America Abandoned by GodJohn MacArthur at SBTS

Here's the link at Apprising Ministries.

No Longer Accepting Anonymous Posts

Just a heads up. We've gotten a few anonymous posts lately, which has since seemed to be on the increase. While one or two didn't seem bad, it's gotten to the point where we won't post anything without a name on it.

Besides, if you really are ready to stand by what you have to say, good or bad, you should be able to put your name on it!

So, we will put all future "anonymous" comments in the trash.

Thanks,

Tim

What's going on...again...

Well, again, I wish to express my thanks to all who have been petitioning the Lord on my father's behalf. He was steadily going downhill. He was even hallucinating. But we didn't know he was dehydrating badly. His kidneys are fine but he couldn't eliminate. He's back in the hospital (as of 4am yesterday), but this time he's in a different one, and is getting much better care. After leaving church this morning (that's another story), my wife and I went to see him Frankly, I haven't seen him looking so good in a very long time! Hopefully this trend will continue and he'll get some major strength back. Nice to have him in a hospital that is not understaffed...the other place had been purchased and went from non-profit to profit based operation. You can guess what happened. Not good.

It's been a rough past week. Had a sleep study done last Thursday night (checking for apnea). On my wife's way home that night, the transmission failed in her car. We're just going to replace the car. Then my left eye is going "lazy" on me -- it turns inward so now I see double till it gets better (this tends to happen every year at least once).

Oh well. It never rains unless it pours. But at least dad is doing much better.

Then there's church, as I mentioned earlier. Our associate pastor preached. He tends to be easier for me to relate to than our head pastor. And his messages tend to have less polish and more substance, which I appreciate. Not expositional, unfortunately, but....

What I'll do is post a link to his message when it becomes available. I agree with him that we need to relate to people, such as our neighbors but after a while you just gotta wonder "when are you going to give the guy the gospel?" It's like all we're trying to do is get people to come to church. After all, they are "unchurched"! Well, going to church doesn't convert anyone. And they shouldn't have to go to church to hear the Gospel. And if I had brought someone to church that wasn't saved, my visitor friend wouldn't have heard the gospel anyway, just a message about relating to your neighbor and getting them in the building!

We keep trying to play the equivalent of 2 or 3 bumper shots (think pool). I guess this is in the name of "not offending". But how long does anyone have to live? I remember how D.L. Moody, after preaching, used to tell people to go home and consider their state before God. Then so many people died (in the Chicago fire, I think). Later he said "never again" would he tell them to "wait till later". It broke him!

But the game goes on: "Well, let's go out and do this, which might cause that, and if that happens they might come to church. Then maybe they'll hear the gospel!". What drivel! Why not just hit the cue ball directly to the 3 and knock it in? Give them the Gospel straight up! It takes less time and contrivance to do it God's way! Just give them the law to help them become aware of the knowlege of sin and guilt, then give them the message of grace through the finished work of Christ!

Nah, that's too easy.

Of course we want to be friends to our neighbors and help them. Of course if we see someone in need we help them. But if we can paint their homes and give them food, why can't we give them what will cleanse them and feed them forever?

Oh well. This is supposed to be an update, not a sermon on evangelism.

Maybe I'll post on this tomorrow.

Blessings and thanks to you for your ongoing prayer support.

...But Remain Faithful

It occurred to me earlier today that perhaps I needed to post this. None of us (as I well know myself) is immune to the temptation to "give up" on the local church at this hour in church history.

With all the negative reports that I have read (and some of which I've passed on here), this morning I felt an old temptation. The one that felt in the early 80's - and that is "give up. It's not worth it. It's all messed up and no-one will listen".

Well, while that may be true, we are still called to be faithful to the body of Christ and be somehow accountable in a local assembly of those who at least profess to know Christ. There isn't a one of us who can survive alone spiritually.

I've already stated in a previous post that I believe that it will get so bad (both inside and outside the church) that we will be pushed further from the "mainstream" and begin to see more house churches. And there is nothing wrong with that. However, in the meantime, let me encourage my readers to remain as faithful to a local body as much as is possible. If you are viewed as "radical" and therefore not asked to have a public ministry, that's ok! And remember, I'm one who has tasted teaching a class or two and thoroughly enjoyed it as did my class! But I'm not going to compromise the message to get there. The Lord will give me what he wants me to have regardless of what others refuse me.

Let me commend this to you from John MacArthur. Let it encourage your heart that you are not compromising by seeking to remain faithful in whatever "best church" you can find in your situation. Remember, being salt and light might even mean being salt and light in the context of the local assembly!

May the Lord bless you richly.

Throwing Down the Gauntlet -- Evangelicalism as a Cult.

Go to dictionary.com and look for the word "cult".

Definition 6 should be "...a religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader."

Ok, what's my point? Well, I'll have to locate it but on another blog, I read a comment from a reader which stated that "emergent" was a new cult within evangelicalism.

I disagree. Reread that definition, and consider the words "false", "unorthodox" and "under the direction of a charismatic leader". Let that sink in. Now, read the next line slowly and thoughtfully.

Those terms fit contemporary evangelicalism.

That's precisely what I said -- Those terms fit contemporary evangelicalism.

Now, I grant you that most of us aren't extremists "...living outside of conventional society". But then the definition doesn't make that an absolute. Besides, many bona-fide cults also are not marked by extremism or living apart from conventional society, such as Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons. They make decent neighbors and so often the Mormons even come off better in society than many "evangelicals".

You say "But we aren't under a charismatic leader!" No??? What about Rick Warren, "America's (untouchable and unexaminable) pastor"?

Modern evangelicalism is not orthodox. How do I know? Because the Scriptures stand as the sole authoritative norm by which we must measure ourselves and the Church.

"Considered to be false"? By Whom? Simple question, simple answer. God.

In an earlier article I mentioned that we have created our own god (small 'g' intentional). You know, the one who wants us to ignore purity in the church althewhile pretending to care about "seekers" (which will then become the "newly ignored" as we go out to get more "seekers"). We worship a god (again, small 'g' intentional) that only cares about numbers, not purity. One who (intentional small 'w') doesn't mind us worshipping and fulfilling our own "needs" through entertainment disguised as worship.

So, we have a false gospel, wrong mission and wrong goals.

Not only that, we preach a "gospel" that teaches "salvation by decision", not by grace through faith (which the Bible teaches is the dual-sided coin of repentance and trust in Christ alone). In fact, at Saddleback, all you have to do to be considered saved and eligable for baptism is check a box on a sheet of paper! Please, show me that in the scriptures!

Now, if you were to walk into your church and see a golden calf sitting there, would you tolerate this? Of course not! But what is the difference between a "graven image" or statue made of metal or wood and the falsehoods we hold to in our own minds? And evangelicalism is rife with falsehoods, which I've already alluded to.

God doesn't differentiate between physical idolatry and spiritual idolatry any more than He differentiates between hatred and murder.

Furthermore, just try moving within almost any evangelical circle and raise questions about Rick Warren and his methods. Please. Then tell me what happens. Evangelicalism would question Jim Jones, but for some reason it's considered "unacceptable" to suspect anything of "Pastor" Warren. Even though he has stated on video that he can't tell us what parameters are right or wrong in any religion such as Christianity, Judaism or Buddhism.

So, we have a false gospel, wrong mission and wrong goals and a wrong object of worship. Our motives may be right, but then that doesn't make "evangelicalism" any different than (again) Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons. And we have our own "Jim Jones" who is more than happy to dispense poison to us.

Does that tick you off just a little bit? Is there something inside you that gets angry about this? Then perhaps that's because this hits home.

So, I disagree with the person that posted that comment. Emergent isn't a cult within evangelicalism. Evangelicalism has morphed. It is, itself, now a cult.

As God Cleans House

You have to wonder just how far this will go. In addition to Ted Haggard, now we have Kent Hovind found guilty of tax evasion.

Don't be mistaken: God is using the unredeemed to begin cleansing His Church. We don't seem to care to do it ourselves.

I'm not, in any way, rejoicing in the misery of Haggard or Hovind. I'm upset, yes, but this is nothing I'd wish on anyone. But I am wondering. How many pastors this week or next, in light of what has been going on, well start preaching simple obedience to God's Word? Even more pointed, how many will start stressing practical accountability and obedience in the local church?

Beloved, this is being paraded before an unbelieving world. How many unsaved were convinced by the Haggard story that Christianity is a joke? And now, just try quoting Kent Hovind when you try to argue creationism to an unbeliever!

How far must God go to purge His Church before we fall on our knees and repent of sin on our own? I don't recall who said this but "God may work slowly but he will grind exceedingly small".

Pastors and other leaders, preach the Word. Quit being concerned about what others may think. Only one thing matters and that is what God thinks.

Should this continue I'll be looking for house churches to become more popular. It's going to be harder and harder to identify with mainline evangelicalism, which is now suffering "as an evildoer" It ostensably cares so much for "seekers" but doesn't seem to have one speck of regard for God's Standards for holiness in the Body of Christ. And I don't care to associate with that. My guess is that many others will come to that conclusion as well.

Ted Haggard: The Symptom

First of all, TeamPyro has an excellent article on this here.

But I'd like to contribute my 2 cents.

I'm sick and tired of being associated with a "Christianity" that does not seem to care one whit about holiness or obedience to God's Word. Let me say this as perfectly clear as I can: I believe that "Christianity" in America is nearly totally apostate. Why? We have abandoned the vision of the Holiness and Fear of God.

We've built a false god that will cater to our flesh and meet our "felt needs". Our real need? Repentance. But we don't want to go there. We live in Laodicea. No apologies. Cut and dried. Stuff like this can only happen because contemporary Christianity is rotten to the core.

Don't believe me? How about churches that ignore God's standards for leadership in Titus and 1 Timothy:

From Titus...

"5The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint^[a] elders in every town, as I directed you. 6An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7Since an overseer^[b] is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

10For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. 11They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. 12Even one of their own prophets has said, "Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons." 13This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith 14and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth. 15To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good."

And 1 Timothy 3...

"Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer,^[a] he desires a noble task. 2Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5(If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) 6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.

8Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. 9They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. 10They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons."

Long ago, in effect, we cut those pages out of our Bibles and threw them out. You can even be head of the NAE and apparently have no accountability and live any way you wish (as long as you get results!).

Interpersonal accountabilty? Descipling one another? Nah. That's intrusive. Might touch my bubble! So we cut out Galatians 6, where Paul told his readers to "bear one another's burdens" which, in context, means accountability for our areas of failure. Nah. We need to just keep those "happy masks" on.

Forget that God says "Without holiness no one will see the Lord". You and I know that Scofield has said that's merely referring to postional truth, not practical. Live any way you want and call yourself a Christian. That nasty little passage in Matthew 7:21? We can't know who that is -- must be Mormons, or some other cult, huh?

Well I'd agree with it being some other cult. That would be the new cult of contemporary politically correct Christianity. The "I'm ok, you're ok and ain't God good all the time" nonsene that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has nothing to do with. Nor the God who took on human flesh and said "If any man wants to be my disciple, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me".

It's not just Ted Haggard. It's contemporary Christian philosophy that promotes this by turning the head at sin while hypocritically being concerned about "seekers". Beloved, we have nothing to offer an unsaved world (notice I didn't say "unchurched"...it's not about going to church, remember?) if we can't even keep holiness in the Body of Christ.

The cult of American "Chrstianity" is nothing more or less than an insult and a blasphemy to God. We worship a God of our own making. And behind any false "god" is a demonic entity.

We flaunt God's standards through the week in our daily lives, ignore God's standards as revealed in His Word, then hypocritically gather on Sunday morning to tell God we are there to "worship". How dare us try to separate obedience from worship like that! Beloved, let me say this as clearly and succinctly as I can: There Is No Worship Apart From Obedience!

At least once in the past, I've been compelled to tell a person who professes Christ to make a choice. "Either live like a pagan and shut up about Jesus, or repent and start living like a Christian." And I'm saying it all over again.

And why not? Joshua said the same thing long ago:

24:14 "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

Let us summarily cut the theological manure about the "fear of the Lord" meaning something smarmy like "respect". Let us do as Paul said in Philippians and "...work out our salvation with fear and trembling". And yes, that is the how to relate to the "New Testament God". Or was Paul a liar?

If you love the Lord, you will obey His commandments. If you believe this isn't true at face value, then come out of the closet and admit you believe Jesus to be a liar, because that's precisely what He said. No more games. If you want to fill your church with tares, go ahead. But please leave the God of the Bible out of it. And don't count on me to help you.

God's Word is clear. It is sufficient. God didn't mumble, stutter or stammer but spoke with clarity. And it's not inherently prideful to be a steward of God's Word and present it as He gave it.

It is time to renew our commitment to words like "Sin", "Obedience", "Repentance" and "Accountabilty" -- and quit calling sin an "indiscretion".

Don't think that's loving? I don't give a rip. You tell me how "loving" it is to allow a soul to "...miss the grace of God." (Hebrews 12:14). In context that is salvation. If you disagree, Prove it! Give me your exegesis! We are bound by God's Word to hold each other accountable so that those who merely profess come to truly possess. And when we fail here, souls end up in hell. Do they lose their salvation? No. I'm saying that many don't have it to begin with. We call them "backsliders". But they most likely never slid forward to begin with.

This is no game, people. This is for God's Glory. And beloved, if we don't repent, we will continue to dishonor God and cause those who don't know Him to blaspheme His holy name.

The Plight of the Persecuted Church

From the CrossTalk website:

"Getaneh Getaneh is a pastor from Ethiopia with Watch and Pray Ministries. He is a rising voice within the Christian solidarity movement that highlights the persecution of believers around the world. He has spoken at various conferences, testified before congressional hearings and has been featured in publications that speak on behalf of the persecuted church.

As a young person, Getaneh had questions as to who God was. From Islamic to psychic influences, eventually he was brought to salvation in Christ through Mennonite missonaries at the age of 13. Eventually through his conversion, Getaneh's family became Christian as well.

As most Crosstalk listeners know, those who live for Christ will suffer persecution and Getaneh's story from this point on is no different.

Getaneh's experiences involve eventually being arrested by the communists for preaching, being denied food, sleep and water for days, being tortured by boiling oil that was poured on the soles of his feet and being whipped with metal cable during his many years in prison. He managed to escape but not before the Lord showed him how much He loves, and we are to love, even our worst enemies.

Eventually he returned to Ethiopia only to be arrested at the airport because an autonomous Islamic court in his home region charged him with converting Muslims to Christianity. He escaped again where his exile led him to the United States in 1994."

Listen to this interview on CrossTalk.

How The Seeker Movement Quenches the Holy Spirit

Bob DeWaay has a great article for your consideration. Read up!

More on dad...

Well, dad made it to the doctor today. He was having problems breathing (heart function). It all boils down to this:

He's been given a medication to help him breathe better. We're giving it a week. If it doesn't help by then, dad has a decision to make; either go to the hospital and get help, or stay home (which would be tantamount to giving up).

My mind is kind of going into "pause" mode. It's difficult because I want to "do something" but there isn't a thing I can do. I'm simply available if mom needs help.

It's tough because I have things I could say but don't want to send the wrong signals. I don't want him giving up. I don't want to lead him to believe I'm expecting him to die. Mom wants him to go to the hospital but he's so dirt tired of being there. He'd have greater physical comfort there but less psychological comfort. Tradeoffs.

So, if you don't see much going on here you'll know why.

Thanks for your prayers at this difficult time.

Blessings to all of you,

Tim

What's Going On Right Now...

Well, for some reason, my employer gave me six days off. Not sure why but I'm not arguing with it. I had asked for tomorrow off because I go to the hospital tonight for a sleep study. We're trying to see if I have sleep apnea. In tonight at 9:15pm and out tomorrow morning. Besides that, it gives me the opportunity to help mom take care of dad. Which is the next update.

This is my second day off in a row. And my routine for this "break" is to stop by and help mom get dad up and help her with other things she might need. Today he seems awfully rough. His breathing is very labored. He has a doctor's appointment at 2pm but we're wondering if he'll be able to go. I imagine we'll end up calling the doctor and I'm thinking he'll end up telling us to get him to the e.r. again. Not good. He's tired of being in the hospital.

So, we'll wait and see. I'm very concerned that his heart is failing. Last August 17th the doctor gave him 6 months to a year without heart surgery. Of course, he could last longer -- or not.

Thanks for your ongoing prayers. If the Lord is calling dad home, His will be done. There is a sense in which I think that is happening. It may be that the Lord is allowing me to spend some last time with him. Only the Lord knows. But I'm not going to hang around him and send off those kind of signals. Dad isn't showing signs of giving up. Besides, I'm only three blocks away from him here at home; a 5 minute walk.

In the name of diversion, I've been working on a humorous graphic which pictures the "Devolution of Christianity". Think "Homo Sapiens In Reverse". It will involve a "complete the subtitles" contest. Winner gets a pile of tracts from Ray Comfort's "Livingwaters.com". So, get your quick wits ready!

Again, thanks for your prayers. This past year has been tough but the Lord is faithful.

"Onward Christian soldiers", Not "Play There Christian Babies"

It's getting to where I feel I need to apologize for beating the same horse over and over again. But then I keep running into excellent articles about the modern farce called contemporary Christianity. By the grace of God I'll keep beating it as long as I have breath.

Here's an article at Apprising Ministries regarding a work by A.W. Tozer.

Oswald Chambers on Justification by Faith

The following is actually from the devotional for October 28th. I read it on that day but didn't get a chance to post it till now.

When I read this, I had to scratch my head a bit. The wording is so precise and tight that it had my head swimming a bit -- I get up at 4:30 a.m. and do my reading at about 4:55.

It betrayed to me my warped view of justification and helped me to see it in its clarity. It's all of God, none of me. I'm not saved by believing, I realize I am saved (when I believe). It's a matter of faith and assurance that only comes by obedience. Salvation is from a sovereign God, from first to last and not of myself. It's not even "my faith", even that comes from the Lord.

Anyway, here's what I read. May it bless you as it did me:

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH

"For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." Romans 5:10

I am not saved by believing; I realize I am saved by believing. It is not repentance that saves me, repentance is the sign that I realize what God has done in Christ Jesus. The danger is to put the emphasis on the effect instead of on the cause. It is my obedience that puts me right with God, my consecration. Never! I am put right with God because prior to all, Christ died. When I turn to God and by belief accept what God reveals I can accept, instantly the stupendous Atonement of Jesus Christ rushes me into a right relationship with God; and by the supernatural miracle of God's grace I stand justified, not because I am sorry for my sin, not because I have repented, but because of what Jesus has done. The Spirit of God brings it with a breaking, all-over light, and I know, though I do not know how, that I am saved.

The salvation of God does not stand on human logic, it stands on the sacrificial Death of Jesus. We can be born again because of the Atonement of Our Lord. Sinful men and women can be changed into new creatures, not by their repentance or their belief, but by the marvellous work of God in Christ Jesus which is prior to all experience. The impregnable safety of justification and sanctification is God Himself. We have not to work out these things ourselves; they have been worked out by the Atonement. The supernatural becomes natural by the miracle of God; there is the realization of what Jesus Christ has already done - "It is finished."

Welcome to Difficult Times

From 2 Timothy 3:

"But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith.

But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes's and Jambres's folly was also. Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!

Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.".

It wasn't so long ago that I saw this passage in a different light. The point of view I took was that of the mean, wicked, openly unbelieving world coming to my door. The Big Bad Enemy demanding I renounce Christ under threat of thumbscrews.

Not any more. Not that this may not happen; anyone who follows what is going on in the underground church in countries such as China and North Korea knows that this type of stuff (and worse) is a daily occurrance.

See, it's just like our view of the Adversary. We keep expecting him to show himself in a red suit, tail and pitchfork. But Paul said he appears as an "Angel of Light". In other words, he looks attractive! He and his evil minions are too intelligent to show up and put their cards on the table. No. It's never this "Hey you are doing great, so I'll just tempt you with this really big obvious sin".

He shows up and looks smooth. What he says goes down easy. It promises peace with the world at no apparent cost to us. And so my view and application of this verse has changed.

Welcome to Difficult Times.

It's not a matter of the "big bad unbeliever" getting us. It's how the devil uses those in the visible church to try to get us off course.

And I'm making my position known. How about you?

We're going into a time of persecution and turmoil. From the outside? I don't think so. Not so much as from the "inside".

From experience, if you speak of faith being obedience to the Word of God (you can't separate God from His Word), you will be called a legalist. If you insist on taking a stand for the sufficiency and clarity of God's Word, don't expect them to listen -- rather expect to be called dogmatic and devisive. (See Illustration).

So be it.

Are we to fear man above God? No. All men can do is, at worst, destroy the body. It's God who consigns a soul to hell. So, when it comes to human approval or God's, I will take my side with God, thank you.

Jesus said that the time would come when believers will be killed by those who think they are serving God. Who will these people be? I don't know beyond all shadow of doubt but beheadings being referred to in Revelation gives us a clue, and Islam is growing at a very rapid pace. And with emergent Christianity embracing all manner of things it may even include those who claim to know a "Jesus". Notice, I said "a Jesus". One of their own making. One that isn't the real Jesus.

Look around! Use discernment! Be a Berean! Is the person you are submitting to or "fellowshipping with" submitting to the True Jesus? Now is the time to not only "examine ourselves" but also remember that "by their fruit we shall know them". Only through visible obedience to God's Word do we know the true from the false. 1 John 3 "If someone says 'I know Him' and does not keep His commandments, he is a liar and the truth is not in him". That, beloved, is not a believer.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not talking sinless perfection. The verse in 1 John is talking about a pattern of life. But if you see someone walking in obvious disagreement with God's Word, tell them, and they shrug it off, you have to wonder. Be careful! It is the devil's plan to sucker us off course one step at a time. Then you and I will come to a point where we wonder "how did we get way over here?"

We aren't here for party games. We aren't here to "go along to get along". We are in a war. It's a spiritual war, but a war nonetheless.

Our brothers and sisters in Christ, who make up the underground church, don't have this problem; at least not to the magnitude that we have it. Christianity in those countries is not a superficial commitment. To convert from Islam to Christianity invites the death penalty. Here? Pheh! Just sign a card or check a box and you're an "innie" -- guaranteed! "Oh, have you turned back to your former life of sin? Well, too bad...but we'll see you in heaven!"

All around us we see Paul's words to Timothy coming to pass. And now we have a prominent pastor who has his own global P.E.A.C.E. plan, going around helping "Christians", Jews, Hindus and Moslems alike building bigger "houses of worship". And of course, he can't tell you what "parameters" (beliefs) in your faith are right or wrong. How nice. We're all on this journey together...regardless of what we believe.

So forget about the "big bad lost people". This is a spiritual battle. The lost will act like the lost. But expect better from those who profess to be "brothers" and "sisters" in the Lord. Do they obey God and His Word? Or do they, by their words and actions (no matter how sweet they may sound or honorable they look) deny Him?

Stand for God's Truth. Obey it. Proclaim it. And when you hear "legalist" or "devisive" or "unloving" remember we are called to die to self. These are mere appeals by the enemy to return to the seamless slumber of which they want us to become fellow partakers.

Proverbs 3:5,6 (My paraphrase) "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Don't lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and he will make your paths straight".