Thursday, February 4,
2016, 6:00 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Weary of Heart.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Mark 11:15-18 (ESV).
And
they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those
who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of
the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And he would not
allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he was teaching them and
saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer
for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” And the chief
priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for
they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching.
A Den of Robbers
How is the church today being turned into a den of robbers?
First off, we must define “den” and “robber.” A den is a home (dwelling place),
or a hiding place, refuge or secret place. A robber is a thief, i.e. “one that
steals especially stealthily or secretly, or one who commits theft or larceny”
(M-W). “Larceny” is “the unlawful taking of personal property with intent to
deprive the rightful owner of it permanently” (M-W).
We must also define “temple” or “church.” We are not
speaking here of the institution of church or the not-for-profit corporation
under the authority of the federal government (in the US), or a business of
human origin. We are also not speaking of a physical building containing
physical belongings such as furniture, sound equipment, and TV screens, etc. We
are speaking of the body of Christ, the people of God who are followers of
Jesus, by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of
their lives.
So, what is it, then, that robbers (thieves) would come to
steal from us? And, what do these robbers look like? And, how do they get into
the church to steal? We can find some answers to these questions in the reading
of John 10.
Jesus spoke of those who did not enter the sheep’s pen by
way of the gate (Jesus), but who came in “another way,” as those who are
thieves and robbers. So, these thieves and robbers are those who are among us,
who gather together with the Lord’s sheep (followers), and who pretend to be
part of the flock, or even shepherds of the flock, but they have entered by way
of deception and a false confession of Christ as Savior, or by proclaiming
themselves to be Christians and thus followers of Jesus. But, they are not really
one of us, but have secretly slipped in among us in order to steal, kill and
destroy.
So, what is it that they are trying to steal, kill and
destroy? Our lives. Our faith. Our pure devotion to Jesus Christ. Our
testimonies for the Lord. Our stand on his Word. And, the gospel of our
salvation. They come in among us, pretending to be one of us, so that they can
distort the truth of God’s word, deceive naïve minds, and get us to accept “another
Jesus” and a “false grace gospel.” And, they do this stealthily, subtly, and largely
undetected by those who are not serious students of God’s word, and are thus
easily led astray by what sounds good to the ear, and is pleasing to human
flesh.
Paul talked about such as these as is recorded for us in
Ephesians 4. He spoke of the necessity of having godly leaders among us to
prepare us for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up in
him, reaching the unity of the faith and so we may become mature in Christ, no
longer tossed back and forth by various winds of doctrine and by the cunning
and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, we need to speak
the truth of God’s word, one to another, so that we will all “grow up” together
in Christ.
Peter also addressed the subject of these thieves and
robbers, as did Jude (2 Pet. 2; Jude 1). They secretly introduce destructive
heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord. They bring the way of truth into
disrepute. They exploit you with stories they have made up.
Destructive Heresies
So, what are some of these destructive heresies being
promoted in the gatherings of the church today? For one, there is a teaching
that has spread far and wide, and is gaining much popularity within the church.
It is what I call a “false grace” teaching which gives free license for people
to continue in sin without guilt and without remorse. It teaches that all one
has to do is to acknowledge what Jesus did for us in dying for our sins, or say
certain words asking Jesus into our hearts, or profess to know Jesus as Savior
so that we might escape the punishment of hell and have the hope of life with
God in heaven when we die.
But, they miss the point of why Jesus died. Jesus did not die
merely to give us a get-out-of-jail-free card or to give us the hope of heaven
after we die. He died that he might radically change our lives while we live on
this earth. He died that we might be crucified with Christ to sin and be
resurrected with Christ to newness of life, “created to be like God in true
righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Pet. 2:24). He died that we might
no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us on the
cross (2 Co. 5:15). And, he also died that the righteous requirement of the law
might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh, but who conduct
our lives (walk) according to (in agreement with) the Spirit of God. If we walk
according to the flesh, we will die, but if by the Spirit we are putting to
death the deeds of the flesh, we will live (See: Ro. 8:1-14; cf. Ro. 6:1-23;
Ac. 26:16-18; Lu. 9:23-25; Jn. 6:35-66; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).
These “false grace” teachers, though, will tell you that all
these scriptures I have just referred to above are teaching works-based
salvation. They (the false teachers) focus on only a few key verses while
ignoring the bulk of New Testament teaching on the subject of what constitutes
our salvation and eternal life with God. And, then they teach that God does not
require repentance or obedience – no death to sin and living to righteousness;
no walking according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh. They
believe that a mere prayer or confession of Christ outwardly guarantees them
salvation from the punishment of sin (hell) and also guarantees them heaven
when they die, no matter how they live in between. But Jesus and his NT
apostles taught the opposite of that. God’s grace, which brings salvation,
teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live
self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we wait for Christ’s return
(Tit. 2:11-14).
Beyond That
Since the gospel has been severely diluted within the church
and “another Jesus” is being preached, other than the one taught by the NT
apostles, and the people have put up with it easily enough, this has opened the
door wide within the gatherings of the church (the Christian community) for
even more heresy. President Obama (of the USA) and Pope Francis are two major
voices for this heretical teaching within and without the church.
They, and others like them, are trying to bring the world
together under one global totalitarian government and under a one-world
religion (of the beast of Revelation). They are preaching a message of oneness
of people of all walks of life and of all religious faiths across the globe. They
want us to see that, as humans, we are all one big family, and that we must
find “common ground” and unify together in joining hands, and in breaking down
all which divides us as the people of the world, which means ridding ourselves
of the gospel of salvation, because it divides people.
Obama, the US president, in reference to his Cairo speech of
2009 (1), and with regard to his call to all Americans to find “common ground”
with people of different and opposing religions, and of different and opposing
walks of life, is calling on all Americans to “stick by the country’s founding
ideals” (2). Be informed, though, that those “founding ideals” are a mixture of
Christianity, Satanism, and the occult; of Greek, Roman and Egyptian gods and
goddesses; and of freemasonry (as a religion) and syncretism – the combining
(merging, unifying) of different and opposing beliefs and practices.
Obama, who claims to be a Christian, is appealing to “fellow
believers” to see themselves as one family along with other people of other
faiths and walks of life. They want us to accept all people regardless of
lifestyle or religious preference, and validate them as being co-heirs with us
as recipients of God’s grace, forgiveness, and acceptance into his eternal
kingdom.
I agree that we should love all people. We should treat all
people kindly and with the greatest respect. And, we should never look down on others
who are different from us. We should also know that Jesus died for the sins of
the entire world, and that God loves all people.
Yet, the ones who have eternal life with God are those who
believe in Jesus, and that belief entails death with Jesus to sin and living
with Jesus to righteousness. Jesus said that only through him can we have
eternal life with God in heaven, and only as he prescribed for us in his Word,
not as we determine in our own flesh. If we continue in sin, we will die. If we
don’t believe in Jesus Christ, we will die. Only through faith in Jesus Christ,
of the Spirit, via death to sin and being resurrected to new lives in Christ,
to be lived in his righteousness, can we have the hope of heaven, escape hell,
and be set free of slavery to sin.
So, if we are ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and
we are teaching that it is only through faith in Jesus Christ that one has
access to God and eternal life with God in heaven, and if we are teaching that
such faith constitutes dying with Christ to sin and living with Christ to
righteousness, and if we teach that if we continue in sin we will not have the
promise of heaven when we die, but only the fearful expectation of burning in
hell, then we will be targeted as intolerant, bigoted, hateful, critical of
others, prejudicial, and disrespectful of others’ beliefs and religious
preferences. And, we will be targeted for persecution and extinction. Yet, God
is completely sovereign over all. He is absolutely in control. He will use this
time to bring people to faith in Jesus Christ, and to revive his church before
he returns to take us to be with him. So, be of courage, and “Shout it Out!”
Weary of Heart /
An Original Work
Based off Isaiah 40 /
January 23, 2016
You who bring the Good News,
Lift up your voice.
Do not fear. Shout it out:
“Here is your God!”
The sovereign Lord comes
With power and strength.
He gathers His tender lambs
In His arms.
Lift up your eyes and look:
“Who made all things?”
God, our creator knows
All about you.
Your cause is not
Disregarded by God.
He will not leave;
He’ll not abandon you.
When you are troubled
And weary of heart,
Trust the Lord with your life.
Do not despair.
He will empower you;
Strengthen within.
Soar on wings like eagles,
Walk and not faint.
References:
No comments:
Post a Comment