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| Appeasement has tarnished the legitmacy of the Gospel among those who may be sincerely curious about God. |
The Holy Bible is more than a book. It is a organic guide to all the promises and perils of life. Though many think that being a Christian is being perfect, those who study God's Word know that this is far from truth and contrary to sound doctrine. We understand that without God we can do nothing (John 15:5). We realize that despite the modern culture of promoting "gospel for prosperity" and "road to success" seminars, human beings are simply slaves to righteousness or sin. As a "slave" it is never been a requirement to think.
The truth of the matter is when it comes to spiritual living, it's best not to think, but to follow. I, personally, have gotten myself in tons of trouble "thinking" I knew what was right or believing that "maybe" this or that will work. Sometimes I got "lucky". Most times I made an error. God questions our so-called "thinking" skills and presents a poignant question to the outcomes of our "free will" endeavors in Romans 6:20-21
"When you were a slave to sin, your were free the control of righteousness. What benefits did you reap at the time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!"
He shows us his wisdom concerning our intentions and how they misled us in Proverbs 21:2:
"A person my think their way is right, but the Lord weights the heart".
I am sure many of us can attest to this scripture, I don't feel it is necessary to go into detail. We all have our stories.
God says we are all slaves to either sin or righteousness (Romans 1:1). The Devil tricks us to believe that we have the power to make the right decisions and to think our way into prosperity and out of trouble. This is contrary to Scripture and it leads to many of us tainting the Gospel and delivering false doctrine.
Though none of us are perfect, it is incumbent upon all followers of Christ to adhere to and minister sound doctrine. There is not room for our interpretations and justifications. The evidence of human justification and interpretation is seen in the plethora of governments, religious denominations and global unrest. Every sect thinks their way is the Way. Little credit is given to God and no solid explanation can be given to justify this in Scripture. As a result, the blood of wayward saints and sinners who resistance salvation is on our hands. The Bible warns of this in Ezekiel 3:16-21:
And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give warning from Me. If I say to the wicked, "You shall surely die", and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die from his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hands.......but if you warn the wicked....you will have delivered your soul."
It doesn't stop there:
Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and you lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hands."
This is serious business, folks. God is not playing with us. Unfortunately too many churches are looking to appease people as opposed to correcting them. They are fooled by those who really don't want the Gospel and complain that they don't want to be judged or condemned at church. Correction is not judgement, but rather an act of love to prevent a person from perishing. I equate the false logic of these excuses with someone wanting a job, but not wanting an interview; they must not really want a job then, right? American Christianity has made so many concession for the world to get them to come to church.
Examples like Easter, Christmas and Sunday service are all compromises with pagan religion and sun worshipers to get them to be a part of the church. We now support homosexuality in the pulpit and allow people to come to the Church dressed as harlots and thugs without exhortation. The phrase: COME AS YOU ARE is NOT in the BIBLE!! A sound minded person may ask: "Why would the Church do this"? Its simple: politics and profiteering. Both are in direct conflict with the sound doctrine of the Bible (Mark 12:17). This appeasement has tarnished the legitimacy of the Gospel among those who may be sincerely curious about God. The common word they use to describe us as is HYPOCRITE! Are they wrong?
The human way of defining success in any endeavor is by accumulation of wealth, popularity and the rise of social status. Too many churches think they are "blessed" by the number and type of members or the size of the temple. This is in direct conflict with the Word of God. For the scriptures say: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, saith the Lord" (Isaiah 55:8). The Lord tells us that anytime we are doing it our way or the way we think, it is not God's way. It is the way of Satan.
I was talking to a great friend who has a particular talent in music entertainment. They have been prayerful concerning God's direction in the matter. I have been encouraging as have others. My friend has spent years toiling in that endeavor. One day, I asked my friend if they thought that God's will was for them to pursue that dream. The friend told me they believed so because they were always put in situations to meet certain titans in that industry and had several meetings. My friend also went on to detail how they believed God sent them as a vessel for the industry, despite it being an obvious pit for immorality. My friend felt that God speaks to everyone differently and that they would be used to make a change in the industry.
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| Jay-Z and Kanye West are examples of why God does not want his children immersed in demonic industries |
I, like many, doctrine following Christians, held my tongue on this for the longest time. The American Christian church waters down the sound doctrine of the Bible to appease non-believers to come to their meetings to "feel" good about themselves. Worse, they discourage other saints from being forthright about the Truth and dismiss them as being too judgmental and stern. God is not mocked. When a person comes to God, it is not to feel good about themselves, but to be good within themselves. The church thinks it is winning them over with catering to their fleshly desires of prosperity and career, but they are really losing them to salvation. People come into this kind of false doctrine readily, but when they get acquainted with the sound doctrine of the Gospel and come to some understanding of the Way they leave the church for far more legitimate reasons than those who resisted sound doctrine from the onset. Those people leave the church because they see the hypocrisy of what they allow from the saints in contrast to what God instructs.
And when they fall away, their blood is on the hands of the Church.
Now, I gently told my friend that I did not agree with their belief that God would set them in a satanic industry like secular music because it did not line up with scripture. My friend tried to use the example of Moses going into Pharaoh to demand the release of the slaves from Israel to justify their believe that God wants them in the secular music industry. To counter this "personal" belief, one must have sound doctrine and that comes only through prayer and reading the Word for oneself. I simply corrected my friend by explaining that God is the same God, yesterday, today and forever (Hebrew 13:8) and he shows no partiality (Acts 10: 34). So, God does not speak to anyone differently though he may use different mediums. His Word and Laws are the same for everyone. He would never justify one saint over another against his own Word.
Secondly, Jehovah did send Moses to Pharaoh, but not to collaborate with him as you would with Puffy, but to admonish him and declare God's will to him. It wasn't a cocktail party. It was a declaration of war! It wasn't a goodwill exhibition or Moses would have spent time with Pharaoh feasting and compromising on some kind of treaty like a G8 summit. The Word says that God cannot do evil so He is unable to compromise with evil. So, to think that God will allow you to compromise His Word for your desire is an act of trying to tempt God (Psalms 78:18), and God cannot be tempt (James 1:13).
Lastly, if Jesus Christ, who had all authority on Earth, obeyed the prophecy of the Word and laid on the cross (Luke 22:42), why would Jehovah allow us to live according to our own beliefs and allow us to seek refuge in a house (like the secular entertainment industry) that he plans to destroy (2 Peter 3:10)?
My friend did not agree, but no blood was on my hands.
I am not judging my friend, but as a follower of Christ, I declare Bible principles as fact. This is not a referendum on their dreams or desires, but a report of the Truth according to the Word. I am the most unrighteous of all Christians (Roman 3:10), but I think it imperative to tell the absolute unadulterated Truth concerning the scriptures. If anyone was to call me out on my sin, I could not in good spiritual conscience justify my sins as anything less than a total disobedience to God's will. Period!
Too many Christians are sensitive to their own feelings and the secular value system they are raised in. They mistake exhortation with criticism and view flattery as encouragement. The Bible speaks against flattery (Proverbs 26:29). We live in a social media world that breeds narcissism in people. Instagram and Facebook are filled with "selfie" photos that are posted to achieve social validation through likes and comments.
If we follow Christ we know that he is not a fan of this behavior. It runs contrary to His Way. Jesus is the Son of God who Jehovah gave the Earth to as His footstool. Though he has dominion over the Earth, His quiet walk of humility and anti-materialism is what he wants us to strive for. Satan, according to the Bible, was very handsome and talented (Ezekiel 28:13-17), while Jesus appeared to us as lowly and unattractive (Philippians 2:5-8). Those of us who have some life experience can testify to times when we are beguiled by attractive people and things only to find that they are destructive or not what they appear to be. We also have found the beauty in people and things that may appear to be unattractive or difficult only to be blessed or made better by them. This is why it is so important for us to follow and minister sound Bible doctrine. It is the foundation onto which our life and faith can be built. God will shake our "buildings". Our relationships, adventures and philosophies will be tested and shaken at one time or another. It is best, not to build on the wavering ideas or the status quo of mankind, but to build on a rock.
The best rock is the Word of God!
