALL BE MY SON." Revelation 19:6-9 & Revelation 21:4-7.

I will end with God's call to all those who will pick up their cross and follow His Son, Jesus Christ:

Mary Mary's Song "Can't Give Up Now"

There is going to be a Day of Judgment, and God will judge everyone who has ever lived, His wrath is going to poured out on all the wicked and ungodly. The eyes of the unrepentant wicked need to be opened and the ears unplugged so they can see and hear the truth.  The Good News  is Salvation is a free gift from God, you can't work for it or buy because the price has already been paid with the Blood of Jesus Christ. and  Believing in Jesus saves us from the righteous wrath of God. But that is not all, He gives us a new heart and mind NOW, and we receive some of His blessing from heaven NOW and are equipped to be able to live a life that is holy and acceptable to Him NOW.
1. Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is real, He lived and died and rose from the grave.
2. Believe that you are a sinner, repent-turn from your sins and realize and accept you need Jesus.
3. Confess that Jesus is your Lord and God
4. Find a local Bible preaching church that does obey the commandment for water baptism for the remission of your sins and to identify yourself with Christ.
This is just the first step to a lifelong journey of growing in truth and love with the God who created this earth and everything in it, including every human being that has ever lived.

Bible verses related to this post: 1 Corinthians Chapter 6, Revelation 12:11,  Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy Chapter 28; Psalm 42:5; 2 Timothy 3:2-4; Romans 1:29; Psalm 14:1; Matthew 19:26; Psalm 34:18; Psalm 30:5; Philippians 4:12-13; 1 Corinthians 4:8-12; 2 Corinthians 4:8-12; 2 Corinthians 6:5-6; Job 13:15; Romans 8:38-39; Matthew 5:10; Psalm 118:8-9; Hebrews 13:5-6; Romans 6:23; Matthew 6:33 & Proverb 3:5; Psalm 1: 4-6;Hebrews 13:21; John 15:18; 2 Timothy 3:12; John 14:3; Revelation 19:6-9 & Revelation 21:4-7; Philippians 4:7
references: unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks of Christianity by David Kinnaman.;
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/10/sundays-are-the-worst-christian-tipping_n_4934418.html

Get Out of The Boat

A rope 1,300 feet long, two inches in diameter and made entirely of hemp would be the sole thing separating him from the roiling waters below.

In 1858, at 35 years old, Charles Blondin became the first man to walk on a tight rope across Niagara Falls. He was fearless and performed many daring acts on a tight rope; one to include rolling a wheel barrow along a two inch wire suspended miles above the the river. The crowds would cheer, and some would bet on him falling to his death because Blondin did not use any kind of safety apparatus at all. When he brought up the wheelbarrow, he asked the crowd, "Do you think I can make it?"  Some in the crowd cheered for him, "Yes, we believe in you, you can do it!" They believed this because they had seen him perform other amazing acts on the tight rope. He crossed over the river on the tight rope with the wheelbarrow and the crowd roared, cheering loudly.  Then he asked, "Who will get in the wheelbarrow and cross the river with me?"  The sound from the crowd was silence.

In 2011, Nik Wallenda, a descendant of famous tight ropers, was approved to attempt the same feet as Blondin, except, Nik was going to do it with all kinds of safety nets in place, to include having a helicopter near by to help him, "Just in case".  Blondin had no such assurances, yet he bravely performed many acts on the tight rope.

There is another story of a daring act to defy nature. It happened one night thousands of years ago. It happened when 12 men were instructed to get on a boat and cross a sea to get to the other side.  Before this new instruction, they had witnessed many great miraculous feats, greater than a man walking on a tightrope.  The man walked on water, not on ski's or in a boat or some other floating device.  No this man defied the very laws of gravity. That man was Jesus; the 12 men His chosen apostles. This particular story is very popular in the world. "Walkin' on water" is a common saying for someone doing something amazing in human eyes. But what Jesus did was just like any other day.  His trust and faith were completely secure in His Father, God, which empowered Him-Jesus, to do the impossible.

Now, the main point to this post is not to discuss the amazing feats of Jesus and man.  The focus of this post is about the bystanders/crowd, the 12 men. It is about their response to witnessing the great miraculous feat that I want to talk about here today. For the purpose of brevity, I will sum up what happened in Matthew Chapter 14.  Jesus had just performed another miracle in feeding 5,000 starting with just 5 loaves of bread and two fish.  Now historical records would indicate that it was probably more than 5,000 as more than just men would have following Him, the men would have their wives, children, and servants with them as well. After this, Jesus told His disciples to get in a boat and cross the Sea of Galilee and go before Him to the other side. This sea is about 13 miles long.
Let's stop here for a moment.  It is Jesus, not some unreliable, good for nothing person, telling them to go; and, before this, besides the food miracle, the disciples had witnessed many other miracles as well.  Jesus told them to go. *side bar that is the same instruction He gave to the disciples before He ascended back into heaven after sacrificing His body to the Cross of Calvary and rose from the dead.  Jesus said"GO therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you; and lo, I am always with you, even to end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20. Simple instructions, go, why do we make it so complicated?*** OK, back to the focus of post*** Jesus tells them to get to the other side of sea in the boat, Jesus went off by Himself to pray.  

So, at the beginning, when everything was copacetic, the multitude/disciples had their fill of food, it is a nice warm day, the Sea of Galilee is calm and pristine, they get on the boat and set sail.  I can imagine their conversations, they may have been talking about the miracles Jesus was doing, or they may have been arguing among themselves who was best.

Some hours pass until it is night time, the disciples are in the boat and in the middle of the sea which becomes tossed by waves. It did not long before the calm waters turned to raging waves, knocking the boat and men around, the winds were violent and: "In the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went to them walking on the sea, and when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying ,"It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them saying, " Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." Matthew 14: 25-27. Now, we are not told that the sea had calmed down at this point.

When Jesus called out to the disciples, Peter, the only one brave enough said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water."  I love Jesus's responses, He doesn't use a lot of words and oratory dispensations, many times, He simply says, "Come", "Go" , "Stay".  In this instance, all Jesus said was, "Come".  Now Peter starts out great, he believes it is Jesus and he gets out of the boat and actually is defying nature himself, walking on the sea towards Jesus. But now Peter proves the principle, "It's not how you start, it's how you finish that wins the game".  Peter made the number one mistake we who are followers of Christ tend to make when faced with difficult circumstances, he took his eyes off of Jesus.  Now when taking his eyes off Jesus, he did not close them, no he looked at the storm, the raging waves, and fierce winds and he believed at that moment that his life was in danger, where was his belief in Jesus?  Where is our faith when trouble comes?  Like the crowds at the Blondin's tight rope act with the wheelbarrow, even though the crowd had seen him cross over the tight rope with the wheel barrow just fine, where did the crowds faith in him go when challenged with getting in the wheelbarrow and crossing the raging river over the tiny tight rope?  One word that describes both reasons to for not putting their fate in another's hands, FEAR. Another word is DOUBT.


When face to face with the 'monster' our natural instincts tend to kick in, to either fight or flee. But when a person puts on Christ, they are not supposed to operate under the natural anymore.  "I have been crucified (my flesh) with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20.  and "God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of loved and of sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7.  It is the Spirit of God that empowers His followers to operate in the spiritual realm. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. But Peter walking in the flesh, took his eyes off of the One Who Can save and strengthen him, and allowed fear and doubt to rein in his heart and he began to sink into the sea. Peter came to his senses and cried out to the only One who could save him. Peter did not cry out to the other disciples in the boat, or cry for them to put down a rope. No he called to the One true Savior, his Lord and King, Jesus; and Jesus did not hesitate to rescue him. Jesus stretched out His hand and said, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

This particular passage in the Bible is talking to us now in our present time.  Many self professing Christians are like the other 11 disciples and Peter.  Some are still in the boat, cowering, afraid, doubting, trusting more in the boat than anything else.  Some are like Peter, they see Christ, but then they take their eyes off of Him and instead are like the seed that fell in the thorns, their cares/troubles are for the things of this world. Many are like the crowds at Blondin's shows, just standing on the side lines, cheering, but not willing to risk it all by participating in the stunt with him. Some are like Nik Wallenda, they only do things as long as they have a safety net in place.  Many are not wanting or willing to risk it all for Christ. Think that staying in the boat or the side line is just fine.  Not according to the written Word. Jesus Himself said in Luke 14:26-27 "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his father and mother, wife, and children, brothers and sisters, and yes his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." and at verse 33 in the same chapter, "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple."

So what is keeping you, me from getting out of the boat, stepping out of the side line in climbing into the wheelbarrow? Let us all examine ourselves, asking God to help us remove all forms of doubt and fear. His perfect love casts out fear.  We have no need to worry about any trouble in this world as Jesus overcame it all with His blood.  Trust in His blood, Trust in Him, Trust in the Father and Holy Spirit.  They are all we need.

There is going to be a Day of Judgment, and God will judge everyone who has ever lived, His wrath is going to poured out on all the wicked and ungodly. The eyes of the unrepentant wicked need to be opened and the ears unplugged so they can see and hear the truth.  The Good News  is Salvation is a free gift from God, you can't work for it or buy because the price has already been paid with the Blood of Jesus Christ. and  Believing in Jesus saves us from the righteous wrath of God. But that is not all, He gives us a new heart and mind NOW, and we receive some of His blessing from heaven NOW and are equipped to be able to live a life that is holy and acceptable to Him NOW.
1. Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is real, He lived and died and rose from the grave.
2. Believe that you are a sinner, repent-turn from your sins and realize and accept you need Jesus.
3. Confess that Jesus is your Lord and God
4. Find a local Bible preaching church that does obey the commandment for water baptism for the remission of your sins and to identify yourself with Christ.
This is just the first step to a lifelong journey of growing in truth and love with the God who created this earth and everything in it, including every human being that has ever lived.

Bible verses related to this post: Matthew Chapter 14;  Matthew 28:19-20; Matthew 14: 25-27;Galatians 2:20; 2 Timothy 1:7;  Luke 14:26-27 and verse 33; Philippians 4:13; 1 John 4:18
references: http://www.keepbelieving.com/2012/06/15/the-great-blondin-and-true-saving-faith/
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-daredevil-of-niagara-falls-110492884/?no-ist

The Deception of Sexual Sin

I believe that after blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, sexual sin is the second most deadliest, costliest, most defiling and debilitating sin of all. The bible shows this truth; in Proverbs Chapter 6 verse 32, "Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; HE WHO DOES SO DESTROYS HIS OWN SOUL" and what's more clear than, "Her house (the house of the harlot, the prostitute, the adulteress) IS THE WAY TO HELL, DESCENDING TO THE CHAMBERS OF DEATH!" Proverbs 7:27.    Sexual sin is connected to all ten of the 10 commandments God gave to Moses. Sexual sin is a recurring problem throughout the Bible and it is recurring problem in the church today.  It is one of Satan's greatest weapons against mankind. Many people can say they have never thought of murdering someone, or dishonored their parents, but unless you were born on a rock on the moon, EVERYONE has faced sexual temptation.   Christians are warned, our bodies are NOT to be used for sexual immorality but for the Lord, that our bodies were bought with a price, and that price was Christ crucified; our bodies are not our own and our bodies are members of Christ! "...Shall I take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot/fornicator/prostitute)? Certainly not!....Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body." 1 Corinthians 6:15-18.  As I was preparing for this message, I felt a stirring in my spirit. As I searched for decent images to use to illustrate this post, I felt a sinister and evil spirit trying to enter into my mind. This was not an easy message to put together.  It is way too easy to get to evil sexual images through the technology we have today.  It is absolutely imperative that parents have blocks on their internet/phone/TV for any sexual related programming to prevent their young children from stumbling upon one of Satan's greatest tools to infect young souls with every kind of filth and degrading images at an age where their mind is completely unguarded and unprepared to deal the wicked influence.  The spirit world is real and it is filled with every kind of evil spirit, principalities, wicked powers of darkness and they are the ones who invade and persuade and deceive the millions of men and women who do not heed the warnings and commandments of God. 

Today's culture is so desensitized to violence and sexual sin.  The evidence is just so overwhelming, it is no longer shocking anymore.  If you turn on the TV, the shows, the commercials have been sexualized. You can't even watch a bag-of-chips commercial without being bombarded with images of sexual perversion. The awards shows both adult and teen, there is no modesty, no decency.  It used to be that curse words and nudity were only only for the premium paid channels, but now all of these unrighteous actions are on regular TV;  Go the stores, the little girls clothes section and see how the clothes are shorter, tighter; go to a church service and you will see women with tight short skirts with push up bra's showing lots of cleavage; walk by any magazine rack and see the titles of the articles of women's magazines, men's magazines, teen magazines, homosexual magazines, and of course the most popular playboy and other completely degenerate magazines that are not appropriate to even post a cover of their magazine here:

The church that is supposed to have the truth, the Holy Spirit, is not immune to falling for the deception of sexual sin.  The sexual evils of the Catholic Church are known around the world but still millions practice this false religion. It's very common to see pastors and preachers in the news for adulterous relationships, homosexual practices, and child sexual abuse. Studies show that children as young as 6 years old are 'sexting', exchanging nude pictures of themselves with other children and adults, and are performing oral sex because 'that's not real sex'.  According to a recent Barna study,  now over 65% of adults believe that cohabiting is normal, that living together before marriage, engaging in fornication is normal; and what's even more sad is that 41% of those who agreed that cohabitation is normal were self professing Christians.  Visit any young adult church ministry and you will find teens and young adults in sexual relationships outside of marriage, but they believe they are in the will of God, but teens and young adults who try to keep their virginity are shunned and ridiculed.

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be know of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen...So they are WITHOUT EXCUSE, because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but BECAME FUTILE in their thoughts, and their FOOLISH hearts were darkened...Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves (all forms of unrighteousness,sexual immorality), who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to VILE passions, for even their women exchanged the natural use for what is AGAINST NATURE also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another committing what is SHAMEFUL....God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things WHICH SHOULD NOT BE DONE. Romans 1:18-29

What was the sin that got Sodom and Gomorrah utterly destroyed?  What was the sin that got David's kingdom taken away?  What was the sin that led the Hebrews/Israelites into slavery and death over and over and over?  What was the sin that led to Samson getting his eyes gauged out then put in prison and then death?  What are the consequences of sexual sin?

One of the most famous serial killers in the world was Ted Bundy; this man raped and killed over 36 confirmed women and it is believed that he probably killed more.  He blamed his killing spree on watching violent pornography as a teen; and in more recent horrible news, men raping babies- INFANTS!!! and teenage boys raping their grandmothers!!!!   Do a general search for 'teens raping' and 'babies sexually abused' and hundreds/thousands of articles come up for these stories as well as other stories of gang rapes, teachers being arrested for having sex with their students, men and women being arrested for child pornography.  Absolutely heinous and utterly evil story after story of young children sexually abused and sometimes killed by the ones who are supposed to care and love them. Thousands of women/young girls are regularly kidnapped and raped and forced to marry Muslim men in the countries in Africa.  One has to be absolutely blind not to see the problem of sexual sin. But I know why they are blind. Because the Word of God tells us that Satan blinds the minds of the lost.

But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, would shine on them. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4.

What does the Bible have to say about the most common sexual acts today?
The world says, "God is okay with homosexuals"  The bible says, "Men do not lie (have sex) with a male as with a female. IT IS AN ABOMINATION".  Leviticus 18:22.

The world says, "God is okay with transgender people".  The bible says, "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God he created him: MALE and FEMALE He created them.  Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply;"  Genesis 1:27-28.

The world says, "Bestiality is just a another form of kinky sex."     The bible says, "Nor shall you mate with any animal, to defile yourself with it.  Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. IT IS PERVERSION." Leviticus 18:23.

The world says, "There's nothing wrong with incest."  The bible says, " You shall not have sex with your mother, mother -in-law, sister, sister-in-law, daughter, daughter-in-law, aunt, your neighbor's wife, your brother's wife, your close cousins,  IT IS WICKEDNESS."  Leviticus 18:7-20.

The world says, "It's okay to 'creep' if your married."  The bible says, "Thou shall not commit adultery". Deuteronomy 5:18.

The world says, "It's okay to look at pornography,"  The bible says, "If you look at a woman with lust, you have already committed adultery in your heart." Matthew 5:28.

The world says, "It's okay for women to dress like prostitutes."  The bible says, "Women adorn themselves in 'modest' apparel with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing."  1 Timothy 2:29.  And the bible is clear what is the difference between 'modest' apparel and ungodly apparel, "And there a woman met him, With the ATTIRE OF A HARLOT, and a crafty heart. Proverbs 6:10.

The world says, "It's okay to 'hook up'/ cohabitate before marriage/never marry".  The bible says, "Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but FORNICATORS and adulterers God will judge." Hebrews 13:4.

The bible tells Christians to 'flee sexual immorality'. The operative word is 'flee', 'run', 'escape'.  Don't play, sit there, visit, try out- any forms of sexual immorality. You know the struggle is real. If you are honest with yourself, and your mind is not reprobate, and your conscious is still working, you feel the tug of war in your spirit to watch that certain show, watch that certain movie, read that particular book-when you get to certain scenes and you feel a stirring in your soul, you can feel/hear something telling you to turn it off, put it down, don't go there, but there is another pull for you to keep looking, touch it, go there. This is that spiritual struggle that we are warned about.  We fight not against flesh and blood. The weapons of our warfare is the Word of God! When we have the word of God implanted in our hearts and minds from daily study/meditation/memorization and when we stay in constant contact with our Creator through prayer and fasting; when we purpose in our hearts EVERY DAY to live a life of holiness different from the world, we set up a barrier to the traps and deceptions of sexual sin. The further away from God you are, the easier it is for Satan to slip in and catch you unguarded and unawares. Joseph is our perfect example for a godly response to sexual temptation; he had purposed in his mind that he would ALWAYS put God first. No matter that he was a slave or in prison. He 'knew' his God, and he had the right perspective of God.  He answered rightly when he responded to Potiphar's wife's demands to have sex with her, "How could I do this GREAT WICKEDNESS and SIN against God?!" Genesis 39:1-9.   This is same question we all have to ask ourselves when faced with temptations to give into sexual sin.

The message must get out.  Sexual sin is the root cause that leads millions of women and men into prostitution; it is why adult and child pornography is a billion dollar industry and thousands of women, men, and children are trapped in sex trafficking. Sexual sin is the root cause of the proliferation of all kinds of sexually transmitted diseases to include incurable HIV/Herpes, and now some strains of Gonorrhea are resistant to the usual medications; according to the World Health Organization, 1 million sexually transmitted diseases are acquired EVERY DAY!  Instead of schools/parents teaching 'safe sex' (which is an oxymoron-there is no such thing as 'safe sex' outside of God's design for sexual relations; all sexual immorality leads to death); the virtues of abstinence should be taught to the children/teens. Break the misconception for kids who feel peer pressure to give into sexual acts, educate them on the fact that 'everyone IS NOT doing it.

Besides the physical implications, the most important reason to not engage in sexual immorality is a strong warning from God: 

There is going to be a Day of Judgment, and God will judge everyone who has ever lived, His wrath is going to poured out on all the wicked and ungodly. The eyes of the unrepentant wicked need to be opened and the ears unplugged so they can see and hear the truth.  The Good News  is Salvation is a free gift from God, you can't work for it or buy because the price has already been paid with the Blood of Jesus Christ. and  Believing in Jesus saves us from the righteous wrath of God. But that is not all, He gives us a new heart and mind NOW, and we receive some of His blessing from heaven NOW and are equipped to be able to live a life that is holy and acceptable to Him NOW.
1. Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is real, He lived and died and rose from the grave.
2. Believe that you are a sinner, repent-turn from your sins and realize and accept you need Jesus.
3. Confess that Jesus is your Lord and God
4. Find a local Bible preaching church that does obey the commandment for water baptism for the remission of your sins and to identify yourself with Christ.
This is just the first step to a lifelong journey of growing in truth and love with the God who created this earth and everything in it, including every human being that has ever lived.

Bible verses related to this post: Ephesians 6:12; 2 Corinthians 4:3-4; Leviticus 18;22; Genesis 1:27-28;Leviticus 18:23; Leviticus 18: 7-20; Deuteronomy 5:18; Matthew 5:28; 1 Timothy 2:29; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Proverbs 6:32; Proverbs 7:27; Proverbs 6:10; Proverbs 6:10; 1 Corinthians 6:15-18; Romans 1:18-29; Genesis 39:1-9
references: https://billygraham.org/decision-magazine/november-2013/thou-shall-not-bear-false-witness/
https://www.barna.org/research/family-kids/research-release/majority-of-americans-now-believe-in-cohabitation#.V7Xi4CgrIdU
http://katv.com/archive/davis-to-go-free-after-rape-charges-dropped-by-judge
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs110/en/

Grace Is Not A 'Get Out of Hell Free Card'

Most have heard about or played the game 'Monopoly'. The whole goal of the game is to end up with the most money and property, but at at any time you could lose your property, money, or end up in 'jail'; but, if you were lucky enough to draw a 'get out of jail' free card, you could avoid spending time in jail and get back to earning money/buying property.  Monopoly is just a game, but it is a representation of the real world.  What is sad is that many who profess to be Christians, treat the grace of God like a 'get out jail free' card.  That they they can play-'live'- anyway they want and when they get in trouble, they can just pull 'the card'-"God's forgiving", and they 'promise' to do right, but instead of truly repenting and changing, they continue to live a life of sin, disobeying the commandments of God resting on the fact that God is merciful.

There are some biblical promises where the main point has nothing to do with man's response to the gospel but everything to do with God's work towards man.  The issue of salvation is a 'free gift' from God, now free does not mean it didn't cost anything.  Our freedom is the most costly thing to ever be bought/sold. Our freedom was bought with the sacrificed Blood of Jesus Christ.

"Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For when were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while were were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5:5-8

Yes, people must respond with faith to the offer of God and believe in His Son, but at the end of the day our salvation comes from God. We can't work our way to heaven; but we can mostly definitely work our way 'out' of heaven.

"Once saved always saved" is one of the most debated doctrines in the Christian world today, but what does the Bible say?  One one end of the debate are those who believe in the 'once saved always saved' and they base this belief on a couple of passages, one being John 3:15, "that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." They interpret this to mean that once a person believes, that the fact that it says they 'have eternal life' indicates it's an eternal decision that can't be 'undone'. Another major verse in the 'once saved always saved' doctrine is Romans 8:38-39, "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thin, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Again, from this verse many believe that once a person believes and has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that it is impossible for a person to lose their salvation. Others on the opposite end of the debate, believe that it is possible to lose your salvation, here are a few of their arguments against the 'once saved always saved' belief:

The parable of the sower found in Matthew 13:3-9, Mark 4:1-20, and Luke 8:4-15 is used in the argument against the always saved doctrine. They believe this passage means that all three of the different soils which represented a person's internal heart/soul) were saved from the moment the seed was dropped/planted; and that the seed that fell on shallow ground and was taken up by Satan is proof that people can lose their salvation. But one has to ask themselves is this really what this parable means? One has to remember and take into consideration the WHOLE counsel of God, because if you don't it's so easy to take one scripture and create a whole new doctrine that conflicts with other passages in the Word of God.  At surface level it would seem that there are 'contraindications' in the Bible. There are competing passages that DO indicate that salvation is eternal and impossible to lose and there other passages that warn reported 'believers' that they do not 'forfeit' their salvation by continuing to live sinful lives. So which is it? Can a person who was once saved lose their salvation?  The purpose of this post is not necessarily to dispute this issue, but I have to bring it up as it relates to the purpose of this post, but I will discuss my belief and why I believe this.

First, I do believe that when a person 'truly' believes and are gifted with the Holy Spirit that they are saved always.  So on the surface I do believe the 'once saved always saved', but I do believe that there are many who profess to be Christians who are not really and they are the ones who are at risk of 'losing out' on the free give of salvation. I believe that a person can go through the motions of becoming a Christian, confess that Jesus is Lord, get water baptized, go to church services, volunteer in the church/community, give and do, but they are doing all this in the flesh, and are not really saved in the way the Bible says people are really saved. How do I come to this conclusion? From the scriptures.

Everyone is familiar with the story of Judas, the betrayer.  He is one example of a person who walked in the flesh WITH Jesus, but was not truly one of Jesus's saved.  When Jesus called Judas, Judas was part of the 12 disciples, he was given all the same instructions as the others, he walked and talked with Jesus for those three years, and Jesus DID NOT dispute the fact that Judas was an actual member of the elite 12. Now here some will say, 'see this is an example of a person being saved and then losing their salvation.'  But I don't agree with this.  The bible makes it very clear that a truly regenerated, born again, Holy Spirit filled person cannot one day just decide, "You know what, this Christianity thing isn't working for me." and then go on to live a life completely contrary to the Word of God, and then decide to come back later in life. This is shown in Hebrews 6:4-6, "For it is IMPOSSIBLE for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame." There is a superficial response to the gospel that doesn't penetrate to the true heart of a person or a real response to the Gospel which leads to a completely new person, a new mind, a new heart, and the work of their hands leads to produce a hundredfold.  People who believe they are Christians are warned to, "Test-Examine yourself as to whether you are truly of the faith." 2 Corinthians 13:5; and John, in 1 John 2:18-19 was talking to a church body of 'believers' when he gave this instruction; and in another place, it talks about some members who left but they were never really apart of the body to begin with in 1 John, they were 'anti-christs'-those who profess to be Christian but really are servants of their real master the devil,"They-the false believers/anti-christs- went out from us, but they were not of us; for IF THEY HAD BEEN OF US, they would have continued with us."  The fact that those people, those who had once been a part of the church body, could leave and did leave, was proof they were not truly regenerated/born again Christians. Christ tells us that when we believe, we are 'reborn', so if a person could lose their salvation and gain it back again, it's like saying the person gets re-birthed again and again and this is clearly not shown in the scriptures. The re-birth is a one time event, not something to be entered in over and over again.  Now this is not to be confused with 'growing up' a Christian.  When a person is 'born again' ,they are a new creature, but just like a new born baby, there are 'baby' Christians.  A new born Christian has to be nurtured and raised up just like a baby, the new Christian has to learn and abide in Christ, they must walk out and build their faith.

One other scripture that makes me believe in the false Christian is from Jesus's own words in Matthew Chapter 7 verse 21-23, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord' shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  MANY will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?  And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness." What really stands out to me is the fact that these people actually had some power to cast out demons, prophesy, and do other miraculous things but Jesus still doesn't know them; and the fact that they were doing actual 'good' things, but they were only good on the surface.   It would appear that the power these people did not come from God, but from Satan who is able to give his followers, 'puppet' powers, but they do not compare to the powers of All Mighty God! This is true as can be seen in the Old testament, with the story of Moses.  When Moses went to confront Pharaoh, Moses performed some miracles but Pharaohs evil wizards did some too. So we can see that just because someone can perform miracles does not mean they are getting that power from God.  Actually real Christians are warned not to believe what they 'see' because that is exactly how Satan is going to 'deceive' many, even the elect, by his counterfeit and lying 'wonders/miracles'.  Jesus that Satan will deceive even the elect, Judas was an elected one, many are called but only a few are chosen, 'who ever' believes means that salvation is open to everyone, but the sad truth is many chose to reject Christ and instead embrace the lies and distortions of Satan

 Jesus was teaching to the multitudes "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there many who many go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are FEW who find it".  Matthew 7:13-14.

The Bible clearly talks about false religions and false doctrines. Paul and the others frequently had to dispute those who would twist the scriptures for their own gain.

This leads me to real point of this post, Are you truly a Child or God or not.  This is the one question that every human being must know as it relates to their very life now and the life to come.  I believe the greatest heresy in the Church today is that you can live anyway you want and God is OK with it because 'once saved always saved' and that God's grace 'covers' their sin'.  This false belief is evident in the growing actively practicing homosexual pastors/leaders in the church, fornicators, greedy, selfish, and just down right evil in the churches today. Pastors on TV saying nothing is wrong with practicing same sex behaviors, because God 'created them that way'.  Pastors and other leaders in the church being convicted for sex crimes, for financial crimes, committing adultery, sleeping around with members, child sexual and physical abuse is the dark secret in the church, young women who dress like prostitutes in the church services all the while praising God, church members who regularly lie, cheat, gossip, engage in immoral practices, but then go to church every Wednesday and Sunday and truly believe what they are doing is okay, no repentance or turning away from sin, they believe that God 'understands' them and He forgives them and that 'going to church' clears them of their wrong doing.  I remember talking once to a man who was in a homosexual relationship. I told him about the love of God and how God does not approve of homosexual behavior, that it is just one of many different sins that He died to rescue us from.  The man replied to me, "Oh, I believe in god, and I believe 'in my heart' that God approves of me and my lover, because we have 'real love' for one another."   This is what many practicing homosexuals believe.  But the Bible is clear, the heart of man is DESPERATELY WICKED, and that men deceive themselves into believing that they can live their life anyway they want and won't have to suffer any consequences for it; many believe that grace is their, 'get out of hell free' card, but the bible warns the danger of believing this way, "Do not be deceived, the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God-neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.

Becoming a Christian does not mean we won't sin anymore, but it does mean we will sin less and the more we partner and walk truly with God we will cling less to the sin nature and more to God.  We are told that if we believe we are without sin we already sinning by believing a lie. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God, but God is quick to forgive us, but we CANNOT use this fact- God's love, forgiveness, and mercy for us- as a license to sin.

"Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have, You murder and covet and cannot obtain.  You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.  You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, " The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously"? But He gives more grace, Therefore He says:  "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts you double-minded.  Lament and mourn and weep!  Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom." James 4:1-9. 

And if you are still thinking grace allows you to live anyway you want, heed this other warning in Hebrews 10, starting at verse 26:   "For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, THERE NO LONGER REMAINS A SACRIFICE FOR SINS, but a certain fearful expectations of judgement, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.  Anyone who rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.  Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, count the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of Grace?"

Being an enemy of the One True and Omnipotent Holy God is beyond human imagination.  One can think, stupidly, that they can handle hell or they are not afraid of God, but it is crystal clear in the Word of God that, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God".  Hebrews 10:31. God often 'cloaks' His deity in His physical interactions with His creation, He had to because no human eyes could really see Him an live, and just a little taste of His true self caused faithful men to feel great terror.  In the Old Testament, men of God, men who were walking with God, at times in His presence, felt utter doom, for example Abraham in Genesis 15 verse 12, he is sleeping when a 'horror and great darkness fell upon him." ;and in another place, Hebrews 12:18-21 is talking about the time of Moses in the chapter of Exodus when God gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments written on stone,before Jesus's sacrifice the people could not approach or touch the mountain of God that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. (For they could not endure what was commanded:  "And it so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow."And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.") and one other verse about God, "But He is unique, and who can make Him change? And whatever His soul desires, that He does. For He performs what is appointed, that He does.  For He performs what is appointed for me, and many such things are with Him.  Therefore I am terrified at His presence; When I consider this, I am afraid of Him. For God made my heart weak, and the Almighty terrifies me; Because I was not cut off from the presence of darkness, and He did not hide deep darkness from my face." Job 23:13-17.

This is the question God is asking of all of us.  Will we not fear Him, He Who's very breath is what gives man life. He who formed all the worlds, the sun the moon, all of nature's natural laws, He did all this with a thought and a word. We cannot hide our sin from Him. God is omnipresent, He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.  I will repeat the warning given for all who call themselves Christian:

                                 HILLSONG 'WITH EVERYTHING'



There is going to be a Day of Judgment, and God will judge everyone who has ever lived, His wrath is going to poured out on all the wicked and ungodly. The eyes of the unrepentant wicked need to be opened and the ears unplugged so they can see and hear the truth.  The Good News  is Salvation is a free gift from God, you can't work for it or buy because the price has already been paid with the Blood of Jesus Christ. and  Believing in Jesus saves us from the righteous wrath of God. But that is not all, He gives us a new heart and mind NOW, and we receive some of His blessing from heaven NOW and are equipped to be able to live a life that is holy and acceptable to Him NOW.
1. Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is real, He lived and died and rose from the grave.
2. Believe that you are a sinner, repent-turn from your sins and realize and accept you need Jesus.
3. Confess that Jesus is your Lord and God
4. Find a local Bible preaching church that does obey the commandment for water baptism for the remission of your sins and to identify yourself with Christ.
This is just the first step to a lifelong journey of growing in truth and love with the God who created this earth and everything in it, including every human being that has ever lived.

Bible verses related to this post: Romans 5:5-8; John 3:15;Romans 8:38-39;Matthew 13:3-9, Mark 4:1-20, and Luke 8:4-15; Hebrews 6:4-6;2 Corinthians 13:5; 1 John 2:18-19; Matthew 7:21-23;Matthew 7:13-14;1 Corinthians 6:9-10: James 4:1-9; Hebrews 10:26-29; Hebrews 10:31; Exodus 33:20; Geneisis 15:12; Hebrews 12:1-24; Job 23:13-17
references: http://www.gotquestions.org/once-saved-always-saved.html
http://www.anointedlinks.com/once_saved.html