“Come, everyone who
thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no
money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and
milk
without money and without price.
Why do you spend your
money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not
satisfy?
Listen diligently to
me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and
come to me;
hear,
that your soul may live.”
Isaiah 55:1-3a ESV
Not everything that looks good or sounds good is good. Not
everything that has the appearance of truth and righteousness is truth or
righteousness. Not everything that is called “of God” or “of Christ” is of God/of
Christ, too. And, not everything which has elements of truth in it is the whole
truth, especially if it is mixed with lies. So, this calls for much discernment
here.
Thus, not everything that passes itself off as the gospel of
Jesus Christ or as the grace of God is the true gospel or is God’s true grace. For,
although it may have the appearance of “bread,” it may not be bread, but it may
be artificial, i.e. fake. And, that is why it will never satisfy. It will never
free you from your slavery to sin or give you the strength and power of God to
live for the Lord in purity and in holiness, because it is not the true bread.
For, there is a “gospel of Christ” that is permeating the
church today which is “not bread,” but it is a cheap substitute for the true
bread of life coming down from heaven. For, it all began in the wicked mind of
the flesh of man. Thus, the righteousness of God that it projects is a false
righteousness of the flesh of man, too. For, it is separated from the Head, who
is Christ, and therefore it is rubbish. It is a bad joke.
This gospel that is being widely accepted these days has had
many different faces, and it keeps changing character. For, this is something
that has been evolving over a long period of time. It is of Satan, and he is
very patient, for his goal is to deceive even the elect, if that were possible.
And so this has been a slow progression of eating away at the truth and of
substituting the truth with lies. Since it has been a slow progression, though,
it has largely slipped into the church unnoticed and undetected.
“Seek the Lord while
he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake
his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the
Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly
pardon.”
Isaiah 55:6-7 ESV
Right here is the true bread! This is the true gospel
message which was taught by Jesus and by his New Testament apostles. We must,
if we are to come to genuine faith in Jesus Christ, forsake our wicked ways and
our unrighteous thoughts. And, we must turn to the Lord to follow Him in
obedience to his will and to his ways; to his commands (Lu. 9:23-26; Rom.
6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).
But, what is not bread is this teaching that says that all
we have to do is to profess faith in Jesus Christ and we have eternal life with
God, but that we are not required to forsake our wicked ways or to follow our
Lord in obedience. No change of character or conduct is required ever! No
walking in the Spirit is required. No lifestyle change is required. A
profession of faith, which is surface only, is all that is required and then
heaven is guaranteed, and accordingly, by this belief, you can continue in your
slavery to sin.
So, this gospel, which is not the true bread, sets no real
limits on the human mind or on people’s behaviors and character. “Believers” in
this gospel, which is not bread, can continue on in their immaturity, their
childishness, their self-indulgence and their irresponsible behaviors and
attitudes. They can continue on in the impurity of their thinking, attitudes
and behaviors, too. And, they can put on a fake righteousness which does
nothing to change their hearts or their conduct, as well.
So, what this bread that is not bread offers is hell, while
promising you heaven. It offers a life of entrapment to sin, while promising
you freedom. It promises much, but what it delivers is empty, for it gives out
false hopes based on a lie, which is straight from hell. So, its followers will
go on in their sinful lifestyles and their self-indulgence convinced they are
going to heaven when they die only to one day hear God say, “Depart from me! I
never knew you!” So, it may sound good on the surface, but it will bite you in
the end.
The true gospel, which is the gospel of Jesus Christ,
delivers on all of its promises, though. If we seek the Lord with our whole
hearts, and if we turn from our wicked ways, and we follow our Lord in
obedience to his ways, in practice, we will have eternal life with God assured
us. But, if we choose the bread which is not bread, and we don’t repent, and we
don’t follow our Lord in obedience, then we are going to die in our sins not
live for eternity with God (Lu. 9:23-26; Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:16-21; Eph. 5:3-6;
1 Jn. 1:5-9).
“For as the rain and
the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the
earth,
making it bring forth
and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the
eater,
so shall my word be
that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall
accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I
sent it.”
Isaiah 55:10-11 ESV
Many of the people who are promoting this “bread” which is “not
bread,” i.e. this fake gospel which is a cheap substitute for the true gospel
of Christ, are not satisfied with just turning the hearts of the naïve away
from the Lord. But, they are going after the mature in Christ, too, and they
are trying to convince them to soften the truth of the gospel, and to cloak it
so that it is not so offensive.
They are trying to convince them to remove their spiritual
armor and to not use the Sword of the Spirit against the enemy of our souls.
And, this is so that they can then manipulate the truth of God’s Word and make
it something for their evil purposes, which in reality is to turn people away
from the Jesus of the scriptures and to get them to worship a false Jesus
instead. They want to be able to steer the scriptures in the direction they
want them to go, and so they want to stop the spreading of the truth.
If they can’t get us to bow to them and their fake gospel
message, then they will turn against us and they will persecute us, instead,
and they will do everything in their power to try to get people to believe the
lie is the truth, and to believe that the truth is a lie, and they have
convinced many people, I guarantee you.
But, we can be encouraged by these words here. God’s Word,
which has gone out from our mouths, and from our finger tips, through writing,
will not return empty. It will accomplish all that God intended for it to
accomplish. So, even though we have a fake gospel competing with the true
gospel, and even though those who are promoting the fake gospel are trying to
destroy the true gospel and its messengers, God’s Word will prevail. Amen!
So, we just need to keep on doing what God has called us to
do in exposing the lies and in proclaiming the truth, and His Word will succeed
in accomplishing all that he intended. And, the purpose of the gospel of Christ
is to turn hearts away from sin to God to follow Him in His ways. And, this
will be accomplished to the glory and praise of God.
All
Through the Night
An
Original Work / December 7, 2013
Based
off Various Scriptures
Blessed are you when you’re persecuted
Because of your faith in Jesus Christ.
Blessed are you when people insult you,
And falsely say what leads folks to doubt.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is
Great in the heavens. You’re not alone.
When you are persecuted in one place,
Flee to another. God will be there.
You will be hated by all the nations
Because you testify of God’s grace.
Many will seize you and persecute you,
And put to death the foll’wers of Christ.
Yet, do not fear what humans may do to you,
For I’m with you all through the night.
I tell you, love your enemies with my love,
And forgive as I forgave you.
Pray for those who do evil against you.
Rest in my love and grace from above.
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