Someone sent this over, and I found it very convicting, so posting:
The challenge is reading the entire post without thought of any other person. I
totally didn’t intend to find this the other day, but was mostly glad I did. Our
LORD hates pride, I sometimes don’t. (It often wears a mask though, and in our
flesh I think we prefer it thus). I hope this helps you all too…
As a side note, I wanted to say that I don’t think this was intended to be a list of
don’t’s/avoid’s, as much as it was meant to be a “check your heart” list. It’s a
way to examine ourselves. I see the faults of others way more than myself, so it
was good for me–though painfully so–to read through this. Also this is not
exhaustive or in depth (does it really need to be?) Let us pursue and keep our eyes
on Christ our LORD, remaining in fellowship with Him, walking in the Spirit…may we
have more fruits and less faults, and endeavor to see those fruits in others before
we see the faults (starting with me!!!)
50 fruits of pride–self diagnostic
1. Want to be Well Known or Important (Isaiah 14:13-15; James 3:13-16; Romans 12:6)
* “I am selfishly ambitious. I really want to get ahead and make a name for myself.
I want to be someone important in life. I like having a position or title. I far
prefer leading to following.” 2. Sinfully Competitive
* “I am overly competitive. I always want to win or come out on top and it bothers
me when I don‟t.”
3. Want to Impress People (Luke 10:38-42)
* “I want people to be impressed with me. I like to make my accomplishments known.”
a. Clothes or jewelry you wear.
b. Vehicle you drive.
c. Furniture you own.
d. House you live in.
e. Place you live.
f. Company you work for.
g. Amount of money you earn.
h. Food you eat.
i. How spiritual you are.
j. What you look like (physical appearance).
k. What you have accomplished.
l. What you know.
m. Where you went to school.
n. Who you know.
o. What your background is.
4. Draw Attention to Myself (Proverbs 27:2)
* “I like to be the center of attention and will say or do things to draw attention
to myself.” 5. Like to Talk About Myself
* “I like to talk, especially about myself or persons or things I am involved with.
I want people to know what I am doing or thinking. I would rather speak than
listen. I have a hard time being succinct.”
6. Deceitful and Pretentious (Psalm 24:3-4, 26:2-4; Jeremiah 48:10; Proverbs 26:20-26)
* “I tend to be deceptive about myself. I find myself lying to preserve my
reputation. I find myself hiding the truth about myself, especially about sins,
weaknesses, etc. I don‟t want people to know who I really am.”
7. Desire Recognition and Praise (John 5:41-44; Matthew 6:1, 23:5-7)
* “I desire to receive recognition and credit for what I do. I like people to see
what I do and let me know that they noticed. I feel hurt or offended when they
don‟t. I am overly concerned about my reputation and hate being misunderstood.”
8. Not Fulfilled Serving Others (John 3:30)
* “I am not very excited about seeing or making others successful. I tend to feel
envious, jealous or critical towards those who are doing well or being honored.”
9. Self Sufficient (Matthew 4:4; John 15:5; Acts 17:25; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10)
* “I tend to be self sufficient in the way I live my life. I don‟t live with a
constant awareness that my every breath is dependent upon the will of God. I tend
to think I have enough strength, ability and wisdom to live and manage my life. My
practice of the spiritual disciplines is inconsistent and superficial. I don‟t like
to ask others for help.”
10. Anxious (Psalm 4:8; Philippians 4:6-7; 1 Peter 5:6-7)
* “I am often anxious about my life and the future. I tend not to trust God and
rarely experience his abiding and transcendent peace in my soul. I have a hard time
sleeping at night because of fearful thoughts and burdens I carry.”
11. Self Focused (Exodus 4:11; Job 10:8-11; Psalm 139:13-16; Isaiah 53:2; Jeremiah 1:5)
* “I am overly self-conscious. I tend to replay in my mind how I did, what I said,
and how I came across to others. I am very concerned about my appearance and what
people think of me. I think about these things constantly.”
12. Fear Man (Proverbs 29:25)
* “I fear man more than God. I am afraid of others and make decisions about what I
will say or do based upon this fear. I am afraid to take a stand for things that
are right. I am concerned with how people will react to me or perceive my actions
or words. I don‟t often think about God‟s opinion in a matter and rarely think
there could be consequences for disobeying him. I primarily seek the approval of
man and not of God.” 13. Insecure
* “I often feel insecure. I don‟t want to try new things or step out into
uncomfortable situations because I‟m afraid I‟ll fail or look foolish. I am easily
embarrassed.” 14. Compare Myself
* “I regularly compare myself to others. I am “performance oriented.” I feel that I
have greater worth if I do well.” 15. Perfectionist
* “I am self-critical. I tend to be a perfectionist. I can‟t stand for little
things to be wrong because they reflect poorly on me. I have a hard time putting my
mistakes behind me.”
16. Self Serving (Philippians 2:19-22)
* “I am self-serving. When asked to do something, I find myself asking, „How will
doing this help me?‟ or „Will I be inconvenienced?‟ I am not focused on the needs
and interests of others.” 17. Feel Better or Superior
* “I feel special or superior because of what I have or do.”
18. Think Highly of Myself (Romans 12:3, 16; James 2:1-4)
* “I think highly of myself. In relation to others I typically see myself as more
mature and more gifted. In most situations, I have more to offer than others even
though I may not say so. I don‟t consider myself average or ordinary.”
19. Credit Myself (1 Corinthians 4:6-7; 15:10)
* “I tend to give myself credit for who I am and what I accomplish. I only
occasionally think about or recognize that all that I am or have comes from God. I
don‟t consciously transfer all glory to God for any good I have or any good I do.”
20. Self Righteous (Luke 18:9-14)
* “I tend to be self-righteous. I can think that I really have something to offer
God. I would never say so, but I think God did well to save me. I seldom think
about or recognize my total depravity and helplessness apart from God. I regularly
focus on the sins of others. I don‟t credit God for any degree of holiness in my
life.” 21. Feel Deserving
* “I feel deserving. I think I deserve what I have. In fact, I think I ought to
have more considering how well I have lived or in light of all I have done.”
22. Ungrateful (Luke 17:11-19; Ephesians 5:19-20; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18;
Colossians 3:15-17; Philippians 2:14)
* “I often feel ungrateful. Instead of thanking other people, I tend to complain
about them. I grumble about what I don‟t have or my lot in life. I am not amazed by
grace on a regular basis and lack joy in my life.” 23. Captive to Self Pity
* “I find myself wallowing in self-pity. I am consumed with how I am treated by God
and others. I tend to feel mistreated and hate being misunderstood. I seldom
recognize or sympathize with what‟s going on with others around me because I feel
that I have it worse than they do.”
24. Jealous and Envious (James 3:13-16)
* “I can be jealous or envious of others abilities, possessions, positions,
accomplishments or friends. I want to be what others are or want to have what
others have. I think I deserve or should have the good things other people do. I
find it hard to rejoice when others are blessed by God.”
25. Unkind and Harsh (Ezekiel 16:49; Psalm 17:10; Proverbs 24:17-18; Luke 10:25-37)
* “I am pretty insensitive to others. I feel some people just aren‟t worth caring
about. I have a hard time showing compassion or extending mercy to others. Some
people aren‟t worth my time and attention.”
26. Love to Reveal My Mind (Proverbs 18:2)
* “I like to reveal my own mind. I have an answer for practically every situation
and an opinion on every subject. I feel compelled to balance everyone else out and
let them know my thoughts.”
27. Know It All (1 Corinthians 8:1)
* “I have a know-it-all attitude. I am impressed by my own knowledge and
understanding of things. I feel like there isn‟t much I can learn from other
people, especially those less mature than me.” 28. Like People to Know I Know
* “I feel compelled to stop people when they start to share something with me I
already know.” 29. Hard to Admit I Don‟t Know
* “I find it hard to admit it when I don’t know something. When someone asks me
something I don‟t know, I will make up an answer rather than admit I don’t know.”
30. Don‟t Listen to Ordinary People
* “I have a hard time listening to ordinary people. I listen better to those I
respect or people I am wanting to leave with a good impression. I don‟t honestly
listen when someone else is speaking because I am usually planning what I am going
to say next.” 31. Interruptive
* “I interrupt people regularly. I don‟t let people finish what they are saying.”
32. Don‟t Get Much Out of Teaching
* “I don’t get much out of the teaching. I tend to evaluate the speaker rather than
my own life. I grumble about hearing something a second time.” 33. Thinking of
Others During Teaching
* “I listen to teaching with other people in mind. I constantly think of those
folks who need to hear and apply this teaching and wish they were here.”
34. Not Teachable (Proverbs 12:1)
* “I‟m not very open to input. I don‟t pursue correction for my life. I tend to be
unteachable and slow to repent when corrected. I don‟t really see correction as a
positive thing. I am offended when people probe the motivations of my heart or seek
to adjust me.”
35. Don‟t Admit Wrong Doing (Proverbs 28:13; James 5:16)
* “I have a hard time admitting that I am wrong. I find myself covering up or
excusing my sins. It is hard for me to confess my sins to others or to ask for
forgiveness.”
36. Do Not Welcome Correction (Proverbs 15:12)
* “I view correction as an intrusion into my privacy rather than an instrument of
God for my welfare. I can‟t identify anyone who would feel welcome to correct me.”
37. Resent People Who Correct Me (Proverbs 9:7-9)
* “I resent people who attempt to correct me. I don‟t respond with gratefulness and
sincere appreciation for their input. Instead I am tempted to accuse them and dwell
on their faults. I get bitter and withdraw.”
38. Contentious and Argumentative (James 1:19-20)
* “When corrected, I become contentious and argumentative. I don‟t take people‟s
observations seriously. I minimize and make excuses or give explanations.”
39. Get Angry or Offended With Others (1 Corinthians 6:7)
* “I am easily angered and offended. I don‟t like being crossed or disagreed with.
I find myself thinking, “I can‟t believe they did that to me.” I often feel
wronged. I hate to be misunderstood by others especially those I respect and desire
to think highly of me.”
40. Constantly in Conflicts (Proverbs 13:10)
* “I have “personality conflicts” with others. I have a hard time getting along
with certain kinds of people. People regularly tell me they struggle with me.”
41. Have Little Esteem or Respect for Others (Numbers 16:1-3)
* “I lack respect for other people. I don‟t think very highly of most people. I
have a hard time encouraging and honoring others unless they really do something
great.”
42. Do Violence with My Mouth (Psalm 101:5; Romans 3:13-14; 3 John 1:9-10)
* “I am a slanderer. I find myself either giving or receiving evil reports about
others. I am not concerned about the effect of slander on me because of my maturity
level. I think I can handle it. I only share with others the things I think they
really need to know. I don‟t tell all. Anyway, the things I say or hear about
people are usually true.”
43. Sow Discord (Proverbs 28:25)
* “I am divisive. My actions and attitudes separate people rather than unite
people. My words frequently undermined the confidence and trust people have in one
another. I also tend to resist or resent authority. I don‟t like other people to
give me orders or directions.” 44. Demean or Belittle Others
* “With a motivation to put people in their place or look good myself, I like to
demean or put others down. They need my adjustment. This includes leaders. Other
people need to be humble and have a “sober” assessment of themselves.” 45. Critical
* “I tend to be critical of others. I find myself feeling or talking negatively
about people. I subtly feel better about myself when I see how bad someone else is.
I find it far easier to evaluate than to encourage someone else.” 46. Self Willed
and Stubborn
* “I am self-willed and stubborn. I have a hard time cooperating with others. I
really prefer my own way and often insist on getting it.”
47. Independent (Proverbs 18:1; Luke 1:51-52)
* “I am independent and uncommitted. I don‟t really see why I need other people. I
can easily separate myself from others. I don‟t get much out of the small group
meetings.”
48. Unaccountable (Acts 2:42; Hebrews 10:25)
* “I am unaccountable. I don‟t ask others to hold me responsible to follow through
on my commitments. I don‟t really need accountability for my words and actions.”
49. Unsubmissive (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 5:5)
* “I am unsubmissive. I don‟t like being under the authority of another person. I
don‟t see submission as a good and necessary provision from God for my life. I have
a hard time supporting and serving those over me. I don‟t “look up” to people and I
like to be in charge. Other people may need leaders but I don‟t. It is important
that my voice is always heard.” 50. Feel Mature
* “I really appreciate somebody taking the time to put this paper together. It will
really be a big help to my friends and family. However, I don‟t really need this
because I think I’m pretty humble already.” -Compiled by Brent Detwiler
This post is about dealing with works-righteous false teachers (I won’t call them evangelists, since I reserve that title for those preaching the true Biblical gospel) who knock at your door.
Several weeks ago, I had both Jehovah’s Witnesses (on a Thursday) and Church of Christ (on a Saturday) knock at my door, two days apart.
There are 4 things that I think are very helpful when dealing with people from false religions such as these:
1. don’t lose your temper. II Timothy 2:24-26 “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”
We lose the battle when we lose our cool.
2. Use the ‘3 minutes to live’ scenario from Ray Comfort. This is such a great way to expose the falsity of their ‘gospel’. Both Jehovah’s Witnesses and Church of Christ rely on external works to save them, apart from grace alone through faith alone in the finished work of Christ alone. 3 minutes to live goes like this:
‘I’ve got a knife in my back, I’ve got 3 minutes to live, I’m not a good person, I’ve lived a horrible life, I want to go to heaven, what can you tell me.’ When they hem and haw you can say, ‘Now I’ve only got two minutes.’ After they are done, you can take them to the thief on the cross and demonstrate that salvation comes through trust in Christ alone, and not through any works (Ephesians 2:8-9, Galatians 2:16). ‘3 minutes to live’ also works great when sharing with a false convert or professing Christian who believes that he or she is saved.
3. Use the ‘Good Person Test’. Again, from Ray Comfort, this is a very practical and easy way to share your faith with someone of any spiritual background or persuasion. You simply ask them a few questions related to the 10 commandments: ‘How many lies have you told? Have you ever stolen something, regardless of value? Have you ever looked with lust? Jesus equated that with adultery. Have you ever hated? The Bible equates it with murder.’ When they admit to being a lying, thieving, murderous adulterer, you can ask them whether they should be rewarded or punished for their lawbreaking. Ask them whether they should be sent to heaven or hell. If they show some concern, you can take them to the cross and talk about forgiveness, repentance and faith.
4. Don’t get into arguments. Apologetics are helpful in these situations, but at the same time you don’t want a ‘tit for tat’ scenario. Once you’ve clearly presented the gospel, and they decide they want to leave, I like to use a line from Mark Spence at Living Waters: ‘I’m the watchman for my neighborhood, and unfortunately I can’t just allow you to go and preach this false gospel to my neighbors, so I’ll have to follow you to every door and give my opinion of what you are saying to those you talk to.” The Jehovah’s witness lady responded to me when I said this, “You can’t stop Jehovah’s Witnesses! We’ve been doing this for centuries! We have a lot of your neighbors in the truth! this is our last house today anyway!” And they got into their car and drove away.
You can’t always win battles with the cults, what you can do is share the gospel. God’s word doesn’t return void. We can take comfort in the fact that His word will accomplish its purpose.
Tags: 3 Minutes to Live, Church of Christ, false teachers, Good Person Test, Jehovah's Witnesses, works-righteous
I believe the Bible is true because it’s the only book that reveals the truth about man and his true wretchedness, and reveals God’s absolute justice and holiness, while demonstrating His amazing and completely undeserved grace to men. There is no other book that does this, period.
17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him[b] because He first loved us. I John 4:17-19
How many of us have trembled at God’s judgment. A proper understanding of the holiness of God leads to a healthy trembling before His holiness, anger at sin, righteousness, greatness, majesty. We deserve nothing but God’s judgment, and at the edge of salvation, we trembled. Indeed, the demons still rightly tremble ( James 2:19) as they know the outcome of their deeds — the certainty of God’s judgment. That’s what makes this passage such a wonderful promise. We no longer need to tremble at God’s judgment, because love has been perfected in us, for this very instance. Jesus’ righteousness has been credited to our account through His suffering death on the cross, and we through faith in His blood stand no longer condemned, but forgiven. We are looked upon by the Father as righteous because of His Son. This love that has been poured out on us, gives us boldness in the day of judgment. No longer must we fear the wrath of God. Jesus has satisfied God’s wrath for us. We stand through faith, and we live a new life as adopted sons and daughters.
How much grace! Let us always remember what we deserve, what we’ve received, what unbelievers also deserve, and what they will receive apart from Christ. Let it drive us to greater thankfulness to the Lord, and greater compassion to pour out prayers and petitions for the lost, and to evangelize them. Praises be to Jesus.
Romans 1:32
and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
Postmodernism is the assertion that truth can’t be known. Thus, by its definition, it can’t be true, since the assertion must be true for its postulates to be true. Nonetheless, many today hold to this erroneous and illogical belief. I’d like to dig into where some of these things come from.
I’m convinced that most of the core issues in belief, philosophy, etc, come from a poor doctrine of man. People don’t want to admit that man is bad. That would condemn them, themselves, and so they will come up with anything that they can contrive to try to prove that men (especially themselves) are good. This leads to postulating that we are getting better (evolution), that bad acts of a person don’t come from a person’s heart but rather their circumstances or upbringing or background (genetics producing behavior), that people can be brought to moral/behavioral perfection through behavior modification and chemicals (psychiatry/psychology), that man’s low self-esteem is the reason behind so many societal ills (pop psychology), that man can redeem himself (works righteousness), and that man isn’t accountable to God’s law, as a result (autonomy). As a result, there can’t be any real truth (postmodernism) since your law is as good as mine.
Another tactic of the human heart is to try to force others into hearty approval. The passage above (Romans 1) deals with the implications of man’s rejection of God, and what follows. Not only do men practice evil deeds but they give hearty approval to those who practice them.
Not only do they give hearty approval, but they try to force others to give hearty approval as well. No one likes the fact that their consciences condemn them, so if others’ consciences also speak against their sin, they will try to crush that voice of conscience.
“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” John 3:19-21
We can see that the new ‘tolerance’ in the politically correct world we live in isn’t tolerance at all. True tolerance implies conflict and the lack of violence between offended parties. We can oppose others on issues without taking out a sword and cutting off their head (at least on issues that don’t threaten to take our lives ).
The new ‘tolerance’ rejects that, and says we must give hearty approval to others’ wicked deeds. Anything less is a hate crime.
The new tolerance is wicked because the one who gives hearty approval also participates in the wicked acts. We reject sin outright and don’t give hearty approval to any wicked deed.
Why? because God hates sin. It’s an abomination to Him. When we sin, we don’t give hearty approval, but rather we come to Him in contrition, knowing that because Christ died for our sins, we have forgiveness at the cross. We don’t pursue sin as we did before we were born again, and we don’t give hearty approval.
Postmodernism gives hearty approval to deeds since it doesn’t reject sin as sin, your way is as good as mine. If your way is as good as mine, then it is good, which means that you give hearty approval to it. Anyone who rejects God must choose postmodernism (at least morally) since they have no standard for law anymore. Atheists can not have a standard for morals above themselves, and so cannot say that anything is right or wrong morally, since they don’t believe that God exists. They must be postmodern. But their world-view caves in quickly because they know certain things are wrong. They would rather cling to a ludicrous position then humble themselves before the truth. It’s always a moral issue with anyone who rejects God. Until people are shown their own sin through evangelistic use of the law, and brought to conviction of that sin by the Holy Spirit, they can’t be free of the insanity that revolves around a wrong doctrine of man.
Tags: autonomy, doctrine of man, hate crimes, law, morality, postmodernism, Romans 1, tolerance, works righteousness
A modern theologian has stated that every generation is marked by something, and that this current generation is the most narcissistic generation ever.
We look at the health and fitness industry, the beauty industry, fashion, media, celebrity, even industries like mental health, and it’s clear that, particularly in developed countries like the USA and most of Europe, people tend to be very narcissistic. Technology, and the wealth to buy it, furthers this by allowing us to isolate ourselves even more and thus focus on the one we love best: ourselves.
Cultures that tend to be less narcissistic also tend to be less isolated.
however, our culture struggles with self-pride, and self-love.
The apostle Paul addressed this pandemic in his second letter to Timothy:
2 Timothy 3:1-3
1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,
Paul addresses many of the same sins as he outlines in Romans 1.
I’d like to take a believer’s eyes to Romans 14.
7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and rose[b] and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
In the midst of Paul’s discourse on the freedom in Christ that believers have from the constraints of the law,
he states that we live and die to Christ. I’ve been pondering this for the past couple of days.
Constantly our gaze is shifted away from Him.. We fix our eyes on us. Our personal need, our happiness,
our gain, our problems, our joys. If we live to Christ, and we die to Christ, how much these things become trivialized. I don’t minimize human pain or human joy, those are gifts and part of God’s providence, but our focus on those things above everything else, and most of all above Christ, is a sin.
The other thing I’ve been thinking about is the brevity of life. I just finished Ecclesiastes, and it’s interesting how Solomon almost bitterly describes the end of life, in great poetry. If we can see the end of our life, and the end of other’s lives, as a very short span, soon to be completed, then we will redeem this time.
What is our motivation?
We live to Christ, and we die to Christ! Praise you Jesus! One day we’ll be with Him in glory. That’s closer for some then others, but let’s redeem the time till then. We live to Him.
Tags: brevity, Ecclesiastes, narcissism, Romans 14:7
I’ve been listening to Wretched Radio quite a bit (have been since 2006 or so 
) and was struck by something that Todd Friel brought out, that more and more preachers are saying.
The essence is this: every time we remove Christ as the focus and purpose of our actions, specifically, things that we traditionally were motivated to do by the gospel, those things become simply works of the flesh, and the motivator, legalism. As we know, anything that is motivated by legalism is destined to fail since the law only condemns, it never justifies a man before God (Romans 3:19-20). Those who push for a mercy ministry without the goal of gospel proclamation or ANYTHING in the church that is not motivated by and ultimately proclaiming the cross of Christ are legalists.
When we remove the cross from our mission work, for example, with what some call the ’social gospel’, which is a gospel denuded of the power, we become instant Pharisees. The biblical gospel has the power to save, to change, to transform. God works through the gospel to change people and bring glory to Himself, because the gospel is how God has chosen to save people (Romans 1:16). When we fail to proclaim to ourselves and others the full gospel of sin, righteousness, judgment and redemption through Christ alone we rob them of the truth and possibly create a false convert, and at the same time we proclaim to ourselves that we can achieve something apart from Christ. We’re saying ‘ya gotta do,do,do something’ as the basis for our gospel, since we’ve removed Christ as the reason for all that we do in the church body. This is much graver than we realize. It’s idolatry, and a perversion of the biblical gospel. Taken to its full extent, it’s actually heresy.
Tags: legalism, Romans 3:20, social gospel, Todd Friel, Wretched Radio
I wish prosperity gospel preachers would read the book of Job. They seem to want to twist lots of Scriptures from the Old Testament, incorrectly applying them to the church. They should at least glance at the book of Job, which is regarded by many as the oldest book, predating (possibly) Genesis. Job is the prosperity gospelist’s nightmare, a rich man who honors God loses everything, and is left wondering why; his 3 friends offer nothing but simplistic explanations, accusations and condemnations (“it’s because of your unconfessed sin”), but fail to recognize that God ultimately is ordaining and allowing things that we have no idea about.
Many prosperity teachers will affirm what Job’s friends affirmed, that affliction or tribulation is the direct result of our sin. This is a simplistic and error-filled approach (not to mention tactless and lacking compassion).
Those who do so put themselves in the place of God, as if they know the mind of God. While it’s true that God does chasten believers for their sin, we don’t know what God’s purpose is for a particular trial: whether it is a chastening or a refinement. We can be sure that God is in control and that He will work all things together for our good and His glory ultimately (Romans 8:28), but we can’t claim to know what God is doing through a particular trial. “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor?” Romans 11:34
I’ve heard of a church condemning a poor little boy and ostracizing him because of his sickness, because they believed it was due to a lack of his faith.
These practices are outrageous and point to a bigger issue in those fellowships: not understanding God’s grace and working, and quite possibly, not understanding the gospel at all.
Even to state that a particular catastrophe is the result of individual or corporate sin is dangerous and while it may be true, puts us at risk of going beyond what we know from God’s word. We know that God does judge sin, but again, we don’t know His mind and His intentions for every catastrophe. We are not inspired the way the prophets in Scripture were. We need to be very careful we don’t misinterpret events.
Everything we do needs to be about the gospel of Jesus Christ.
On the other side of things, those who claim that the Christian life is going to be smooth, gentle, prosperous, or tribulation-free are simply trying to make money.
“..men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.” I Timothy 6:5
“By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does[a] not slumber.” II Peter 2:3
II Peter in particular gives us two goals of false teachers: money (2:3, above), and immorality ( 2:13,14,18)
For many false teachers, preaching the false gospel is a business and business is booming.
Anyone who reads the New Testament will be convinced that one who becomes a Christian will suffer.
Romans 8:16-17:
” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”
Philippians 1:29:
“For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake..”
John 15:20:
“Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.”
II Timothy 3:12:
Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
These and many other passages, including the life of Christ and the apostles, make it clear that Christians will go through hardship. Why? We know that God uses suffering in our lives to draw us to Himself and refine our faith, strengthen our faith, and produce maturity.
I Peter 4:12-14:
“Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. 14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.[d] On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.”
We shouldn’t be surprised at suffering, but rather understand that God is working and will work in us according to His perfect will, to bring the work of sanctification to completion one day, when we leave this earth. If we go through suffering, we know, as believers, that God will complete the work in us. This temporary trouble will give way to an eternal glory.
Romans 8:18-25:
“18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. ”
II Corinthians 4:16-18:
“16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
We know that God will work this affliction to our good, and produce a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory!!
People, stop twisting Scripture to try to get a good life now, and trying to acquire petty wealth on earth, which will perish and cause the pursuer to perish with it! Seek Christ!
You can see the video of the hundreds of thousands of people at the Glenn Beck for
God rally in D.C.
http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/US-DC-Rally-Beck/2010/08/28/id/368632?s=al&promo_code=AA07-1
This is very disturbing as many of the people are probably professing evangelical Christians.
II Corinthians 6:14-18:
14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you[a] are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
“ I will dwell in them
And walk among them.
I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.”[b]
17 Therefore
“ Come out from among them
And be separate, says the Lord.
Do not touch what is unclean,
And I will receive you.”[c]
18 “ I will be a Father to you,
And you shall be My sons and daughters,
Says the LORD Almighty.”
II John 9-11
9 He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; 11 for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.
Christians who rally with a cultist like Beck don’t realize what they align themselves with. Mormonism has no part with Christianity, AND no place in America’s founding or fight for religious liberty; instead, was outlawed in early days, and known for cutthroat brigands who molested young girls, stole other men’s wives, polygamy etc, and whose con artist leader died in infamy at the hands of those he offended. He would be comparable in today’s standards to David Koresh. But the biggest issue Christians should have with Mormons is Mormon doctrine, their great blasphemy and heresy that God was a man, that we will become as Christ is, that God had sexual intercourse with Mary to produce Jesus, that Jesus is the half-brother of Lucifer, that there is more than one God, that we can become gods, that the Bible is incomplete. They believe the great lie from the devil in Genesis 2, which event — the fall — they celebrate in their marriage ceremonies as the greatest event that happened since in their eyes, man’s rebellion against God will one day lead to man becoming god.
Glenn Beck now crosses the line from politics to theology, and leads, like the Pied Piper, many undiscerning evangelicals. Come out from among them, people. Don’t be deceived.
One other thing I want to mention is that the reason so many people align with Glenn Beck is that they place a higher value on political action than they do on their theology and Christ himself. We desperately need to remember that Colossians 2 says that we are complete only in Christ. We don’t need the things of this world and while as Americans, we can and should effect change (as salt and light) this does NOT include dirtying ourselves with men’s wicked theology in order to pragmatically win some political goal. God is ultimately in control. We can’t change anything in our own strength. The only thing that has the power to save in this world is the true biblical gospel, and that’s what we should be proclaiming above all, not some political agenda. One of the big reasons we are in the moral mess and everything else that the country is in, is that the church has abandoned the stance of the proclamation of the true biblical gospel. We have exchanged it for political activism, seeker-sensitive jargon that saves no one, and the whore of ecumenism.
We cannot have fellowship with darkness, if we are truly light. We must shine the gospel lamp into the darkness to dispel it.
Tags: Glenn Beck, heresy, II Corinthians 6, II John, rally