Do you test what is being
taught in the church against the Word of God? Or, do you have a tendency to
believe what you hear, because it sounds good?
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 1 John 4:1-3 ESV
Much of today’s church, at
least here in America, has united with the flesh of mankind, via their
partnership with the government, via turning the church into man-made
businesses (corporations), and via uniting with the world of sin through
compromises with the flesh, through adopting man-made religion and humanistic
teaching, and by diluting the gospel message to make it more appealing to the
world and to the flesh of humans.
The offspring of this unity
of church and flesh are sheep born of the flesh of man, not of the Spirit of
God. They are false sheep, flesh sheep, who were won over by (birthed of) a
false grace gospel. They are forcing the Word of God in the way of this
flesh-driven church and flesh-driven gospel. And, they are very good at what
they do, too, i.e. they are very clever and skilled in their arguments, and know
how to misuse the scriptures effectively to their advantage, in order to support
their case, and to win over converts.
These false (of the flesh) sheep
think they are in union with Christ, when they are not. For, this false grace
gospel gives a wrong perception of God’s grace and of his salvation. The “deliverance”
that these false sheep believe, and thus teach, is of the flesh, not of the
Spirit; it is natural, not supernatural. It does not deliver from slavery to
sin, but it leaves its followers still in bondage (addiction) to sin. It thinks
God’s grace is merely forgiveness of sin and of its punishment, and is the
promise of heaven when we die. But, it forgets that Jesus died that we might die
to sin and live to righteousness; to deliver us out of slavery to sin, not just
to forgive the sin.
Yet, the Word of God is
veiled, it is hidden from those who are still walking in darkness, according to
the flesh, because they are blinded to the truth. These flesh sheep believe
their salvation is sealed, no matter how they live their lives, and that they
will never come under the judgment of God. But, they will be overtaken like by
a thief in the night, because they are not in Christ, and because they are not spiritually
prepared for what is coming.
We Are Testing
So, we test this false grace
gospel via the Word of God, in context. For, many false faiths result from
removing scriptures from their context and making them say what people want
them to say, to support what they want to believe. They often ignore the bulk
of teaching on salvation, on the grace of God, and on eternal life with God,
unless it agrees with them, too.
We use the Word of God, thus,
to look inside this flesh-driven church with its flesh-driven gospel, which is resulting
in disciples of the flesh, not of Christ. And, we examine what is going on
there in the name of Jesus Christ. We see what is being fed the children there,
i.e. both the true sheep and the false sheep; both sheep born of the Spirit and
sheep born of the flesh. We see that they are not teaching repentance (death to
sin) or obedience (following Jesus Christ in obedience with our lives).
Since there is no death to
sin, there is no deliverance from slavery to sin, and since there is no
obedience, there is also no living to righteousness, but yet for these purposes
Jesus died. The offspring of this union of flesh and church are not delivered
from slavery to sin, but are left still with their sinful addictions. Thus, this
false grace gospel also separates its adherents from their eternal inheritance
which they think they have, but which could be theirs through genuine faith in
Jesus Christ, which involves dying with Christ to sin and living with Christ,
in newness of life, to his righteousness.
You Have Overcome
Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. 1 John 4:4-6 ESV
Because the flesh-driven
church is teaching this false grace gospel, what they are teaching is at the
cost of truth. Truth is taking a hit, and is being sacrificed and compromised by
those who are promoting a false grace, which then leaves people still enslaved
to sin, and it separates them from their eternal inheritance with God in
heaven.
But, the truth will triumph!
It will overcome! We don’t have to fear what humans may do. God’s Word will
remain steadfast forever while all these lies of men will perish with them. The
Word of God holds its own. It stands the test of time. It maintains its
integrity. It will not be proven false. It will not be compromised. It will
prevail. The truth will prevail!
The Word of God makes ready
the people of God for the dark hour to come upon the earth. It does not teach “peace,
peace,” when there is no peace. It delivers them, not just from the penalty of
sin, but from slavery (addiction) to sin, and it frees them to walk in holiness
and righteousness, and from walking according to the flesh.
The Lord has many servants of
righteousness who are proclaiming the truth of the gospel in order to drive it
home to people’s hearts. Amen! They are overcoming the attacks of the enemy
against the truth of God’s Word, and are even prevailing over personal attacks
against themselves. And, they are combatting Satan’s lies and this false grace
gospel with the Word of Truth.
Yet, even the opposing forces
against them are being used by God to drive them to the Father, toward holiness
and godliness, and to put within them a passion for exposing the lies and for
proclaiming the truth. What Satan means for evil in their lives, in order to defeat
them, God is using in their lives to motivate them to examine what is being
taught, to bring the lies into the light of truth, and to get the truth out to
the people.
We Have Confidence
God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:16a-19 ESV
The antichrist surely is
coming. He is already here, among us. He has been conquering peoples, nations,
governments and Christians. He has been waging war with the world and with
followers of Christ and with the true gospel of Jesus Christ. He has been
killing, raping, confiscating property not his own, destroying, lying,
betraying, and taking over other nations. The total rule of this beast is on
its way. This has been in the works even before the creation of the world. This
has all been predetermined by God and will take place in his timing, and according
to his schedule.
What this will mean for us is
a time of great hardship, persecution, difficulties, loss of homes, finances,
properties and homeland, forced evacuations, and the like. And, we need to be
spiritually prepared. We need to be watching. This will be a time of great
testing. The Word of God is saying to get ready to forsake the comfortable, and
it is teaching us that we should already have forsaken this union with the
unholy, with the ungodly, with this false grace gospel, and with its false hope,
and that we should not return to it. But, we should stand watch, and stand on
the truth.
I do believe the Word of God
teaches that during this time of testing on the earth that the bride of Christ,
the church, will make herself ready for her Lord’s return. The Lord, through
testing, will purify her heart and refine her and will revive her. I believe
that during this time, as the gospel is spread throughout the world, that many
will turn their hearts to the Lord, too.
So, we need to be standing
watch, and standing on the Word of Truth, so that when this time comes we are
not caught off guard, and we are not easily shaken, but we will have confidence
in our Lord. God will use this time to teach us His Ways and His Truth, and the
result will be true deliverance from slavery to sin for many of those who are
still walking in darkness. They will now walk in the Spirit and in Christ’s
righteousness and holiness. Amen!
It Is Well with My Soul
H. G. Spafford / P. P. Bliss
When peace, like a river, attendeth my
way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to
say,
It is well; it is well with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though
trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless
estate,
And hath shed his own blood for my
soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious
thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it
no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my
soul!
And, Lord, haste the day when my faith
shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord
shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
It is well with my soul,
It is well; it is well with my soul.
Thursday, February 15, 2018,
5:03 a.m. – Thank you, Jesus, for this teaching from Your Word.
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