“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:3-11 ESV)
So, God made me into a person who is fairly observant of my surroundings (for the most part), who is discerning, who sees patterns of behaviors, and who is practical, analytical, logical, and who listens to the voice of the Holy Spirit and who pays attention to what the Spirit is saying. I look at situations and I ask myself questions about them to see if they add up, i.e. if they make sense. And the reason this is important is because we live in a day and age of massive deception and of masters at manipulating people’s minds.
So, lately I have been noticing that several famous and influential people in the world and in my nation have been making public professions of faith in Jesus Christ, even praying to Jesus publicly. And then we have another series of “revivals” sweeping through college campuses apparently impacting tens of thousands of young adults here in the USA. In the videos I can see that the students are singing and swaying to music and waving their arms back and forth to the music, purportedly in true worship of God/Christ.
I have listened to what some of them are saying about this, and to what they are presenting as the gospel message, and so far what I am mainly hearing is about Jesus forgiving people of their sins and giving them eternal life with God and how that is changing people’s lives. They are talking about the number of baptisms that they are performing, too. The movement is called “Unite Us.” They talk about “knowing Jesus,” but I have not heard them say yet how we get to know Jesus. But they mention purity as one of their focuses and of students being delivered from addition to sin.
The three main objectives of “Unite Us,” according to their website, are for non-believers to hear a clear presentation of the Gospel in a welcoming environment (Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9), for believers to know and experience true freedom from sin and burdens on their hearts (Galatians 5:1), and for students to find community and discipleship through connection to local ministries and the local church (Ephesians 4:1-6).
[The Scripture references are provided by their website, not by me.]
Let’s look at their Scripture references briefly:
Acts 16:31 says, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Out of context. No explanation of what it means to “believe,” nor of what it means to “be saved.”
Romans 10:9: “Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Out of context. No explanation of what it means to “believe,” nor of what it means to “be saved.”
These two (above) Scriptures are both taken out of context and, in themselves, do NOT represent a clear presentation of the gospel at all – the opposite, in fact. For the “welcoming environment” mentioned is absent of the teachings on genuine repentance (death to sin), renewal of the mind, and walks of obedience to our Lord’s commands, as required by God for genuine salvation (deliverance) from sin and for eternal life with God.
Galatians 5:1 is speaking to Jews who had become Christians about how they were set free from the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, and dietary laws and restrictions, and from having to circumcise all males. So they were not to accept that circumcision was still required of them and/or that it needed to be added on to their salvation. For they were trying to be justified by the Old Covenant ceremonial laws. So this verse, by itself, is not teaching freedom from sin and from heart burdens.
Ephesians 4:1-6 is speaking of unity of the Spirit and of walking in a manner worthy of the calling of God on our lives, and unity of the true body of Christ, but it is being used in this context: “for students to find community and discipleship through connection to local ministries and the local church.”
But what church? The institutional church here in America which is married to the government through partnering with the Government via the 501c3 incorporation status of “the church”? Do you know what it means to “incorporate”?
The church, as the body of Christ, i.e. those who have died with Christ to sin, who are now walking in obedience to the Lord, has been instructed of God in the Scriptures not to unequally yoke together (partner) with unbelievers (with the ungodly) and to not turn the church into a marketplace to be marketed to the world, and to not take on the sinful ways (practices) of the world, i.e. to not compromise with the world, but to come out from among them to be separate, and then God will receive us.
[Matthew 7:21-23; Matthew 21:12-13; Luke 9:23-26; John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; Romans 6:1-23; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5]
But to incorporate means to take in or contain (something) as part of a whole; include, blend, mix, merge, unify, join. Similar: embody, include, embrace, take in, swallow up. Combine ingredients into one substance. Opposite: separate. This goes against what the (directly) above Scripture verses teach us.
For to incorporate the church (the body of believers in Jesus Christ) under the state, via the 501c3, is to bring the church (the gatherings of those of genuine faith in the Lord Jesus) under the authority of the state, and it is to unequally yoke together with the ungodly and to turn the gatherings of the church into a legal corporation (business). And most of them these days, not just the big ones, are marketing their gatherings to the people of the world and they are blending in with the world in order to attract the world to their gatherings. These are not the exceptions. This is the majority.
So, the three main objectives of this “Unite Us” are not fully biblical, they have many gaps in them Scripturally, and they give a diluted and false impression of the gospel of our salvation. For they are using Scriptures out of context to say what they do not say if taught in context, and they are implying things to be true which are not true if taught in full context. For our salvation is not just a mere profession of faith or acknowledgment of Christ or lip service only. It is death to sin and walks of obedience to our Lord.
So, what is the whole point of this? Our salvation is not just forgiveness of sins and the promise of heaven when we die. It is partnership in the gospel, it is participation in the Spirit, and it is agreement with God and with what his word teaches, which is evidenced by our walks of faith and obedience to our Lord in holy living. For if it is truly the Lord who begins the good work in us then the work will be his, according to his word, and we will be living in submission to him in the forsaking of sin and in walks of obedience to him.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg
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