Thursday, December 29, 2011

Whether We Like It Or Not, God Is Always Right

 
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  2 Timothy 2:15

All that you see below (in italics) are studies by man and his so-called theology on how right he is as he teaches the Bible in his own way and not with the Holy Spirit guiding him. Many scam artists are behind the pulpits who are NOT rightly dividing the word of God in it's proper context. These are heretics, not I.   If l was, God would never have called me to be a preacher. I will make sure all my doctrine is based on GOD HIMSELF and what HE tells ME when l read and study HIS Word, not what ignorant man teaches. Below is what people, majority of Baptists and practically everyone, are taught to believe.

The problem is, too many young preachers blow out of the water those who are old enough to be their Dads and think we are too old to really understand, know, and have a wisdom that these young preachers claim they know just because they are a behind a pulpit. An older person has more wisdom than a young man, and that is NOT pride either. It is just fact.  Many young people and young preachers get too high and mighty just because they are more suited to be behind a pulpit than someone older. Too often, young preachers ignore what an elder can tell them with the wisdom they have, and ignore what they say because God put this young preacher there in place and not the older man.  Young man, don't scoff at the older person! He needs to be respected.

I have been there and-have seen it.  It is a wicked sin when a young preacher ignores what someone older may tell him what the Lord has told him. A shame. God hates that when a young man shows contempt for an older person who has more wisdom and understanding that the young one has. Pride does not play a part.  It is the way it is.  The older you get, the wiser you get - some of us anyway. 

A fact of life, and wisdom is not sin.  But, if you abuse it, it is. I am not saying the older ones are always wiser.  Many are not, but with older age, they know things the younger generation can never know or even have a true understanding of. It is just fact and most deny that because nowadays young people just know everything and older folks know nothing. It is a shame, too, no one regards elderly anymore. Even young children, ages 9 to 12, claim they know things a grand dad doesn't know.  Foolishness as the rod will get that attitude out of them very quick. They do not know.  They are young and have not the maturity level of a grown adult (though l think otherwise at times, haha).

The preacher is NOT always right.  If one seems to come across he is, then he is full of himself; proud (GOD hates Pride). Some men of God, l believe, are right in all their doctrines.  It is possible and is not to say these, very FEW select men are full of themselves or prideful, too. I for one want to be a good preacher.  l know and trust in the Lord to teach me thru His word and thru other Godly men.  It is easy to find who is right too, and very simple to discern such things. That involves prayer --- much prayer.

I believe a great reason why the LORD is not calling young men to be preachers, or least there are few left, because God cannot trust their teachers to teach them Proper Bible doctrine, but lies. GOD knows He cannot trust even the young man to be a preacher, otherwise why is not GOD calling many to be preachers anymore?  Too many men of God lie and are in confusion over many things.  It is the same as saying there are such things as a carnal Christian.  This is a lie, or being born a sinner is a lie.  Romans 3:10-18 talks of a Christian, which it DOES NOT. It specifically speaks only of the ungodly and non-Christians, not of the Christian. Those who teach such things today are very mixed up and confused.  We who are true Christians are Saints in the eyes of God.  He looks on us as sinless Saints already. He looks on us as righteous.  Anyone who teaches these passages that we are wicked and evil and they refer to us Christians, he is probably lost or just taught a doctrine of devils. NO way does these passages teach the Christian is such a thing, but this is another sermon.

Though the referred Romans verses  above seem to say much, they also defames the Lord as He is not the author of confusion. God never created a race of degenerate sinners nor was anyone ever created with a sin nature. 'Sin nature', 'Adamic nature', 'born in sin': these phrases are NOT found in the King James Bible - God's Holy Word.  They can be read in the modern perversions. Catholics believe this false doctrine of devils. This religion is heathen cult as was Augustine who started it.  Yet, Baptists believe this reprobate, too! Such teaching is foolish, down right stupid, and dangerous. So l say, most religions are very cultist in their stinking teachings believing what Augustine taught.  All the "christian" cults believe this. I am therefore saying these religions are teaching these evil things.  People are being sucked in to believe such things which are of the devil. I now see at my older age why the LORD has called me be a preacher at 55, and not in my early 20's.

Anyone who teaches Born Sinners are foolish and liars.  This (all that is written below in italics) is what they use to disrupt you and teach you contrary to what the Word of God teaches. It is not true and l have God on my side.  It seems He is not on the side of so many who think He is on their side.  'Let God be true that every man a liar.'  (We know what the Lord says about liars and they will go to hell, if not truly saved; or they will face shame at the judgment seat of Christ, if saved.) Therefore, l question much about some men of God who teaches such idiotic and stupid doctrines.  l even now question the salvation that they say they have.

Below (italics) is what I am referring to above about some reasoning I recently read. It was his defense to what I had written in this blog last October 29, 2011 entitled Why The Majority Is So Wrong (Born Sinners or Not?). Someone had written it (italics) to justify the Born Sinner doctrine. It is an excerpt (extract/slice from his original full length writing) and therefore presented word for word as is. 

Deut 1:39 Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.

your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children
Cp. to Numbers 14:3 & 31 God's people pronounced their own judgment!

had no knowledge between good and evil
‘The condition of accountability’ or ‘The principle of accountability’ or ‘The doctrine of Innocence’
There is no age ('The age of accountability'), but there is a condition, doctrine or principle of accountability!

Adam and Eve were in the garden in a state of innocence prior to falling.
They were given a command by God!
Gen 2
15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
16 ¶ And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

When Adam willfully sinned…
1Ti 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
(Eve was deceived or tricked. 2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.)

Then their eyes were opened…
Gen 3
6 ¶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
9 ¶ And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
11 ¶ And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

In order to understand this principle, we must understand two concepts concerning sin:

Sin nature inherited from Adam

Ps 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Ps 58:3 The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.
Pr 22:15 ¶ Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Ro 5
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

Adam’s descendents were made in “his likeness” in “his image”
Ge 5:3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:
As opposed to Adam…he was made in the image and likeness of God!

Ge 5:1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

Another thing is these verses are literally picked apart and destroyed by the destroyer.  It is highlighted to show such things. If you believe what you see here, you are blinded by the darkness and not enlightened by the LIGHT of the world the Lord Jesus Christ. Talk about taking these verses out of their context, and blatantly considering themselves to be wise in their own wise, but actually are fools. Remember the verse? Romans 1:22.  Aha, you are taking that verse out of context you say, nope. Read verses before and after, and it may apply to you.

Psalm 51:5 is taken out of context, as is Psalm 58:3. Read 58 and see where it goes, surprising what the LORD will tell you IF you apply it properly.  If your heart is right with the LORD, you are seeking pure truth from HIS Word, and put it in it's proper Biblical context, He will lead you to the right path.  HE did me, will He you? Or will you be rebellious just because someone taught you what they were taught and you believe them and not seek the Lord's face on anything.

 
Willful transgression after the knowledge of the law!
 

1Jo 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
1Jo 5:17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.

Willful transgression is also called presumptuous sins:
Ps 19:13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.

The Book of Jonah describes the same condition of innocence in Nineveh:
Jon 4:11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

This would not apply to just young people but to people who are mentally challenged!
Some may never reach this condition!

These that had no knowledge between good and evil would not suffer the punishment of their parent’s willful transgression!

Le 5
1 And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity.
17 And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity.

De 24:16 The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.

2Ki 14:6 But the children of the murderers he slew not: according unto that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, wherein the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin.

2Ch 25:4 But he slew not their children, but did as it is written in the law in the book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin.

Jer 31:30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.

Eze 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

Children raised in a Christian home will probably reach this condition sooner that those who aren't!

God will not hold someone accountable for something that they cannot be accountable for!

The Bible speaks of imputation. Philemon 18 “put that on mine account”
IMPUTA''TION, n. The act of imputing or charging; attribution; generally in an ill sense; as the imputation of crimes of faults to the true authors of them. We are liable to the imputation or numerous sins and errors, to the imputation of pride, vanity and self-confidence; to the imputation of weakness and irresolution, or of rashness.
1. Sometimes in a good sense.
If I had a suit to Master Shallow, I would humor his men with the imputation of being near their master.
2. Charge or attribution of evil; censure; reproach.
Let us be careful to guard ourselves against these groundless imputations of our enemies, and to rise above them.
3. Hint; slight notice.
IMPU''TE, v.t. [L. imputo; in and puto, to think, to reckon; properly, to set, to put, to throw to or on.]
1. To charge; to attribute; to set to the account of; generally ill, sometimes good. We impute crimes,sins, trespasses, faults, blame, &c., to the guilty persons. We impute wrong actions to bad motives, or to ignorance, or to folly and rashness. We impute misfortunes and miscarriages to imprudence.
And therefore it was imputed to him for
righteousness. Rom.4.
2. To attribute; to ascribe.
I have read a book imputed to lord Bathurst.
3. To reckon to one what does not belong to him.
It has been held that Adam''s sin is imputed to all his
posterity.
Thy merit
Imputed shall absolve them who renounce
Their own both righteous and unrighteous deeds.

Another word that is used that has a similar meaning as imputation is “reckoned”.
Ro 4
4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
9 Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.
10 How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

Another word that is used that has a similar meaning as imputation is “counted” or “accounted”.
Ro 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Ga 3:6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

The doctrine of Imputation is applied 3 ways in the Bible:
1) Adam – the imputation of the sinful nature of man
Ro 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Everyone dies a physical death for what Adam did!
No one else’s sin is imputed to our record! We are not sentenced to hell fire for what someone else has done!

2) Jesus Christ – the imputation of sin upon Him
2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

3) The Saint of God – the imputation of Christ’s righteousness upon the child of God
This is an act of man’s will to accept or reject…
Ø The light that God has given man
Ø The truth of the word
Ø The truth of the gospel

Ro 4
6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:
22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

Jas 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

We have no righteousness of our own!
When we trusted in Christ, God imputed His righteousness upon us!

2Co 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Let’s look at sin and a child that hasn’t reached the condition of accountability…

Rom 5
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

Every baby that is born into this world is born with a sentence of physical death because of Adam's transgression.
We all have a physical death sentence!

James 1
13 ¶ Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

There is no sin where there is no law:
Rom. 4:15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
Rom. 5:13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

But their soul is not sentenced to hell for someone else's sin or transgression!
They are a sinner, but that sin has not been charged to their account!

There is a day when the light of innocence goes out in your child:
Ø Depending on your home
Ø Depending of their upbringing
Ø Depending on what they have been taught
Ø Depending on whether they have been disciplined
Pr 23:14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
Parents who discipline their children will help them understand sin and the punishment for it!
This is like the law which is a schoolmaster which brought us to Christ
Gal 3
23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

….that could be from 4-14, 40 or some never get there! ie. Mentally challenged people!

Even little children know what is right and wrong, as taught by their parents, but they don’t understand “good and evil” as taught by God.

Sin is imputed when a child understands the difference between good and evil and they willfully transgress the Law of God!

Ro 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

People don’t go to hell for what Adam did, they go to hell for their own sin!

Rom 7
7 ¶ What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.
9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
10 And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.

It is at this point, that sin is imputed to their account, it is charged to their account.
It is after this, a child is ready to be saved!
It is only after this, that if a child died in this condition, that they would spend an eternity in Hell.

In order for someone to die and go to hell, they must reject…
Ø The light that God has given them Jn 1:9
Ø The truth of the word of God 2Thess 2:12
Ø The gospel 2Thess 1:8,9

All have seen the witness of the stars:
Ps 19
1 ¶ To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,

All have seen the witness of God’s creation and are without excuse:
Rom 1
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 ¶ Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

God has mercy on the righteous!
Ge 18:23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

God is just and righteous!
Ge 18:25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

There are no innocent people in Hell!
God is a just God, He does righteously!

Again, all is picked apart and highlighted because this is what those who used to show themselves right and correct in all their doctrine. I refuse to argue with people now as they will say when you don't answer, 'Ah, l have justified myself and you cannot answer, therefore l am right and you wrong, yeahhhhh'. Talk about stinking pride. They can't even study themselves to find these things out so that the LORD will tell them.  God would have told them.   

Brothers/Preachers, honestly, IF you have put aside what you were brought up to believe in, what YOU THINK the Bible says (by just allowing God to work in you), and what you believe what your teachers have told you (putting aside your beliefs and your prejudices, baring yourself of humanly knowledge before Him, reading and studying the BIBLE with an open, pure heart and clean hands, humbling yourself and surrendering everything to Him for wisdom in this - praying for God's revelation), GOD will really tell and show you. He did me, why can't HE you? Because of your spiritual weakness and to much pride? You refuse to study this as you just want to argue with what you were brainwashed to believe and what you were told by your teachers? The truth will make you free, or will it you?

Fools more like it and telling lies. God is just and righteous.  He never has or did create an evil human or a sinner.  Sin comes only at accountable age.  Those who say and teach born sinners are liars (not true), thieves (stole the knowledge of truth), and idolaters (believing the wrong with conviction).  All these shall have their part in the lake of fire which is called hell. So get right with the Lord, get truly saved and repent of your sin before it is too late. 

l have been wanting to write this for a long time now.  Christmas is here, so l do it before it comes***.  We are born innocent whether anyone likes it or not. We are born without sin, created sinless and innocent, regardless what the cults teach.  Sad that this includes the Baptists, too. It is a shame so many very dependable churches believe what the cults believe.  For this reason, I hope this will lead most of you to open up your hearts and believe what l believe. GOD will never truly bless a church if one doctrine is misplaced and not taught properly (many of the believed-to-be-dependable and faithful Baptists churches belong to this category). I never would if I were God.


(c) Mike Carey; December, 2011
*** This was published after Christmas

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Wisdom And Understanding - Where Are They?


(But they truly don't find wisdom even.  They live in the wilderness of unbelief.) 

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7

Just something simple the Lord gave me so l decided to talk a little on such things. This will be short and to the point. First a rundown on the meaning of some words in the following passages. Wisdom - a store of knowledge, intelligence drawing on experience and governed by prudence. Prudence - foresight leading a person to avoid error, danger. Understanding - power to form reasoned judgments, feeling and showing sympathy, tolerance, etc. Knowledge - the state of knowing. Very simple this meaning huh? Fear - to be afraid, to revere with awe, (as in and with God).

Knowledge does not begin with nor originate with no fear of God, and wisdom is not the beginning of no fear of the attributes of GOD, and who He is. To have knowledge (a good healthy dose of true knowledge) is the fact that the LORD, who created us in His glorious image, put it in us (true believers) when we learn to fear Him. As we age, we develop more in these things: wisdom, different emotions, understanding, prudence.  God allows us to grow differently to each other as we all have a different level of these items listed above.   

Unfortunately, the world views false knowledge in what we now know as to better yourself, to help yourself out, to give to yourself in better ways,  and then to grow what others seemingly can teach you - but all in worldly matters and means. For real knowledge to truly begin in us, it must come from GOD Himself who not only created us humans for His glory, but also expects us to grow in all aspects with His Holy Spirit in us, if saved. Unsaved people can know more than Christians, but can never have a KNOWLEDGE of Biblical matters or even know anything of the Lord Jesus Christ. If they are to, they must be saved first.  Only the Lord gives true knowledge, wisdom, a good fear in Him to those saved ones.  Only then will they understand better His ways and thoughts to a minute degree. The ungodly will never have the true knowledge of knowing the attributes of the Lord Jesus Christ regardless of how much they will argue with you on such matters. Some will though no matter what as pride tells them they know more about Christ-centered things more than Christians themselves. They do know more, but only of worldly things, the evil and wicked things of the world which is "knowledge" of worldy things and philosophies.  These are all they know. It is not a knowledge of God, Jesus Christ, the deity of Christ, the gospel. Too many religions are up to date on much information that end up in void final answers.  They do not reach at par with the Word of God.  As once some have knowledge of the Bible, they like to build themselves up in something they are not. They see, to be knowledgeable people who can tell you anything, and even when wrong, will still tell and explain to you things they know nothing about or have no wisdom and understanding in.

True knowledge comes from a healthy and reverential fear of our Master the Lord God Himself, not from others who know something. Reading the Word of God will tell you how to have a fear of God in ways that people will never understand. Fear God.  He only will give you true understanding in all matters, not man. If you reject the Bible, what the Lord has to tell you, try to give to you, and teach you what He expects you to know, you are a fool - very foolish indeed! Chances are also, you are very ignorant of the Lord and His Word.  Otherwise many would not reject the wisdom and instruction that the Lord wants to tell and teach so many of you out there. 

Kindly read again Proverbs 1:7. Many are attacked and tested by others.  Those who have no true understanding, knowledge and wisdom that only the Lord can give will try you, test you, try to make you doubt, and even doubt yourself in what the LORD can teach you and speak to you on such things. If you cannot be taught, you doubt the Word of God and what He says in His Bible. I for one want to be taught, contrary to what some l know says about me.  Only God knows me.  No person knows me the way the Lord does. 

Another proof is Proverbs 9:10 that says: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. 

Just as above, wisdom does not come from man but from God Himself and not what others tell you nor teach you. Some can teach you proper things.  But, to have a true wisdom is only to be gotten from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ NOT from any person.  Humans can never reason why such a holy God can give a person these attributes that outweigh the ignorance and ego of man himself. 

Job 28:12 states: "But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?" 

So where shall wisdom be found? Is it found in books written by heathen man? Is it found in the countless numbers of books worldwide that are written? Or is it placed in a secluded spot where no one is allowed to enter to read what is in there? Is it the world itself, as it claims to have all the answers? Where do people go for understanding? Where is this place where they go to look for it? Many go to whore houses, to their porno shops, get involved in degrading practices with animals.  A lot of people now have lowered themselves lower than the lowest form of animal life, lower than a pig in a pigpen wallowing in his own mire and filth and dirt. Absolutely, nothing can be found in these places!  A place of understanding cannot be found in any worldly setting on earth.  Nor can wisdom, understanding, fear of the Lord be found in any dead religion.  The only place where it Can and Will be found is in the Saviour of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ.  He only is "the way, the truth , and the life , no man cometh unto the Father but by me." John 14:6. Nothing can be found, no wisdom, nor there is a place of understanding outside of our dear Lord God in heaven, who can give to you the best, if you call on Him. 

But today, the world has in fact seem to have the answers to all the problems that most are facing now in a degenerate world that has gone downhill. The world has all the answers as they try to outdo the One who has all the answers to every possible problem that this stinking, self-righteous, rebellious world seems to have. The world has polluted all around as they have the wealth, commercialism, liberistic beliefs, heathen pagan practices of immorality and wicked sexual practices, and all that are included in this rotten filth of a pigsty that we live in.  Man has ruined and defiled our world with his upheld hand in defiance and hate towards a loving and sovereign God who created them in His image, and who put the conscience in every living person to know evil from good and right from wrong. Wisdom, understanding, prudence and knowledge plus other attributes go hand in hand in knowing a loving God. He also hates sin of all kinds, and abhors it with a passion. He is the God of great love, and the God of great anger and wrath. What will you receive after you die?

Where do you go to get your wisdom and where it your place of understanding? Or have you missed the greatest gift that the Lord Christ can give you? To have wisdom, knowledge, understanding, etc., you cannot get it from the world.  The world can only give you a minute morsel compared to the great riches the Lord God in heaven can give to you, IF you admit you're a sinner, admit your sin guilt, confess your sins, repent of your wickedness, turn from your lifetime of sins, trust in the Lord with all your heart, and ask Him for His mercy to save you. If you don't, you only will have these items based on what the world can teach you, not on what the Lord has done for you and can do for you.  Now is your time to do something for Him instead of being in a hellhole - lonely and desolate - ignoring Him. Come out of your mire and set yourself on solid ground.  He will save you, IF you put your faith and trust in Him. If you don't, hell awaits you. Have a fear of God knowing He hates sin.  You should fear Him in a way that you are fearful of His consequences if you dare to sin in front of Him; whether in public or in secret. His arm is not shortened that it cannot save you from hell and deliver you to heaven. He will deliver you from your sins and hell, IF you have faith and trust in Him to save you. 

Again, if you don't, hell awaits you.  If you do, heaven awaits you even more.
 

(c) Mike Carey; December 2011

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Doing Things Contrary – Beware of False Prophets


(Written by Ptr. Mike Miller, Straight Path Bible Church, May 8, 2005)

I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities. – Acts 26:9 through Acts 26:11

What a thing to have to live with! Those of us who are saved have many regrets and things we are ashamed of concerning our life before we were saved. However, most of us simply lived in selfish sin, but we didn’t dedicate our lives to persecuting Christians and destroying the church. Paul had to live with the fact that he had mistreated and even consented to the deaths of Christians for believing in Christ. Now that he is saved he loves these people, so it must have been a heartbreaking thing for him to remember, even though he knew God had forgiven him. Surely he didn’t relate this to King Agrippa in a cold and matter-of-fact way. The fact that it broke his heart to remember what he used to be had to be evident to Agrippa and probably was a big factor in “almost” convincing him to be a Christian.

What a terrible thing to mistreat God’s people! Surely there is a severe judgment for doing such a wicked thing. The strange thing is that most of those who are going to face such a judgment are not found outside the church, but inside it. They are standing behind pulpits and pretending to be men of God while they lead the people astray. This is a much worse crime than what Paul did before he was saved concerning persecuting the saints.


Why would a man stand in a pulpit and tell the people lies? There are only two possibilities. First, it could be because he is deceived himself. He is simply repeating the lies he has been told. That raises another important question then. How can he be deceived and leading others astray if the Holy Spirit lives in him, while the Bible promises that the Spirit of God will guide us into all truth? (John 16:13) The answer is also found in the Word of God: “…Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” – Rom. 8:9


The second is worse than the first. He must KNOW that he is not telling the truth or that he is withholding truth, but he does it anyway for his own selfish benefit. He does it for the money. He does it for the position. He does it to receive the praise of men and to be called “Reverend.” He does it to be known in the community. He knows what the Bible says, but he cares more for himself and his selfish ambitions than for the souls of the people he preaches to.


So you have a man who is unsaved leading other people farther from God than they already are. Those who might have had a chance; those who might have listened and received the truth, are blinded by the deceit of an imposter, and their souls are eternally doomed. He says to them “peace” when there is no peace. He offers them phony assurance that they are right with God while they live and love the same worldly things that the rest of the world does. He draws no lines between holy and unholy, and in fact, whatever criticism and correction he offers is almost always directed toward those who live “too” holy and “too” separated from the world and its pollution.


The only difference between a false prophet and a vile criminal is that the false prophet is much more wicked. He is more wicked and vile than any murderer who ever sat in an electric chair. If God has a place in hell for the people like Adolf Hitler or Nero Caesar, because of the careless way they treated human life, just try to imagine what punishment must await a man who trifles with the eternal souls of men for his own gain and selfish interests.


A lady in our church who is a nurse told me that she had seen many men die in the Veteran’s Hospital where she worked. She said she had noticed that there are three types of people. First, there are people who are right with God and ready to die. The time comes and they go out peacefully and death is a welcome thing for them. Second, she said, are the people who are not ready and when the moment draws near they are frantic and desperate and fighting to the last breath. It is a terrible and fearful thing to witness. Then there is a third group. These are the people, she said, who THOUGHT they were ready until the moment arrived and then they realized they were not. She asked, “Do you know who is in that third group many times?” I said I didn’t and she told me that many of them are preachers who have stood behind pulpits and not told the people the truth. Their moment of death arrives and they are crying out to God about what they didn’t tell the people and what they knew God wanted them to hear. They held back on what they knew or just didn’t tell the truth because it would have cost them favor with the people or maybe their job as pastor, or damaged their reputation and fellowship with fellow preachers. They valued their own interests more than the eternal souls of men and now they are about to face God with it. No crime ever committed on earth was ever so wicked as that! No murder, however violent or gruesome, was ever as worthy of punishment as what that man did when he blinded the souls of people who might have believed had he told them the truth.


It seems that every day we hear of those who murder women or little children for their own lusts. Anyone with any sense of justice feels enormous anger and revulsion at these evil deeds and desires to see the criminal punished and taken out of society so they can’t commit such wickedness anymore. How much more wicked is it when men murder the eternal souls of others so they can keep drawing their salary, or so they can still be welcomed in the next preacher’s fellowship?

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Mark 8:36-37

Considering the value of a soul, what kind of punishment is deserved by anyone – not just a preacher in a pulpit, who would mislead and guide someone away from the pure truth of the Word of God? Take heed about criticizing the man of God who will preach to you the full counsel of God! You better be careful when you find yourself in disagreement with a man who will lift up his voice like a trumpet and show you your transgressions! If you have a preacher who will fearlessly show you the way of the Lord and what God expects of you no matter what it costs him you better not undermine him! He is real! You better thank God for him. When you are voicing your opinions and disagreements you may be doing the same thing that false prophet does when he stands behind the pulpit. As certainly as God will judge a lying preacher he will judge you for leading people from the truth, too.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Carnal Christians? (Part 3)

(From Pastor Mike Miller's website, http://www.straightpathsbiblechurch.com, June 26, 2005)

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? 1 Cor. 3:1-4

These are the four verses that are used most often to “prove” that there is such a thing as a “carnal” Christian. If you ignore the rest of the New Testament and take these verses out of context it does sound convincing, but if you are familiar with the Bible you will have trouble with this interpretation because it completely contradicts so many other verses. How can you believe that these four verses teach that a person can be saved, but still living according to the lust of the flesh and not subject to God when you read these verses:
For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. Rom. 8:6-9
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. John 3:6
As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 1 Cor. 15:48
For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. Rom. 7:5

There are many other verses that could be given to show that the teaching of a “carnal” Christian is a contradiction of the Scriptures. Let’s take a look at 1 Cor. 3:1-4 and see if we can explain what Paul is saying without contradicting other Scriptures.

The first evidence given to “prove” that these are actually “carnal” Christians is the fact that Paul greets them by calling them “brethren.” This is just not correct. Paul was addressing a local church and he knew, as well as we do, that not everyone in a local church is truly saved. If we were to write a letter to a church as a whole or stand in front of a church we would greet them with a similar salutation. Just because he said “brethren” doesn’t mean that he considered them all to be saved. What other word could he have used, and how else could he have sensibly and properly addressed them? It is common in the Bible for the word “brethren” to be used referring to one’s own countrymen, or to one who belongs to the same group of people. At least three times in the first three chapters of Acts Peter called the unconverted Jews he was preaching to “brethren.” Stephen called the Jews who were about to kill him “brethren” in Acts 7:2. Paul called the Jews “brethren” in Acts
13:26, Acts 13:38, again in Acts 22:1, Acts 23:1, Acts 23:5, Acts 23:6, and Acts 28:17. There is abundant evidence in the Word of God that Paul used the word “brethren” when addressing people who were obviously not saved. Therefore, it is very foolish to base a doctrine that contradicts so many other Scriptures on one single word.

Now there is a contrast drawn between “spiritual” and “carnal.” He says he couldn’t speak to them as spiritual, but as to carnal. These words are opposites. Spiritual means NOT fleshly, while carnal means fleshly. Spiritual means regenerated – carnal means unregenerate. Any dictionary will tell you that. A spiritual person is controlled and led by the Spirit of God, while a carnal person is controlled and led by the lusts of the flesh. Paul says that if he spoke to them of spiritual things they were “not able to bear it”– because they were carnal. The natural man IS a carnal man, and he cannot understand the (spiritual) things of God. Paul told us this plainly in the verses just prior to this in 1 Cor. 2:14:
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Paul is saying that if these people were spiritual they would be able to understand and he could talk to them about spiritual things. However, he has found that to be impossible because they are carnal. They have missed it. They aren’t listening. They aren’t receiving. He has to back up and start over with the basic principles of sin and salvation.

“Even as unto babes in Christ.” This phrase is taken as further proof that we have saved people here who are living a continuous, carnal life. Notice that it says, “AS UNTO.” He doesn’t say he is talking to babes in Christ, but “AS UNTO” babes in Christ. He says, “I am talking to people who have little or no understanding.” Babies are carnal – BUT babies grow up. These people might have been considered babes in Christ if they had just been saved, but because they hadn’t grown and were still unable to understand he pronounced them “carnal,” which is a very strong word, when studied in light of the Scriptures. There might be a time when a person first gets saved that he appears to be carnal because he has to sort out some things and learn the difference, but this doesn’t take very long with the Spirit of God and the Word of God as your guides. Paul is saying to these people that he sees no evidence they are really saved because they aren’t acting or thinking any differently than they did before they made their profession. He isn’t condemning the whole church any more than a preacher today is when he gets up and preaches on sin. There were good people there, who loved God and were growing in grace, but there were also some folks sitting there who were continuing to live with the same attitudes and affections that they had always had. Paul was speaking to the whole church as he dealt with these people.

“Envying, strife, and divisions” are the words he used to describe their carnality. While there were moral sins in the church at Corinth, as we see from the rest of the letters to them, those sins are not what he is referring to in particular here. These people were fighting and quarrelling about things like which preacher they liked the most. They were envious of each other and doing things to hurt each other because of their envy. When a church is full of envy, strife, and divisions it is because there are carnal people involved. It is because there are LOST people in the middle of things who do not understand spiritual things. They are trying to have their say in running the church and their motives and reasoning are carnal. They see everything from the viewpoint of an unconverted person. They do not understand the things of God and cannot know them because they are spiritually discerned.

If you are a critic I can read your mind right now. You are thinking that I have no right to judge so harshly. But my friend, it isn’t me who is doing the judging – the Word of God judges, and makes it very clear that carnal people are LOST people. It is YOUR mind that is so confused by false teaching that you can’t make heads or tails of who is saved and who is lost – even when they live in such a way that the Bible marks them clearly. You are saying to yourself right now, “This can’t be true because I know some good people who have acted in a carnal way and I just can’t believe they are lost.”

First of all, you need to be made aware of the fact that you are judging the Word of God by your experience, or what you see in the experience of others. You are making void the Word of God by the “traditions” of men (things they do). You should believe the Word of God and measure yourself and others by THAT standard. “Let God be true, and every man a liar.” The Bible is true even if it condemns our best friend or our loved ones. If they are to have any hope at all we must believe God and not judge God and his Word by THEIR lifestyle.

You can say, “I hear what you are saying, but I know a preacher who is just like what you are describing.” So what? Preachers aren’t exempt from the Word of God, either. The Bible tells us plainly that Satan has his “ministers of righteousness.” They are in the church and even preach righteousness, but their life tells on them and reveals what they really are, when they are full of envy, strife, and divisions. Again, you are setting up people as your standard and trying to nullify the plain Word of God because you know someone who is “saved” but acts like a carnal person.

Finally, it is a fact that a saved person may do a carnal thing from time to time. As long as we are able to be tempted we will be able to sin. A saved person is not exempt from being overcome by a fault, but a saved person cannot CONTINUE in it. God promises to deal with his children. He promises to chasten us and keep us in line. The Bible is clear that those who are not chastened are NOT God’s children. People who are truly saved are teachable and correctable. Not only God, but fellow Christians can point out to them where their life is not consistent with the Word of God and they will receive instruction and correct the problem. Carnal people reject it out of hand because they cannot understand spiritual things. They are judging themselves by others and comparing themselves among themselves, and they are not wise.

What Paul is saying here in 1 Cor. 3:1-4 is, “If the shoe fits, wear it! If you aren’t lost, quit acting like you are!” Just as in any church, there were no doubt people there who were saved, but caught up in the ruckus that was being stirred by the carnal people there. Without a doubt there were some who repented at Paul’s instructions and got right with God. Then there were others who resented his rebuke and remained just as they were – carnal. The good people of God who were right all along were glad and thankful for plain preaching that was consistent with the Word of God and dealt directly with the problem that was tearing up the church.

Paul was just doing some good preaching to these people who had problems in the church. You will search far and wide to find a church in our day that DOESN”T have these same problems. But you will have to search even harder for a preacher who will deal with the problem like Paul did. There are very few who even believe there is a real difference between the lost and the saved anymore. They make a place for everybody in the church. You can be saved and be a good Christian, or you can be saved and be a “carnal” Christian, and no one has a right to judge your “salvation.” Therefore, the churches are filled with lost (carnal) people who are making the decisions and directing the work of the church with no spiritual understanding or discernment. Thankfully for us, there was an Apostle Paul there who cared for them and was faithful to deal with them in truth and correct the problem. Because of that the Gospel was carried across the world and we are the glad recipients. But what are our descendants going to say about us one day? What is going to become of the church after a generation of carnal people have held the reins?

Carnal Christian? (Part 2)


(From Pastor Mike Miller's website, http://www.straightpathsbiblechurch.com, June 19, 2005)

There are only two kinds of people in the world – lost and saved. There are not three types of people, as so many of our modern Bible teachers would have us believe. The common teaching is that there are lost people, saved people, and saved people who are carnal. They arrive at this brilliant conclusion by reading 1 Cor 3:1-4, out of context, and failing to compare it with the rest of the New Testament. You will search the words of Jesus in vain trying to find such a teaching. He NEVER said anything that would agree with the modern interpretation of those verses. You will also have to wrest certain other Scriptures in the New Testament to make them teach such a thing, and after you do that, your private interpretation will be in direct contradiction to the plain teaching of the rest of the New Testament, and in fact, the entire Bible.

The very idea of a “carnal” Christian is absurd and so obviously in opposition to the clear teaching of the Bible that it is truly amazing that anyone on earth would believe it. Of course, when you consider the depravity of man and the fact that he loves himself and his sin supremely, it is no wonder that the great majority of professing Christians find this doctrine of devils so appealing. It provides a way to be on your way to heaven and enjoy all the pleasures of sin at the same time. Hey, it’s the best of both worlds – they think!

Sadly, carnal people just don’t know God, so they are living in the deceit of their own heart. They not only will miss heaven, but they are also missing the joy of knowing God in this life. They have settled for dead religion when they could have had eternal, spiritual life. Because they are blinded by the god of this world, whom they serve, they are not even aware of the sorry state of their own soul. To top it off, some Bible school graduate tells them they are saved because of their profession of faith, and that they are just “carnal,” or “babes in Christ” and they will grow up some day – when “God deals with their heart” about these things. This relieves all pressure to forsake their “carnality” (sin) and effectively blocks the Holy Spirit from working on their hearts, which leaves them in a lost and hopeless state.

Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines carnal as:
1. Pertaining to flesh; fleshly; sensual; opposed to spiritual; as carnal pleasure.
2. Being in the natural state; unregenerate.
3. Pertaining to the ceremonial law; as carnal ordinances. Heb. 9:10.
4. Lecherous; lustful; libidinous; given to sensual indulgence.

Strong’s Concordance defines “carnal” as used in 1 Cor 3 this way:
From G4561; pertaining to flesh, that is, (by extension) bodily, temporal, or
(by implication) animal, unregenerate: — carnal, fleshly.

It is obvious that the word carnal describes someone who is not regenerated. It describes someone who is still under the control of fleshly desires as opposed to someone who is under the control of the Spirit of God. The carnal man and the spiritual man are contrary one to another, and a person cannot be both at the same time. You are either carnally minded or you are spiritually minded. Your life is either guided by your fleshly desires or it is guided by God’s Word and the Holy Spirit.

The Bible says that you are abiding in death and the enemy of God if you are carnal-minded:
For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. Rom. 8:6-7

Notice that the carnal man is not subject to the law of God, “neither indeed can be.” How can someone who knows anything about the Bible say a person like this is saved? The Bible is so clear on the fact that those who are saved keep his commandments:
And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 1 John 2:3
By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 1 John 5:2-3
The Bible says you cannot please God if you are carnal.
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Rom. 8:8
And the following verse makes it very clear that those who are saved are not carnal:
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. Rom. 8:9
And again, the Scriptures couldn’t be clearer about the fact that those who are truly saved are overcomers:
For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 5Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? 1 John 5:4-5
That is obviously NOT a description of a carnal person.

These are just a few verses, but the Bible is full of this teaching from cover to cover! How amazing that people can teach such a thing as “carnal” Christianity! Instead of trusting and believing the Word of God they are looking at those who are sitting in the church pews and redefining salvation so that it works for these “carnal” people. Sometimes it is a loved one who is “carnal” and you just can’t bring yourself to accept the fact that they are LOST, so you accept this false teaching in your mind, but your heart doesn’t agree with it. How many times have I heard people tell about their loved one who isn’t living right and then say something like, “I guess they are saved, but I sure don’t understand how they can live that way.” The very idea of someone being saved and living in sin is a contradiction to our own conscience! If you have a loved one who is “carnal” but professes to be saved, you had better deal with them as though they are lost. That is their ONLY hope. If you even suggest to them that you think they might be saved, but just “carnal,” you will put a stumblingblock in front of them that they won’t likely be able to overcome. They will settle right down in their “carnality” and find themselves in hell one day. Do not have a part in the deception of their heart!

It is a very sad tragedy what happens to the sinner who is never delivered from his sin and is convinced by other so-called Christians that he is OK and on his way to heaven. But consider what a tragedy it is for the church and the kingdom of God that such a teaching has gained such a foothold. Holiness is the very thing that marks God’s people and distinguishes them from the world. When the church gives this up we have given up everything. We have exchanged our “glory for that which doth not profit.” (Jer. 2:11)
Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Matt. 5:13

The obvious difference between God’s people and the world is what makes our preaching and our testimony effective. That difference is HOLINESS. Without new life, a new walk, a new creature, the world has no reason to think that we have anything worth seeking after. Unless they see a supernatural change in us they will not believe the gospel. The gospel is NOT just the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. It is the death, burial, and resurrection shown forth in our own life when we are born again. We “take up our cross and follow him.” The old man is dead, he is buried, and we are risen anew to walk with Christ. When people see the gospel in reality in our life they cannot ignore it. To invent a “carnal” Christian, who doesn’t keep God’s commandments, continues to live in fleshly sins and lusts, and is not subject to God in his life, is to nullify all that gives power to our message. The Holy Ghost will simply not agree with that kind of teaching and He will not work with us in our endeavors to promote such false teaching. THAT leaves us powerless, because Jesus said that without Him, we could do NOTHING.
I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. Jer. 23:14

God always condemns anything that “strengthens the hand of evildoers.” Any teaching that makes it easier for people to sin, or to explain their sin, or to excuse their sin, is a false teaching and God doesn’t agree with it. Certainly, the teaching of “carnal” Christianity strengthens the hands of evildoers. Notice the part of the verse above that says, “…that none doth return from his wickedness.” The result of the teachings of those apostate prophets was that people didn’t get delivered from their sin – they just kept on living in it. Doesn’t that sound familiar when you look at the state of Christianity in our day? Isn’t that the greatest difference between the Christianity of today and that of our forefathers? EVERYBODY is saved in our day. I have had people tell me they were saved while they were holding a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. I have had people take God’s name in vain a dozen times while talking with them, and then tell me they are saved and an active member of some church. We are living in a day when porn queens, movie stars, rock musicians, and sports heroes who take drugs and live lower than barnyard animals, all say they are saved and on their way to heaven. The really, really sad part is that most professing Christians of today think I am out of line for “judging” people like that. In their mind, these people “might” be saved and I have no right to judge them. Jesus said, “as it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it also be…” The sodomites used the same complaint against Lot after he had asked them not to do so “wickedly.” They accused him of judging them and said he had no right to do that.
And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. Gen. 19:9

Therefore, believing such doctrines as “carnal” Christianity has brought the church so low that many, if not most, of those who claim to be Christians, have the same way of thinking as the men of Sodom! They can’t “judge” people because you can’t tell “what is in their hearts.” I believe that is a bunch of hogwash! I think that “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh.” I believe that what you see on the outside is a very good indicator of what is on the inside. Carnal people are lost, unregenerate, and in need of a good dose of old-fashioned salvation! If what they have is not enough to deliver them from their carnality now it is certainly not enough to deliver them from hell and get them to heaven!

I also believe there is much hypocrisy on the part of those who teach this false doctrine of “carnal” Christianity. Many of them do not live their own lives after the flesh, but they teach others that it is possible to do so. What they won’t allow for themselves they do allow for others. What they know in their heart God would not allow them to do they encourage others to do. They also scold anyone who would criticize these “carnal” Christians for living the way they do, or for questioning their “salvation.”

Most of the time I hear two contradicting versions of what they believe. If you talk about the fact that “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature,” they will agree wholeheartedly with you. If you talk about how that God delivers sinners and saves them from their sin, they will agree with that. If you talk about how it just can’t be possible for a person to get truly born again and continue in a habitual, continual lifestyle of sin, they will agree with that, too. But then say you don’t believe there is such a thing as a “carnal” Christian, and immediately you find yourself at odds with them. They think there MUST be a place for such a creature, because the church is full of them, and they CAN’T ALL be lost, so they defend them with all their strength! Hypocrisy! Confusion! Contradiction! Are they in for a surprise when judgment time comes!

You cannot be consistent and in agreement with the Bible if you insist that there are people who are truly born again, but live their lives in continual, habitual sin. You cannot believe the Bible and also believe that there are people who are saved, but who are not subject to God, his Son, or his law. That idea is totally contrary to everything the Bible teaches about sin, forgiveness, redemption, and salvation. Saved people are led by the Spirit of God – not their carnal lusts. They live a life of holiness – not a life of carnality! Your conscience tells you that is right! The Word of God tells you that is right! And the Spirit of God tells you that is right! You may reject all their counsel, but you will believe it is right when we stand in judgment before God, because He will stay true to his Word on this matter. “Let God be true and every man a liar.”

Preacher, tell people the truth! Carnal people are LOST! Don’t say to them “peace, peace” when there is no peace! Cry aloud! Spare not! Show the people their sins! God says that is their only hope, so don’t be a party to their damnation! Don’t water it down in order to gain their favor now, because you will stand in judgment one day for every word you say! People have deceitful hearts and are seeking a way to hold onto the world with one hand and Jesus with the other. Don’t make it any easier for them to be deceived! Make the way of the Lord straight!

Monday, December 12, 2011

Carnal Christians? (Part 1)


(From Pastor Mike Miller's website, http://www.straightpathsbiblechurch.com, June 13, 2005)

If you talk to the average professing Christian, they will defend this creature that is found nowhere in the Bible – a “Carnal Christian.” The first thought that comes to my mind is this:
But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. Rom. 13:14

“Make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof,” but isn’t that exactly what believing in a carnal Christian is? You are making a place for something the Bible doesn’t. Not only that, but you are making a place for something the Bible strictly forbids, condemns, and clearly defines as enmity with God. 

For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Rom. 8:6-8 

The carnal mind is not subject to the law of God and indeed it CAN’T be! The carnal mind does not and cannot obey the law of God. Yet many claim that a person like this is saved. They have a real problem explaining all those verses in the Bible that say we can, do, and must obey if we are saved:
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 2 Cor. 10:5
And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him. Acts 5:32
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Matt. 7:21

The Bible promises that carnal people are to be judged by God. These are people who are not subject to God and his law, those who do not obey him.
In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 Thess. 1:8
For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 1 Pet. 4:17

Those who are truly saved obey God – they are NOT carnally minded:
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; Heb. 5:9

The whole idea of Romans 8 is to make a division between those who walk after the Spirit and those who walk after the flesh. Those who walk after the spirit are saved – those who walk after the flesh are not. You cannot be both at the same time – you are either walking after the flesh or you are walking after the Spirit. The verses above plainly show that one is life and one is death. If Christ lives in you the body is dead and you do not walk after the flesh anymore. It is not your lifestyle and not your habit. If the Spirit of Christ does not live in you then you are not saved:
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. Rom. 8:9

Much more can be said about this matter. There are some verses that are used to “prove” the existence of “carnal Christians” but they do no such thing. The Bible is very clear in the few verses we have presented here that carnality and true salvation do not go together. The Word of God is the standard and we should judge ourselves and others by that – not by looking around at what is sitting in the church pews calling themselves “carnal Christians.”

A story in the news this week talked about a porn star who is going to be at a fundraiser dinner for the Republican Party in a week or two. She will be there with the President and many of our so-called conservative leaders. She says she is a Christian! She reads her Bible and prays every night. She says that she isn’t as bad as a lot of people and when she acts in those pornographic movies it isn’t really her – she is pretending to be someone else. She says God looks on the heart and she isn’t immoral just because she does those things for the camera. She is a “carnal Christian.” Check out the article on Worldnetdaily.com here: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44671

All the above is a true story, but very few Christians would accept her testimony as real. They can’t believe that a porn star could be a Christian, but they believe in “carnal Christians.” What hypocrites! They are teaching exactly the same thing as this woman is professing, but they have an imaginary line or limit where you just can’t be a Christian and do those things. They are powerless to condemn this woman because they really believe just like she does. There really is no difference between the lost and saved. A Christian can do anything! Just because he is saved doesn’t mean he can’t be carnal! But I remind you that is just the logic of men, while the Word of God makes a clear difference and very plainly teaches quite the opposite.

There are no carnal Christians, there are simply carnal people and spiritual people. There are people who walk after the flesh and those who walk after the Spirit. Just as God judged his people in the past He will judge this wicked generation for blurring the lines and failing to make a difference between the clean and the unclean.

Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. Ezek. 22:26