Acts 4:15-17 ESV
“But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, saying, ‘What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.’ So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard’.”
Name of Jesus Popularized
In America today it is not a crime to speak in the name of
Jesus. In fact, so many movies have been made about Jesus that the name of
Jesus has become very popularized. But most of this is a twisted and altered
version of the true Jesus of the Bible in order to appease and to appeal to
human flesh, and to make the name of Jesus socially acceptable. Even
Christianity and the word “gospel” have become popularized, but again most of
this is a twisted and altered version of true biblical Christianity and the
gospel of Christ.
Basically they have brought God/Jesus Christ down to our
level and they have made Jesus more human. Now he was a human, but he was and
is also fully God. But he was not born with a sin nature as we are because he
was conceived of the Holy Spirit and not of man. So, although he dwelt in a
flesh body as we have, he was and is fully holy, fully God, and without sin. So
we must be very careful that we do not make Jesus like us but that we are
becoming like him, and that we are not misrepresenting his true character.
So, since the name of Jesus has become popularized here in
America via movies and TV series and social media memes, and via humanistic sermons
not of the Spirit of God, and the like, speaking his name is not a crime, not
yet, anyway. But what is considered taboo in many circles is to speak the truth
of his divine character, and to speak all of what he taught, and to speak the
truth of the gospel of our salvation as was taught by him and by Paul and by
the other apostles. For not many are telling the truth.
So, if you are one who teaches the true biblical character
of God, of Christ Jesus, and who teaches the full gospel message, the whole
counsel of God, and not this diluted and altered character of Jesus and of his
gospel, then you are very likely to be ostracized by much of today’s modern “churches,”
and by modern “Christianity,” and even by some Christian discussion sites on
the internet. For not many people these days want to hear the truth, but they
want their itching ears tickled with feel-good messages (lies of Satan).
And you may be called all sorts of names, and you may be
accused of being hyper-religious or of being legalistic or of being a teacher
of a false gospel by those who are teaching a false gospel of our salvation.
For the liars and deceivers have gained much popularity among the people, and
the masses are flocking to them to have their itching ears tickled with the
lies. And the masses are being convinced that the truth is a lie and the lie is
the truth, and so if you are teaching the truth, expect to be rejected and cast
aside.
Lies and Truth
So, what is the lie they are spreading? They are largely
teaching that we can believe in Jesus Christ one time (belief usually not
explained), and that we can have all our sins forgiven (past, present, and
future), and that heaven is now guaranteed us when we die, and that it cannot
be taken away from us regardless of how we live our lives on this earth. And
some are even teaching that we do not have to repent of our sins and we do not
have to obey the Lord and that no works are required of us at all.
So, they are giving the “believers in Jesus Christ” carte
blanche to continue living in deliberate and habitual sin without conscience
and without consequence while promising them heaven as their eternal destiny.
And so we have a large number of people in America professing faith (belief) in
Jesus Christ whose lives have not been altered by the gospel message, and who
are still living the same as they were before, still clinging to their sins,
and still walking according to the flesh and not according to the Spirit.
And what is the truth of the gospel? Jesus said that if
anyone would come after him he must deny self, take up his cross daily (daily
die to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our old
lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for
the sake of Jesus we lose our lives, i.e. we are crucified with him in death to
sin, and we are raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, and so that
is what we are doing, then by his grace we have the hope of eternal life (Luke
9:23-26).
Jesus also said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord,
Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven but only the one DOING the will of God
the Father who is in heaven. Many are going to stand before him on that Day
proclaiming him as Lord and confessing all the things they did in his name and
he is going to say to them, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of
lawless,” for they did not obey the Lord, but they gave lip service to him only
thinking that they would still have the hope of heaven (Matthew 7:21-23).
So, the truth of the gospel is that we must be crucified
with Christ in death to sin, and we must now walk in him in righteousness and
in holiness and in obedience to his commands (New Covenant), and no longer in
sin, or we do not have the hope of eternal life with God, regardless of what
our lips profess. For if sin is what we practice, and if righteousness and
obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, we will not inherit eternal
life with God, and heaven will not be our eternal destiny. So we need to get
this.
Keep Speaking the Truth
So, if you are believing that you can believe in Jesus one
time in your life and that heaven is now guaranteed you when you die regardless
of how you live on this earth, then you are believing a lie, not the truth.
Please read the above noted Scriptures in their context, for the Scriptures do
not support that belief. They teach we must die with Christ to sin and live to
him and to his righteousness from now to eternity, not necessarily in absolute
sinless perfection, but in righteous living and in obedience to our Lord as our
practice, and with sin no longer being our practice.
And if you are believing the truth of the gospel, and if you
are spreading the truth of the gospel, and not the lies, then be encouraged to
keep on speaking the truth no matter what persecution and opposition you may
face. For the truth is what will save lives, not lies. The lies may sound good,
and they may feel good to human flesh, but they are still lies. And if lies are
what you believe, heaven is not your eternal destiny. But if the truth is what
you believe, then you have the hope of eternal life. But the truth is defined
by the Scriptures in full context, not by human flesh.
An
Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
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