An Individual Affair

False 'christianity' is spreading like wildfire in these last days.  There is no point in declaring this statement using future tense any longer.  Delusion is now.  Delusion is everywhere.  Delusion is sending people to Hell.  (Acts 20:26, 20:27, 20:28, 20:29, 20:30, 20:31, & 20: 32)

It is time to seek the Lord fully and diligently.  Now is the time to go to the secret place and plead for the Lord's presence in your life.  You must do this.  It is a Y.O.U. thing.  It is personal.  You must encounter God 1 on 1 in order to find and receive the rescue and salvation that only the Lord can provide.  Salvation is IN Jesus Christ.  That deserves repeating - Salvation is IN Jesus Christ.  Are you IN Jesus Christ?  Salvation is not just a free floating trend out in space.  It is found only IN Jesus Christ. Essentially, salvation IS Jesus Christ. No one can receive salvation outside of Jesus Christ.  

Recently, I was in a conversation with someone who seemed to possess Biblical knowledge.  The person knows the Biblical stories, knows names of notable Biblical figures, & can list favorite stories from the Bible. This person professes to be a believer. (James 1:22, 2:19, 

However, in this conversation, it was clear this person did not really KNOW Jesus Christ.  There was no personal understanding of Jesus' true nature.  There was no desire to be transformed purely by Jesus.  There was no longing to have intimate communion with God (Matthew 7:21, 7:22, 7:23).  There was no reverential fear of this Almighty God.  To this person, He represented only mercy, not judgment (Revelation 19:11, 19:12, 19:13, 19:14, 19:15, & 19:16). 

To this person, Jesus was "understanding" of false religions.  During the conversation, it was almost impossible for her to hear, truly hear, God's hatred toward that which is false (Leviticus 26:30, 1 Samuel 15:23, Isaiah 1:18, 1:19; 1:20, Matthew 21:12, 21:13,  Revelation 2:14, 2:15, 2:16, 2:20, 9:18, 9:19, 9:20, 9:21).  

She was very much inclined to believe in a 'human works-based salvation', rather than a Spirit led transformation.  She seemed to convey the following notion:  Doing 'good works' such as feeding the hungry, respecting other people's religions or false notions within Christianity, sitting with the elderly, etc., were indicators of being saved.  I tried to explain that there is nothing wrong with feeding the hungry and spending time with the elderly, but those actions do not necessarily indicate one is "saved."  I shared that there are atheists who feed the hungry, are 'tolerant', & sit with the elderly, all the while not born again.  There are muslims who do those things, yet they are not born again.  There are catholics who do such things, yet they are not born again.  There are buddhists who perform such actions.  There are hindus who outwardly appear nice, gentle, & loving -- and any other positive, earthly label people tend to use, and none of them are truly born again  (Matthew 23:25, 23:26).  

Many are falling for this strong delusion of external good works equaling being Heaven-bound, but such is not the case.  One must be born again (John 3:5, 3:6, & 3:7).  One must absolutely have the Holy Spirit dwelling on the inside & one must be obedient to the Spirit's leading, teaching, and instructions.  Truly being born again will equal a transformation from the INSIDE out.  Hiding behind external works may fool any number of people, but God will never be deceived.  External works minus the Holy Spirit's leading are futile.  Yes, those human-driven works will receive a loud round of applause from others and from oneself, but they are ultimately filthy rags that will rot away in the presence of a Holy & Just God.  If we are not being forged by His Righteousness, our actions, thoughts, desires, and words are beyond ridiculous.

Below, I share these verses with a desire that all would be saved.  I am showing no one, absolutely no one, the true love of Christ, as defined in His Holy Word, if I mislead you in believing that there is any other way to be IN and to ABIDE IN Christ until the end.  I, with the utmost respect, bow before the Lord and do not ever want to share a message supposedly about Christ, all the while teaching that there are "shortcuts" to Him.  False teachers will be in the lake of fire for all eternity.  There are NO shortcuts. The Lord said the way to eternal life is narrow and few will find this way (Matthew 7:14, Luke 13: 23-24). Contemplate the word few.  It is a sobering word.  

Please seek the Lord and study these verses with your entire heart.  Lay down false religion.  Lay down false doctrines.  Lay down pride.  Lay down the ways of this world.  Lay all of it down, and seek Christ in prayer and through His Word - The Holy Bible.  

Matthew 3:2, 3:8, 3:11, Mark 1:15

Acts 2:38

Acts 5:32

Romans 8:1, 8:4, 8:5, 8:6, 8:7, 8:8, 8:13, 8:14

Romans 12:1, 12:2, 

Galatians 5:16, 5:18, 5:19. 5:20, 5:21, 5:24

Hebrews 5:8, 5:9

Pray to the Jesus of the Bible.  Lay down pre-conceived notions of who you thought He was, or who you were told He was.  Read the Bible and pray.   This is so important:  praying and reading the Bible must be partners in your journey to truly be born again.  Relying on signs and wonders alone can be very dangerous.  In my conversation with this person, she was very reliant on signs and wonders, alone.  This concerned me greatly for her.

Be warned!  The Bible teaches that there will be false signs and wonders that will deceive many.  

Deuteronomy 13: 1, 13:2, 13:3

Matthew 24:5

Luke 21:8

2 Thessalonians 2:9, 2:10, 2:11, 2:12

Friends, we cannot afford to be ignorant of God's Word.  It is an individual affair, meaning you alone must make your calling and election sure with Christ Himself.  Do not rely on someone saying you are saved.  Do not be trapped by thinking that 'being a nice guy' equals salvation. Do not believe your regular church attendance means you are saved.  Do not believe 'running around' and volunteering for all the good deeds available means you are saved.  Do not believe the sin you practice will be overlooked because you do this, this, and this to help others.  Let your prayer be, "Lord, I want to know you, and I want you to truly know me."