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Shape of Things 2
by Paul Taylor What does the word CHRISTIAN mean to you as it relates to a person calling themselves Christian? Does it invoke reverence, skepticism, untrusting, wariness, or a number of other negative attributes with the word CHRISTIAN? To a non-Christian and to a certain degree some Christians, it does invoke a negative image of the person. But, Why? As this article continues, I hope to show the answer as to why Christianity has become a joke and a mockery for the comedians and late night TV personalities and shows. The word Christian, means CHRIST LIKE. If you are Christ like would it not be revolting to your sense of morals to indulge and/or take part in any activity which would indicate a worldly attribute rather than a Christ like attribute? Violent movies and sports, pornography, lying, cheating, attempting to accumulate as much wealth and materialistic goods as possible by any means necessary giving no thought as to who you may hurt in the process. I guess he who dies with the most toys wins is the philosophy of today's modern Christian and Church. Most believe that since you're saved by GRACE you are free to do as you please. Churches have taught that we are SAVED BY GRACE through FAITH and indeed we are, but as James 2:20 so plainly states; But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? with Grace comes a moral responsibility on your part to be CHRIST LIKE and not worldly like. Jesus said in John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. Most teach today, that the Ten Commandments are a relic of the past and does not conform to the modern age we live in, besides they say, Jesus nailed all that to the cross so we no longer are under the law. I agree, the law does not apply, UNTIL YOU BREAK IT, then you are subject to the penalty of the law, which is DEATH; Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Ok, so what is sin? Sin is a transgression of the law. But, I thought we had been taught we are not under the law? 1 John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. But, Jesus did away with the law. Did he? Where is the verse to indicate we are not subject to the law? In Matthew 5:17-19 we read the words straight from the lips of Jesus; 17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall BREAK ONE OF THESE LEAST COMMANDMENTS, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Emphasis is mine) Please read verse 18 very carefully and then reflect on verse 19. Are the Churches teaching this? NO! Does Heaven and Earth still exist? YES! I believe it is time for a wakeup call to the Churches which are teaching the false teachings and leading many a lost soul to an everlasting death. What was Christ like in his daily walk with his disciples and the people he came in contact with? The four gospels reveal a mild mannered, meek, non-judgmental, person who owned nothing except the clothes on his back and had no home to call his own; yet he showed only concern and compassion for the people in his life and those he came in contact with through his ministry. Jesus's only major outburst was his tirade against the money changers and vendors as described in Matthew 21:12,13 12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, 13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. Are the Churches today not using God's house for merchandising with all the bazars, yard sales, bingos, raffles and etc taking place in God's house? I have seen some Churches projecting more of a shopping mall image than a house of worship. Do we to walk in Christ's footsteps by following his example; or do we follow the political correct crowd and the ways of man? When we accept Jesus, we are entering into a relationship akin to the marriage to our spouse whom we vowed to Love, Cherish and Honor until death do us part. If we love our spouse, are we going to chase after others to satisfy our worldly greed and needs? The same is true of our relationship with Jesus. If we truly love him and honor him, then we will not have the desire to seek other avenues of worldly satisfactions. (Sex, Money, Fame, Materialistic goods, etc) If ye love me, keep my commandments. I know I am going to take some heat because of my comments about Christians and Churches, but look around in your church services and pay attention to what you are witnessing. Scantily clad young girls and women dressed as though they were going to some sleazy nightspot or to some beach bash with more skin showing than covered, leaving very little to the imagination, clothes so tight fitting you wonder how they even managed to get in them. Teens and adults constantly texting, talking, and other activities rather than worshipping the one they call their God. This is merely a sampling of what our modern Christian Church has become, and it is becoming worse. Pastors, teachers, musical ministers and a host of other church workers are being charged and convicted of sex crimes, embezzlement, fraud, etc. Adultery, alcoholism, gambling and other vices are rampant among the leaders of the Christian church. Jesus Christ came and set an example we were to follow, but, by following the news reports and observing the people and Churches which claim to follow Jesus we see a very poor example of a role model for the Christian walk as outlined in the Holy Bible. Jesus said this would happen in the last days, and there would be a falling away from the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Look around, is the Bible correct as to the way our modern society and church exist today? A survey by PEW indicates a very lackadaisical attitude towards religion. Here are a few statistics for you to injest: Keep in mind we are supposed to be a nation of 75% Christian and our Nation was founded on Biblical Principles. ATTEND RELIGIOUS SERVICES REGULARLY; Overall 15% Evangelical 30% Mainline Churches 8% Catholic 9% Jewish 6% Jehova's Witness 71% SHOULD HOMOSEXUALITY BE ACCEPTED? Evangelical yes 26% Mainline Churches yes 56% Catholic yes 58% Jewish yes 79% Should Churches Preserve the Traditions and Practices of their Religion? Mainline yes 34% Evangelical yes 59% Catholic yes 36% Jewish yes 26% Reviewing these statistics gives us an overall view of how the Churches have failed, by rejecting the word of God for the ways of man, and following the Political Correct crowd straight to Hell, and we are beginning to reap what we have sown Churches and Christians are reluctant to preach the truth as outlined in the Bible for fear of being ostracized, rebuked or labeled as a fanatic. The Prophet Jeremiah was relentless in his proclaiming the destruction and captivity of the Jewish nation. No amount of ridicule or imprisonment, even being placed in a well could shut him up, instead he persisted and the Jewish nation was taken captive as he tried to warn them.. Matt.24:37-39 37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. It seems almost daily there is some heinous violent crime or incident that puts the previous incident in a lesser degree; parents slaughtering their children, children killing their parents, children raping and killing other children, parents and family members assaulting and molesting other members of the family, and the list goes on. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us; The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? The Apostle Paul's letter to Timothy speaks of the times we are living in today. 2 Timothy 3:1-6 1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away 6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, All we need to do is observe the world around us and we can see the accuracy of these verses of scripture, and how it applies to us today more so than at any time in past history. Are we lovers of ourselves? The creed today seems to be to obtain any and everything you can, by any means necessary. Are we Covetous? We seem to have to obtain anything Joe has, but it has to be better. I won't go any further, but read the above text from Timothy, studying it diligently, comparing each line of text with today's society and ask yourself; Am I a part of this, or have I surrendered my life to Jesus and allowed the Holy Spirit to lead me in my daily life, avoiding those things that are of this world, thereby living by God's standard, rather than by Man's? Satan uses subtle tactics to deceive the world into believing GOOD IS EVIL and EVIL IS GOOD, which follows the line that if you tell a lie long enough it will eventually be believed as a fact. This is Satan's tactic in today's world and in Christianity in particular, as Satan hates a Christian and will spare no costs to destroy the truth. Look at our Churches today. What do we see? How many are willing to speak the truth? Churches and Christians have been enamored into a sense of ritualistic services without the affection of reverence, their main goal being entertainment and political correctness. By preaching the truth as the Bible lays it out, you are going to offend the unrighteous persons, groups, lifestyles, religions and their unbiblical actions. Hebrew 4:12 for the word of God is living and active, sharper than a two edged sword; penetrating even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart It is not the Church or the Christians place to judge a person or groups action, but rather speak the Biblical truth with love as Jesus did during his ministry here on Earth, and allow God and the Holy Spirit to do the work of changing people's heart. John 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. 2 Tim.4:2 tells us we should preach the truth and rebuke the errors. 2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. The Churches, out of fear of invalidating their 501(C) 3 tax exempt status from the IRS, and to remain Politically Correct, will not speak against the immoral laws and ordinances being forced upon a majority of the populace to pacify the immorality of a minority. The Churches, by accepting the 501(c) 3 status, bequeathed their right to free speech back to the government, which does not have the authority to stifle your speech according to the 1st amendment to the constitution of the USA. The enticement of tax incentives of the 501(C)3 statute signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1966, the hate crimes legislation signed into law by President Obama in 2009 and along with the faith based initiative program instituted by President George Bush in 2006 during his presidency has placed all religious institutions claiming 501(C)3 tax exempt status, as government entities subject to all government rules and laws which includes the statute relating to the hate crimes legislation. As an example, any Christian Pastor, or lay person which teaches or preaches that homosexuality, abortion, same sex marriage, etc. are wrong and a sin can now be charged with a federal hate crime which carries severe criminal penalties including long prison sentences and monetary fines. Have we become so brain dead and disillusioned by the constant bombardment of Hollywood make believe and Madison Avenue propaganda, the boring do as you feel Sermons with our ritualistic church attendance , and our constantly striving to obtain more and better worldly materialistic wealth in our daily lives, that we can't see the writing on the wall? We have abandoned our parental duties to the day care and public education grist mills, thrown out our morals in lieu of Political Correctness, and placed our status in the community, the church, and our financial status above the needs and welfare of our children, family and God. We are now reaping that which we have sown. King Belshazzar partied and thought his kingdom would last forever but the writing on the wall told a different story as the judgment of God was passed on Belshazzar's kingdom that very night. As Belshazzar and his people partied and praised their gods of material wealth and took the position of security and peace, their kingdom was snatched from them in one night according to Daniel chapter 5. Are we as a so called Christian nation not at the point that Belshazzar and his kingdom found themselves in on the night King Darius of the Medes took the Kingdom, and Belshazzar's life? The Holy Bible warns us of the judgments of God when we continue to ignore his word and treat it as a weekly ritual with no other meaning than to generate an image of an up righteous church attendee; but alas, this is only surface dressing and God hates that lifestyle. Jesus said" If you Love Me Keep My Commandments". Most keep them about 2 to 3 hours each week at church and discard them as soon as their off the Church property. Rev. 3:16 so then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth Are we luke warm? Have we become as Belshazzar, more concerned with worldly treasures and worldly actions than our relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? The hand writing is on the wall, look up, pay attention and understand that God will not be mocked and his judgments are about to be passed upon this nation and its people. The people partied and ridiculed Noah for seven days after God had sealed them in the Ark, but after seven days, sudden destruction came upon them with no means of escape. Our probation period is about up. Are you Prepared? Jeremiah 8:20 The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and were not saved. Copyright 2013 by Paul Taylor All Rights Reserved Rev 01/16/13 All scripture is from the King James Version unless noted Paul Taylor a Christian writer attempting to get the truth out to the masses before it is too late Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |