LightShinesInTheDarkness

It is not a false teaching, but it would be of no use for me to provide you with the scriptures which teach and support this. It's not the scriptures you need, but understanding from the Lord about it. If I gave you scriptures to prove this, which I already have elsewhere on this thread, you would misinterpret them and say that they don't mean what they say or don't apply to whom they apply. It's not the scriptures that you need (which you would already be familiar with if I were to list them here) but the right understanding of them. And only the Lord can give you that if you're confused about it.

So would I. That's why I'm not in a church.

I did exactly what it was the Lord's will for me to do, and He blessed me for it.

I hate to say that it's better not to be in a church in these last days than to be in one, but given the abominable apostasy of the Church in general, the cons of attending one outweigh the pros. God knows the state of the churches, and He was pleased to steer me away from joining one after He saved me. I have no regrets, but consider myself extremely blessed to have been taught by Him one on One as I have been. It spared me a lot of false teaching, which I would otherwise have had to disentangle myself from, and I learned much more unadulterated doctrine and spiritual truth by not being in a church than I would have being in one, due to the condition of the churches in these last days: I got pure milk, and meat, rather than chocolate milk and cookies. And though the discipleship came at a high personal cost, I wouldn't trade the benefits for the world. So this is why I say, follow the Lord's leading with regard to church attendance, and do not just attend one because you think you must. A Christian does not need a pastor or to attend a church to be taught by God. The things that are written about pastors in the New Testament pertain to true pastors, who have been called, ordained and equipped by God to be such---not to men who have taken it upon themselves to be pastors, but are not qualified to be, or who have merely been made such by men. Anybody can be a pastor today, even a woman; and churches pay their pastors to say what they want to hear, and not to say what they do not want to hear. Even the pastors who are independent are simply unqualified to fill the role, however good their intentions may be. A God-ordained, God-sent pastor today would be as well received by most Christians as a true prophet; which is, not well.

I do not attend a church. (See my previous post about Not Forsaking The Assembling Of Ourselves Together.) You can read my profile if you'd like to know what I believe.

Roman Catholicism is to Scriptural Christianity what Spam is to ham. It's an abomination to God which saves no one and makes crooked the straight paths of the Lord. At least Islam comes in "Allah"'s name or Mohammed's name and not Jesus', and wielding a sword rather than a cross or a Bible. A wolf that looks like a wolf is less dangerous than one that comes to you in sheep's clothing. It's a pity that the Reformation only reformed Catholicism and didn't take the faith back to the New Testament standard. If it had, the difference between Christianity and Catholicism would be much more obvious today than it is, and Christians might be less easily beguiled by this counterfeit Christianity. Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? (2 Corinthians 6:14-16)

Not Forsaking The Assembling Of Ourselves Together... You've probably heard this scripture before: And let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24,25 ESV) Perhaps you've heard it used to support Christians going to church. But don't forget that there are also several scriptures about who we should not assemble with and when we should not assemble with other Christians. God doesn't just want us to go to church because any church is better than none at all. It may not actually be His will for a Christian to belong to a church, if there is not suitable fellowship to be found. In which case, there is no necessity to attend one. Whatever we do, including who we assemble with, we should do because we know that it is what the Lord wants us to do personally, and not merely because it's habit or tradition or because others are telling us that we should. Those verses in Hebrews are referring to Christians who weren't assembling with one another for unrighteous reasons, not for legitimate reasons. They weren't meeting together because they had other priorities---selfish, earthly priorities---or simply didn't care to be bothered; the same reasons that some Christians don't attend church today. That is not the same as not assembling with other believers because the Lord has not led you to a church that is meeting your spiritual needs or doing what is pleasing to Him. I'm not advocating church attendance, just pointing out the reason for this scripture. It's somewhat ironic that these verses speak about stirring one another up to love and good works and encouraging one another as the reason for our assembling with other Christians---and all the more as we see the Day approaching---when that is the opposite of what most churches in these last days are doing. They're not encouraging the saints to obey (love) the Lord, or others according to His instructions, or to set their minds on things above, but rather to live as they please and to live it up down here, with Jesus as a convenient accessory to their lives and not the center, substance, and Master of it. (Besides all of the various other false teachings the churches are full of and are promoting.) Now is that the kind of assembly you believe the Lord wants you to be a part of? Consider... ...In the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of Godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. (2 Timothy 3:1-5) And, "Bad company ruins good morals." (1 Corinthians 15:33) God cares about your spiritual well-being and edification. Be sure that you're following His lead in whoever you assemble with, if anyone at all besides Jesus Himself (and there's nothing wrong with one on One fellowship if that's all God is pleased to provide you with), and that you're not just going to church because you think you have to no matter what, or because the pastor told you that you should. Consider what the purpose of our assembling ourselves together is according to the teachings of the New Testament, and then consider whether the church you are attending is serving those purposes; and, in light of that, why you believe the Lord wants or doesn't want you to be in a given assembly. Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by Your name, O LORD, God of hosts. I did not sit in the company of revelers, nor did I rejoice; I sat alone, because Your hand was upon me, for You had filled me with indignation. (Jeremiah 15:16,17)

Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. (Romans 12:11)

Spirit of God Descend Upon My Heart (George Croly, 1854) Spirit of God, descend upon my heart; Wean it from earth; through all its pulses move. Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art, And make me love Thee as I ought to love. Hast Thou not bid me love Thee, God and King? All, all Thine own, soul, heart and strength and mind. I see Thy cross; there teach my heart to cling: Oh, let me seek Thee, and, oh, let me find! Teach me to feel that Thou art always nigh; Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear, To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh; Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer. Teach me to love Thee as Thine angels love, One holy passion filling all my frame; The kindling of the heav’n-descended Dove, My heart an altar, and Thy love the flame. (library.timelesstruths.org/music)

Be careful not to make rules out of things that are not rules; that is the way of demons (deceiving spirits) and the seed of heresies. There are no commandments for Christians to keep the Sabbath, or any other Jewish day of observance or holiday, which were symbols of things which have their reality in Christ, and are worthless. If you or others want to keep the Sabbath because you really believe that that is what the Lord wants you to do and that you're honoring Him by doing it, then that is your personal business. The Lord Himself will have to show you otherwise. But do not make your personal belief or conviction a rule for other Christians when there is no such commandment given to us. That most certainly is not pleasing to the Lord. I would not see you unwittingly used of demons to lead people astray from the truth, however well-intentioned you may be, nor would I have any of my brothers and sisters in Christ influenced by this persuasion to their own confusion and potential detriment. You may not be aware that the persuasion of imposing Jewish laws and traditions on Christians is coming from demons, but I am. And I will not have it here on this thread. So if that is your persuasion and personal conviction, please keep it to yourself. Judaism is for unsaved Jews. Christianity is for Christians (whether they were Jews before they got saved or Gentiles). Our doctrine is the New Testament, which is Christ's law---not the law of Moses, which includes the keeping of the Sabbath and of the Ten Commandments as they are written in the Old Testament, rather than as Jesus amplified them in the New. We are not to add things to the law of Christ that are not there, nor take things away from it that are there, any more than the Jews were permitted to do this to the law of Moses. And the Sabbath is not there. (Neither are Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter, or Christmas, incidentally.) There's no commandment for Christians to meet for fellowship on Sunday (i.e. the Lord's Day), but it was chosen by the early Christians because it is the day on which Jesus Christ rose from the dead---the first day of the Jewish week---and they did traditionally meet on that day, long before there was any Roman Catholic Church. The Lord's Day is not the Sabbath, nor is the Sabbath the Lord's Day. The Lord's Day has always been Sunday, and the Sabbath has always been Saturday. Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb. (Matthew 28:1) On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. (Acts 20:7) Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. (1 Corinthians 16:1,2) I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day (not "the Sabbath"), and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet... (Revelation 1:10)

Don't let what you see around you---both in Christianity and in the world---discourage you; let it motivate you to stand all the more in contrast to it, for the glory of God. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life... (Philippians 2:12-16)

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3:12,13) Obviously, if it were impossible for a Christian to become hardened, or to fall away from God, there would be no need for this admonition. ("Falling away" by choosing to disobey to the Lord, not with the words of one's mouth. Unsaved people are already hardened, so why would the author caution them against becoming hardened by the deceitfulness of sin? Nor can they fall away from God, since they don't have Him in the first place.) "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by Him. For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives." (Hebrews 12:5,6) Obviously, a Christian can choose to disregard the discipline of the Lord, or there would be no need to say this; and it's obviously written to Christians, because God doesn't discipline unsaved people, but only true sons, as the passage goes on to say. The right response to God's discipline is repentance, submission and obedience. The wrong response is to shrug it off, ignore it, make excuses for what happened to you ("It wasn't the chastening of the Lord; it was just a coincidence or random misfortune..."), and keep on doing whatever it is you are being chastened for, which leads to the hardening of the heart: The desires and promptings of the Spirit become weaker, and the desires of the sinful nature and the love of oneself grows stronger, and it becomes that much easier to ignore Him. Be careful what you make a practice of doing, and mindful of the results of choosing the one or the other. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? (Hebrews 12:9) (What do think will happen to a Christian who decides that he or she does not want to be subject to God, but would rather be 'free' and be his or her own master and king or queen---but still claim the promises of God?) "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was He provoked for forty years? What is not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief. (Hebrews 3:15-19) Again, hardening the heart against the words of God is a choice Christians have. Note that this passage, which is addressed to true Christians, and not to false Christians among true Christians, connects the word "unbelief" with actions: Rebellion; disobedience to what they had heard. This sin cost them the promise of entering God's rest. Hopefully you can see for yourself what the warning is here for Christians, not to do likewise; which there would be no reason for the Holy Spirit to give us if it were impossible for the same thing to happen to us. That's the whole point of the example. If you believe what God has promised us, live like you believe it and do what He says to do to keep what you have, and complete your faith by your works, as Abraham did. "Remember then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you." (Revelation 3:3) Again, addressing Christians here. We know that the day of the Lord will come like a thief on those who are in darkness (without Christ in them), and that these apostate Christians in the church at Sardis were on their way out of Him because of their failure to keep what they had received. If they died spiritually, as some of them already had, the day of the Lord would come on them like a thief, just like it is going to come on all the unsaved. They would no longer be in the Light or have the Light in them, but would be left in darkness, without Jesus, for not obeying Him. "Yet you still have a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life." (Revelation 3:4,5) Unsaved people have no garments to soil or to wash. Jesus Christ is Christians' robe of righteousness, which unsaved people do not have. Christians can die spiritually, like those Christians in Sardis did, and they can have their names blotted out of the book of life. A person's name has to be in the book of life in the first place in order for it to be blotted out of it. And if it is blotted out, there's no restoration for that person. So if your name is in the book of life, and your garments are soiled in the sight of God because you're not doing what you know you should be, wash them in the blood of Jesus by repenting, as it says in 1 John 1:9, and make sure you are keeping what you received, so that what happened to the Christians in Sardis, and was about to happen to the Christians in Laodicea, doesn't happen to you. "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from His works as God did from His. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:7-13) Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27) Remember: God's grace is sufficient for doing all His will, and we have a Helper. Be sure you're making the most of that precious gift, rather than squandering it, like that unfaithful servant who buried his master's money in the ground (Matthew 25:24-30). You know what happened to him.

Just to make a few things clear here: Being born again means that the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ has come to live in a person's spirit and has made him or her a new creation (spiritual regeneration), giving him or her the desire to do what pleases God and the ability to know Him in truth, as well as eternal life, provided that that person continues in Christ by obeying Him. (The faith by which we stand in Christ is completed by our actions. Simply believing in Jesus and trusting in God's promises while disobeying Him is not standing firm in your faith. Please bear in mind that when the Scriptures are talking about Christian faith, there is more than words and mental belief or agreement involved. Believing in Jesus and trusting Him for salvation while choosing to disobey Him is not standing firm in Christ, but rather, putting your salvation in jeopardy.) While the Holy Spirit certainly convicts our hearts of God's judgments and His will and gives us the desire to do what pleases Him, He does not FORCE Christians to do what pleases God against their own will. Prompt yes, force no. Christians can say "No" to God if they want to. And there are of course consequences for doing this, such as the chastening of the Lord and not receiving various spiritual blessings that the Christian would otherwise receive if he or she did what Jesus said to do and chose to deny him or herself to do whatever it is that God wants him or her to do. And making a habit of saying "No", which gets easier to do the more one chooses to do it (unfortunately for the Christian), can potentially be spiritually deadly. This is what Hebrews 10:26-31 is about: Those verses are not speaking about unsaved people but people who have been born again. Jesus' promise to never leave us nor forsake us is within the context of our doing what He said to do to remain in His love, not regardless of it. He did not say or mean that He would never leave us nor forsake us no matter what we do, and it's obvious by reading the Scriptures that speak about these things that there ARE things Christians can do to be broken off of Christ and not to remain in Him, and for Jesus to leave them, the Lord's warnings to the churches in Ephesus, Sardis, and Laodicea being just a few examples. (And yes, He was addressing true Christians in those passages, and not unsaved people among true Christians.) Grace is the power of God to obey God, and the God-given desire to do the same, without which we would not and could not obey Him. All true Christians have this, and have access to it, but that doesn't mean they can't choose not to use it. God doesn't COMPEL Christians to obey Him against their will, or to repent when they sin against Him. He does influence our free will so that we want to obey Him, but there are plenty of times that we won't want to obey Him, and we have to choose to put our own desires to death in order to do what is unpleasant to us but pleasing to Him. And if and when we make that choice, we experience the grace of God in having joy in doing what pleases Him, and in having greater affection for Him and devotion to Him. But the opposite is true if we choose not to. Christians can receive the grace of God in vain. His grace is for the purpose of doing His will, not living for ourselves. So if we are saying "No" to God in our hearts and choosing ourselves rather than Him, we are receiving His grace in vain---which has consequences. See Hebrews 6:7,8, which is the same thing Jesus was talking about in John 15:1-6. And obviously, keeping in step with the Spirit is a choice, not a mindless, automatic action. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25) That's our choice to do; and we can choose to do otherwise, for which there are consequences. (Unsaved people have no such choice, as they do not have the Spirit of Christ in them.) So take care that you, if the Spirit of God lives in you, are making the right choices and not the wrong ones, and are keeping in step with Him. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 is what results from choosing not to obey the Lord and to keep in step with the Spirit as you ought. If you're not living according to the teachings and commandments of the New Testament, and you're doing your own will and living for yourself rather than for Jesus, all you will have in God's sight is a form of Godliness, and not genuine Godliness which results from obedience to God. Plenty of Christians have a form of Godliness, but they're living for themselves and in love with themselves and this world, because they are making the wrong choices. (Of course there are plenty more people who claim to be Christians but aren't genuinely born again who are this way also, but I'm not speaking about them.) What Jesus said to the church in Sardis agrees with and explains this also. All the "good works" and "Christian" activity in the world is no replacement for obedience. That's the only fruit, the only works, and the only Godliness that God desires, accepts or recognizes. So if you're doing all sorts of things 'for Jesus' while disobeying Jesus, you're like those Christians in Sardis and in 2 Timothy 3, having a form of Godliness and a reputation of being alive but actually (potentially) near to death. The power of Godliness is grace. If you've cast off various commands of the Lord and are despising Him, you're denying the power of His grace by your unGodly attitudes and behavior, because grace is given us to obey God and to live for God, and not to live for ourselves and according to our sinful nature's desires. If you choose to despise God's commandments, and not to keep in step with His Spirit, your fruit will be rotten, regardless of the fact that His Spirit lives in you. And it doesn't matter how much stuff you're doing "for Jesus" or how much Christian flair you wear: Your robe is threadbare, and your sinful nature is showing through it, because of your lack of Godliness. You're not showing Christ but your sinful nature to God, however men may be praising you for your good deeds or your words, and God is not pleased with what He sees. Now with all of that having been said, please re-read these Scriptures, bearing in mind that they are written to and pertain to people who have been born again (Christians) and not to unsaved people who claim to be Christians: 2 Peter 1:3-12; 2:20-22; 3:1-3 James 2: 14-26; 4:4-10; 5:19,20 Revelation 22:14 God is indeed able to make all grace abound to us for every good work, and to keep us from stumbling, but we can choose not to utilize His grace. Our fruitfulness and security as Christians depends not merely on what God is able to do, but also on what we ourselves choose to do.

"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." (John 14:15) "Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me." (John 14:21) "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love..." (John 15:10) By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. (1 John 5:2,3) ...In the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money...not loving good...lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God... (2 Timothy 3:1-4) ...People will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. (2 Timothy 4:3,4) If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. (1 Corinthians 16:22)

I very much wish that were true, but unfortunately it is not. That 'simple theology' does not agree with the Scriptures (or reality), even if you think that it does. Which is why there are warnings in the New Testament against Christians hardening their hearts against God in rebellion and not repenting, with the consequences for doing so.

It doesn't matter how the truth is served if people don't have an appetite for it. They might make an issue out of the presentation or the messenger but that's not the real issue. The truth of it is, they just don't like the truth and don't want it. Not wanting Jesus' words and His truth is the very same as not wanting Him. You don't have to reject Jesus with your lips to reject Him with your actions and your heart. And if you're against Christ's words, you are against Christ---which makes you, practically speaking, anti-Christ. And that is the spirit of the times among the majority of Christians now, as it was the spirit of the people of Israel in the time of the prophets. For they are a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the LORD; who say to the seers, "Do not see," and to the prophets, "Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions, leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel." (Isaiah 30:9-11) And we know what God did to them because of this. How then can Christians with this same evil, rebellious spirit be so foolish as to think it will be well with them? Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your deeds and I will let you dwell in this place. Do not trust in these deceptive words: 'This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.' "For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds...then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever. "Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, 'We are delivered!'---only to go on doing all these abominations? ...Go now to My place that was in Shiloh, where I made My name dwell at first, and see what I did to it because of the evil of My people Israel. And now, because you have done all these things, declares the LORD, and when I spoke to you persistently you did not listen, and when I called you, you did not answer, therefore I will do to the house that is called by My name, and in which you trust, and to the place that I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of My sight..." (Jeremiah 7:3-10, 12-15)

If that were true, brother, then how come so many true Christian men are addicted to porn? They're all unsaved, I suppose? How come true Christians can and do backslide in various ways? They're all false too? Why would Jesus have told Christians to remain in Him and to remain in His love if they had no choice but to do so? And if He wasn't talking to Christians, why would He be telling unsaved people to remain in Him and He in them? Why were the Laodiceans about to be vomited OUT of Christ if Christians can't lose their salvation? (You can't be vomited out of Christ unless you're in Him in the first place.) Jesus was knocking on the door of His own church, not the heart of an unsaved person, as is commonly believed. Neither can the love of a man who never had any love for God in the first place be lukewarm or grow cold. Neither can a branch be broken off of a Vine it was never a part of. Neither can a man who has never known the truth fall away from it. Neither can a man who has no garment wash his robe. Neither can one lose salvation he never had. Neither can a man who has never come to life be "twice-dead" (Jude). If Christians don't sin, what is 1 John 1:9 for? Unsaved people? What is the chastening of the Lord for? Do you sin? Are you therefore false? It's not whether a person sins that determines whether he or she is a Christian or not, but whether the Spirit of Jesus lives in him or her. And just because a Christian has the Holy Spirit, doesn't mean that he or she can't or won't choose not to obey Him. The behavior of some truly born-again people can be worse than that of some unsaved people. That doesn't mean the sinning Christian is not saved, it means he or she is being disobedient to God's word and will and is not keeping in step with His Spirit as he or she should be---and perhaps is under demonic influence or oppression also, which can happen to Christians who choose to disobey the Lord. They don't need to repent to be born-again if they already are; they need to repent of their disobedience and start obeying. That verse or verses from 1 John about people who continue to sin having never known Jesus is talking about people who claim to have been born again but never actually were, and so they keep living and behaving like unsaved people because that's what they are. It is not talking about people who actually are born again but by their own choices fall away from Jesus after being saved. They are two different things. Apostate does not mean you were never actually saved, it means you are or were saved but have fallen away from your faith---not necessarily with the words of your mouth, but with your obedience to Jesus Christ and the teachings of the faith. (See Jesus' warning to the Ephesian church in Revelation 2 and to Sardis in Revelation 3.) I strongly suggest you revisit the teachings of the NT about this, brother. It's not my place or authority to teach doctrine, but I do share what the Lord has taught me with others as He leads and permits, and point other Christians back to His word to learn what they may need to learn from Him. And I've learned that there is no human way to make this doctrine clear to a Christian who is confused about it---not with all the Scripture in the New Testament. God must give him or her that understanding. And I hope He will do so for you, and anyone else who may need it.

The commandments and teachings of the New Testament can only be kept and lived by grace--which is the power of God to do His will, something that only Christians have, and which the Jews did not have to keep the law that they were given. We are saved by grace through faith (And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8,9); but what we do after being saved does determine whether we stay saved. That's not "works salvation"; it's just abiding by God's conditions for keeping what was given to us as a free gift. Just because we didn't do anything to receive it, doesn't mean that it doesn't come with conditions for keeping it once we have received it. All of God's promises have conditions, and focusing on His promises while ignoring the conditions of the promises is a big mistake. Both need to be recognized. We are saved so long as we choose to remain in Christ after coming to be in Him; but God doesn't take away our free will when He saves us, so that we cannot choose not to remain in Christ. His commandments are not just helpful hints for how to live a Christian life; God absolutely expects us to keep them, by His grace, and there are consequences for not doing so---not just the chastening of the Lord, but even the potential forfeiture of our salvation. (That many Christians do not understand or accept this very important truth does not change the fact that it is what the New Testament teaches.) I guess people just don't understand how there can be work required for keeping something that was given to them as a gift and not because of works. It's never baffled me, and it amazes me how this simple and fundamental Christian truth eludes so many people, when it's very plainly explained in the New Testament. But the Holy Spirit is our Teacher, not just the Bible itself; so unless God explains this to a Christian, he or she won't understand it or believe it, even with all the Scripture in the New Testament. Works done/required to be saved? No. Works done/required to stay saved after being saved? Yes. The idea that keeping the commandments of the New Testament in order to keep one's salvation is "works salvation" is ludicrous, in light of what the New Testament plainly teaches. Keeping God's commandments is the love of God, according to God; and Jesus said that to abide in His love we must keep His commandments (one of which, but obviously not the only one, if you don't take one or two scriptures out of the greater context of the rest of the New Testament, is to love one another). Christians can protest the doctrine of conditional eternal security if they want to, and call it whatever they want to call it, but it's not going to change the truth of what the Bible actually teaches. Revisit the New Testament's teachings about this and make sure you know the truth about it for yourself, and don't let anyone who focuses on God's promises while dismissing their conditions, and who stands on selected scriptures taken out of context or misunderstood, give you false assurances of something that God Himself does not. Spiritual strength and safety lies in knowing the truth.

I posted this before in this forum but thought I'd post it again on this thread in case it might be helpful to people who haven't read it: 7 Helpful Tips For How To Be More Discerning We can all use more discernment---especially these days when there is so much discord and confusion among Christians. Here are seven practical tips for how to stay on the right path and avoid the evil, the worthless, and the erroneous. An acronym... S K I P P I T (As in, if it's no good, skip---avoid/discard---it.) 1. S is for SEEK: Seek God's Word. (Search and study it for yourself. Don't rely on someone else to do it for you. We get out of our walk with the Lord what we put into it: If you're too lazy or busy with other priorities to make time to study your Bible, you deserve to be ignorant.) 2. K is for KEEP: Keep what you learn. (Put what the Lord teaches you into practice, faithfully. If you do so, He will add more knowledge and understanding to you.) 3. I is for INTENTIONS: Make sure your reasons for seeking knowledge and understanding are righteous. (God knows...) 4. P is for PRODUCE: What kind of fruit is your practice or belief producing? (Is it making you more Christlike in spirit and behavior---or is it making you proud, suspicious, self-centered/self-preoccupied, self-righteous, angry, neurotic, etc.? RED FLAG !) 5. P is for PLEASING: Is what you are doing pleasing to God; and if you think it is, why? 6. I is for IDENTITY: Has your identity ceased to become Christ, and being a follower of Him, and become some other thing? (For example: Wearing special clothes, eating (or not eating) certain foods, reading a particular translation of the Bible, belonging to a certain group/church/denomination, adhering to a certain kind of lifestyle, etc.) 7. T is for TEST: Test the spirits to see whether they are from God. P.S. The better we know our God and His Word, the better we can discern what, and who, is or is not of Him. And the less well we know Him and His Word, the less discerning of such things we will be---and the more susceptible to persuasions of deceiving spirits.

Once upon a time, the Jews stoned Christians. Once upon a time, Catholics burned true Christians at the stake as heretics. Now all three get along and Christians accept unsaved Jews and Catholics as fellow believers in God or fellow Christians, (just like they accept pretty much anyone who 'believes in Jesus' in some form, or even just in "God", as in the case of unsaved Jews). We know that the Jews still reject Jesus Christ as their Messiah and the Son of God, and that the Catholics haven't changed their heretical beliefs and practices, and we know that the New Testament has not changed its teachings. So the Christians who are joining hands with Jews, Catholics and other unsaved people and calling them brothers, and telling them that they're alright spiritually, are just compromisers and apostates.

Instead of submitting and committing themselves to be conformed by God to the image of Christ, Christians want to make, and have made, God in their own image---the image of fallen Adam, to fit into and accommodate their unspiritual desires and worldly living. (WWJD? Anything that feels right to you, since Jesus is just a man like yourself! Jesus is anything you want Him to be, as it suits and enables your preferences and desires.) Unfortunately for people like these, God and Christianity have not changed and cannot be changed. They can "change" Him and what He gave us all they want, but they're only deceiving themselves and being disobedient to the truth. (Keep having those itching ears scratched: It will not be well with you.) So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!" When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD." And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. (Exodus 32:3-6)

"CHRISTIAN" (What's in a name?) When a man marries Christ by becoming united with Him in spirit, he takes His name, just like a bride takes her husband's name when she marries. "Christian" is the only name he needs; it says everything that anyone needs to know about him: "I am a follower of Jesus Christ, and He is my Head". Now consider that this man, being so married to Christ, takes another man's name---like Luther, or Calvin, or someone else. What does that say about him? That he is an adulterer? How can he call himself a Lutheran when he's married to Jesus Christ? Was Luther crucified for him? Does he follow Jesus' teachings or Luther's? And if Luther was a follower of Christ, how can any Christian be a Lutheran? Why would any Christian want to be called by the name of any man other than Jesus Christ? It's blasphemous to my mind. And it's not just Christians taking the name of another person to identify themselves by that makes my spirit cringe, but taking the name of a teaching, or of a group, in addition to just "Christian", because it is for no righteous or legitimate reason that Christians do this. When a Christian needs or wants to be known by some "extra" name or classification besides just "Christian", it is because he or she has added something to his or her Christianity, which the addition denotes---something he or she is placing greater importance on than God does, or which is a peculiar teaching of a certain group. If this were not the case, "Christian" would suffice, because Christians adhere to the doctrine of the New Testament. Period. Whatever any man may have taught that agrees with the New Testament's teachings, I agree with, as a Christian. But whatever does not, I do not agree with, as a Christian. If his teaching was Scripturally sound, it's in my Bible. And if it wasn't Scriptural, I don't want or need to know what he taught. I want no extra's or twisted teachings from any man polluting or confusing my Christianity, nor will I ever be devoted to any teacher above the Lord. Where the teacher goes astray, the Christian should go astray from the teacher and stick with Christ---not follow him simply because he is revered. (The teacher is going to have to give an account to Jesus Christ for what he taught, just as those who listen to him will.) If you have an aversion to simply being called a Christian---a follower of Jesus Christ---or want to be recognized as something "special" or different, there is something amiss in your Christianity. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:16,17) For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion is not from Him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. (Galatians 5:5-9) Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. (Colossians 3:11) I appeal to you brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgement. (1 Corinthians 1:10) But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. (James 3:14-16) Now the works of the flesh are evident...enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy... (Galatians 5:20,21) "But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ." (Matthew 23:8-10) Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God... (Romans 14:10) I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. (Romans 16:17,18) (All Scripture taken from the ESV.)

The ISMs: A list of philosophies, ideologies, practices, principles and qualities that are not a part of Christianity, however they may be in it: Asceticism Denominationalism Egotism Favoritism Feminism Hedonism Humanism Materialism Moral Relativism Patriotism Pharisaism Racism (which would include antisemitism) Sectarianism & Tribalism Vegetarianism Zionism Not to mention the myriad false doctrines and erroneous doctrinal views or positions that abound in Christianity, which are also isms, named after various beliefs, teachings or people... If you believe that any of the isms listed above (and there are probably more that could be listed) are Christian, I encourage you to revisit the teachings of the New Testament---with a sincere and humble heart---and ask the Lord to show you the truth about it, which He (and only He) is able to do. Knowledge is spiritual strength, fruitfulness and safety, as deception and ignorance are weakness, unfruitfulness and vulnerability.

DISTRACTION, DISTRACTION. WORTHLESS, WORTHLESS. (Concerning our conversation with our brothers and sisters in Christ.) So much can be said about so many things. But what good is it really? Is it building up other Christians? Is it helping them to stand firm in their faith and to persevere in their sanctification? Is it encouraging them to do the will of God and to be obedient to Him? Is what we are passionate and serious about what God is passionate and serious about? Is it beneficial and practical for making us more like Christ and more effective as Christians? Are we warning people of the things God is going to do and of which He has made us aware for the benefit of others? Or is our conversation pointless debate and worthless controversy? What a waste of time if it is; like two men discussing the properties and uses of water while a thirsty man collapses and dies of dehydration beside them! And what is the attitude and motive of our heart in our interactions with other Christians? Is it a heart of humble servitude and love, or is it one of selfish ambition, envy, malice, or pride? What is driving you today? Think about it, because the Lord already knows. He sees our hearts, and nothing is hidden from His sight---nor is anything concealed that will not be brought to light on the day He judges us. It's not only what we say, but why we say it, that God considers; and we should too. Because we're going to give an account to Him for it; and we're supposed to be living to please Him. So before you speak, before you post, before you make a reply---consider Jesus (who is in you, and is watching you, and judging your motives and your attitude), remember God's word and heed the guidance of His Spirit---so as to do what is pleasing to Him, and beneficial to others. How well we know the Bible matters not if our knowledge isn't making us more like Jesus Christ and helping us to serve Him. Take care that your knowledge isn't merely making you into a puffed up and unfruitful theologian, instead of a fruitful and Christlike saint.

I just learned that Stephen Hawking died. (He knows the truth now.) For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools... (Romans 1:19-22) "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe... For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Corinthians 1:19-21,25) The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." (Psalm 14:1)