CHRISTIAN FOCUS
By: Father Larry Winslow
Link to “The True Christian Focus in Living Real Life”
Humanity Struggles Within Itself
Fallen and Secularised Society
Because it can be seemingly defeating and disheartening (even depressing) for God’s True Disciples in Christ to stand against this evil onslaught that seems to be all around, it is essential that it all be placed into perspective. Further, it is necessary for the True Christian to see the whole picture in the light of the power of Almighty God. Without such a vision, there can be a sense of defeat. With the true picture of the authenticity of God’s presence and His power to overcome through His faithful followers there enters the certainty of the defeat of evil and the victorious overcoming power that exists only through the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
It is hoped that this exposition will provide such a sense of impending victory for those who are True Christians dedicated to the Will of God IN Christ and willing to stand firm for his Gospel in a world characterised by opposition to God and bent upon the realisation of Satanic victory in the world today!
Please note that his work can be very demanding from a time and theological depth points of view. For a shorter summarised version please go to “The True Christian Focus in Living Real Life” with a Forward by The Right Reverend Malcolm Harding.
Father Larry ‘Winslow +
In the world today it is so difficult for a True Christian – one who has sincerely and totally given his/her life to Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord and who accepts the Divinely Inspired Holy Scriptures as originally written and originally understood as BEING the Holy Word of God – to maintain the purity and righteousness of his/her focus upon what it honestly and completely means to be a Christian!
The difficulties arise due to the many prevailing forces upon today’s Christians. They take the form of diversionary tactics that intentionally or inadvertently aim to distract the Christian from that which is real in his/her faith. The satanic goal is to either distract or confuse reality such that wrong choices and directions appear to be the easier and even more “correct” path in the light of the world around them. This work will discuss four main issues that are causing difficulties for Christians maintaining their primary Christian Focus in performing their role in the Kingdom of God.
While it would be very simple to add to this short list, it will be the intent of this work to centre upon these few major issues. Each one will be examined in relative detail sufficient to illustrate the problematic elements involved. Then, the proper Christian response will be discussed.
However, before a discussion upon these issues can be undertaken, it is first necessary to spend considerable time analysing the walk of a true Christian. In undertaking this, it will be shown that dedication to Jesus Christ must first be initially embarked upon outside of Christian denominational influences in order for the purity of the Good News to be truly understood. Then, one can look to a denominational affiliation following such a Gospel commitment.
This latter point recognises the simple fact that the Church, as an organisation consisting of those committed to Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, is present to function as the servant of humanity and not the other way around – as so many in today’s leadership, by their actions, seem to believe. Archbishop William Temple once stated that the Church is the only organisation that exists for those who do not belong. This statement could also be carried on to state that the purpose of the Church is for the nurture of those within such that they can represent Christ to those without. The Church is not to be an end in herself. Rather the Church is to provide the organisational functions necessary to work toward the ends that are centred upon the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ and His Great Commission that emanates from His Resurrected teachings and directions to those who would receive Him.
So often, when one comes to Jesus Christ, it is within a specific denomination. Other times the new Christian quite quickly becomes affiliated with a specific denomination that may be that of the influence that brought him/her to Christ or one in which the new convert was associated through familial background. And, while denominational affiliation is important in the ongoing nurture of the new Christian, it can also be very stilting and regressive.
Accepting the Free Gift of Eternal Life that can only be found in the Subsitutionary Sacrificial Death on the Cross and Victorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ in triumph over Sin and Death is the point of True Joy and Fulfillment for the fallen human being. It is only one who truly and unconditionally accepts Jesus’ Love with sorrow for sin and true resolve that such will never enter into his/her life again and determines to Live In and For Christ from that point henceforth who is made a true Child of God by the Love and Working of Almighty God Himself. St. John makes this point very clear in the first chapter of his Gospel rendition when he asserts, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.” (NIV) To believe in the Name of Jesus is to believe in, and unconditionally accept, all that is wrapped-up in the Person of Jesus Christ Who is, in Himself, the Gospel (see St. Mark 1:1)
The recipient of such a wonderful Free Gift from God is the beneficiary of full and true joy and unequalled happiness (see Romans 6:23). Such an individual, having received full forgiveness by the Act of Jesus Christ and by entering into a personal relationship with Him, has simply given himself/herself into the merciful hand of his/her Creator God with commitment to live from that point of Salvation onward in the manner intended in his/her creation according to the Divine Will. Jesus said that he had come that people might have life in all its abundance or fullness (St. John 10:10). And, the joy of Salvation and living from thenceforth in the purposes of Almighty God are certainly the means whereby such “abundance in life” most certainly will be found.
In learning to live that abundance in life the new Christian will spend much time in prayer and in learning from the Divinely Inspired Holy Word of God. Even the learned Saul of Tarsus whom we know as St. Paul was want to spend three years in the desert of Arabia and around Damascus (see Galatians 1:18ff) communing with the Glorified Lord Jesus Himself and growing in the purposes of God for him. Such is the joyful requirement of the new Christian in order to know the purposes and directions of His Loving God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The purposes of Almighty God are found in His Holy Scriptures as informed by the Apostolic Tradition (the understandings and teachings of the Apostles) and Reasoned answers to prayer – the communing of God and man! The Christian must learn to live life guided in these ways by His Saviour and Lord in all things. Such is true and unfettered faith.
It is important for the “saved” human being to maintain a perfect focus upon the empty victorious Cross of Jesus and that, which has been received due to that Gospel. It is important to realise that Salvation comes only in Jesus and is not something that a human can earn on his/her own. St. Paul made this very clear when he wrote, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (NIV: Ephesians 2:8ff) and, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your body.” (NIV: 1 Corinthians 6:19f)
There are considerable distractions that attempt to block or blur that focus. But, it is in attaining to this central and unwavering focus upon Jesus Himself as He is clearly shown in the Holy Scriptures. Much of the fog that is produced in this world is based upon distortion and ignoring of the clear and simple teachings of Jesus, the writings in the New Testament, and of the rest of the Holy Scriptures (Old Testament) that Jesus treated and upheld as being the Word of God. But clarity is maintained by focusing upon the personal relationship with the person, the being, along with the teaching of Jesus – believing in the Name of Jesus! The writer to the Hebrews made it clear that the Godhead is clearly presented to mankind in the Person of Jesus the Christ (see Hebrews 1:3).
There is a propensity within denominational teachings to put singular “spin” on God’s Word in order to support that which makes that denomination unique to itself. But the goal of the new Christian is to discover the purity of Jesus and the clarity attained in the very personal and direct relationship with Him. And it is here that he/she has to be careful to keep the clear focus upon the purity of his/her relationship with Jesus maintained through the indwelling presence of God’s Holy Spirit that was given as a result of the full and complete acceptance of Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. This clarity is often obscured by denominational rhetoric. It was not unheard of in the New Testament when St. Paul had to chastise the Corinthian Church for clinging to individuals and to names rather than to Jesus Christ Himself (see 1 Corinthians 1:10ff; 1 Corinthians 3:4ff). It is to the pure Name of Jesus that Christians owe their primary allegiance. It is to the pure Name of Jesus that Christians must focus and commit.
The Christian who has accepted the Salvation of Jesus Christ places Him on the Throne of his/her life. Jesus must become the true Lord of the Christian Life with no other loyalty superseding or supplanting that primary allegiance. In this sense all aspects of life are affected by the indwelling presence of the Father and Son through the Holy Spirit. Thus, the true Christian cannot compartmentalise life. Rather, faith has to be taken into consideration in Church life, family life, business life, social life, athletic life, and leisure life. None of these, nor any other aspect of life, can be entered into without being focused upon in the light of the pure and simple faith in Jesus. The concept of “what would Jesus do?” (WWJD) is not just a simplified adage for children. Rather it is a real and present axiom for Christian decision making at all times and in all places. And the only source of knowledge of what Jesus would do is in the Holy Word of God provided by God for the people of God – the Body of Christ – the Church!
In order to maintain this pure focus, it is essential for the Christian to have an independent understanding of God’s Holy Word and how it applies to the realities of human life. This should be gained outside of denominational influence so that the Christian can then evaluate denominational teachings in the light of their adherence to the purity of God’s Word and their appropriate application to the daily life of Christians in today’s world. And much of this is lost if the Christian learns strictly within the confines of an individual denomination. While adherence to a Church, and therefore a denomination – even within those that claim to be non-denominational - is necessary for the life of the Christian Community, the directions or requirements of that denominational affiliation are always secondary to those clearly presented in God’s Inspired Holy Word.
This does not absolve the Christian from intellectual learning. A great fallacy of some members of the Christian Church today is that an individual can read the Scriptures and receive his/her own understanding of the meaning of individual passages. And where such meaning differs from that as understood by others, it is seen that each is equally valid because they were arrived at with equal integrity and under prayer for guidance from God’s Holy Spirit. St. Peter makes it clear that each Prophet wrote according to the guidance of God’s Holy Spirit to specific situations embodied in time and place in history (2 St. Peter 1:20f). Thus, one needs to try to understand the time, place, and circumstances to which the prophet wrote in order to understand the Eternal message that God is imparting to the world through that teaching. Then, such informed understanding has to be considered in the light of the obvious intention of the writer, the obvious understanding of the first recipients, how Jesus treated the writings (if they were from the Old Testament), and then how these understandings were received and treated in the Apostolic Tradition.
Essentially, just the fact that everyone has a right to read the Holy Scriptures for himself/herself does not mean that everyone’s individual interpretations or understandings are equally correct. Rather it is in bringing these together in the light of the criteria stated above that truth can be found.
It is in this searching of God’s Word and understanding His Eternal guidance for humankind that pure Christian Life can be lived in this lifetime. It must be noted that God Himself has asserted His own constancy and unchangeable nature. He has said through Malachi, “I the Lord Your God am an unchanging God!” (see Malachi 3:6) Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away but My Words will never cease!” (see St. Mark 13:31 and Parallels). And the writer to the Hebrew’s clearly stated, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow!” (see Hebrews 13:8) In His Holy Scriptures God has spoken His Eternal Word for mankind. The Holy Spirit (God Himself) actively guided the production of this Word. Therefore, it does not stand to reason that the Holy Spirit would then lead the Church in any day and age against the Eternal Word He caused to be written in the Holy Word of God – the Scriptures.
The Christian, in focusing upon the purity of this Gospel, will face many attacks in today’s world. And, oddly enough, many of these will come from within the denominational influences that need to refute portions of Scripture or add to God’s Word in various ways in order to support their various stances. In fact, in order to purport to present “new doctrines” as many denominations are attempting to do today, it is necessary to claim that either Jesus or the Holy Spirit is bringing “new teachings” or “doing new things” in the world. And the fact that Jesus said He would have more to say to humanity through the Holy Spirit (St. John 16:12ff) is used to support this. However, in the light of the Eternal Unchanging Nature of God, proclaimed by Himself, it is impossible to accept any teaching as being “of God” if it violates the Eternal Divinely Inspired Holy Word of God in any manner, way, shape, or form. And, a focus maintained upon the simple and pure Word of God and the personal relationship with Jesus Christ will maintain this purity of purpose and the ultimate goal of God’s Creative Purpose.
In this Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Great Commission of Jesus for His followers to “go into all the world Baptising in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching whatsoever things Jesus has taught them.” In other words, the pure Christian Faith is a missionary faith that seeks, or more correctly, yearns, to share the awesomeness and wonder of Salvation in Jesus with those walking apart from Him. Christians have received the greatest Gift in the world that can only come through the Salvation of God in Jesus Christ! It is both incumbent upon and the special privilege of Christians to bring this great message and Free Gift to those who are walking apart from God such that they may also have the opportunity of receiving the Gift of God.
There are many messages today from within the various denominations that tend to reduce and/or ridicule the need for evangelism. Some of the multicultural inclusive non-aggressive pressures of the world seem to be very compelling. It can be very difficult for the True Christian to maintain the Jesus centred focus and perspective. But, the Person of Jesus, or any other portion of God’s Divinely Inspired Word, must take precedence in all things for the Christian focused upon the Will of God! The Christian is not violating the private rights of an individual by laying out the Gospel before him/her. However, the Christian must also remember that the job is to present the Gospel. The work of the Holy Spirit is to convict and convert that same individual as a result of the Gospel presented.
One of the greatest and most effective forms of Christian Evangelism is simply living the Christian Gospel in thought, word, and deed on a day-by-day basis. Unbelievers are greatly affected by the loving, caring actions of Christians under all circumstances in life. It is people who exude Jesus at all times who are able to legitimately call others into the same walk with Him. It is Christ living in and working through the Christian that shows Himself to the world by love, caring, commitment, and resolve to follow God first and foremost.
And such is the Christian Life lived to the Glory of God. The Will of God takes precedence over all things. The Creative Plan of God is more important than any other demand of life. The worship of God in body, soul, and spirit takes precedence over any form or doctrine of denominational origin. In the Christian Christ must be all in all. St. Peter made this clear when he wrote, “Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.” (NIV: 1 St. Peter 3:13ff)
The purity of the Christian walk is most important for the glory of God and the extension of His Divine Kingdom. Christians have been set right before God by their acceptance the Sacrifice and Resurrection Victory of Jesus. It is not of our doing. St. Paul makes this clear in his first letter to the Corinthians when he said, “You are not your own; you were bought at a price” (NIV: 1 Corinthians 6:19b-20a) and the writer to the Hebrews says, “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the Blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His Body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” (NIV: Hebrews 10:19-23) Thus, when the human individual comes to Jesus he/she is supposed to become a new creation that reflects Jesus to the world around us. As St. Paul said, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (NIV: 2 Corinthians 5:17)
The world will revile, slander, hate, and try to eliminate the voice of Christianity just as it tried to eliminate God’s Salvation. It is significant how King Herod would not let even God send a new King to Israel (St. Matthew 2:1ff). Caiaphas the High Priest and Head of the Sanhedrin was willing to kill (eliminate) anyone who threatened the status quo, especially this Jesus whose popularity amongst the people and whose claim to Messiahship was outstanding and gaining in popularity. (St. John 11:49) It is the Christian’s work to remain focused upon the person and purpose of Jesus and, in the Love of God, to extend the invitation to all to receive Salvation in Jesus Christ.
In order to accomplish this Divine purpose, it is incumbent upon Christians to follow the Holy Spirit in all walks of life. The Christian must rise above denominational line and keep their eyes firmly fixed upon the Jesus of the Gospels and the Creative purposes of Almighty God as given in His Inspired Holy Scriptures. It is only by focusing upon the Person of Jesus and the Divine Will of the Creator God that the True Christian life can be led and the True Christian purpose be attained.
And this stringent lesson must be learned if Christians today are going to be able to stand in the light of the current onslaughts against the Kingdom of God being experienced in the political, business, social, athletic, and leisure worlds of the post-modern era.
True and Pure Christianity is a many faceted life. But, living in such is the goal of a True Christian who has truly come to Jesus and has been received into the Family of God through Him and lives in that family as a brother/sister of Jesus in accordance with God’s Holy Will. Thus, in order to understand the term “True Christian” as it is used in this work, it is necessary to provide a broad-brush definition of the term:
Before external sources of pollution and diversion can be considered, the Christian must first consider such items as they occur within himself/herself. Humanity has a tendency to want to blame all sinfulness on causes outside of the self. However, when it comes right down to it, due to our rebellious fallen nature (the source of Original Sin), we are quite capable of doing a very good job of sinning all on our own – thank you very much!
In the beginning of Creation, in accordance with the Divine plan of Almighty God, Adam and Eve lived in pure blissfulness and innocence in the Garden of Eden. They walked and talked in the Divine Presence. They enjoyed the Creation God had given them. They had dominion over all the earth and only had to take care of God’s Creation – they were gardeners. Adam and Eve were able to undertake anything and participate in anything. All was theirs to enjoy.
The only thing that God had reserved to Himself was determination of right and wrong. And this is a very logical matter. It isn’t a treading upon the “rights” of humanity, as many so-called “modern day” thinkers would posit. Rather, keeping this determination within His Divine realm meant that He could inform His special Creation (Humankind) of the parameters of creation within which would be found the “abundant or fulfilled life” that Jesus later had to bring back to all humanity who would accept Almighty God through the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus. The figure of speech, the merismus, of “The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil” that Moses had to use to describe the concept of “All Moral Knowledge” designated this realm that was forbidden to humanity and reserved to The Almighty Creator God.
However, in order for humanity’s obedience to be a true glory to God, He also gave humanity the wonderful Gift of Freewill. In this way, humanity was freely accepting the directions of God and able to act as true friends of God. It was this freedom to accept or reject the Will of God that was both the joy and downfall of humanity. And it was this Gift of God that Lucifer (the fallen Archangel of Light - all things beautiful and attractive by nature) would exploit in order to drag humankind from its exalted place in the Garden of Eden.
The serpent, Satan/Lucifer in disguise, accosted Eve with the weapon of distorted logic – a similar weapon to that used today by revisionist liberals who are often themselves fully deceived by the same! The serpent tells Eve that the only reason God won’t let them do what they want is because that would make them as good as God! Eve bought into the plan with a typical “I want what I want when I want it” attitude together with the lofty self-vision of being “as good as God.” Then, in her excitement, and possibly in her sense of guilt, she felt the need to drag down Adam with her. Thus, humankind began the process of setting themselves up as being equal to, or even acting in place of, Almighty God. And thus, came the expulsion from the Garden.
The point here is not to discuss all the consequences of such sinfulness – such violation of the Creative Plan of Almighty God and disobedience to His directions. Rather, it is to point out the cause of man’s beginning to sin. Satan made the suggestion. But, it took the agreement and participation of humankind for the sin to become real and factual. Humanity had used the Gift of Freewill to walk in its own way against the Will of God. God has made it clear in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (NIV) God, in His Divine Love, always provides us with the wherewithal to say no to any temptation. Sin is not something into which anyone is compelled. Rather committing a sin is a wilful act of the individual despite God’s supplying the ability to overcome it.
And such has become the basis for all sin – man wanting to stand in his own choices even when they violate God’s Stipulated Will due either to his own lustful wants/needs or in order to place himself/herself on a level with, or even in the stead of, Almighty God Himself. Sin is a determined act of the will to have one’s own way over and against the Righteous Way of Almighty God!
Humanity has a tendency to attempt to justify itself through intellectual arguments that attempt to justify the transgression of God’s Stated Will. In order to accomplish this end attempts are made to categorise sins into less serious and more serious events. Then human valuations can be placed upon each specific sin such that individuals can feel that they “are not so bad” when committing that which is considered by man to be of lesser effect. However, God makes no such valuation. Sin is sin! And that is all there is to it. As such, commission of the seemingly least sin in life makes the one committing the same worthy of the punishment for sin – Eternal Condemnation.
But the Will of Humanity constantly tries to work around and/or justify human action as being a redefinition of righteousness. Therefore, God will have, in the estimation of such haughty and sinful human beings, to accept, justify, and even deify the act. In this way mankind attempts to set his/her own rules of the Creative Purpose of God.
The whole of the Old Testament gives a picture of humanity walking off in its own direction in terms of sexual sin, lust for power, lust for riches, determination to make its own rules, outright worshipping of idols and other gods, etc. It is a record of man drawing himself further and further away from God and God’s having sent the Prophets to call humanity back to Himself. In Hebrews 1:1 God says, “ In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, …..” (NIV) God, in His Faithful Everlasting Love is constantly reaching out to His Special Creation, which is using His Gift of Freewill to turn its back on Him and walk in its own way!
Then, in the New Testament is seen the final act of God in sending His Divine Son to open the Gates of Heaven to all who would be willing to accept that Free Gift of Salvation through His Cross and Resurrection. Again, God, speaking through the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews, goes on to say in Hebrews 1:2ff, “but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” (NIV) God, having seen humankind’s failure to respond to His outreach through the Law and the Prophets, gave humanity The Way to Eternal Life in His Son Who is the very “effulgence,” “the mirror image,” “the exact representation of God’s Radiance and Being.” God was not quitting or giving up on humanity.
But, in Old Testament times, in New Testament times, and throughout the ages to current times, the bulk of humanity has been consistent in perpetuating the effect of original sin. This is not Satan, the demons, or the Social climate causing humanity to continue to revel in the slime and sludge of sin. It is that which is within the human being himself/herself. It is the effectual will to have one’s own way overcoming the natural yearning within the human Created in the Image and Likeness of God to experience the Beatific Vision (to see God Himself) and to live for the Glory of his/her Creator.
The drive to walk away from, or against, God is manifested in a variety of ways and means in accordance with the locale within each individual where the propensity to sin is the greatest. It largely depends upon the perversion of those good passions that are uniquely built-in to each Created Human Being.
For instance, if a human has received the God-given Gift of charismatic leadership, the propensity will be to use that Gift for his/her own purpose rather than the purpose of God. The human will tell himself/herself that, while the Gift may have come from God, he/she has had to personally work in order to develop it. Therefore, in his own mind it is really the individual’s own doing rather than God’s. Further, he/she tells himself/herself that one has to be “realistic” and “live within the real world.” And this Gift is useful for humanity in any case. Therefore, he/she is in complete control of its use.
But nothing could be further from the truth. God has clearly said, through St. Paul that the Gifts given have a clear purpose, “to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (NIV: Ephesians 4:12f) Thus, it is incumbent up the human being to seek out GOD’S PURPOSE and to use that Gift in accordance with His Creative Will to the best of his/her sincere ability. Any other use of that Gift to the exclusion of God’s Will would be to act in sinfulness!
Similarly, God has blessed humanity with a special Gift of mutual loving care and pleasure in human sexuality. But, he has designed the same to be used within the Matrimonial Bond of one man and one woman exclusively. On the other hand, down through all ages, humanity has bowed to his/her lustful self in demanding and taking “the right” to such pleasure under any circumstance that the human may feel its desire and/or need. As such, God’s Gift has become, to sinful humanity, a toy that is played with in his/her own whim regardless of whether or not it is in line with the Will of God!
Mankind excuses itself by looking at its own propensity to use human sexuality by his/her own will as opposed to God’s Divine Will and stating that such is so “natural” that it must be followed as an “alternative” style of life. In fact, some of those taking “equality with God” upon themselves will actually blame God by simply saying, “He made me this way so it must be His Will that I live this way.” Others are bolder and either deny God’s “right to tell us what to do” and/or “God’s very existence.” In either case, humanity is knowingly and openly denying God’s Eternal Word in the Holy Scriptures in favour of its own “will” being set up as equal to or even superior to the Will of God! That is, in following up on the “Sin of Eve” humankind is acting in open sinfulness and daring God to do anything about it.
In today’s world one can see open rebellion and sinful actions taking place in the manner in which working life is undertaken, the priority placed upon social and sporting events in relationship to the work of God and His Worship, the goals of money, power, athletic achievement, etc. being established as gods and objects of idol worship.
In short, emanating from within the very being of fallen and lustful humanity is the very propensity to live in sin and the rebellion against THE ONE TRUE GOD Who wants to grant them Forgiveness, Salvation, and Steadfast Love by bringing them into His Heavenly Kingdom through the Sacrificial Death and Victorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ. God gives humankind the opportunity of freely accepting and receiving the greatest Gift of Eternal Life. Humanity still responds with incredible mutiny and rejection of such Love all the time claiming that it is seeking love and fulfillment. But, as in the time of Jesus, when confronted with the Perfect Righteousness of Almighty God that must either be accepted or killed, humanity today, even many that are “within the Church of God,” choose to Destroy Him and Eliminate Him from their lives.
Such is the fallen and depraved state of humanity. Such is the inner lustful desire of humankind to “do its own thing” in spite of the loving presence of the Divine Creator God. And, in its fallen state, humanity can continue in sin very well without any external forces needing to be placed upon it.
Over the ages Satan has played various roles in many different societies. He has been treated as the most powerful of forces. He has been seen as being similar to the Star Wars “Dark Side of the Force.” Many treatments of Satan have essentially seen his evil as simply being the natural flip side goodness. He has been ignored as either irrelevant or one that does not exist in any real form. Satan has been elevated and Satan has been ridiculed! Which all leaves the question, “Just how real and how pertinent is Satan?”
Yet, one does not have to spend much time in the Holy Word of God to know that God believes in Satan and sees him as a major adversary to humankind. Further, one only has to look around at the activities of the world and the often-overt commitment to that which is totally evil and opposed to the obvious righteous Will of God. And this righteous Will of God is as seen not only from a theological perspective but also from the view of Natural Law. In this vehement opposition is seen and experienced the onslaught of Satan and his demons.
The Christian human being, being in direct communication with Almighty God through His Indwelling Holy Spirit, finds that dealing with the spirit world naturally involves dealing with evil spirits as well as with the Holy Spirit. And the Gift of Discernment that comes from the Holy Spirit is most necessary for living the Christian commitment in the righteousness of Christ in this dynamic communication without being deceived by the Satanic/demonic short circuits of that communication!
C.S. Lewis, in his Preface to “The Screwtape Letters” states, “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in, them.” And this is so true. Disbelieving in and/or not paying attention to, Satan can be disastrous as that means that he and his demons can work upon that human incognito without them having any chance of recognising their evil presence. On the other hand, becoming too enthralled with Satan and his demons (the fallen angels who rebelled against God with Lucifer) can have equally catastrophic results. Becoming too open to their presence provides them with an open and fertile mind and soul to be destined for contamination and ultimate descent into Hell.
The name Satan only appears in the Old Testament eighteen times with all save four being in the Book of Job. However, the presence of the Evil One is clearly resident in the serpent in Genesis 3. Here Satan tempts Eve with the same elements of his own rebellion against Almighty God by trying to be equal with or even supplanting God Himself. And God’s condemnation against Satan states that he will “strike the heel” of (be a constant problem to) humanity. But God also foretells the coming of the Messiah (the offspring of humanity) Who will ultimately “crush the head of” Satan (a clear reference to Jesus).
The presence of evil beings in the world is clearly evident in the pre-flood world of Noah where the Scripture tells us that “sons of God” were intermarrying with the “daughters (who were beautiful) of men” (NIV: Genesis 6). And, in the case of King Saul, it is stated that he was burdened with the intermittent presence of “an evil spirit” (NIV: see 1 Samuel 16; 18; & 19). And, while he is seldom named, Satan is a real entity for the prophets. And Zechariah clearly sees him as the accuser of men standing next to the Divine Throne and acting as advocate for the destruction of human beings before that judgment seat (NIV: see Zechariah 3:1f)!
In the New Testament, the Divine Son of God, perfect God/perfect man perfectly united in one perfect human being, Jesus of Nazareth clearly knew and confronted the person of Satan. Twelve times in the Gospels Jesus is recorded as having used the personal name of Satan. Jesus is tempted by Satan and rebuked by Jesus during “The Temptation in the Wilderness” (St. Matthew 4; St. Mark 1; St. Luke 4 [under the name The Devil]). He speaks of having seen “Satan fall like lightning from Heaven (NIV: St. Luke 10:18). Satan is a liar. Satan cannot be divided against himself (NIV: St. Mark 3:23ff). Satan “sifts” St. Peter who is ultimately saved by Jesus’ prayer for his faith (NIV: St. Luke 22:31f). Satan enters into Judas (St. John 13:27).
Satan is the evil one, the leader of the evil spirits – the demons. The Gospels tell of many instances where Jesus drove out evil spirits (NIV: the term is found used 12 times in the Gospels). And Jesus clearly saw Hell as the ultimate abode of Satan and the demons and the place to which those who have not freely accepted the Salvation of God in Himself will ultimately be cast. The Name of Satan occurs 19 times in the rest of the New Testament and is equated with the term “the devil” (NIV: Revelation 12:9; 20:2) which occurs 15 times in the Gospels and another 18 times in the balance of the New Testament.
Almighty God in the Revelation to St. John the Divine 12:9 brings the various names and concepts of Satan together where he states, “The great dragon was hurled down – that ancient serpent called the devil or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.” The passage goes on to state that this deceiver, purveyor of lies and deceit, is also “the accuser” of humanity before the throne of God.
Thus, it is clear that Jesus and the writers of the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament understood Satan to be a personal entity who would try to possess and lead fallible human beings away from God and into the abyss of Hell with him and his demonic fallen angels. God, through St. Peter, warns Christians of this personal devil, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” (NIV: 1 St. Peter 5:8f). The Divine Son of God functioning in His Human Life as all humankind can under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, clearly understood the warfare that is going on between God and Satan for the very Eternal Life of God’s Special Creation – Humanity. And God, in Jesus, has won the Victory for all in the Salvation offered to humankind through the Substitutionary Death of Jesus on the Cross and His Glorious Resurrection in Victory over Satan, Sin, and Eternal Death for all believers. It is in this light of His Death and Resurrection that the clear statement of Jesus, “I am The Way, The Truth, and The Life; no one comes to the Father but by me” (NIV: St. John 14:4) is made true and irrefutable.
Satan’s work is to possess and capture the human being. When one commits himself/herself to a sinful lifestyle one finds entrapment and the lessening of the ability to choose to live in or not live in that lifestyle. Satan tries to compel and hold the individual in the life of sin. Examples of such can be addictions to such things as alcohol, drugs, sex, lust for power, lust for good activities set in opposition to the worship of God (sports, stores open during Church hours, school based athletic and arts based activities scheduled during Church times, etc), abuse of other people, etc. St. Paul in his letter to the Romans makes it clear (“Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey-whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?”) (NIV: Romans 6:16) that human beings are destined to serve one master or the other. One can be a slave of evil or a slave of righteousness When the Christian accepts Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord he/she is set free from slavery to sin and freely becomes a slave/servant of righteousness.
Jesus, in the story He told recorded in St. Luke 11:24ff, speaks of a demon that has been cast out wandering through dry places seeking a place to reside. It then returns to the original host person and finds the place “swept clean” and empty. The demon re-enters with seven other spirits making the condition of the individual worse than at the beginning. Here Jesus is illustrating that, if a demon is removed from an individual, the person must be willing to immediately accept Salvation in Christ and be filled with the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit as promised by Jesus in St. John 14; 15; and 16. An evil or demonic spirit cannot possess (take up residence within) a person who is filled with the Holy Spirit. Satan or one or more of his demons can possess only one who is empty or void of the indwelling presence of God the Holy Spirit.
This brings out very important lessons. Firstly, along with all the other demonic possession situations discussed in the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and in the Book of the Revelation to St. John the Divine, it is made very evident that demonic possession can be a real problem amongst unsaved human beings. So-called modern day psychology will often attempt, in its commitment to a humanistic message, to relegate such to the realm of mental disorder within individuals. But Jesus saw demonic possession as a real and immediate problem that needed to be dealt with in a sense of urgency. And, while such may manifest itself in forms that resemble mental disorder and this latter does have to be considered and addressed (such is the focus of another discussion outside the realm of this work), the reality is that Satan and his demons do exist and have as their primary goal the purpose of leading or dragging humans away from God and into the hellish place where they will be consigned in that Lake of Fire.
Secondly, it is patently clear that once a human has accepted the Gift of Salvation in Christ and received the Gift of the Indwelling Presence of God’s Holy Spirit he/she cannot be “possessed” by an evil spirit – or even by Satan himself. This does not mean that a saved person cannot be obsessed or tempted by demonic presence. Rather it means that such attack can only be outside the person and not a controlling factor within the individual. Thus, the Power of the Holy Spirit of Almighty God is always present to help in overcoming any obsessive or tempting attacks from the evil ones.
The whole point here is that Satan is very real. Satan has been a thorn in the side of humanity from the Fall of Man and the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden. And Satan’s goal is to cajole, bribe, coerce, deceive, or use any other means possible to draw mankind away from God and into the clutches of evil.
It is important to remember that Satan is Lucifer, the fallen Archangel of Light (Isaiah 14:12 - How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations!” (NKJV)). Until he determined to overthrow God and make himself God he was the Archangel of all that is Beautiful and wonderful to See. His name was used as a synonym for the Devil by St. Jerome and other Church Fathers (see Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church).
Satan and his demons take what is beautiful in Creation and try to pervert it in the eyes of humanity so as to draw man into using that which is Created in Goodness in order to rebel or sin against the God of Creation. Thus, humankind is found to be using God’s Gifts for purposes not intended or in a manner that is forbidden by God. In this way the Gift of Medical Drugs is perverted and used as a means of escape from reality and entrapment into slavery to the evils of Satan. The Gift of Leadership is abused for the individual’s personal position and glory as opposed to fulfilling the purposes of God and such power become intoxicating and entrapping in itself. The Gift of Human Sexuality is perverted so as to be practised outside of the Marriage of one man with one woman and the resultant “pleasure” becomes the end goal rather than the substance of fulfillment within the Godly union.
One of the great temptations of Satan is fulfilled in convincing humankind that the “reality of truth” is found in something called “experience” and not in the parameters of Creation supplied by Almighty God in His Divine Word. Emotional Experience is even said to take precedence over the Creative Plan of God. In this movement toward sensually based behaviour as opposed to intellectually based conduct Satan is deceiving humanity into believing that truth is found in this “experience” and that God’s Word is to be overridden when it differs from human “experience.” The Rev’d. Dr. John Stott foresaw the growth of this movement and responded to it in his 1975 work “Balanced Christianity” when he wrote, “The same tendency (anti-intellectualism) is evident in the contemporary hunger for vivid, first-hand, emotional experiences, and in the enthronement of experience as the criterion of truth, whereas truth should always be the criterion of experience.”
St. Paul responded to this form of Satanic temptation when he wrote to the Church at Colossae, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.” (NIV: Colossian 2:8ff). Satan attempts to deceive, deflect, or redirect Christian thought while keeping the eye firmly fixed upon Christ and seeing the world as He sees it keeps the Christian on the straight and narrow.
Thus, the Christian, having the Indwelling Presence of the Holy Spirit, and living in direct communion with God through His Spirit, must be aware of the demonic presence around him/her. Because he /she has entered the world of spiritual communication with God (as in the Garden of Eden Saved Humanity is able to walk and talk with God through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit) he/she must also be aware of the interference of demonic spirits who will often try to impersonate God. It is for this reason that Saved Human Beings must cultivate God’s Gift of Discernment to be able to identify such deceptions from Satanic and Demonic presence and to refute them by the Power of the Holy Spirit and the revealed Truth in the Holy Scriptures.
While being aware of demonic presence and prepared to stand in the Victory of Jesus to refute these evil forces, the Christian must also not become overly interested in these personal evil presences. Trying to ignore them and/or disbelieve in them leaves the Christian open to deception and becoming too interested has a similar effect. The Christian must have a healthy awareness of Satan and his demons and must deal with them through the Gift of Discernment under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In such a manner, the evil forces are rendered impotent in the light of the power of Almighty God.
Fallen and Secularised Society
For the most part in this day and age, Christians in Continental Europe, Great Britain, Canada or the United States do not live in a Christian society. There are some, mostly revisionist liberals, who may argue this statement. But, it is evident from recent governmental decisions and from recent judicial proclamations that the moral values of Almighty God as He has proclaimed in His Divinely Inspired Holy Word are to be overturned and ignored by the “intelligence” of secular ungodly humanity.
What is manifest in society today is the juxtaposition of the fallen humanity’s propensity to sin against God by demanding its own way over and against the Divine Will and Satanic influence urging and cajoling humanity via lies and deception into succumbing to the same. And, of course, if one were to examine the records of history throughout the ages, it would be found that such a complete concurrence is a cyclical phenomenon that effects, and has infected, many societies.
Since the mid-19th century there has been a growing onslaught against Biblically based Christian faith. Many of the developed “critical” methods developed to analyse The Holy Word of God are aimed at “disproving” the veracity and reliability of the same and the Apostolic Traditions surrounding The Bible.
The Graf/Wellhausen theories challenged the traditional Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch (The Torah – The first five books of the Old Testament) by concluding that they were the work of a multiplicity of authors brought together by an eventual editor. In the Pentateuch they claimed to have found the work of several contributing bodies as follows:
The result of this work was to deny the early history of Israel as having been a strong monotheistic faith based upon a relationship of the people with the One True God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It denied the family histories of Genesis and the development of the nation under the guidance of Moses and reduced the veracity of the books to rather being a compendium of works developed at a much later period of time with a specific goal and legal system in mind. Essentially, this theory structure relegates the authoritative writings of Moses to being a development of human conniving. (For a full discussion read Introduction to the Old Testament by R.K. Harrison)
And this has opened the door for modern theological thought to relegate any of the law given through Moses to the level of being at best questionable and at worst ignorable.
Such intellectualism that took upon itself the right to question God’s Divinely Inspired Word continued to grow reaching heights of the form critical methods of Gunkel, Debelius, and Rudolph Bultmann (amongst others) following World War I. This method tried to determine various categories of the sayings of Jesus and the situation in life from which they developed. This was further refined into sayings of Jesus the emanated from the “mouth of Jesus” and those which emanated from the “mouth of the Church” at a later time according to the needs of the Church’s situation in life. In fact, Bultmann reduced the valid sayings of Jesus to that 3% that were diametrically opposed to the current Jewish polity, eschatological in nature, and would have gotten Him crucified (in an AND relationship). (For a fuller discussion see The New Testament – Its Background, Growth, and Content by Bruce M. Metzger).
The effect of this, similar to the earlier works of Graf and Wellhausen, was to legitimise attacks on the veracity of the doctrines of the Gospels – especially those attributed directly to Jesus. This work also provided the intellectual support for the questioning of the reliability of the Gospel Accounts as a whole. In fact, in explaining what was considered to be falsehoods and/or placing words into the mouth of Jesus, this school of thought began to use the term “pious fraud.” It didn’t seem to disturb them that such would invalidate the credibility of the whole Gospel account. Rather, it was considered that such utilized toward a good end was quite acceptable thereby opening the door to a morality that would be based upon an “end justifies the means” mentality.
With the door wide open to questioning, writers like UK Bishop J.A.T. Robinson produced works like his “Honest To God” (1963) where he questions much of accepted Creedal Faith and attempts to develop a new theism and a new morality. In 1965 Harvey Cox wrote “The Secular City” which was really a development of a theoretically Christianised Humanism based upon Urban Cultures seen to be replacing Town Cultures. The theme setting work was that of Joseph Fletcher in his 1966 publication of “Situation Ethics – The New Morality.” It was this work that legitimised a complete challenging of all moral law with his theory that there is no set right and wrong. Rather, according to Fletcher, every moral right/wrong had to be determined based upon the “Christian” evaluation of the individual situation regardless of what Holy Scripture may say about the particular issue.
Essentially, this whole foundational process was establishing the magnification and legitimisation of the “Sin of Eve.” In these developments is seen the whole process of man in his self-perceived intellectualism (and the “ism” is applied here advisedly) striving to make his own thought processes equivalent to, if not standing in stead of, the clearly established Will of God in both Natural Theology, Moral Theology, and the clear and simple Word of God contained in the Holy Scriptures.
Coincident with these denigrations in theological thought is seen the decadence following World War I and magnified following World War II and the Korean War and coming to its culmination in the so-called Hippie Generation of the late 1960’s, 70’s, and extending into the 80’s. The freedom to challenge the tenets of established faith was given from theology and expressed secularly in this generation. The freedom to challenge established moral values that stem from Almighty God was given from theological intellectualism and expressed secularly by this generation. The newfound freedom from all established thought was taken and brought into the realm of a secularised society that would develop over the next 20 to 30 years.
Hence, in today’s political and judicial realms are found the products of that time and place. There is no absolute right and wrong. Rather moral decisions and judgments have been predicated upon “community accepted values” and, recently, by rights that are based upon “their not adversely effecting anyone directly” despite their nature that is repugnant to natural human dignity.
To Christian society such forms of thought and so-called “justice” are totally repugnant to all righteousness. But, to the children of the corruption fostered by so-called intellectual Christian thinkers, having no prescribed code of moral correctness and seeing all things according to the perceived “rights” of minorities (with all sorts of human aberration being seen as a minority group) is quite natural and inviolable.
In fact, society today is simply following the “Sin of Eve” and continuing upon its road of degeneration, undertaken in the name of progressive thought, such that most First World Nations are wallowing in a state of Sodom and Gomorrah of Old Testament Times. In fact, such depravity is not unknown to either Biblical History or Secular History. In Biblical History it is only necessary to begin with Cain and Abel and progress through the pre-flood world of Noah, the Tower of Babel, times of the Judges, the Canaanite corruption for which they were to be removed from the promised land, the pre-exilic state of Israel, the pre-exilic state of the Southern Kingdom, the various communities visited by Jesus. In secular History it is only necessary to consider the depravity of pre-fall Grecian Empire, and pre-fall Roman Empire, the current state of Britain, the current state of the USA, and the total moral ineptitude of Canada. In all these circumstances human will, thought, and desire have been placed over and above the clear and simple, well known Will of the Divine Creator God.
Of course, the politicians use the excuse that the world today is multicultural and no single set of moral values can be established as canon. The courts, in following this multicultural line of thought, see themselves as guardians of minority rights. But, in both cases, the definitions have been tremendously altered to suit the desires and goals of the individuals making the legislation and the judgements. Further, the persons involved in such legislation and judiciary see themselves as being able to compartmentalise their lives. They see their personal religious and/or non-religious views as having nothing to do with their political/judicial decisions. They see their religion and its practise as something that can be totally separated from their secular actions. Yet, religion, by its very nature, is an expression of a faith base that permeates the whole of the human person. It is impossible for one who is truly a person of faith, and therefore religious, to act anywhere in life outside of their religious faith and experience. Hence, one cannot be a person of faith and act against that faith in any aspect of life.
However, the whole concept of no established right and wrong that has falsely emanated from within the religious communities has opened the door to such illogical forms of decision-making. The proponents of such decision-making processes have been totally corrupted by their underlying education and perceptions of what is truth in the religious environment. Essentially, that truth is the Truth of God. Jesus, as recorded in St. John 17, asked the Father to protect His followers with the truth. He then defined that Truth by saying to the Father in this High Priestly prayer, “Your Word is Truth!”
And this is the cultural milieu into which the modern day True Christian is placed. He/She has to deal not only with his/her own propensity to fallenness but also with the corruption affecting the Fallen and Secularised Society around. It is within this environment that the Christian has to bring the message of Almighty God to its fallen and secularised members. It is within the corruptions and deceptions of modern theological and secular intellectualism that the Christian is called upon to bring the Unchanging and Unalterable Holy Word of God.
In doing so, the Christian will be faced with ridicule at the least and physical persecution at the most. In St. John 15 Jesus is recorded as saying to His followers that, if they persecute the leader, how much more will they persecute the followers. Yet, such is not to bring to a standstill the need to follow Jesus’ Great Commission in St. Matthew 28 to bring the Gospel to all people Baptising in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
And now, with their new sense of power, those who are proponents of that which is diametrically opposed to the Holy Word of God are taking steps to eradicate any form of Holy and Righteous opposition. In fact, homosexual or homosexual friendly psychiatrists Edward Dunbar, Gary Belkin, Shama Chaiken, Alvin F. Poussaint, Dean Hamer, and George Weinberg are proposing that opposition to the “modern thought” concerning aberrations that are diametrically opposed to the Holy Word of God should be considered a “mental disorder.” They even suggest that such opposing thought should be treated as an aberration in itself and should be subject to psychological reorientation. In fact they are prone to advocating the “criminalisation” of thought forms opposing this homosexual agenda even if such opposition is based upon God’s Holy Word!
The corruption in the modern world is clearly evident, as it has been in many times and circumstances throughout both Biblical and Secular History. And throughout all these ages God has had those voices that were willing to stand for Him and bring His righteousness to that corruption. The Christian today is faced with making this decision in the world where he/she is planted.
Seemingly incredible is the coming together of the forces of inherent fallenness of humanity, Satanic temptation and oppression, and corruption in secular society and forcing the totality of this influence upon much of the leadership within the leadership of the mainline Christian denominations.
Yet, when Biblical History and Secular History are examined such does not prove to be so incredible. In Old Testament history there is a strong line of Kings and their Royal families who not only forsook the faith of Yahweh but also actively campaigned and struck out against any semblance of the practice of the pure faith. Generally speaking they would allow the importation of the idol worship and cultic activities of the nations around them and then support the practice of that faith over and against the true worship of Yahweh. The secularised desires of the political leadership became the primary impetus of the mainline religious establishment.
At the time of Jesus a slightly different but similar situation was in force. The country was under Roman occupation. While the conquered nation was allowed to handle its own affairs to a point, the primary secular influence was to appease the Roman Governor and not to run afoul of the Roman Legions. The Sanhedrin, the governing Jewish “Theocratic” Body, bent over backwards to handle its own affairs while appeasing the Roman Occupiers. At this time that body was under control of the secularised Sadducean party which saw the faith as effecting life in this world only and therefore made it mandatory that the faith acquiesce to Roman requirements in terms of secular control of the people. The Sadducees really only required adherence to “The Law” (The Pentateuch) as it applied to their vision of God in this life.
Over and against the Sadducees were the Pharisees who upheld a high religious standard and saw faith as affecting this life and the next after death. They were far more concerned with the practice of “The Law” along with the teachings of the Writings, the Histories, and the Prophets. . Where they came up short from a faith point of view was in their propensity to modify the teachings of Scripture to “suit the needs of the world of the day” and to make additional decrees that benefited them in their station of life over against the common man.
It was into this milieu that Jesus came teaching the tenets of the pure Kingdom of God. Jesus called the Jewish Religious and Secular leadership (one and the same in a Theocracy) on their perversion and limitation of the teachings of God contained in what is known by Christians as the Old Testament. Jesus provoked the anger of the religious leadership by pointing out the righteous intention of God in the Law and the Prophets vs. their misrepresentation and corruption of the same. In countering their idea that Jesus was preaching a new religion He reiterated the timelessness of the Law and the Prophets and the fact that they should always be in effect and He had come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (St. Matthew 5:17ff), not to destroy them. Essentially there was a secularised religious leadership in the Sadducees and a ceremonial based religious leadership in the Pharisees with neither party truly holding a strong faith commitment in the righteousness of Almighty God.
Both parties despised Jesus for his opposition to that which gave them the glory within their society. Also, as Caiphas so succinctly decreed when he said, “It is better for one man to die than a whole nation to perish” (St. John 11:49f). The political determination was to kill that which was providing opposition to the power held be the leadership! From a Christian point of view it can be quite correctly stated that this was a reaction to their having been confronted with perfect righteousness. Such a confrontation demanded one of two responses – accept Jesus or eliminate Him and His influence. But, from their point of view, the leadership’s reaction was strictly one of eliminating the threat to their power and authority, as they erroneously perceived the same.
Following the Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus and the subsequent coming of the promised Gift of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the fledgling Church soon began to run into corruption and misunderstandings. The Judaisers who were constantly plaguing St. Paul’s work among the Gentiles refused, despite the Council of Jerusalem to let go of that which they held dear and was seen to give them superiority over the Gentiles. And they tried to enforce their views on Circumcision and the Jewish Rites and Customs. Battles broke out in the developing communities over who they really followed (a forerunner of denominational; infighting – see 1 Corinthians 1:12f). And St. Paul had to point out to them that they were to follow Jesus and only Jesus. Then there was the apostate leadership seen in St. Jude 3ff, 2 St. Timothy 3 & 4, and many other places. There are the problems in the various Churches addressed by the Ascended and Glorified Christ in Revelation 2 & 3. In all these and many other cases is seen the evidence of fallen leadership leading innocent people astray and blind sheep following without questioning the obvious aberrations being presented by such headship.
And such has been the case throughout the history of the Christian Church. Intermingled with the Righteous and Holy Efforts of so many dedicated Christian workers is seen the effect of fallible humanity within the leadership. Persons succumbing to all forms of sin, in the name of religion, for their own benefit and gain.
In fact, the 16th Century Reformation of Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, Cranmer, and their followers was made necessary by the political and personal corruption of much of the ecclesiastical leadership. The hierarchy had largely succumbed to both human and Satanic temptation in melding the direction of the Family of God into the secularised society over which they were also leaders and servants of secular royalty and toward their own personal gain and lusts. In accomplishing this there were many corruptions of the spiritual content of faith as well.
Since the Reformation there have been many similar movements. However, for the most part, they were dealt with through the remnants of faithful leadership who worked toward bringing the Faith of the Church back into line with the primary guidebook – The Holy Bible!
Such corruption has been on the increase in the Holy Church of God at a blinding pace since the end of World War II. Prior to that vestiges of heretical belief were developing as shown above. However, it has been since the secular recovery following that Great War that the movement toward non-Scriptural Faith has accelerated with the open publication of works from men of seeming ecclesiastical authority refuting the teachings of God’s Holy Word and leading the Body of Christ into the acceptance of things that have always been repugnant to the Holy Word of God and to the accepted rational teachings of the Apostolic Traditions.
Such acceleration of acceptance of heretical, non-Scriptural, even anti-Scriptural teachings and doctrines expanded rapidly throughout the last half of the 20th Century. It became “in vogue” in the theological colleges to teach aberration as being the norm. And many unsuspecting students who believed that their professors were the source of all knowledge and truth, even when God’s Word was being openly contradicted, simply swallowed the Satanic deceptions and lies. Then, their destroyed faith became the norm in the ordained clergy by the end of that century. Those who held to the primacy of God’s Word and those who took their Ordination Vows to accept the Holy Bible as “being the Word of God” were ridiculed as intellectual dinosaurs, raving lunatics, or foolish “fundamentalists” (despite the fact that those who use this latter term in derision have clearly demonstrated that they have absolutely no knowledge of its true meaning and significance). The new age revisionist liberal leadership often openly yearned for the days when these “fools” would die off or leave the Church in frustration.
As the 21st Century came into view and then became a reality the revisionist liberal leadership began to move toward the concept of New Age synthesis. All traditional faith was to be considered archaic and untenable. Pagan symbols and tools such as the Labyrinth, Eastern Religious Philosophy, contact with the spirit world through non-Christian means, the use of “spirit guides” from long dead celebrities of one form or another, etc. have been absorbed into mainline faith teachings. The moral standards of the Holy Scriptures as understood with the aid of Godly Reason and the Apostolic Tradition (the three mainstays of Christian understanding with the Holy Scripture being supreme) have been rendered passé and aberrations of human existence have been instituted as being the norm.
In apostate and heretical pretences at theological writings Bishops of the Church, in carrying on from the late 20th Century heresies of Bishop J.A.T. Robinson and Bishop James Pike, have challenged every doctrine to which they swore adherence in their ordination vows. Without having the integrity to first renounce those vows that they were openly violating and ignoring, Bishop John Spong of New Jersey and Bishop Michael Ingham of New Westminster have, in their writings denied such key teachings of the Christian Church as the Virgin Birth of Jesus, the Miracles of Jesus, the Physical Resurrection of Jesus, the Holy Trinity, the Godliness of Jesus, the necessary work of Evangelism (bringing of the Gospel of Jesus to those who do not know Him), along with other relatively minor issues. Rather than do the honourable thing, these perpetrators of heresy not only stay within the Church whose faith they are denying but also want to unsustainably, and morally untenably, hold onto their positions of so-called “power and authority.”
Bishop Bennison of Philadelphia has stated concerning the authority of the Holy Scriptures, “We (humanity) wrote the Bible; we (humanity) can rewrite it!” Bishop Lee of Virginia is on record as saying, “When given a choice between heresy and schism one should always choose heresy!” In these cases we see the full Satanic force coming to play whereby the Holy Word of God is being subjected to human whim and will. The former says that the authority of God’s Word is really not an authority so it can be re-established by humankind (the serpent driven Sin of Eve again rears its ugly head). The latter says that the unity of the institution is far more important than the faith of the community and that doctrinal aberration is far preferable to the breaking up of the institution (sounds a lot like Caiaphas’ statements concerning the killing of Jesus).
Arguments for things that are forbidden in the Holy Scriptures are even referencing the directions of secular society in attempting to justify such apostasy. Throughout Biblical History, even in situations where the people of God were not living in a theocracy, the work of the people of God was to be the Godly conscience of secular society. Thus, arguments for matters that are in apposition to God’s Word stating that the Church has to get into step with the “advances” of secular society are total anathema to the true people of God. But, quite incredibly, they are now emanating from the leadership of the institutional “Body of Christ,” which is totally incorrigible!
Teachings similar to this are permeating the mainline denominations throughout the First World. And, when questioned by anyone in the First or “Developed” world or refuted by reference to God’s Word, the Traditional Rationale, and Apostolic Understanding of the True Body of Christ, such arguments are put down as being fundamentalist (refer to comment above on the understanding of the term) and unlearned. When Godly members of the Church leadership from the Third or “Developing” World challenge and refute these heresies, they are ridiculed, called fundamentalist, unlearned (despite the fact that there are more earned Doctorate Degrees amongst these individuals than with the First World Leadership), primitive, and superstitious!
Thus, Christians in today’s world are faced with an onslaught against the Gospel of Jesus Christ that emanates from within the Church. It is an attack whose goal is to either convert those who stand firm in God’s Word to the Revisionist Liberal viewpoint or to drive them out of the Church in its current organisational position. In many cases to date, faithful individuals (clergy and laity) have been pushed out or ordered out. Others have managed to remain within while standing firm for the Gospel. But such a stance is becoming more and more difficult as the pressure is applied by the leadership that is now oppressed by stronger organised opposition from those who Believe God over the mind of fallen humanity – no matter what positions they hold. The Canons of the Council of Nicea stated that when a Bishop enters into teaching apostasy he has relinquished his authority. The vows taken by clergy today promise obedience to their Bishop in all things lawful. Thus, when the higher authority of Almighty God’s Inspired Holy Scripture is ignored in favour of man-made Canons, that authority is again relinquished or made subservient to God’s Law. In any case, Satan will rant and rave and threaten until his defeat is finalised in the Second Coming of Jesus (a questionable event in the mind of most revisionist liberals).
True Christians are called to stand firm in the face of this internal onslaught against Almighty God and His Holy Word. It is not an easy task. But it is a God-given task to those whom He has placed in the environs of The Body of Christ – The True Church populated by True Christians!
After such a description of the world in which the True Christian of today lives and works, he/she can easily become very discouraged. But such has been the world since the Fall of Humankind. It is necessary for those who are truly given to Jesus as Saviour and Lord and living and working within the True Body of Christ, the Church, to realise that not only will they have to continue dealing with their own falleness but will also need to face up to Satan and his demonic forces, the open sinfulness of secular society, and the corruption that periodically develops within the leadership of the organisational Church while realising that many of the proponents of such are their brothers and sisters within the Church who are claiming to be Christians while denying the efficacy of their Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ!
But, in reality, none of this should bring discouragement to the True Christian! Jesus warned his disciples of the presence of Satan and the fallen nature of secular leadership and religious leadership. In St. John 15:18ff He very clearly told the disciples that they would also have to face persecution from these sources if they were his true followers. St. Peter warned his charges that corruption would emanate even from within the faith (2 St. Peter 2:1ff). St. Paul warned St. Timothy of the days when those who claimed to be Christians along with those outside the Church would fall into the sins of being, “… lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having the form of godliness but denying the power.” (NIV: 2 St. Timothy 3:2ff) He also warned St. Timothy of the coming time when people would, “… gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” (NIV: 2 St. Timothy 4:3f). Rather, True Christians should rejoice in the fact that their Lord deems them worthy to share in His rejection and suffering and that He has promised to provide them with all that is necessary to carry out the tasks He assigns to them.
Much ado is made today of the dwindling numbers attending Church in the mainline denominations. And, while such is never shown in official Church statistics, even smaller is the percentage of those attending who are True Christians – those who are totally submitted to the Truth of God contained in His Divine Word written in the Holy Scriptures and living in the living Jesus Christ Who is Ascended and Glorified! No wonder so many dedicated Christians begin to feel alone and hopelessly outnumbered. So often it feels as though the sum total of the weight of the seeming epitome of evil emanating from all the sources is totally overwhelming!
But one only has to turn, once again, to the Holy Scriptures to see the encouragement of God in just such episodes in Human experience. The renowned Prophet Elijah stood valiantly against the evil King Ahab and his idolatrous wife Jezebel. She, being a Sidonian, had imported the false religion of the idol Baal into Israel when she had married Ahab – and he had supported her evil lust. Jezebel had tried to have all the true Prophets of Almighty God killed off. But Elijah had been protected by God and came before the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel. Here he challenged them to prove their god (Baal) and he would prove his God. As is demonstrated in 1 Kings 18:16ff, Yahweh was shown to be the true Lord God. Then Elijah had slaughtered all the prophets of Baal.
Needless to say, Jezebel was quite displeased and sought Elijah’s life. Elijah (as dedicated to Yahweh as he was and having experienced the power of Almighty God as he had) succumbed to natural human fear and panicked. He ran and hid in a cave on Mount Horeb (see 1 Kings 19). When God encountered him there he told of his fear that he was the only one left upholding Faith in Yahweh. At this God responded that he had seven thousand others as well as Elijah and told him to trust in Him and to get back into the fray.
From this Scriptural episode Christians today can be strengthened. While, in our own local setting, we may feel quite alone and quite inconsequential, in the greater scheme of things Almighty God always has his faithful remnant. And each faithful Christian of today is a part of that remnant.
Further, Christians have the added advantage of being the Temple of the Holy Spirit. The special Gift emanating from the Father and the Son, as promised by Jesus (see St. John 14, 15, & 16), provides us with wisdom and understanding such that Christians can keep focused upon the purposes of God for each and every dedicated individual. With the power of God functioning within, the Christian is able to perform any task assigned by Almighty God. Remember what St. Paul wrote to St. Timothy, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.” (NIV: 2 St. Timothy 1:7). Also, St. Paul wrote in Romans 1:16f (NIV), “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes; first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the Gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’.” Thus, Christians have nothing to fear or no reason to become discouraged because the Love and Power of God is living with them and in them!
Also, Christians are called to serve God with “joy” in their heart. The words translated “joy” in the NIV translation of the Holy Bible occurs two hundred and eighteen times. The clear message is that Almighty God is not a God of oppression and punishment. Rather He is the God Who wants His Children (those who have accepted the Free Gift of Eternal Life in Jesus Christ) to live their lives in fulfillment and the utter “joy” of being God’s people. St. Paul expressed great joy in the Gospel – even when he was awaiting certain death in the Roman Jails. The joy of Christians is that of their fellowship with God and with brothers and sisters in Christ. The joy of Christians is living the transformed life that can only come through the indwelling presence of God’s Holy Spirit. The joy of Christians is living in the Creative Purpose of God and being restored to the position of being able to walk and talk with Him as the first humans did in the Garden of Eden.
In Living in this “joy” Christians need to keep their eyes clearly focused upon the empty Cross of Jesus – the symbol of victory over sin and death that was attained through His vicarious Sacrificial Death and Victorious Resurrection. In the power of this magnificent Gift of God there can be no defeat.
It is in this light that the Christian is able to maintain his/her focus upon the reality and purpose of God. The True Christian faces this world in the light of God’s Eternal and Faithful Love and Care for the whole of humanity and His Gift of Forgiveness and Eternal Life to those who come to Him in Christ.
In the preceding chapters the problems in this world that tend to draw the Christian away from the Throne of God are clearly described. It is in the sum total of all these distractions that is found the situation that Isaiah had to address in his day (circa 720 BC) and that Christians are called to address in the twenty-first century. God spoke through the Prophet Isaiah by the power of His Divine Holy Spirit saying, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.” (NIV: Isaiah 5:20f).
The leadership in the mainline churches today is doing just that to which Isaiah was speaking. Using the excuse of “human experience” they are trying to justify things that are clearly contrary to God’s Word but in line with the “experiential factor” of modern corrupt humanity. Essentially the argument is that of Joseph Fletcher in “Situation Ethics” that right and wrong is determined by the momentary situation and basically all is fine in consensual circumstances providing no one is being imminently harmed. Such is the tact taken by the Canadian Supreme Court recently in legalising consensual private sex clubs where the decision moves away from Community Accepted Value to one of determining if anyone is being hurt by their actions. Now, not only are God’s views ignored, so is the general morality of the Canadian people with or without God. Christians need to focus upon the Will of God in Jesus and vibrantly oppose such degeneration of Canadian values at the hand of the Supreme Court of Canada. It is time to encourage our government officials, as the new Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has indicated he would do, to give the Canadian Courts the same message President George Bush is giving the courts of the USA, – “the job of the courts is to administer the law and NOT to make the law!”
This does not mean that these people are not either sincere or intellectual. Rather, since, for the most part, the revisionist liberal agenda is all that they have ever been exposed to, they are totally taken in by the Satanic Deception that is inherent in the untruths of their violation of the Divinely Inspired Holy Word of God! The “intellectualism” involved in the revisionist Gospel is difficult to refute unless one has truly met Jesus Christ on a personal level and totally comprehends the reality of the Truths contained in the infallible Word. And, most of this corrupted leadership have gained their knowledge with total dedication to study and understanding. The problem is that they have not heeded the Word of God issued through St. Paul in his letter to the Colossians where He said, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” (NIV: Colossians 2:8).
The situation that True Christians face is that many, if not most, revisionist liberals of today, while thinking themselves highly intelligent, are, in reality, poorly educated in, and truly ignorant of, the Truth contained in the inviolable Holy Word of God. They do not understand the nature of God’s Word because they have been educated solely in the environment of those who have decreed that man’s knowledge is above God’s Word! In any case, the work of True Christians is not to condemn them to Hell (that is God’s work through Jesus at the Last Judgment) but rather to point them in the direction of Heaven!
Again, the True Christian is called upon to Focus upon the Jesus of the Holy Word of God – not upon the concept of a Jesus Who is affected by the false wisdom of either theological theories or denominational emphasis. The Jesus of the Scriptures stands firm in the righteousness of God. But, He does so while exuding the Divine Love of God! The goal of the True Christian is not to condemn a person to Hell but to point that individual to Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. The goal is to so prepare the field that the Holy Spirit can reap the wheat for the Kingdom of God.
It all comes down to Christian Focus!! The question is, “Upon what is the Christian centring?” There is a temptation that Satan loves to exploit. And that is the tendency that Christians have to want to “get even with” or “put down” those who are in obvious error. But, the real goal of True Christians must be the Salvation of all – knowingly errant, innocently heretical, or otherwise.
Again, the problem is Christian Focus. Christians need to get around the distractions of self, Satan, secularisation, and hierarchical corruption. True Christians need to centre completely upon Jesus and His empty Cross of Victory. They need to rejoice in the Love of Christ and pour out that love to all around. Christians need to feel the pain and ultimate suffering that is inherent in the revisionist liberal approach to what they call theology and to passionately do all in their power to open the door to Salvation for these poor unfortunates. In short, True Christians should not only see the problems and short comings of the revisionist liberal theologies but should also have an urgent need to bring these people into the reality of Jesus Christ and His message of Salvation.
The True Christian, while not being condemnatory (such is exclusively God’s Work), must always make those walking outside of Jesus aware of the consequence of denying Him and His simple Gospel. St. Paul clearly stated in Galatians 1:8f, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” (NIV). It does not matter how sincere one is in the faith he/she has developed for himself/herself, the only faith that gives Eternal Life is the pure faith in Jesus Christ as He is presented in the Holy Word of God!
Again it is a matter of Focus. The revisionist liberal focuses upon intellectual concepts often based upon “modern” human experience and imposes them on Jesus in order to seem to be working from authority, using Scripture only when it supports their view. And, where True Christians quote Scriptures that don’t support new ways it is said they are proof-texting, superstitious, fundamentalist, non-intellectual dotes! The impression is conveyed that they are not truly following Jesus because they are not coming up with new and modern thought-forms even if such violate the Eternal Unchangeable Holy Word of God. And, since there are no logical arguments for their positions based upon the time-honoured precepts of Holy Scripture, Godly Reason, and Apostolic Tradition, where Scripture stands as judge over Reason and Tradition, the only recourse is to try to use the put down and ridicule of the True Christian position.
Focus is the Christian’s weapon in standing against such an onslaught be it from the secular world or from the corruption within the Church. None of the distractions of personal falleness, Satan, the secular world, or corrupt Church leadership should deflect the True Christian’s constant dedication and commitment to the God of Holy Scripture. Rather, in putting on the “whole armour of God” (Ephesians 6:10) the True Christian must not forget that he/she has one true offensive weapon – “the Sword of the Spirit which is The Word of God!” This is what the revisionist liberal camp tries to remove from the arsenal of the True Christian thereby rendering him/her as being only defensive and responsive to their onslaught. However, this weapon is to be used by the True Christian to render those who are not totally dedicated to the God of Scripture and His Divinely Inspired Holy Word impotent and reeling such that the Holy Spirit can move in and convict them of their sinful walking away from Almighty God. How they respond to that is their business. But, they can never stand before the Judgement Seat and say, “I was never warned!”
Hence, while the power of sin within humanity, in the onslaught of Satan, in the overpowering pretences of secular society, and in the outright violation of God’s Word by the leadership of His Body the Church, may often seem to be overwhelming, the defence of the True Christian is to maintain an unswerving Focus upon Jesus Christ, His Victorious Empty Cross, the all encompassing power of the Resurrection, and the Truth of God as found in His Word – Living in Jesus Christ and Written in His Holy Bible!
Against such a fixed focus there can be no defence and no victory for the world, the flesh, and Devil!
AMEN!!!!