Consider what John says.
I John 1:3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard SO THAT you may have fellowship with us (believers). Our fellowship is with the Father AND with his Son, Jesus Christ.
He is saying, to be a Christian (fellowship with us), and therefore to belong to God, the gospel states that you must have fellowship with BOTH the Father and the Son. This is what a Christian believes.
It goes on to say that there is only one way to enter into heaven and into his kingdom...into fellowship with God, and that is through Christ. There are many "musts."
It is Christ who must purify us of our sins.
Our sins must be dealt with.
We must confess them and let CHRIST purify us of them.
Again, Christ is the necessary and only step to take to God. (Verses 5-7 of Chapter 1). There is no other solution to our sin. We cannot, and others cannot, take Christ out of the equation.
In Chapter 2, verses 18-19 John warns of antichrists. (plural.) He says they are even among us. Which means in the church. He defines "anti-christ" (verses 22-23) as one who denies Jesus is the Christ (savior- way to God). The spirit of the anti-christ is flourishing!
To deny Christ, one is not just denying Christ; they are also denying the Father.
NO ONE can just proclaim God (higher power)and be saved. They must also proclaim Jesus. The Father and the Son cannot be separated in the message of salvation.
To proclaim god without proclaiming Christ, they are adhering to a god with a little g. To proclaim God and proclaim Christ, you have found God, with a captial G.
Verse 23 says it:
I John 2:23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
We, believers, must speak this truth to all.
My question is this. Has the church gravitated away from Christ. Is there a faction in the church that confess Christ as their savior but have bought into this lie, that if others are good and believe in a higher power, they too will be saved? This is serious that any so called believer would say this. (I know such as this. Good people who think they are saved but believe there are many ways to God.) Can they even be a true believer and say this? To believe this lie is to nullify the work of the Cross. Christ would have died for nothing. This, of course, is not the case. He did die for something. To provide a way for the World to come to God. The only way.
In verse 27 and on... John warns against a counterfeit experience with the Holy Spirit. Is this what has happened to those who are now compromising the gospel? On the otherhand, John points out that a true Holy Spirit infilling is proven by one REMAINING in Christ. It is all about CHRIST. The importance of Jesus cannot be down played. But it is happening!
This is my concern, that the evil one has indeed deceived many and they have bought into this great lie that Christ can be separated out of the salvation equation. (I even hate typing the lie.) Ones we love have bought into this thinking. Oprah is feeding it to millions of ladies. New Age thinking is everywhere. Christians aren't recognizing this lie! We must recognize it and we must be ready to refute this in love.
Please Pray. It is the great anti-christ lie of our time. I fear for those who have fallen into this snare are convinced nothing is wrong. We must be brave and bold to proclaim the truth in love and gentleness. Time is short.
I guess this has been glaring at me from many places for some time. I need to know how to proclaim truth in love. To speak the truth, we however, will be very unpopular. When will we (I) be willing to be unpopular? This lie will only grow if we do not speak up. How much longer will we remain quiet? I'm looking at myself right now. It is easy to speak up to a stranger. I do that all the time. It is much harder to speak up to a relative! Lord, help me to have your direction and mind in this. Do I only speak once or do I keep speaking? Give me the urgency to the degree it is truly urgent. Give me patience and a burden to pray first for those who are deceived. Have mercy on us, Lord.
1 comment:
I see this brand of self-deceit flourishing also, in the name of Political-Correctness, Religious Relativism, etc. The multiple-path "Christians", are of course not Christians. Because to believe there are multiple paths is the same as calling Jesus a liar.
I think these folks have bought into the lie that this way of thinking makes them independent thinkers. Yet really they have bought into the oldest lie in the book. That we can be wise in our own eyes, outside of the word of God.
These are often the same people who do not believe the Bible is the breathed Word of God. Maybe they call it divinely inspired, yet flawed by man's touch... This surely is the second greatest lie Satan has successfully spread!
So they have nothing to stand on other than "feelings" and their own grasp of wisdom. What can we do other than pray that their hearts be softened and that they might come into an authentic relationship with Christ. We could talk until we're blue in the face and we'll only destroy relationships. Better to speak once I would say. I look forward to hearing other's thoughts to that question.
Proverbs 26:12
Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Proverbs 12:15
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.
Proverbs 3:5-7
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
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