Greetings all ,
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. <-----> 2nd Timothy 2:19
Lord help me to be concise ...
1. Satan is bringing chaos and confusion to the world regarding the nature of true worship + genuine religion , not so much by refuting the genuine followers of Christ ; but by inundating the world with hypocritical posturers.
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. <-----> 2nd Peter 2:1
2. The critical matter is not so much that there are such among us ... The critical matter is that we become not as one of them ourself .
For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. <-----> 1st Corinthians 11:19
3. We shouldn't feel threatened by those who feign to be something they're not .
Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. <-----> Matthew 10:26
4. Our care , our concern , is in keeping our focus , our minds , towards all people ( those appealing and unappealing alike ) as those for whom Christ died . Did He not die for the sins of the whole world ? And doesn't that mean , ( since we're saved " according to His mercy + grace ) , that there's hope for every living soul ? It is a diabolical , carnal temptation to put " those for whom Christ died " , into subcategories ; where their image can easily become prematurely celebrated or villified . Think of Saul , before he became Paul , as an example .
This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. <-----> 1st Timothy 1:15+16
5. When Jesus told his followers not to judge - this is what He meant . He didn't mean don't judge between what is right , and what is wrong . He meant don't judge who is His , and who is not His. For we can't see , in great detail , what the future holds ; and if we assume we know already who is going to be blessed forever and who is going to be cursed forever , we go beyond what is fitting of our present estate , and become a hypocritical posturer ourself .
Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God. <-----> 1st Corinthians 4:5
* The word " nothing " above , comes from two Greek words which are defined " any person " + " qualified negation ".
Meaning that , in the Light of Christ , and The Cleansing Power of His Shed Blood , we should hold hope in our hearts for every living person , and by treating them accordingly , we are kept in line with Jesus' commandment to love our enemies , and as such we become , as The Apostle Paul was inspired to write -
... blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world. <-----> Philippians 2:15
This is the true nature of genuine Christianity . And it is blessed by God , so that , it's steadfast witness does tear down satan's strongholds ; whereas all the wrath and indignation of man against his fellow man does only add to the devil's designs upon bloodshed , carnage , and desolation .
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.
But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.
Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned. <-----> Isaiah 14:12-20
In summarization - When others are apparently going against us ; the real temptation is not the " defiant carrot " , dangling in front of us , or the " daring line " drawn in the sand before us ; but rather , the true temptation is within ; which is to prematurely judge , in such a way as to close ourselves off , ( by negating emotions / attitudes ) , so that , God's Love and Christ's Forgiveness cannot shine through and be seen in us . And it is those Divinely Wrought Virtues which do mightily convict and convince unto leading us to repentance .
Once we clearly recognize what we're really called to fight against , ( the inner , not the outer ) , then we can experience the True Victory available to us in Christ . But if we keep struggling against " paper dragons " and fighting over " red herrings " , our victories are at best , superficial and hollow ; also , as such , the nature of our defeat is extremely grave and potentially extraordinarily far reaching .
This is what is heard regarding these things .
May we learn them well , Lord Jesus , according to that which brings you Honor , Praise , and Glory . Amen .
wm
