I am reposting this blog with a disclaimer thanks to a brother who brought this to my attention. I also want to add that this post is not for everyone! This post is mostly for Pastors and for those who are concerned with the lukewarmness of the churches.
[First, before you read this blog you must know that I am convinced the cross is enough. And you cannot out-sin the cross of Christ. And realize that what I am saying is that pride is the result of NOT depending upon the cross and instead, adding “yourself” to it, or going “back to yourself” for your salvation. Pride and compromise go hand in hand as they are the result of NOT depending on the cross any longer, or forgetting that “you had been cleansed from your former sins” (2 Pet. 1:9). So, everything you read below has come from the Word of God and is pertaining to “the last days.” I personally see these things coming about increasingly in the Church in America, so I am writing about them. I believe that ONLY when we open ourselves to compromise and pride by putting ourselves above the authority of God’s Word do we lose discernment. And it is this lack of discernment that opens the door to more compromise and eventually decreases a Christian’s ability to discern between good and evil, truth and error, God and self. And this becomes a cycle until a Christian no longer cares and ends up hardening their heart without even realizing it because the process was so slow]
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith…
1 Timothy 4:1
Paul says, “Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas” (Col. 4:14) … Later, in Paul’s last letter, during a time of great tribulation, he says, “For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica” (2 Tim. 4:10).
John said that anyone who loves the world cannot also love God: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 Jn. 2:15).
Therefore, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering … For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:23a, 26-31). Did you notice that the individual above has been “sanctified”? I know you know these verses. I also know that the majority of American Christians do not believe what they plainly say. But do you know why? It is because their “soteriology” or theology of salvation, has been skewed by placing a certain “idea” or lens over other passages of scripture that deal with salvation issues. For instance, if we read, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” without understanding the meaning of that statement, then we will not know that it means, if we “keep on confessing, and keep on believing, until the end, then we will be saved.”
Also, in the last days, “…there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction” (2 Pet. 2:1). What Master purchased them? Jesus, with His blood. For “Master” is capitalized in the text.
The straight-A student is not threatened by a conversation about poor grades; the obedient child is not threatened by a conversation about the consequences of disobedience. In the same way, the child of God who knows the intentions of their own heart and its desires, because they allow the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to examine them daily, that they truly love the Lord with their whole self, and that they live “in heaven” and not “on earth” in their hearts and minds, finds no fear or threat when it comes to “Biblical Warnings.”
Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy, “I” have fought the good fight, “I” have finished the race, “I” have KEPT the faith (also, meaning he kept himself in the grace of God “by his faith”). It is clear that Paul understood “Who” it was that gave Him the grace to be saved, and “who” it was that does the continuing in faith or belief unto salvation. In the same letter, Paul writes “if we are faithless God remains faithful, but if WE (Christians) deny Him He will also deny us”. There are PLENTY of biblical warnings regarding our salvation found in Hebrews, Jude, Peter, Colossians, Galatians, and Revelation. Some of these I have already listed. But here are a few more examples: Jesus said, “the one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels” (Rev. 3:5). Correctly read, this is saying “conquering or overcoming” = salvation, and the exact opposite must also be true. So, “continuing” to hold to the hope of our salvation is available for every (truly saved) Christian. But not every (truly saved) Christian will continue in their faith and hope of salvation. And Paul warns the Colossians, that “you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard“ (Col. 1:23). And in Galatians Paul makes it clear that a Christian can go back to the law of Moses after having been truly saved, and thereby “falling away” from grace. Many times we skim over these verses because we have been taught to “focus” only on the promises for the Christian without realizing that those promises are conditional, being based on our “continued faith” which every Christian has the free-will to choose.
Personally, I am “comforted” by these rebukes and warnings. NOT because I’m “perfect” (because I’m NOT!). But because I KNOW my heart’s intentions before God and my conscience is clear. So, be warned Christians. You may have believed something which the scriptures do not truly affirm. For instance, according to Romans 11 pride will cause a Christian to lose their salvation! Since we, Gentile believers, are to be thankful for the Jews, since “Branches were broken off so that I [we Gentiles] might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off” (11:19-22). Notice with me the word, “continue”, and the statement, “continue in the faith” when reading verses that have to do with one’s eternal security.
Also, a new convert being placed in authority in a Church can cause them to “fall” since, he [the saved Christian] must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil (meaning, Hell) because of PRIDE. Pride is the MOST DANGEROUS thing for a Christian. Pride causes compromise, and pride says, “I can be saved and yet love the world at the same time.” Pride also says, “those parts of scripture regarding men and women, and roles in the Church, and in the family, don’t matter in our generation.” Pride also says “God will be mocked and He does not mean what He says.” So, read your Bible with “new eyes” and see that a Christian can become a non-Christian THROUGH PRIDE! BE WARNED.
You might be thinking, “Wow, that was harsh.” Or, “Where is the good news?” I will respond by saying, “if you do not already know the good news of salvation, then this blog post was not for you!” However, most who read my blogs are very familiar with the good news. What I am doing here is “reminding” the Church (Christians) that the Word of God STANDS. It does not stand by our own “beliefs”, or by our “interpretations”, or our own “convictions.” It stands ALONE. It stands apart. It is HOLY and TRUE even when we disagree with it, or when we cannot reconcile it. I have found that “if” I cannot reconcile something in scripture, it is because I have misunderstood something else in scripture and I need to go back and reexamine those passages in context. The scriptures both encourage and correct us. May we not accept the one and reject the other. God has called me to this, in this hour. What has He called you to? Just do your part, and you will hear “well done!”
Just do not forget: Pride and compromise both are very deceptive and costly! Therefore, as the writer of Hebrews exhorts, “Today, if you hear His voice do not harden your heart!”
Note: How to avoid “pride and compromise”: Keep short accounts with God and with others. “Keep yourself in the love of Christ” by allowing the Holy Spirit to search you, and examine your heart, daily! Keep in the Word of God daily. Keep seeking “intimacy” with Jesus with “honesty” and “humility” of heart. Be willing to admit your faults, to forgive, and ask for forgiveness from others when you are wrong. Humility before God and others is the key. Forsake the world and its ideas. Run to Jesus in full surrender and submission. Simply tell Him you are “willing” to allow Him His way in your life. Also, know that as long as you “still want Jesus” He is still near you. Be encouraged now. Blessings.
Aletheia: Truth in the Darkness 