am not sure if any of you, that read this blog, remember the Sesame Street song which taught kids to recognize things which are similar and to pick out the things which are not. But it recently came to my attention since I have been out of work, I have watched Sesame Street every morning with my son as we eat our breakfast, and it got me thinking. Recent polls show that 80% of Americans say they are Christian, even cults like the JW's, and Mormons also claim that title. The problem is that JW's, Mormons, and I would dare say most of the 80% that claim the Christian title, are not really followers of Christ.
In my life, before Christ, I was a Skinhead, and my friends and I took that pretty seriously. We didn't tolerate others who claimed that title within our city and didn't live up to the standard we had set. Needless to say, it usually didn't bode too well for those poor misguided souls who we deemed as "wanna-be's" and "fakes."
Sadly, on the Day of Judgment, Jesus will cast many out of His presence who claim to be His followers, and yet are found to be lawless. They are the ones who call upon the LORD, but do not do what He says, and fail to pay heed to His commands, which means they are fake Christians.
Some of my old friends were in a band, and they did a couple U.S. tours, and as they traveled the country, they saw how the Skinhead scene varied depending on the city or state. There wasn't consistency or uniformity within the movement whatsoever. However, within Christ's Church there is perfect unity, because a perfect God is not only the author of our faith but also the head of His Church.
Ephesians 4:1-6
Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
As the Church, we are to be one. This is clearly displayed throughout the book of Acts, as the Holy Spirit is building the Church, Scripture continually says that 'they had all things in common', that 'they were of one mind and of one heart'. Not only should we believe the same truths, but we should be living the same holy life, by walking in a manner worthy of our calling. This truth is paramount to the Church, and that is exactly why Peter started his second epistle with that very idea. Second Peter warns believers not only about the coming of false teachers but also about the doctrines which they would be attacking. The body of doctrine found within the Scriptures that comprises our set of beliefs are attacked individually and corporately. There are people who go around with a grab bag assortment of beliefs, espousing to be Christians, and also Churches who deny the authoritative Word of God by failing to proclaim it or by teaching things contrary to it. However, this is not at all the true faith. There must be unity in our faith since we are baptized into one Lord, are given one Spirit, so our unity is found in Christ and in His Word which neither contradicts nor is unclear.
2 Peter 1:1
Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:
Peter points out that we received this faith, so our believing is not by our doing. So we have unity in that we all came to Christ in the same way, by His drawing us to Himself. Considering we received this faith, we can rest assured that God Himself is handing this faith out to us so we can know it's a simular faith because He is not a God of confusion. Since there is unity and commonality in the faith, we should believe the same exact things, such as the divine nature of Jesus, and the absolute sovereignty of God. It's all right there in 2 Peter 1:1.
So...when a professing Christian is super excited about how she got pregnant and she is giving glory to "The Secret," saying that she became pregnant because of her daily affirmations in the mirror...is that the same kind of faith that was given to us by God, when the Bible clearly says that it is YHWH who opens and closes the womb? He alone is to be praised for a birth! See what I am getting at?
This is the precise reason I get so upset when someone comes to me who is going to an ungodly Church, which is in rebellion toward God's Word, by not only having a woman pastor, but by neglecting the teaching of the Word of God, and that person says to me..."my faith is stronger than ever." That's nonsense. It is an impossibility. Because faith is a gift from God, and God would not strengthen that gift when you are rebelling against Him by uniting yourself to a group of individuals who collectively agree in the usurping of Christ's authority and headship by defying His Word and commands. Plain and simple right?
I know that I always start blog series and rarely finish them, but hopefully I will get around to finishing this one--it has been on my mind for some time. I would like to go over the various aspects of the faith which are foundational and necessary--if it is REAL and GENUINE faith.
This entry was posted
on Feb 13, 2009
at Friday, February 13, 2009
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False Teachers,
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Shawn,
Sola Scriptura
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