A Needed Perspective
“….I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18b
The New Testament Church is not to be in fellowship with the gates of hell. The gates of hell are simply the open doors to sin and doctrinal error. Satan seeks to open these doors up in every New Testament Church, through playing upon the sympathies of good hearted Christians. But his subtle plan is to lead the church into permissiveness towards sin, unto becoming a haven for that which God forbids.
The way a New Testament Church does their part in preventing the gates of hell from prevailing, is to keep the doors shut to willful sin and doctrinal error. The church is to be sanctified and cleansed with the washing of water by the word, that it will be presented unto Christ as a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish–Ephesians 5:26-27
Thus, a church needs to stand straight and doctrinally sound with Christ. It needs to be understood that membership is a privilege, rather than some inherent right. People can either choose to serve God, or choose to serve self and sin, but not both at the same time: “Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.” 1 Corinthians 10:21
We must not respect individual pride over the truth of God. Due to pride, a person serving sin wants to be accredited with religious sanction and asylum. But the stand with Christ and on the Word of God, is not to be sacrificed in order to save the face of those who have chosen to serve sin. “Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.” 1 Timothy 5:20. “But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 1 Corinthians 5:11,4,5.
In order for a church to keep the gates of hell from prevailing, it must wage a war of faith sufficiently strong enough against sin, that people’s hearts and minds will reject sin, rather than consider sin to be an allowable alternative to God’s will and way. “…Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened.” 1 Corinthians 5:6b-7a
SHARING
What’s Driving Us?
“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God….But he that is spiritual judgeth all things.” 1 Corinthians 2:12,14a,15a
It is what spirit we are of that drives how we think and what we do, rather than what we know. Thus, people often find themselves being driven to do things they know is not right. This is evident in the number who know the truth, yet depart from it to follow sinful ways.
The Bible declares the fact of the spirit of our sinful, natural man, which acts independently of, yea, even contrary to, the Spirit of God, ignoring the wisdom of God’s way, in order to gratify the sinful desires of the flesh. Also, there is the spirit which is of God, working within those whose hearts are right with God, affording them the ability to judge all things, due to discerning things that are eternal as well as the temporal.
In a perfect world of perfect minds, people would choose to judge all things in the light of God’s omniscient wisdom, which is comprehensive of all things, rather than resort to the spirit of sinful flesh, which only sees the things of this present world, as well as only seeks those things that bring present gratification to fleshly lusts.
But in this sinful, imperfect world, the spirit of the inherently spiritually dead, depraved, natural man, is in objection to everything that disagrees with just living for the gratification of worldly desires.
Christians BEWARE! Should we fail, or cease to fight the good fight of faith in judging all things by the spirit afforded us by God, the spirit of our natural, sinful man will divert our attention away from the light of the Lord, unto the blindness of seeing only what the flesh wants to see, being the ways of this world that are at enmity with God.
Live Eve was, those raised up in a Christian environment are prone to be naïve and vulnerable when broadsided with temptation that ignites the spirit of the fleshly man. And as they suddenly are being driven by the spirit of the natural man, the truth that they do know will be overridden in their thinking.
What spirit is driving you? Are you judging all things that reveal godliness to be profitable in this life and the life to come, or are you taking a “new look” at what the world’s ways have to offer?
SHARINGFreedom & Responsibility
Picture in your mind the soldier at Valley Forge, as he holds his musket in his bloody hands. He stands barefoot in the snow, starved from lack of food; wounded from months of battle, and emotionally scarred from the eternity away from his family. He is surrounded by nothing but death and the carnage of war.
He stands tough, with fire in his eyes and victory in his heart. He looks at us across the centuries in anger and disgust and tells us: “I gave you my birthright of freedom born in the Constitution and now your children graduate too illiterate to read it.
“I fought in the snow barefoot to give you freedom to vote, and you stay at home because it rains. I left my family destitute to give you freedom of speech, and you remain silent on critical issues, because it might be bad for business. You “badmouth” the country because you are irritated at something the politicians do. I orphaned my children to give you a government to serve you, and you are apathetic when democracy is stolen from the people.”
It is the soldier, not the reporter, that gives you freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, that gives you freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who allows you to demonstrate. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, serves the flag, whose coffin is draped with the flag, that allows the protester to burn the flag. Shame! Shame!
“Lord, hold our troops in Your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts of heroism they perform for us in our time of need. Press close to them the hope of just coming home safe.” (copied)
Freedom is not free. The slogan is simple, “You may differ but you can’t divide.” Freedom is responsibility. There is no other definition that correctly displays the real meaning of being free.
“…Christ hath made us free…” “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” Galatians 5:1,13. With the liberty in Christ, comes the responsibility to use it for Christ.
As Americans, we all cherish the Bill of Rights. As Christians, we enjoy the privilege to stand for what we believe. But with this freedom comes the responsibility: “But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.” Galatians 5:15. As we see the folly of those who spit on or burn the flag, let us also be advised against the folly of doing those things that undermine the local New Testament Church.
SHARINGThe Little Foxes
“Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines.” Song of Solomon 2:15a
Human nature is a complex mixture of inconsistency: “Strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.” (Matthew 23:24)
Every Holy Spirit convicted, repentant, converted, born again sinner, saved by grace, has a deep consciousness of the sinful adamic nature. Every servant of God has a constant warfare with his or her own sinful nature, that must be denied in the course of seeking and carrying out God’s will. “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” Galatians 5:17
Whenever we apply this conviction of our sinful imperfection, it will serve us well to keep us vigilant against Satan and sin. But as imperfection is, so imperfection does. Being imperfect, we often imperfectly apply this conviction to what we are and do.
In the course of imperfectly assessing and managing our own imperfection, we may very well allow things to go on in our lives that we know do not measure up to what they should be. These are the little foxes that spoil the vines. These are the little errors that throw off the big equation.
Satan knows that a direct affront to a Christian’s conviction and faith most likely wouldn’t work, but would only put us on the defense against his wiles. So, he works on getting us to allow for some imperfections, that there are no real justification for them, BUT they are gratifying to, or fit well with our imperfect nature. Eventually these allowances will grow unto making more allowances, unto “a little leaven leavening the whole lump” 1 Corinthians 5:6.
Do not err, beloved brethren! It only takes a spark to get a fire going. “Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.” Romans 14:22
Be circumspect and reject inconsistencies and strive for perfection: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:48
“…be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.” 2 Peter 3:14b
SHARINGThe Foundations Being Destroyed
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.” 2 Timothy 4:3
Not all lusts are base, but some are self-exalting. Man has always used his religion to enhance himself. Today, religion is on the move. It is seeking relevance in society through what is esteemed to be progressive minded. Sound doctrine and “the old paths” are acknowledged as an ancestor of today’s religion, but ill-fitted for modern application.
Contradictions have always existed between man’s wisdom and God’s. Man considers his own wisdom to be increasing; and the more “understanding” man thinks he has acquired, the more base and out of step he considers Biblically sound doctrine to be. Modern theology deems Biblical laws and doctrines to be intolerable. But this new self-enlightenment on man’s part, is nothing more than the old lack of spiritual discernment glorifying itself above the Truth of God: “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 2 Timothy 3:7
Man esteems not the preaching of the Word, but that which proclaims itself to be the authority over the Word. Many proclaim to have knowledge superior to, and understanding that exceeds what the common man reads in the scriptures. While this may be new and intriguing amongst professed fundamental churches, it is the old ways of the Roman hierarchy creeping in, who have always maintained to have authority that preempts the written scriptures.
This breakdown and destruction of the foundations (Psalm 11:3) is occurring, not so much through bold and open defiance, but with the subtle legalization of that which is illegal. “Reverend Doctor so-and-so” holds the congregation in awe as he instructs them in how the wording of the written scripture is so much better expressed and more easily understood in some modern version of the Bible than it is in the Holy Bible (KJV). But what they don’t detect, is that he is leading them astray regarding the authority of inspiration to change the wording of the Bible in any way. The Bible itself condemns the writing of new versions. God gave His Word by verbal inspiration, and it is forever settled in heaven.
To admit any new version, is to agree to the principle of accepting all new versions. To accept any new version is to accept that the Holy Bible is not sacred. To accept a changed version is to say the Holy Bible needs to be changed. To accept man’s new versions is to concede that man is a greater authority than the written Word. Once this concession is made, the precedent is established for churches to practice what is deemed to be correct by man, rather than defer everything to the written Word of God. WHO IS ON THE LORD’S SIDE????
DO NOT ERR, BELOVED BRETHREN! “Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.” Titus 1:9 We must separate ourselves and reprove that which is not the walking uprightly according to the truth of the gospel. To not stand firm on the inerrant, holy Word of God, is to depart from the ways of the Holy Spirit which inspired the Word.
SHARING
