IT'S ALL THAT SIMPLE

Sometimes we really tend to overly complicate things. The Apostle John made it simple - if we love, we are in the truth. Paul also cut through the mustard and Jesus himself was not known to pull punches - check out his tirade on the Pharisees if you have any doubts about it. It really is true - good trees produce good fruit. Bad trees produce bad fruit.

In the course of my work and our ministry I run into all kinds of people. Some are honest and forthright; others are devious and lie with seeming impunity. Unfortunately, many in the latter category see themselves as serious Christians, often believing they have almost a monopoly on truth.

Now I wrote before on guarding our faith, as MANY are deceived. This was of course prophesied to be a hallmark of the last days, but I keep getting stunned with the order of magnitude of the deception and the breadth of it.  It seems MOST people are not operating in the truth. 

MOST people believe premarital sex is OK.

MOST people believe 90% or more of their resources are theirs to do with as they choose. 

MOST people think 2 hours a week in church sets them above the motley masses.

MOST see nothing wrong with lying for the boss and simply lying when there is no boss. 

MOST use language that would have resulted in a mouth being washed out with soap not all that long ago. 

MOST believe that they are "above average" and that God is fortunate to counted them among the elect.

So why did Jesus warn that MANY would claim they were doing two of the things that were central to the ministry of Jesus - casting out demons and healing the sick - and still be cast into hell?  The same reason we see people doing those things today while missing the whole point - often grabbing intense wealth for themselves on the backs of the poor and undereducated, ignoring Christ's teachings on the poor.  One of the simple facts is that too many people see ministry as a profit center. They may claim spirituality, but are often not in close relationship with Christ at all. There are few who will challenge them, and they repeat what they hear from each other. Just like I heard Mayor Bloomberg in NYC say on Fox that he didn't invite clergy to the 9/11 main ceremony because the U.S. Constitution demands the separation of Church and State. Neil Cavuto corrected that oft-repeated fallacy, but how often to big names say the most scripturally indefensible things?  All THE TIME. And preachers down the line all the way to local churches never act like Bereans and check it out, but simply repeat the errors they hear and try to sound convincing about it.

Unfortunately, many who support these folks do not understand the heart of God either. They are impressed if people wave and folks fall to the floor. They ignore that this practice is nowhere in the Bible and is done by a hypnotist in Vegas as well. I have sadly found that when there is deviation from the Word of God – it is not only in practices, but also in the priorities of the gospel. SALVATION should always be primary but but is often shunted aside as elementary and we need to “move on”. I was recently speaking with someone who is known for claiming that finances are in the atonement. I essentially told the person that every time I hear something specious like that I hear constant emphasis on benefits of the blood of Christ with salvation being given short shrift.  Whenever ANYONE minimizes salvation from sin or talks little about it I know their heart is off center. Do you honestly believe Christ would have suffered and died so we in twenty-first century America could have the toys that neither he nor his disciples nor the saints for two millenia enjoyed?  Of course not - that is absurd!  God does take care of his people, but persecution does impact their finances both here and worldwide. Oops!  To mimic Urkel, "Did I say that?"   Yes, I did! 

IF you are honest in business, very often you will lose what could have been yours by lying or cheating in ways no one would know. If you lie for the boss or go along with unjust practices at work, you may well get promoted and if you refuse, you may languish in the backwater or be laid off because you are not seen as a team player.  You may work for a Potiphar or Pharoah who understands the value of honesty in those working for him, but then again, you may not. It is not only Christians in Muslim countries who suffer economic and career deprivation. In America today, I cannot be a member of the American Institute of Architects without going along with a pro-gay agenda. Thank God there was a Society of American Registered Architects with the Golden Rule as their sole ethical standard that I now belong to. The Lawyers organization has taken a pro-abortion position. Teachers and Union members often see their dues go to support what they oppose.  Students who believe the Bible are being excluded from medical school for their faith, though Christians make the best doctors because they know Christ is healing the person, not them.  Ever see those billboards with the Jefferson Healers in the white coats? No man or woman heals anybody. It is the power of God!

Let's be real and not compromise truth.  IF you are truly in Christ, good things will flow from your spirit - compassion, a love for the truth, total loyalty to the scriptures, and an intolerance for false gospels. Narrow is the way that leads to eternal life. Conversely, we will not attribute righteousness to folks from bad trees - trees of theological liberalism, liberation theology, Marxism, situational ethics, universalism, practitioners of demonic and New Age activity claiming it is of God, and Nicolaitan practices of steep authoritarianism with hierarchies filled with the unregenerate and wide differences in compensation in ministry between the Lords at the top and the Laity at the bottom.  We are saved today because people DIED for the truth and enabled the truth to be maintained until it reached us. They died for the Word of God. They died at the hands of those claiming to be Christians who were not.  They did not name as "Christian" evil people with anti-Christ agendas whose fruit obviously came from bad trees.

It's All That Simple.  Gather round those who are sound and about the Father's business. Avoid those who will pervert your heart from the truth. Remember, as we said in our drama we called THE COUNTERFEITERS, when Satan attacks a truth, it is because it is a key to so much. He knows much will fall if he can get that one compromise. It was predictable that rejecting the testimony of Christ in Genesis on the creation and affirmed in Exodus 20 will result in the acceptance of Godless practices later. It is an epidemic in "Christian" institutions of higher learning seeking to be more acceptable to the world. First Genesis, then miracles, then the sole efficacy of the blood of Christ for salvation. Totally predictable. Satan has no new tricks. He reuses his playbook again and again because it works! A firm foundation built on the Rock Jesus Christ will stand.  A house built on the shifting sands of molecules-to-man evolutionary philosophy that came from Satan's rebellion itself will fall.  Many do not know that one of the most controversial international figures today in the healing movement (with almost no medically verified healings incidentally) believes a Satan-inspired compromise on the book of Genesis!  That is truly the way it happens. Now Christ heals today - I know of numerous medically-verified miracles. However, Satan counterfeits. Satan counterfeited Moses' miracles before Pharoah and that is one of his modus operandi. Do not be deceived even if you see a real healing if not done God’s way.  Read the scriptures – Jesus never said they did NOT cast out demons and heal the sick. He said he NEVER knew them!   Do not park near bad trees – park near GOOD ones!

We need to guard our faith and be sure we compromise nothing. Did Satan ever compromise with you? NO!  He will come after you until you fall. Much better to not compromise with Jesus! You will never go wrong standing with him in his testimony about the truth of the gospel, the inerrancy of his word, and the fact that any good fruits comes from a good tree. Eat from the Tree of Life today my friends!