SUBJECT - Which way is right??? [3]
When I closed
last month's message, I was commenting on how, in the instances of abortion, and the homosexual lifestyle, the Church, in far too many instances has essentially turned its back on God, by ignoring His Word, for the express purpose of making itself appear to be acceptable in the eyes of women, and the gay community.
I went on to say that as a result, tens of millions of people have died needlessly, because Christians chose to compromise on God's Word, for the express purpose of not being seen as mean-spirited, or homophobic.
Make no mistake about it, this is a direct result of our compromise on God's Word. We are told
Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
It makes no difference how the world [those that don't know or care about God] views situations like abortion and the gay lifestyle, it is what God says about it that matters, and we would be wise to take that in to consideration, above all else.
When I use the number tens of millions, while many would say that is an over statement, I would say, it is probably higher than that because of the fact that many others have died, not as a direct result of these actions, but as collateral damage so to speak. All because God has allowed it to happen because of our own actions.
You see in the last part of the subject verse what the end result of our wrong-headed thinking leads to. It leads to death.
The Church is not here to go along, in order to get along with the ungodly. It is here to be the barometer by which those that are living in sin, can see the advantages of living for God, and the disadvantages of doing the opposite. However, when a Church lowers itself to the position of being just like them, then it can't be distinguished from the ungodly, and therefore, as Jesus says, it is like salt that has lost its savor [flavor].
Anybody that knows what salt does, or how it feels when it is rubbed in to an open wound, it stings. Salt, also is a preservative, as well as a flavor enhancer. And it doesn't take much for one to recognize it in food.
Getting back to the Church, its mission is to get people to come back to God, so that they can, when the time comes, transition in to Heaven to be with Him for eternity. In order for that to happen, the individuals must acknowledge their sin, repent, turn away from it, and accept
Jesus Christ as Lord.
The word Lord, loosely translated means a person is surrendering their life and will to another. They no longer function as they see fit but as their Lord sees fit. When a person ignores or resists this action then they are no longer under the Lordship of that particular person.
Since most of what we would call progressive Churches/Christians fall in to the category of tailoring their ways to make themselves acceptable to the ungodly, they are, for all intents and purposes not the actual Church, but rather, a counterfeit. They have the appearance but lack the Power of God by way of the Holy Spirit, that Christ left us with.
As a result, they have no characteristics to demonstrate to the ungodly outside of 'good deeds' which anyone could do, what the advantages of following Christ are. Therefore, the ungodly see no reason to abandon their lifestyle.
Consider this for a moment. What if a blind, or crippled person went in to a Church service, and the Power of God fell on that individual and they were instantly healed, Do you think that person might just decide to come to Christ because of what He did for them??
Or, how about a Christian prays for a dead person to be raised up from the dead, and it happens??? What do you think the ungodly would think about coming to Christ??
Both of these examples are the very things that Christ commanded His followers to do. The Jesus says,
'the works that I do, shall you do also, and greater works that these because I go to the Father [St. John 14:12] and
[Mat 10:7-8] And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
The Church has the ability to carry out all of these things only if it falls in line with the Word of God, which means abandoning carnally minded ideas, and actions. Christ told the Church to
walk after the Spirit, and not after the flesh [Rom 8:1].
The reason we don't see them, is because some Churches are too busy trying to make themselves look good in the eyes of the ungodly. We must remember something
Christ told His disciples and that is, since He was persecuted in His ministry, they would be also [St John 15:20].
Under any other instance in human relationships, it would make perfect sense that in order to bring/maintain peace, all sides would need to seek
'common ground.' That means setting aside differences and working on what you can agree on. And since the name of Christ is a lightening rod of disagreement on so many levels, to so many people, then it is the first one to be set on the back burner. It reminds me of when Christ was brought before Pontius Pilate, a put beside a murderer and thief named Barabbas. When Pilate asked the people which one should he pardon, the people chose Barabbas. As for Jesus, they yelled
'Crucify Him!!'
And this is the main sign to God that we reject His directions, and as such, He does not allow these Churches to utilize His power. If you have ever wondered why it is we don't see the types of things going on in most Churches, as we have in the past, you don't have to look any further than this.
We live in a society today that for all intents and purposes, is at war with God. We through science, politics, legislation, and the educated elite, have proceeded to fulfill the biblical prophesy that
' in the last days,
[paraphrasing] many Christians will leave following the directions of God, and begin following the ways of the ungodly that will ultimately lead them to destruction.' [1Tim 4:1-3].
When you consider that the mood of the nation is,
'if you stand on God's Word, you are the enemy.' The enemy of what!!?? The enemy of all that is decent [according to them]!!!
When you consider that the bible says,
Isa 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
We have taken what God hates, and made it law, and what God says, we make it out to be mean spirited, and essentially persecute all who stand on it!!
As I am writing this, an issue has arisen where a state, Indiana, has passed a law that essentially says Christians, that own businesses that serve the public, have the right to refuse to participate in any activity that goes against their religious beliefs.
The LBGT [Lesbian Bisexual Gay Trans-sexual] community, supported by the news media, liberal politicians, and many Churches, are going around attacking and protesting in front of these businesses known to be owned by bible believing Christians for the express purpose of either forcing them out of business, or extracting large sums of money from them through the court system.
A friend of mine brought up an interesting point, when it comes to persecuting Christians that stand against the gay lifestyle.
While Christians stand against it, Islam also stands against it, and in many countries, they can be put to death. Yet, you don't see any gays attacking, protesting, or trying to drive Muslim business owners out of business.
Why is that Hmmmmmmm?!!! Only Christianity, which shows love for them, is their target.
This my friends is going out of the world backwards. Which one do you think they should be against? We even have Churches, in order to show them Christ's Love, ordaining them as pastors, and bishops, in direct violation of the Holy Scriptures, when it says that those that hold office in the Church must be sanctified and holy.
The quickest way to shut your blessings off from God, is to defile His Church!!
Not only that, but they have further made a mockery of the basic foundation of society, talking about marriage, by performing what they call 'gay marriage', and give gays the idea that God accepts, and blesses this abomination.
Now, where did the Church get this idea from?? They got it from scientists that stated there is scientific proof that the gay lifestyle, is not an action of choice [which is what it really is], but rather that God made them that way.
So, what you are being led to believe is God, has made them the way they are, so that He can condemn them to hell, with no possibility of redemption. When in reality they have chosen to be the way they are, and will not accept the fact that unless they change, they will end up in hell.
On the abortion issue, once again science butts heads with God. Science says what is growing in the womb of a woman, is not human but rather a growth, likened to cancer. And, the woman has the right to have it removed, just like she would have cancer cut out of her body, or a pimple from her face. There is no recognition of it being human. Yet, God, has plans for that baby in her womb, and interfering with those plans, like aborting the baby, is like slapping God in the face.
So, what we have here is an open defiance of God's plans for the child, by those that support abortion. And people think God is just going to sit back and do nothing. Well in a sense, He is going to sit back and do nothing. However He is going to do that when trouble comes our way.
Isa 1:15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood!
Time after time, case after case, it has been proven to be foolish to go against God no matter what the situation is, yet that is what this nation is continuing to do when it listens to, and tries to appease the ungodly.
I want you to think about this. When a child, young person,, or young adult gets killed or dies as the result of the actions of some other person, the family of the victim, usually will sue, claiming the unfulfilled potential that that person had. What they are saying is that this person had the potential of being a millionaire, or having some sort of great impact on society.
Well, if you consider that, then, you should consider the potential each of those aborted babies may have had on society, had they been born.
How many people have died from cancers that could still be alive today if one of those aborted babies that God appointed to discover the cure for cancer, had been allowed to be born?? Think about it!!!
What you need to understand also is this. If God has appointed an individual to be the one to discover, or accomplish something, then, no one else will be able to do it. As a result until the next appointed individual comes along, the people will continue to suffer and die. The bible says
'if God opens a door, no man can close it, and if God closes a door, no one can open it!!'[Rev. 3:7]
The short point of it all is this. Considering ALL that the bible has to show us,
THE RIGHT WAY IS TO ADHERE TO GOD'S WORD, SO THAT WE CAN BE BLESSED!! Any other way, is physical and spiritual suicide.