Thursday, September 06, 2012

GOING SECULAR--ABANDONING CHRIST

Going Secular – Abandoning Christ
9/6/2012
         
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2. As the born again children of God, we have been transformed into the exact representation of our Lord. Obviously as we look at the Ekklesia of Christ today, this concept is foreign to many professing Christians. We are a peculiar people as Paul tells us in his epistle to Titus. “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people…” Titus 2:13-14. The Greek word translated into English as peculiar is “periousios”, which actually means “possession”. What we understand from this verse is that Jesus has taken us (His followers) as His possession. When our Creator justifies us we become His property, which means we have been transformed. Our minds too are to be transformed, thus conformed to God and His will – and no longer to the world.
 
How is this transformation possible? “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;” Ephesians 1:7. When Jesus died on that cross His blood was shed. His death and the shedding of His blood was the full purchase price for our redemption. We who believe in Him have been redeemed. The very fact that we will have no part in the Lake of Fire, that we have been given eternal life through Jesus Christ should give us pause when we are confronted with tough decisions during our sojourning on this planet. Tough decisions are only a dilemma when we see two paths before us. As God’s children there is only one path, therefore no dilemma, no decision. We stand with God – period. 
 
“I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.” John 10:14. Jesus bought and paid for His possession (His sheep) with His very own blood. Therefore we, the children of God, no longer belong to another, but Jesus Christ alone. If you dispute His claim over you then perhaps you should re-evaluate your future eternal destination. 
 
“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:” Ephesians 1:4. There it is. We, God’s children, should be holy and without blame. Holy in the Greek is “hagios” and it means to be set apart. Set apart by God from what? The secular world. Being set apart by God should bring about our devotion to God’s precepts, especially in regards to our conduct in the midst of a lost world.
 
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”  John 15:4-6. Since we now belong to Him we are to abide in Him as He abides in us. We must never allow ourselves to be conformed to this world. Falling back into the things of the secular world and participating in those things as though God didn’t even exist, and as if your faith in Christ has no bearing on your decision making, is a blatant refusal to conform to the authority of Christ and His doctrines. This attitude of dissention in the ranks is not worthy of a child of God. Sadly there has been a rate of descent toward the secular occurring among the Christian Ekklesia for so long that many Christians currently live their lives in secular mode. There is no visible outward sign that a transformation had ever occurred.
 
Here’s an example of non-conformity to the world. I will not place my Saviour on an outside handrail as I go in and place my vote this November. I’ve received numerous letters condemning my stance on America’s current choice of people running for the leadership of this nation. Just so there is no confusion, I stand opposed to both individuals currently running for the office of president. Why? Because I have been set apart by God to be holy and blameless. When we take God’s word seriously, only then will we begin the most incredible trek of our lives. Standing on God’s precepts means we will at times be confronted with difficult decisions, many of which will oppose God. This is where every born again child of God will stand at various junctures in their life. How we honor God will be determined by our response to those difficult decisions. Voting for the lesser of two evils is simply conforming to the world. The lesser of two evils is still very much evil.
 
“Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,” 2 Timothy 1:8-9. The children of God are called with a holy calling from God to stand firm on His precepts. Standing firm means we do nothing that would move us to the dark side. “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;” Ephesians 4:14. Standing firm on God’s word is fully expected by God of His holy children – never suggested.      

There are many professing believers who simply ignore the fact that God is not a part-time God, nor does He expect His children to be part time children. Stepping away from the faith while we once again join the secular world is heresy. A very visible sign of the times in which we live is Christians subordinating their faith in Christ by supplanting His precepts with secular motivations and desires. There are numerous scriptures in our Bibles declaring we hold fast to the doctrines of God and never divide ourselves between the sacred and secular. “That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.” 2 Timothy 1:14. The word “keep” is translated from the Greek word “phylassō” which actually means to guard, to keep watch over as though someone is continually trying to take away from you what God has entrusted you with. Satan will do everything possible to separate you from what God has committed unto thee to guard (Godly instruction). Even while enticing you with the lesser of two evils.
 
We live in a time where faithfulness is only expected so long as it serves our own interests. When faithfulness stops being to our immediate advantage many Christians feel just fine about giving up their responsibility to God as they wallow in the secular. How can divided loyalties be honoring to God? As God’s children we are to be faithful to Him at all times. Our hearts are His, our minds are His, suffice it to say our full being is His. Standing firm on God’s precepts means having the heart and the will to do what is right even when it seems to be crazy or even contrary to our own personal interests. But God honors those who fear Him and keep His commands.
 
Doing the right thing may be difficult, and it may seem like it is contrary to everything we see crumbling around us. Many times we are motivated to do the wrong thing out of fear. Fear of course is a very powerful emotion, if allowed to fear will steer our lives. Because of fear we may take the wrong path believing it to be the less dangerous when in fact it may lead to destruction. But God tells us over and over again to fear not. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7. When we honor God by trusting Him, He blesses us - exceedingly. When we dishonor Him by descending into the muck and mire of the secular world leaving Jesus behind, we then become subject to our own wrong choices which invariably bring about heartache and pain. Making choices contrary to those that God would approve of means we aren’t taking God seriously. The fact is it means we are in rebellion to our Saviour. As God’s children, we are entrusted with His word to promote it and to follow it ourselves – without question. This concept has either been lost or was never embraced by many who profess to be Christians.
 
“…what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?” 2 Corinthians 6:14b-15.  Question: does God turn a blind eye to those who intend to compromise their faith by choosing the lesser of two evils? I’ve asked this question previously and as yet have not received even one response. My response to that question is. Not hardly. The path of least resistance is, in many cases, the most desirable, but it usually runs contrary to God’s will. When we choose one evil over another, in the end we’ve still made a choice for Satan not God. We should never attempt to justify our rebellion to God by thinking He might condones, at least this once, our failure to stand firm in our faith.
 
How do we face our God once we’ve compromised our faith by promoting one evil over another? Chosen one demonic doctrine over another (Muslim or Mormon)? According to the word of God, we, who He sees as His children, are never afforded such liberty.
 
Many are in a quandary these days as it becomes harder and harder to remain a solid conservative Christian. Christians are given very little to choose from that is actually godly in this secular world, especially in regard to politics. This dilemma didn’t just recently raise its ugly head. Decades ago when the followers of Messiah Jesus let down their guard and allowed a more liberal mindset to become entrenched in every aspect of national government, the pendulum began to swing toward the enemy of God. For decades the Ekklesia of Christ, on a whole, has been usurping the word of God in order to secure a more harmonious relationship with the god of this world (Satan); thus pacifying themselves in the process.
 
God says have no fellowship with unrighteousness (doctrines of demons), period. God has set His saints apart from the world, and as such we must shun all doctrines that oppose His word in any way. “Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:” Ephesians 5:6-8. We, the justified children of God are the light in the Lord. As such we are to walk in that light – always. Everything we do in this life must reflect Messiah Jesus. Never are we to choose evil, no matter how appealing or self-satisfying that evil may appear. Siding with the enemy can only bring disaster. America has been siding with evil for far too long, you don’t think so? You better take another look at the current state of this once great nation.
 
It has become glaringly obvious to me that the majority of Christians understand very little about what Messiah Jesus meant by His statement “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” Mark 8:34b. When we take up our cross we must be prepared to deny ourselves even if it means suffering. We will be rejected as Christ was, persecuted, maltreated, denied the fundamentals of God given rights, even to die for our Lord. That’s what it means; the followers of Jesus Christ must be prepared to take up their cross – daily. The doctrines of Jesus Christ are binding on all the born again believers in this world. There is no middle ground, no putting Jesus on a shelf until after we make the hard decisions, and then picking Him back up again as though we were completely blameless.
 
The more the Ekklesia of Christ in America compromises their faith through the casting of their vote for the lesser of two evils, the more persecution will increase. How can I say that? The more influential the doctrines of demons becomes, the more pressure will be put on the followers of Messiah Jesus to toe the line of those demonic doctrines. Then how will the Gospel of peace be preached without the freedom to speak the truth? Satan wants your vote, are you going to give it to him? Jesus says “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.” Matthew 12:30. Satan, his doctrines, his religions are diametrically opposed to Jesus Christ. When we fall for Satan’s lies we follow his doctrines/religions and we scattereth abroad. Decision time in America is almost upon us; path to destruction – “Obama/Romney”, straight path – Jesus Christ who died to give you life. Chose wisely!
 
God bless you all,
 
Ron Graham
 

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