I am convinced that in the name of Christianity there are many places that call themselves churches and they’re not churches.
And they have men leading them who call themselves pastors and they’re not pastors.
And they have congregations who call themselves Christians and they are not Christians.
They’re not churches, they’re not pastors, and they’re not Christians and yet they proudly post the label Christian.
This then, begs the question:
“So how can we spot someone who is deceived and deceiving?”
Let me give you a few suggestions. Here’s what to look for.
* PEOPLE WITH PURELY ACADEMIC INTERESTS IN SCRIPTURE
These people, such as NT Wright, are more involved in theology as an academic interest, than for personal holiness. I hate to say it, but seminaries and pulpits all over this country are filled with professors who have an academic interest in Scripture. They have an academic interest in theology, who don’t know God at all. And so whatever they think the Bible means, is probably not what the Bible means, since the natural man even though he’s a scholastic, cannot understand the things of God.
It’s no wonder that seminaries full of unsaved professors can’t get the gospel right, can’t get Genesis right, can’t get the Old Testament right, can’t get anything right because unregenerate people no matter how well they’re educated or theologically trained still can’t get it right. Because, as 1 Corinthians 2 says, only the Spirit of God knows the mind of God and only the Spirit can give understanding.
* PEOPLE ONLY INTERESTED IN THE BYPRODUCTS OF FAITH, NOT IN CHRIST
These people are not consumed with the glory and the honor and the wonder and the beauty and the magnificence of Christ. They’re not consumed with honoring Him, loving Him, oserving Him, obeying Him, submitting to Him, exalting Him, proclaiming Him, worshiping Him, confessing Him.
They’re only there for the byproducts of that which is attached to Him…give me blessing, give me spiritual experience, give me a spiritual high, give me good feelings, give me healing, give me prosperity. So you look for the people who are looking for all the byproducts that they want in their unredeemed condition, rather than Christ.
* PEOPLE WHO ARE MORE COMMITTED TO CHURCHES THAN SCRIPTURE
These people who are more committed to denominations, movements, and groups because it very likely is a social thing that entertains. Oh not just purely social, but it’s sort of social with a spiritual twang, you know? Ah, it feels good to be involved in a GOD THING! And you even hear people say that. Hey, come and meet with us, we have a God thing going here. It’s a kind of a God social amalgam. And that’s what they’re committed to, not to the Word of God.
How could you be committed to God and not to His Word? How can you say, “Oh yeah, I really want to connect with God.” Okay, you want to connect with God? Here’s what God says.
“Confess your sin, repent and embrace His Son as your only hope of salvation. “That’s the first thing He says. And if you don’t agree to do that, you’re going to hell forever.
* PEOPLE OVERINDULGENT IN CHEAP GRACE
These people lack penitence. With true Christians, there’s just an ongoing brokenness. There’s just an ongoing kind of recognition that they fall short. But these Cheap grace folks are going to defend their right to conduct their life in a certain way, and live a certain way because of grace, sort of super-grace, indulgent grace, and they lack penitence and brokenness and a measure of humility.
True believers are the ones who hate their sins, and always confessing their sins and thereby, 1 John 1, we give evidence of being ones that are always forgiven.
* PEOPLE WHO SEE GOD AS A MEANS TO THEIR OWN ENDS
These people are “me” centered instead of “God ” centered. I want to be…I want to get to God because I’ve got all these deals that I want to do, I’ve got all these plans, I’ve got all these dreams, I’ve got all these ambitions and hey, if you tell me God will help me get there, that’s Joel Osteen. He’s a heretic. That’s not Christianity. And that is not a church. It’s heresy. God is not the genie in your bottle who jumps out when you rub it and says, “Tadaa three wishes.” That is not Christianity.
* SO, WHAT’S THE TAKEAWAY FROM ALL THIS?
Well, it’s clearly evident that nothing in these five groups has anything to do with Christianity! They don’t even approximate true Christianity. We need to pray for these people and need to help them see the genuine article.
You would think that someone like myself who has spent a portion of my lifetime trying to share the gospel, and explain what it means to genuinely repent, and what it means to genuinely believe, and put your faith in Christ, would be welcome.
The fact is I am considered to be a troublemaker by many religious folk. They are fixated with rebuking me or blocking me, or getting rid of me!
I’m treading, as it were, on people’s feelings, I’m invading the comfortable bed of their tolerances, I’m being divisive. But then, presenting the truth always does that!
“Are we Christians? Many people claim to be, and point to some event in the past to substantiate their claim. The Bible never verifies anyone’s salvation by the past but by the present. If there is no evidence of salvation in your life now, you need to face the fact that you may not be a Christian. You need to examine yourself to see whether you are in the faith. How does one do that? Jesus shows us in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).
The Distinguishing Mark of a Christian
Before Jesus was born, the religious leaders of Israel had already decided what it meant to live righteously. They had developed a system contrary to Scripture based on self- righteousness generated by doing good works. When Jesus entered the world, He shattered their religious system by upholding the standard revealed in God’s Word. He revealed how a citizen of His Kingdom really lives.
If you want to know if you’re a Christian, compare your life with the standard Christ presents in the Sermon on the Mount. One word summarizes His standard: RIGHTEOUSNESS! Examine the lives of many professing Christians, and you’ll find no such righteousness. Someone once told me about a woman who said she was a Christian but was living with a man who was not her husband. First Corinthians 6:9 says that those characterized by sexual immorality (“fornicators”) “shall not inherit the kingdom of God .” That woman was living in a state of unrighteousness. But righteousness characterizes true conversion.
Matthew 5:20, the key verse in the Sermon on the Mount, says, “Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
The scribes and Pharisees went to the Temple regularly, paid tithes, fasted, and prayed constantly. But Christ wasn’t impressed with their religious performance. He said no one would enter His Kingdom whose righteousness didn’t exceed theirs. Righteousness—living by God’s standards—is what sets a person apart as God’s child.
Hebrews 12:14 says, “Follow … holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” Second Timothy 2:19 says, “The Lord knoweth them that are his; and, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” Titus 1:16 says that some people “profess that they know God, but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.”
A person’s profession of Christ means nothing apart from obedience and holiness. Some people believe you can come to Jesus Christ without a consequent change in life-style. But God expects a transformation.
Second Corinthians 5:17 says, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” First John 1:9says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Being righteous doesn’t mean you never sin; it means you confess your sin to the Lord, repent of it, and despise it. First John 2:3says, “By this we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.” In John 14:15 Christ said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” First John 2:9 says, “He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.” First John 3:9 says, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
The Bible makes it clear that those who are genuinely saved are righteous and holy. They still sin, but with decreasing frequency.
A true believer hates his sin (cf., Rom. 7:15-25) and repents of it, hungering and thirsting for what is right. He obeys God, loves his brother, and hates the evil world system. No one can be a Christian and continue living the way he did before he knew Christ.
Making a decision years ago, going to an inquiry room, walking an aisle, or reading a tract on how to accept Christ is not a biblical criterion for salvation—the issue is what your life is like right now.
If sin and unrighteousness characterize your life, there is a possibility you are a disobedient Christian—but there is a greater possibility you are not a Christian at all.
The Proper Entrance into Christ’s Kingdom
In Matthew 5:3 Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The Greek text indicates that the Kingdom belongs only to those who are poor in spirit.
Only those who admit their spiritual bankruptcy and sinfulness can enter the Kingdom. Being “poor in spirit” speaks of being poverty stricken in one’s spirit.
Verse 4 shows the result of that inner poverty: “Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.” Only those who are broken and mournful over their sin ever receive salvation. Meekness, produced by the crushing weight of one’s sin, also characterizes a person entering the Kingdom (v. 5).
When a person is poor in spirit, mournful about his sin, and meek, then he will hunger and thirst after righteousness, and he will be filled (v. 6).
If you didn’t come to Jesus Christ shattered over your sinfulness, and hungering and thirsting after righteousness, you are not a Christian.
Some people come to Christ as if they are doing Him some great favor. Sometimes Christians reflect that same attitude by hoping some famous person will be saved because of his potential influence.
But whoever wants to come to Jesus must come on His terms: mourning over his sin, and desiring righteousness. When someone comes on those terms, the Lord makes him merciful (v. 7), pure in heart (v. 8), and a peacemaker (v. 9). Then because of what he is, people will persecute him (v. 10), revile him, and say false things about him (v. 11). But he will rejoice, because he’s a citizen of the Kingdom (v. 12).”
* GOD’S WILL IS FOR YOU TO BE SAVED 1 Timothy 2.4 “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who WILL have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” God WILLS that all men be saved.
* GOD’S WILL IS FOR YOU TO BE SPIRIT FILLED… it not to laugh like the damned, bark like a dog, or fall down pretending to be dead!
God’s will is not only that you be saved but according to Ephesians 5:18
“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.” It’s one thing to have the Spirit resident. It’s something else to have the Spirit dominant. Let me give you an illustration of it. The word “filled” is used in the gospels to speak of total control. For example, in John 16:6 it says, “Sorrow hath filled your heart.” In Luke 6:11 it says, “They were filled with madness.” In Luke 4:28 they “were filled with wrath.” In Luke 5:26 they “were filled with fear.”
* GODS WILL IS THAT YOU BE SANCTIFIED
God’s will is that you be saved, Spirit-filled, and sanctified. Sanctified. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification.” That means being set apart. That means being pure, being holy, being righteous, being virtuous, being sinless. God’s will is that we be pure, undefiled, unspotted, blameless. That’s God’s will.
*GOD’S WILL IS THAT YOU BE SUBMISSIVE
God’s will is not only that you be saved, be Spirit filled, and sanctified, but submissive. In 1 Peter 2: 13 -17 we read “SUBMIT yourself to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, a supreme; or governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the WILL of God.”
* GOD’s WILL IS THAT YOU SHOULD SUFFER
What is God’s will? Saved, Spirit filled, sanctified, submissive, fifthly, suffering. In 1 Peter 4:16 we read.
“For it is better if the WILL of God be so that you suffer for well doing than for evil doing.” God’s will is that when we confront the world and they react to our message and our life that we may suffer. And he says, “You shouldn’t be so surprised, for Christ also hath once suffered.” He suffered.
Many respond by saying “Oh, I don’t know God’s will. I’m trying to figure out God’s will. What is His will?”
HERE IS A SUMMARY
* God’s will is that you be saved. Have you given your heart to Christ?
* God’s will is that you be Spirit filled. Are you receiving the Word of God regularly so that it creates in you a consciousness of Christ’s presence, His Word dwelling in you richly, giving the Spirit of God that which is necessary to control your life so you’re filled by Him?
* God’s will is that you are sanctified? Have you checked your life at that point? Are you living a virtuous and righteous life?
* God’s will is that you are submissive, are you the kind of a model of submission that the Word of God lays out? Are you one who submits to the authorities of the government, the authorities around you so that the people say of you that you are well spoken of?
* God’s will is that you suffer. Are you confronting a society that is godless? And what about saying thanks? Is your heart filled with thanksgiving for every trial, every tribulation, every difficulty, everything that goes wrong as well as right? Or are you gripey, grouchy, bitter, angry? This is God’s five fold will for you!
Teenagers often say that’s only bible stuff! You don’t tell me which one of those 6 girls I’m supposed to pick. You didn’t tell me where I’m supposed to move, or go to school, or change my job, or how I solve my problems. I feel cheated. I didn’t get a straight answer.”
Well actually, you know, if you’re saved, Spirit filled, sanctified, submissive, suffering and saying thanks you know what God’s will is for you? Do whatever you want! REALLY!!
Listen up! If you’re saved, Spirit filled, sanctified, submissive, and suffering, and saying thanks, who do you think is controlling your desires? Take a wild guess. God is. And that’s why Psalm 37:4 says “Delight in the Lord and He will give you – ” what? “ – The desires of your heart.” And it doesn’t mean He’ll fulfill the ones that you’ve generated, it means He’ll put them there. jmpara
People sometimes ask me, “What is your evidence for a Rapture of the church before the Great Tribulation?”
* First of all, in Revelation 1, 2 and 3 you have the church, the word occurs nineteen times. It’s heavy on the church. A great vision of the church in chapter 1 in which the Lord is ministering in the church. And you have the churches being addressed and the letters to the churches in chapter 2 & 3.
After chapter 3, everything that goes on on earth, all the things that are said, all the warnings, all the descriptions, all the visions totally void of any reference to the church. One could conclude just by that, that the church doesn’t appear to be here. Add to that, that in chapters 4 and 5 you go to heaven. Before the Tribulation begins in chapter 6, chapters 4 to 5 you go to heaven and what do you find in heaven? You find a group called the Twenty-Four Elders which, as hard as I can work at it, are best understood as the glorified church. There are a number of reasons why.
They have crowns which are promised to the church. There are many other features that indicate the 24 elders to be the church. So you have the church on earth in 1 through 3. You have the church in heaven in 4 and 5. And you have the Tribulation break out on earth in chapter 6. Then you have chapter 19, Christ coming back at the end of that time and coming with Him are the saints clothed in white and fine linen which is used to describe just prior to that the saints in heaven. So we are in heaven for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, for our reward time and we come back with Christ at the end of the time of Tribulation. That seems to be a consistent way to understand the book of Revelation.
* A second thing to think about is that there are no warnings of any kind nor is there any instruction given to the church about how to endure the future time of Tribulation. We don’t even get addressed as how to survive in an Antichrist world, how to survive when the whole universe is collapsing, etc., etc. In fact, all that comes to us is about our blessed hope, looking for Christ, waiting for His appearing, longing to be with Him. Titus 2:13, the glorious appearing of Christ, this blessed hope. So what is told to the church is not strong on warning, it is strong on hope.
* Thirdly, the Rapture is defined in 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Thessalonians 4 and John 14, three places. And in each case it is the church taken into heaven, taken out of the world and taken to heaven. There’s no judgment. Christ does not come to earth, He takes us to heaven. If that is describing the Second Coming, as some would say, and it comes at the end of the Tribulation, what’s the point? What does He do? At the end, call us up and then bring us back? What’s the up and down for? It doesn’t make sense. If He’s called us up to go to a place He’s prepared for us, if He’s called us up to meet our Bridegroom, if He’s called us up to be rewarded, that makes sense. And then to come back with Him when He comes to reign. But if at the end we are snatched up into the air to be with the Lord, what is the point or coming immediately back?
And then another thought. If, as some say, we are raptured at the end of the Tribulation, then the scene would look like this: Christ comes, destroys all the wicked, they’re all dead, none of them are alive on the earth, all of them are destroyed, the day of the Lord, no one survives. And if all believers are raptured, right? What does that mean? You receive a glorified body and you’re transformed. Then you have a big problem. Who populates the earthly Kingdom? You’ve got no unbelievers and you’ve got no living believers, so who populates the Kingdom? So who has babies? So who populates the nations? So where do the sinners come from that Christ rules with a rod of iron? Where do the sinners come from that rebel at the end of the Millennial Kingdom? Where do the Gentiles come from who are hanging on the garment of a Jew and wanting to be taken to meet Christ? You have to have people survive, godly people, saints, believers survive the persecution and the horrors of the Tribulation so that you have sheep to go into the Kingdom to populate the Kingdom for a thousand years.
And then Revelation 3:10…Revelation 3:10, just one verse that might help you and there are many other things to say about this, but I’m just giving you some things to think about…Revelation 3:10, very interesting verse and comes, of course, to the church as a promise. “Because you have kept the Word of My perseverance,” which is another way of saying you’ve been faithful to My Word, because you’ve been steadfast, because you have a persevering salvation which is the real thing, because you’ve kept My Word, “I will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world to test those who dwell upon the earth.”
There is an hour coming of testing, an hour of trial, an hour of Tribulation coming on the whole world, I will keep you from that hour, tereo ek, keep you out from, ek meaning out from a specific hour. He’s not saying, “I promise you this, you’ll never have any trouble in life,” that would be ridiculous. “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials,” same word. We’re going to have those things, but there is an hour, that is a specific time from which we will be kept, out of which we will be kept. That, I think, is a promise of deliverance that is consistent with 1 Corinthians 15, John 14, 1 Thessalonians 4.
At the Rapture, the church meets Christ in the air.
At the Second Coming, the church returns with Christ to the earth.
At the Rapture we go to heaven.
At the Second Coming, we come to earth.
At the Rapture, the Mount of Olives is untouched.
At the Second Coming it is touched and split.
At the Rapture, living saints are translated.
At the Second Coming, no one is translated into heaven.
At the Rapture the world is not judged, there’s no judgment, sin gets worse.
At the Second Coming, sin is judged, the world is ruled by righteousness.
At the Rapture the body goes to heaven.
At the Second Coming it comes to earth.
The Rapture is eminent.
The Second Coming has distinct signs.
The Rapture concerns only the saved.
The Second Coming concerns the saved and the lost.
Even so come Lord Jesus,
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TZJEZiLfYHk
“One of the primary influences of the heretical New Perspective on Paul is coming from a man named N. T. Wright who is a British theologian. He’s written hundreds of pages, hundreds of pages on the gospel, including a very thick book on the resurrection of Christ.
I have read books for years, as you would expect and you would know, and I have read his writings, and they are a mass of confusing ambiguity, contradiction, and obfuscation – academic sleight of hand. I cannot tell you what he believes after reading all of that, but I can tell you exactly what he does not believe. The only time he gets explicit is to make sure we know what he does not believe.
Let me quote a new book by him, N. T. Wright, The Day the Revolution Began. Here is a quote: “We have paganized our understanding of salvation, substituting the idea of God killing Jesus to satisfy His wrath for the genuinely biblical notion we are about to explore.” So he calls Jesus becoming the substitute that God killed to satisfy His wrath for us paganism.
Further, he says, that “Christ died in the place of sinners is closer to the pagan idea of an angry deity being pacified by a human death than it is to anything in either Israel’s Scriptures or the New Testament.” So he rejects substitutionary atonement. He rejects Jesus as the sacrifice that God chose to die for our sins.
He is very clear on what he rejects: he rejects the idea that our sins are imputed to Christ, he rejects the idea that his righteousness is imputed to us. “This is not the gospel,” – he says – “this is paganism. To worship God as one who justifies by imputation” – he says – “is nonsense.”
I quote: “If we use the language of the law court, it makes no sense whatsoever to say that the judge imputes, imparts, bequeaths, conveys, or otherwise transfers his righteousness to either the plaintiff or the defendant. Righteousness is not an object, a substance, or a gas which can be passed across the courtroom. This gives the impression of a legal transaction, a cold piece of business, almost a trick of thought performed by a God who is logical and correct, but hardly one we want to worship.”
He goes on to say, “No one will be justified until he reaches heaven.” Further, he said, “I must stress again that the doctrine of justification by faith is not what Paul means by the gospel. The gospel is not an account of how people get saved.” Really?
First Corinthians 15:1 and 2, “Now I make knows to you, brethren, the gospel by which you are saved.” N. T. Wright is N. T. Wrong. And all who accept his high-sounding words raised up against the true knowledge of God are still in the state of Luther, but without the fear; and if you’re without the fear, you’re going to hell happily.
What amazes me is that people can do this and have no fear, and propagate it; and many, many young men, evangelical young men in seminary and training, are influenced by Wright to believe the wrong thing. To be propagating a false gospel and denying the true gospel and have absolutely no fear, and no angst, and no guilt, and no dread, and no terror, and no torture, is to be void of the work of the Holy Spirit who convicts of sin and righteousness and judgment.”
John MacArthur transcript!
How do I get more faith?” I’m going to make it real simple for you – write it down: faith is primarily thinking, thinking.
It’s not something floating out in space, it’s thinking, it’s thinking. Thinking about what? God,
His person,
His attributes,
His words,
His works,
His power,
His promises.
The more you read about God and think about God, the greater God becomes; and the greater God becomes in your thinking, the greater your faith will be in Him; and the greater your faith, the more eager will be your thankful prayer in the midst of trouble that brings peace.
That’s why the Bible talks about having a renewed mind: Romans 12, Ephesians 4:23, Colossians 3:2. It’s about how you think. And to make that indelibly clear, go to verse 8 in Philippians 4: “Finally, brethren – ” listen, here’s the last word on this “ – whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute – ” and all of that would be true of God “ – if there’s any excellence and anything worthy of praise, think on these things.”
And if you’re thinking on those things, you’re thinking about God, because all those things are true of God. God is truthful, God is noble, God is righteous, God is pure, God is gracious, God is worthy of praise. And when you think like that, Paul says, “You’ll do what I’ve done. You’ve seen me do this. Practice these things – ” end of verse 9 “ – and the God of peace will be with you.” You’ll experience this peace.
In Isaiah 26:3 we read
“You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is fixed on You because he trusts in You.”
Perfect peace is the product of perfect trust.
Perfect trust is the result of perfect knowledge of God.
The more you know about God, the more you trust Him, the more trustworthy He is, obviously, in your mind. The more you trust Him, the more eagerly you go to Him in the midst of your trouble with thankful prayer. And when you go to Him in your trouble with thankful prayer, the peace of God floods your soul beyond comprehension.
WHY IS JESUS IN HEAVEN AND WE ARE STILL HERE ON EARTH?
So what is the true church’s responsibility? Or, as believers, what is our responsibility?
You may say, well:
*We are here to worship the Lord, and that is true.
*We are here to live godly lives, and that is true.
*We are here to minister, and that is true.
But all of those things we will do perfectly in heaven. We will worship perfectly. We will love perfectly. We will obey perfectly. We will serve perfectly.
So then why does the Lord leave us here on the earth? The answer is because there is one thing that we are to do on earth that we will not do in heaven, and that is to proclaim the Gospel to sinners. We are to evangelize!
That is why the church was left in the world. Jesus gave us the Great Commission. It is not merely the great suggestion; it is our commission, and that is the reason we are here.
Evangelism is not listed anywhere as a gift, nor an exclusive activity for the man of the cloth to perform. It is a command and as believers who are called to be evangelists, we are to:
* Go to the lost – Mark 16:15 “Go into the world, preach the Gospel to every creature.”
*Tell the Lost – Romans 10:14 “How are they to call on one they have not believed in? And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of? And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them?
*Compel the lost – 2 Corinthians 5:13-14 “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. Luke 14:23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.”
*Beg/ persuade the lost – 2 Corinthians 5:20 “We beg you on behalf of Christ, we beg you, be reconciled to God.”
More than any other single passage 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, best defines for us our responsibility as believers in a world of dying sinners who are headed into eternal punishment. This is a passage that is just rich with insights into our responsibility. So let’s look at verse 18.
“Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
Now, in this very important passage, the word “reconciled” occurs five times. This is the heart of our responsibility as a Christian. God has called us to preach the Word of reconciliation, as it says at the end of verse 19, the message of reconciliation.
At the end of verse 18, He says He’s given us the ministry of reconciliation.
God is the reconciler.
He does it by forgiveness an repentance.
He does it through faith, and it’s possible because the Lord Jesus took the full payment for sin. So God is just. Every sin that all believers have ever committed through all of history has been paid for at Calvary. Now, God can look at you and me and see His Son. He looked at the cross, He saw you. He looks at you, He sees Christ.
This is the staggering, stunning reality of the Gospel. Can we just obey it and get the message out to the both the religious and pagan lost?
As true believers we have been reconciled to God and have the ministry of reconciliation. It’s all of ours. And we must tell the world that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, all of us.
And I really believe, you know, we can wander around and hope that the Lord will bring somebody across our path we can evangelize, you know where we need to start? You need to sit down and think of anybody you know who used to be a part of the church and used to name the name of Christ and you don’t see them anymore and you ought to go after those people.
Tragically the threat of their eternal judgment is greater than the threat of the eternal judgment of someone who never professed Christ because how much greater the punishment will be, Hebrews 10:29 says, to the person who knowingly trods under his feet the blood of Christ? That’s where our evangelism ought to start. It ought to start with the people who profess to know Christ but they’re gone. What a job, what a task, what a challenge.
Jesus said He came to seek and to save the lost. Is that your desire? To be His ambassador? His emissary? His agent? What a tremendous challenge. In Luke 15 the common thread in all those stories and the point of them all is the joy of God in salvation.
The sheep was found and everybody rejoiced.
The coin was found and everybody rejoiced.
The son was found and everybody rejoiced.
If you want to bring joy to the heart of God, it comes through salvation. Is that your highest joy? To bring someone to Christ?
So, what is our goal? To convert…to convert. It’s used again in verse 20, look at it. “Let him know that he who converts a sinner, turning him from false faith to true faith…” Then another word “will save”, beautiful word, sozo, it’s the word, the commonest word in the New Testament for salvation, the basic New Testament word for salvation. It’s used five times in James and four times it refers to salvation…1:21, 2:14, 4:12 and here. In 5:15 we saw it used for restoring weak Christians but its dominant use is with those references to salvation.
So, what is the goal? To convert, to save. There’s one other goal, to cover. What is the word cover? To cover a multitude of sins, to hide a multitude of sins. What does that mean? Forgiveness…forgiveness. Back in Proverbs chapter 10 and verse 12 we get a helpful insight. Hatred stirs up strife but love covers all transgressions. It’s talking about forgiveness. So what is the goal? We want to convert people, turning them from sin in order that they may be saved and being saved their sins will be…what?…forgiven. We’re talking about evangelism, folks…evangelism.
C.S. Lewis has been promoted as a Christian . His own beliefs and remarks reveal this is not true .When Time magazine displays someone’s picture on it’s front cover and portrays them as a Christian , you can be sure it is a worldly misrepresentation. The truth of Christ has never been honored by any media .
Though Lewis claimed that Jesus was the Son of God , no proof of personal conviction of sin or repentance towards it exists . His own love for fairy tales and magic seemed to dominate his beliefs .
Undiscerning pastors and laity have lauded this impostor for almost 100 years . My own skepticism stemmed from perusing his book , “ The Lion , The Witch and The Wardrobe . “ Lewis’ personified the lion as Christ . He referred to Christianity as “ a deeper magic . “ Christianity has no remote association with magic , but rather strongly condemns it .
Heretical remarks like that make the devil happy he has influenced someone posing as a Christian to use literary license to bend the truth . One of Billy Graham’s influences , Henrietta Mears told Mr. Graham , “ There is no magic in small plans “ . The gospel needs no aid from “ magic . “ But that is the gospel that has overtaken the world ; Magic . Lewis’ Aslan the lion , representing Christ , is resurrected from the dead by “ magic “ on page 125 of that book .
Here are two quotes from that book regarding my verifiable allegation . “ Who’s done it ? , [ that is , resurrected Aslan ] , cried Susan . What does it mean ? Is it more magic ? Yes ! said a great voice behind their backs . It is more magic . … But what does it mean ? asked Susan when they were somewhat calmer . It means , said Aslan , that though the Witch knew Deep Magic , there is a magic deeper stilol which she did not know . “ A few pages later , a witchy scene is pictured in this edition of the book which portrays Aslan frolicking with devil-horned centaurs , unicorns , dogs , and satyrs . Though the Bible condones willful association with any from of witchcraft Lewis blasphemes Christ as he portrays him playing , and dancing with demonic creatures .
Lewis had also stated ; “ My ideas about the sacraments would probably be called “ magical “ by a good many modern theologians . “
He also made auricle confessions to an Anglican priest after his “ conversion . “ He “ emphatically believed in praying for the dead “, praying for his wife after she had died . He admitted to believing in purgatory , which negates the power of Christ’s blood to save to the uttermost . He smoked about two packs of cigarettes a day , as well as a pipe , and cohabited with a woman to whom he was not married for thirty years , not Biblically abstaining from the appearance of evil .
He drank beer regularly with his brother W.H. Lewis , and J.R. Tolkien every Tuesday morning in the years 1939-1962 in the back room of their favorite pub . These men became known as “ the inklings “ . Lewis’
“ conversion “ was in 1932 . These are the names of Lewis’ books and the page numbers on which this supposed “ Christian “ condoned public drinking .
“ The Lion , The Witch and The Wardrobe “ ; pp. 13, 31, 69, 70, 105 ,179
“ Prince Caspian “ ; pp. 204 , 205
“ The Silver chair “ ; pp. 65, 92-96 , 205
“ The Horse and His Boy “ ; pp. 37, 71 , 75 , 213
“ The Voyage of the Dawntreader “ ; pp. 10, 20,44 , 139, 147, 166
“ The Last Battle “ ; pp. 14, 147
“ Chronicles “ ; his characters regularly drink
In his book , “ The Screwtape Letters “ , he said of the Tao of Chinese mysticism that it is “ the concrete reality in which to participate to be fully human . “ Why did this man insist that there was something wonderful about being “ fully human .“ Being fully human is what got Adam in trouble .Why mix Christ’s gospel with the doctrine of demons ?
In “ Letters to Malcolm : Chiefly On Prayer “ , pp. 107 , Lewis wrote ; “ Of course I pray for the dead …And I hardly know how the rest of my prayers would survive if those for the dead were forbidden . “
In his , “ The problem of Pain “ , he stated on page 177 ; “ For long centuries God perfected the animal form which was to become the vehicle of humanity and the image of himself “ , promoting Darwinian evolution . In the same book on page 39 he blasphemes by denying man’s total depravity when he states ; “ The divine goodness differs “ from ours not as white and black but as a perfect circle from a child’s first attempt to draw a wheel .” It is curious that this man who claims himself a Christian used the Wiccan perfect circle to sketch his blasphemy . On page 71 of this book he states ; I have the deepest respect for Pagan myths , still more for myths in the Holy Scriptures . “ God must have made a mistake and put some myths in the Bible that fortunately Mr. Lewis was able to discover .
Lewis had written ; “ The earliest stratum of the Old Testament contains many truths in a form which I take to be legendary , or even mythical…things like Noah’s Ark or the sun standing still upon Ajalon . “ He also wrote that ; “ The first chapters of Genesis , no doubt , give the story of a folktale …” Does it seem like Lewis actually believed the Bible ? Obviously not !
In his , “ Reflections of the Psalms “ , on page 110 he stated ; “ I have therefore no difficulty accepting , say , the view of those scholars who tell us that the account of Creation in Genesis is derived from earlier Semite stories which were Pagan and mythical . “ Lewis is quoted as stating that the old testament is
“ mythical “ , and , that rather than believing God , he chooses the godless opinions of “ scholars . “ On the same page he says that Job is “ unhistorical “ , and that there is error in the Bible . Billy Graham also inferred the Bible was not without error . Lewis inferred Biblical error again on page 112 . On page 115 and 129 he stated his belief that man is an animal . That belief is real for some witches who believe themselves to be able to mutate into animals through certain spells . On page 129 he stated ; “ as I believe , Christ …fulfills both Paganism and Judaism . “ That is a Wiccan belief .
He wrote ; “ all Holy Scripture [ including even the imprecatory psalms ] is in some – though not all parts of it in the same sense- the word of God . “ What is this liar stating ? Not all of the Bible was inspired by the Holy Ghost as God says it is . He is directly challenging the God he says he knows . Why ?
He wrote to Clyde Kilby ; “ If every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of lights , then all true and edifying writings , whether scripture or not , must be in some sense inspired . “ As a Christian , I view Mr. Lewis writings not to be “ inspired “ by Christ . Who deems which writings to be edifying and true ?
Lewis had stated ; “ But the truth is God has not told us what His arrangements about the other people are …There are people who do not accept the full Christian doctrine about Christ but who are so strongly attracted by Him that they are His in a much deeper sense than they themselves understand . There are people in other religions who are being led by God’s secret influence to concentrate on those parts of their religion which are in agreement with Christianity , and who thus belong to Christ without knowing it . For example a Buddhist of good will may be led to concentrate more and more on Buddhist teaching about mercy and to leave in the background ( though he might still say he believed ) the Buddhist teaching on certain points . Many of the good Pagans long before Christ’s birth may have been in this position “ , ( from C.S. Lewis , Mere Christianity , Harpur , San Francisco edition , 2001 , pp. 64 , 208, 209 ) . Though the Bible clearly states there are no good Pagans , nor were there ever any good Pagans , Mr. Lewis would like people to think that some existed . He also had stated that these people did not accept “ the full Christian doctrine . “ If they heard it , but did not “ accept “ it they rejected it .
In this same heretical book this man said ; “ You can say that Christ died for our sins . You may say that the Father forgave us because Christ has done for us what we ought to have done . You may say that we are washed in the blood of the Lamb . You may say that Christ has defeated death . They are all true . IF ANY OF THEM DO NOT APPEAL TO YOU , LEAVE IT ALONE AND GET ON WITH THE FORMULA THAT DOES . And , whatever you do , do not start quarrelling with other people because they use a different formula from yours . “ Lewis tells you here that if Christianity does not appeal to you find something that does . This aligns with Masonic beliefs , for to be a Mason , you must state a belief in any supreme being . To my knowledge Lewis had no affiliation with Masonry , but his religious beliefs seemed to lean heavily that way , accepting all gods .
He stated that “ Though all salvation is through Jesus , we need not conclude that He cannot save those who have not explicitly accepted Him in this life . “ On a radio program he said ; “ We do not know that no [ one ] can be saved except through Christ ; we do not know that only those who know Him can be saved through Him . “ He also said , “ We are not pronouncing all other religions to be totally false , but rather saying that in Christ whatever is true in all religions is consummated and perfected . “ The Bible states in essence that all religions other than Christianity are false . Of course, Mr. Lewis again differs with God .
Lewis called man the highest of animals , and said ; “ If by saying that man rose from brutality you mean simply that man is physically descended from animals , I have no objection “ , and , that “ I am assuming that Darwinian biology is correct . “ Darwinian evolution was the basis of communism and adamantly opposes Christianity , yet this man accepted the unbiblical Darwinian lie .
He stated ; “ No reference to the Devil or devils [demons] is included in any Christian Creeds , and it is possible to be a Christian without believing in them …Satan is the opposite not of God but of Michael . “ Christians easily see the demonic thinking articulated by this liar who denies that Satan is not God’s antithesis , and that the scriptural references to Satan made by God in the Bible are insignificant .
I remember watching Billy Graham relating similar Lewis-like views about hell to Larry King years ago during a television interview . Lewis wrote Arthur Greeves these words ; “ About Hell . All I have ever said is that the N.T. plainly implies the possibility of some being finally left in ‘ the outer darkness . ‘ Whether this means ..being left to a purely mental state…or whether there is still some sort of environment , something you could call a world or reality , I would never pretend to know . “ Lewis also wrote ; “ Whether this eternal fixity [ of hell ] implies endless duration – we cannot say . “ Christians understand that this man does not believe in the Biblical Jesus spoke of often , and died on the cross to save us from the hell he prepared for the devil and his angels .
Yet another Lewis heresy was ; “ Christ’s death redeemed man from sin , but I can make nothing of the theories as to how . “ Intelligent Sunday school children could have explained this to Mr. Lewis , but it would have been in vain . Lewis’ denomination of choice , the church of England , did not preach the necessity of being born again , nor did it hold literal Biblical interpretation as part of it’s creed . This is understandable since England had been subverted to socialism in the early 1900’s , as communists infiltrated the churches worldwide , perverting the gospel . In his book , “ Mere Christianity “ , Harper San Francisco edition , 2001 , pp. 54-56 he wrote ; “ The central Christian belief is that Christ’s death has somehow put us right with God and given us a fresh start . Theories as to how it did this are another matter…Any theories we build up as to how Christ’s death did all of this are , in my view , quite secondary . “ Obviously , both the
old and new testaments far surpassed the intellect of this man whom TBN minister Adrian Rogers touted as “ a brilliant Britisher , a literary genius “ .
Lewis was an ecumenical like Billy Graham . Both were popular amongst Catholics . Charles Colson , who also promoted the ecumenical movement said that evangelicals and Catholics together sought to continue the legacy of C.S. Lewis by focusing on the core beliefs of all true Christians . “ Christianity Today “ polled its readers asking their opinions of the 20th century’s most influential theological writers . C.S. Lewis was chosen , but that is understandable results from ecumenical “ Christianity Today . “ In one issue of
“ Christianity Today “ , Mormon professor Robert Millet was quoted as saying that C.S. Lewis “ is so well received by Latter-day Saints because of his broad and inclusive vision of Christianity . “ Lewis’ spiritual advisor from the 1940’s until his death was a Catholic priest named Walter Adams .
In his “ Screwtape Letters “ Lewis made excuses for communist leaders , Nazis, and cultists such as Joseph Smith , etc ., by saying ; God “ often makes prizes of humans who have given their lives for causes He thinks bad on the monstrously sophistical ground that the humans thought them good and were following the best they knew . “ Sounds pretty Christian doesn’t it . In Methodist socialist propaganda distributed in
July 1947 Jerome Davis is quoted , praising the murderous Joseph Stalin , good friend of the Methodist communist teacher Harry F. Ward who infiltrated Methodist seminaries with communists . Davis said this regarding the communist Stalin who gave his life for a cause he thought ” good ” ; ” No doubt he has faults , but can we go out to serve God and the common people of America as sincerely and courageously as Stalin did for what he believed was best for his people ? ” Like Stalin, C.S. Lewis was following Christ the best he knew . You cannot believe the heresies Lewis knew and live the lifestyle he did and truly know Christ .
Jesus commanded Christians not to judge those outside the church , but to examine closely everyone who claims to know Christ . Incidentally , the New Age false teacher Rick Warren quotes C.S. Lewis and communists abundantly in his writings . That comes as no suprise .
Here are a few more C.S. Lewis quotes I found on the internet . I have not confirmed them , but suspect they may be credible . Even if proven not , the previous enumeration of his heresies and blasphemies should be enough to convince those who know Christ to discern this man was no Bible believing Christian .
“ You and I have need of the strongest spell that can be found to wake us from the evil enchantment of worldliness . “ ( The Weight of Glory) . Christians need no spells and should not be connected to magic in any remote way , but refute it’s importance and it’s use .
He believed there was a possibility for the unsaved to enter heaven after death ; “ heaven’s door is not shut when he or she dies – anyone who wants heaven can have it . “
David Jeremiah
Although some disciples of Tim Keller claim to use his “relational evangelism” in scripture the primary New Testament method of evangelism is preaching, proclaiming, and sharing the gospel with strangers.
*Jesus and the apostles didn’t befriend first and wait for a gospel sharing moment.
*The urgency of the gospel is lost because relational evangelism takes too much time.
Paul didn’t bother with building a friendship with anyone before nailing them with the gospel.
*The unregenerate are enemies of God and therefore have no interest in spiritual things, even the reasons for your holy life.
*Relational evangelism makes the effective work of the Spirit of God dependent on something – the context of a relationship.
*Christian believers sometimes fail at the great commission because they never get around to sharing the gospel, valuing the friendship over the good news.
*Befriending the world violates the command to be separated from the world and avoid being unequally yoked. For example, James 4:4 “Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”
However, we need not restrict ourselves to Kellers model. We must use multiple biblical approaches, as we confront the many lost sinners who cross our path daily, with their urgent need for a savior.
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