Home Of Righteousness

home of righteousnessThe definition of home can vary greatly depending upon the person. While is it true that a Christian has an earthly home made from wood like other people, and their own physical body is also a type of home (2 Cor. 5:9), their possible everlasting home is very much different:

But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. (2 Pet 3:13,14)

To dwell in that home in the new heaven and new earth is only possible if we qualify (overcome). For that to happen the person must be righteous. The context of 2 Peter 3:13,14 is significant, for it was written to people who had been previously born again (2 Pet. 1:1-4), yet Peter told those same Christians to make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with God. That is a salvation teaching, which few have heard in our day, because the prevalent doctrine of once saved always saved flatly denies that eternal truth. To those heretics, if one makes any effort at all, he is not in grace and is trying to earn his salvation! If they were right, then Peter was not teaching grace and was trying to stumble others by declaring that, which is impossible! If on the other hand, Christians need to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with God to get into that home of righteousness, then the lethal error of eternal security should be obvious to all just from that single passage.

So how can a Christian do as Peter advises? He needs to seriously avoid certain people, places and things, which can defile him. He needs to strive always to keep his conscious clear (Acts 24:15,16) and walk in forgiveness towards people who sin against him (Mt. 6:14,15). He must endure the hatred, which comes to the godly (Mt. 10:22, 2 Tim. 3:12) as he keeps himself pure (1 Tim. 5:22). Those are just a few of the safeguards Christians must be mindful of, but too few are! Again, to qualify for that wonderful home, you must be righteous. The unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom (1 Cor. 6:9,10 cf. Mt. 13:41,42).

The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. (Gal 6:8)

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Friendship Evangelism

friendship evangelismFriendship evangelism is a relatively new term practiced by people who think you need to become friends with unsaved people before you can win them to the Lord Jesus. There are NO Scriptures they can cite for such an approach.

Friendship Evangelism People

Such friendship evangelism people don’t evangelize the way the earliest disciples did for some reason. Maybe they think the blunt approach isn’t for them. They believe in the s-l-o-w, drawn out method over time (maybe months or years) to somehow become friends with those with whom there is no fellowship (2 Cor. 6:14-18). So, if the unsaved live long enough to still be around when they finally do become friends, then he will give him the gospel. In other words, such people think they need to become friends of the world first, before they can lead someone in darkness to eternal life!

Friendship Evangelism is a Trick of the Devil

What a glaring trick of the devil friendship evangelism is! (It’s not as good as once saved always saved, but nonetheless very good.) Why? Because the unsaved person will not get the life saving message as quickly as possible, even in his dire desperate need. He could easily die, move away, etc. and that would abruptly curtail his opportunity to hear the truth about eternal life. The same unexpected changes could also happen to the person engaged in friendship evangelism.

Friendship Evangelism is DEADLY

Secondly, the person caught up in friendship evangelism, if a real Christian, will lose his salvation by becoming a friend of the world! James 4:4 says:

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

Since all enemies of God are headed for raging fire (Heb. 10:27), then the friendship evangelism soul winner will actually lose his own soul by becoming a friend of the world! The initial motive is good, but that evangelistic method isn’t based on God’s word and strays off into a forbidden dangerous area – becoming a friend of the world. Hence, friendship evangelism is severely flawed and even endangers those interested in leading others to eternal life. Carefully read the Book of Acts and pattern your method and message after theirs to learn how to soul win. It will become apparent there was no friendship evangelism in first century Christianity and there shouldn’t be any for us today.

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Why Is Everything So Hard

Have you ever wondered why even the easiest task can be hard and frustrating sometimes? It’s because we are living in a God cursed age! God cursed our age in various ways in Gen. 3:14-19. Because he did, we have all been affected and have only known that curse. It wasn’t like that in Eden before Adam died spiritually through sin. His environment was Paradise, which far exceeds anything we have ever known. The animals were all tame. The vegetation was well watered and provided plenty of food. The one exception for Adam was that he had a tempter who wanted to do him mortal harm. That enemy was very clever and came deceitfully as a friend tempting Eve to get to him! One day for the overcomers, Paradise will be restored (Rev. 2:7 cf. 22:3-5), but the tempter (devil) won’t be present then (Rev. 20:10).

Now we are being tested by God in this far-from-ideal society. We are tested in a furnace of affliction (Isa. 48:10). The same God who allowed the devil to be around Adam, has also allowed him to be around us! He is now trying to devour us (1 Pet. 5:8) after his thousands of years of experience to sharpen his tempting skills! The only way anyone, including the Christian, can stand and overcome him, is to take this fight seriously and put on the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:13). NOTE: The word was armor, as used in hand to hand combat in a fight to the death! We need the whole armor, under grace and after the cross of Christ, to stand against his wiles and succeed. Anything less will not work. We must be alert and self-controlled (1 Pet. 5:8). We must also resist him, to have him flee (James 4:7), but how is that done? How can we resist an invisible adversary like him? The only way is by resisting his temptations and suggestions, which are not always easy to identify at first! So it comes back around to being knowledgeable of and built up in the word of God. To know God’s word, will make it easy to identify any strange voice, including the devil’s, who can even come as an angel of light to lead one astray. He who endures to the end will be saved (Mt. 10:22). Do you know Jesus?

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Totus Tuus

Totus Tuus are the Latin words (meaning Totally Yours) made famous by Pope John Paul II as he used them in his total consecration to the Mary of Catholicism! His commitment to Mary was boldly open and apparent, even on his coat of arms as Pope. Pope John Paul II on many occasions declared that it was his Mary, who delivered him from an assassination attempt. Pope John Paul II entrusted himself and the whole world to Mary for her to care for! In a book containing some of his sermons, he referred to Mary as sovereign on more than one occasion!
Pope John Paul II
Could anyone rightly say that Pope John Paul II didn’t know true Roman Catholicism? Never! He knew it and without wavering flaunted his idolatrous beliefs and true Roman Catholic Marian doctrine before the whole world. Since his death, not one Catholic authority ever stated Pope John Paul II was extreme or even off ever so slightly with such bold trust and commitment to Mary! His example, no doubt, has stumbled people from around the world to likewise look to Mary, instead of God for deliverance. Who knows how many Roman Catholics are trusting in Mary, instead of the Lord Jesus for salvation because of his example, usage of the rosary and endorsement of the Fatima Visions.

Hundreds of millions of precious SOULS are speeding towards the eternal flames of the lake of fire thinking Mary is their life, sweetness and hope, instead of Jesus! The ones acquainted with the message of Faitma are also looking to Mary as the way to God and our refuge as endorsed by Catholicism! Where are the Christian leaders speaking out against such DEADLY spiritual poison? Sadly, from what I have observed over the years, many preachers are more interested in getting money from Catholics than helping them find salvation for their souls! It’s time to speak out and let God’s truth be known! Pope John Paul II was just another heretic, like all the other popes. He was the head of a counterfeit religious system, which has misled multitudes of sincere people away from true salvation and eternal life and deeper into idolatry. Let’s call it as it is for a change! SOULS need rescued. As a former Roman Catholic, I know the deadness of such a religious system. It is not from God and was not founded by Jesus. God bless you.

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Lust

We live in a world of sin and deception. That includes the church world, which is supposed to be the pillar and foundation of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15), but isn’t in our day! The sin of adultery, caused by illegitimate marriages and lust, is especially rampant. Because of the prevalence of pornography, lust is so commonplace that I have had various professing Christians unashamedly admit to me that they lust all the time, yet the same also profess to have eternal salvation and eternal life as once saved always saved proponents! Jesus addressed the lust issue and its seriousness in Mt. 5:28,29:

But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

God’s eternal truth is obvious. Lust in the heart is adultery and will take one to hell. Hence, it is impossible to be a Christian and have a lust bondage at the same time. There are no Christian adulterers (1 Cor. 6:9,10; etc.). Anyone willing to accept the truth can see what the Lord taught about lust, regardless how common and downplayed it is in our society. So how can we guard our hearts regarding this? You must monitor your thought life and only ponder thoughts that God would approve. Spending time regularly in Scripture plus memorizing the word will be the victory as you seek God and draw near to him. According to Mt. 5:28,29, you will have to overcome lust in the heart to escape hell. That fact was spoken by the same Lord Jesus who gave us John 3:16 and who said one must be born again to enter God’s kingdom (John 3:5). Victory is in Jesus and nowhere else. You can live holy. You can obey God. You do not have to lust.

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The Sin Of Unbelief

sin of unbeliefIs the sin of unbelief the only sin that will cause one to not inherit eternal life and to be thrown into the lake of fire? The Biblical answer is a categorical, No. In contrast to Biblical truth, the message of once saved always saved declares the sin of unbelief to be the only sin which will send one to hell, to the shame of all who teach it and those who believe it!

Remember, the eternal security teachers deny that murder, sexual immorality, theft, swindling, slander, lying, drunkenness or any other sin (in any combination) can send a person once saved to the lake of fire. The ramification of that heresy is, the only sin that will cause one to be thrown into the fiery furnace is a constant state of unbelief before receiving eternal salvation!

The famed Charles Spurgeon was not the Prince Of Preachers, as many wrongly call him, for his doctrines had Biblical errors, as a Calvinist. As a Calvinist he believed, when king David sinned with adultery and murder, he retained his salvation, as did John Calvin. It goes with that false theology and license to sin. But that is not all Spurgeon believed. Here is what the same grace changer, Charles Spurgeon, said about the sin of unbelief:

… if you are damned, it will be unbelief that damns you. (Charles Spurgeon, The Sin of Unbelief, January 14, 1855)

If Spurgeon and multitudes of others are wrong, what Scriptures can prove it? God, from his own throne in heaven, powerfully refuted that fallacious concept with this:

But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars–their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. (Rev 21:8)

According to God himself, along with a host of others, the unbelieving will find his home in the lake of fire. The unbelieving will be with the cowardly, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars. That is not even a complete listing, but the point has been made already. It seems the chief stumbling block for the concept of only the sin of unbelief comes from John 3:18. That verse says:

He who is believing in him is not judged, but he who is not believing hath been judged already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (Young’s Literal)

That verse focuses in upon the present time, and only mentions two types of people: either the ones believing in Jesus or the ones not believing. That, however, is not an all-inclusive listing of people who will get eternal life or be eternally lost, as we already saw from Rev. 21:8. Besides John 3:18, Jesus also gave us Luke 8:12-15 which refers to the various types of people who heard the word of God and what their reactions were. Verse 12 refers to those who were never saved (and always in the sin of unbelief). Verse 13 are those who were once saved, but afterwards became unbelieving through persecution. Verse 14 are those who don’t bring forth fruit because of the cares of this life, etc. and are apparently thrown into the fire too (John 15:1-6). So again, as in Rev. 21:8, the sin of unbelief is separated from other lethal forms of behavior. The people who teach the sin of unbelief is the only sin which will send one to the lake of fire are making excuses for all other sins, downplaying them. Don’t be deceived. Ponder 1 Cor. 6:9,10; Eph. 5:5-7, Gal. 5:19-21, Rev. 22:15; etc. Sin is still the issue.

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Approved In Christ | Persevere Under Trial | Endure Hardship

In Romans 16, Paul mentions various names of Christians in Rome. Of that list was Apelles, a man who is only mentioned once in the entire Bible, but we are informed that he was approved in Christ:

Greet Apelles, tested and approved in Christ. (Rom 16:10)

We need to be like Apelles in that way – approved in Christ, but what does that mean and how did he get approved? If we consider James 1:12, we will get more insights:

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

Apelles underwent some sort of trial or adversity for being a Christian, maybe unusual since Paul referred to it. He could never have been approved without first being tested. What that adversity was is unknown, but it is most significant that he persevered under trial, as we must. James 1:12 states the crown of life will be given to those who stand the test and are approved in the end. The same crown of life is promised to those who love God, which is a salvation issue. In Rev. 2:10,11, it is given to those who overcome.

The Christian needs to constantly remember that this life is a battlefield with many crushing problems, disappointments, sufferings and temptations. We must persevere under the trials and be like good soldiers of Christ Jesus, which will surely come, to be approved, which many won’t be:

Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. (2 Tim 2:3)

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Did Abraham Lie

It is so distressing to be taught by an eternal security teacher. Why? Because the bottom line in everything they declare about salvation security will downplay the seriousness of sinning somehow. To convince the listeners that one is forever saved, they will do anything they have to, which even includes smearing the Apostle Paul, as the worst of sinners (by a misuse of Rom. 7:14-25), to saying Abraham lied about Sarah, when he didn’t!

If you are acquainted with the misused Scriptures the perseverance of the saints people cite for support that the elect can stray into wickedness and remain therein, but still retain their salvation, then you know the Abraham lied declaration could arise. I have also noticed that they don’t readily cite a Scripture as proof for their Abraham lied teaching! One exists, but they don’t like to mention it! Let’s test their argument that Abraham lied, by going to the verse they misuse:

Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her. (Gen 20:2)

Did Abraham lie or is there more we need to know? The context reveals an important piece of related truth, which the Calvinists don’t want us to know about, which is found in verse 12. In that verse Abraham speaks about Sarah:

Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. (Gen 20:12)

Sarah was both Abraham’s wife and sister! As Cain’s wife was also his sister, Abraham’s wife was his sister too. The once saved always saved people were looking for something to try to justify their own security in sin doctrine so they distorted the truth about Abraham to do so! But wait! There is more! The same people who are willing to smear Paul and Abraham also refer to Ananias and Sapphira, who lied to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:1-10). They are cited, by the same spiritual wolves, as an example of the sin unto death, to say a person once saved can be struck dead physically by God in the state of unrepentant sin and will be taken to heaven! All their empty words will not change reality:

But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all LIARS–their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. (Rev 21:8)

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Spiritual Revival

spiritual revivalWhat is true genuine spiritual revival? An example of spiritual revival is clearly seen in 2 Chronicles 34. Verse 14 is the key with Hilkiah finding the Book of the Law. (All true spiritual revival begins with God’s word.) Hilkiah gave it to Shaphan, who read it to King Josiah. Hearing the truth of God’s word caused sorrow to the point where King Josiah ripped his royal robe, but that was just the beginning. He now knew God’s will and that meant the pagan images and practices would have to go. Consequently, there was a major spiritual change, which was occurring for the good of all the people. It all began with Josiah when he first heard the written word of God. Here are more details about that moment:

Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before God when you heard what he spoke against this place and its people, and because you humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the LORD. (2 Chr 34:27)

So Josiah humbly received the word in his heart. That produced a godly sorrow over sin, which resulted in repentance. That repentance was clearly observed by his radical godly actions. In the New Testament we read the same, which is also the process to eternal life and salvation:

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. (2 Cor 7:10)

Scripture also says we are to prove our repentance by our deeds (Acts 26:20). That is exactly what we observe with Josiah. He got rid of the idols that were around just like we all must if we want to live forever and never die. Godly Josiah must have appeared to some to be an extremist as he smashed, cut down and burned various objects which were contrary to God’s word. He is a perfect example of true spiritual revival. It begins with God’s word and produces a godly sorrow unto a turning away from sin which results in salvation. Never was laughter observed with Josiah or at any other time in Scripture when spiritual revival occurred. When the HOLY God deals with people over sin and they respond, there is sorrow and regret, but never a worldly laughter and air of entertainment! Don’t be deceived about true spiritual revival.

 

Real Revival (mp3)

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Not Mercy

Showing mercy to others is foundational to the Christian life, but what is not mercy needs to be known! There exists a dangerous false mercy, which the devil uses at times in his battle to deceive and lead people into sin. It is a very subtle Satanic temptation, which few seem aware of. Such false mercy, which is not mercy at all, often comes through helping the dangerous handicapped. While Christians are to help the blind, lame, crippled, poor, etc., that doesn’t mean we are to give them a platform to spread spiritual poison, if they are also a false teacher! To get more specific, to show misplaced mercy is to allow a physically handicapped person to testify or declare spiritual concepts, which can lethally stumble and deceive the listeners!

In the natural, if a handicapped person shot another in the heart with a gun, that person would be just as dead if it came through a healthy person, who was not physically handicapped. The danger in that case is getting shot in the heart. Spiritually the danger is in false teachings, especially the ones related somehow to eternal life. So if a healthy person or a handicapped person spreads spiritual poison (another gospel), which adversely affects the listeners, it makes no difference since the end result will be the same – spiritual death.

I know of one such occurrence where a woman in a wheelchair was transported to a congregation out of kindness to her, but there she would hand out CDs of a heretic teaching the doctrine of demons of eternal security! Sadly the pastor, who allegedly was opposed to that heresy, didn’t prevent her. It was a different person in the congregation, who rightly noticed the danger she was to others, even though she was handicapped! In that case, the person transporting that woman needed to stop taking her, since she was not going to respond to God’s truth. It was not mercy to take her where she could hurt and destroy others spiritually.

I know of another example of a man who has been providing a platform for a blind man, who is also a staunch once saved always saved advocate. The man providing the internet platform knows the security in sin gospel is false, yet seemingly has been taken down through the false mercy Satanic temptation! Again, that is not mercy at all. He is sharing in the wickedness of a false teacher and grace changer, which is very bad for him and the others who get deceived (2 John 10,11).

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