Decay Pt.1: The Beginning of the End

No time in the history of American civilization has the depravity of man been on display as the most recent election year in 2016. When I was growing up I remember men with integrity and character being the nominee of their respective party and I am certain that it had been that way since the beginning. I remember a big tantrum being thrown during the 1992 presidential race because both George Bush and Bill Clinton were accused of having affairs. As a matter of fact, we all know what became of Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. An adulterous affair and the following cover-up were certainly the black cloud that threatened Clinton and his presidency. America wanted honest men. Men who stood for something and were faithful to their country, their families, and their God.

However, 2016 was different. The decay became evident, yet many Christians and conservatives couldn’t see it, and many anti-Christians and liberals failed to believe it. The sphere of decay was evident before the nominees were even named for the Republican and Democratic parties. Marriage had slipped into nothingness as men began marrying men, women began marrying women, pedophiles began to cry out for the same privileges, and men and women continued to treat the sacredness of their marriage as if it was just some passing new flavor at Starbucks. You don’t like it? Throw it out and get something else! The innocence of the children continued to dissolve as they grew up too fast on Twitter. And a million innocent babies never got to see the sunshine, stars, and moon.

These things shouldn’t have surprised anyone because we knew that eventually we would get there. The most baffling, however, is that the police became the enemy. Black lives were the only ones that mattered as officer after officer took a bullet and left behind children and wives. As a matter of fact, if you even said that “all lives mattered”, you ran the risk of being assaulted because to state such obvious truth was “racist”.

If you disagreed with the left, you were a foolish bigot (especially if you were a Christian who disagreed with homosexuality). If you disagreed with the right, you were called a “libtard”, among other things. Hate became redefined as simply disagreeing with or questioning someone else. More and more mankind split itself right down the middle in America. We became a nation divided with wounds split wide open for the whole world to see and the blood flows like the Nile.

Then came the election. There were many to be chosen. Men of honesty, integrity, character, and faith. However, on one side, we chose an angry, foul-mouthed narcissist with multiple marriages who, despite his “Christian faith”, has nothing to repent of. On the other side we chose a woman who has a track record of dishonesty and lying and had ample evidence stacked against her before she even became the nominee. And she won!?! Even though socialism has failed every nation that has tried it, there were a lot of people who really wanted the socialist to take her place as the nominee. This is what we wanted as leaders. Despite our choices this is what we chose to lead us. This has become the American people’s idea of good leadership.

During the debates both candidates fought and spewed insults that were even below that of two fifth graders fighting by the monkey bars during recess. And their supporters followed suit against the other side. It became a contest as to see who could insult the other the worst. But the worst of the worst came after the election. Trump supporters were beaten in the streets by Clinton supporters. The insults increased and people were smeared just as much as the blood that was in the streets. Rioters looted and destroyed property because the election didn’t turn out the way that they wanted. Hatred reigned supreme. Over two months later, the day after Trump’s inauguration, the fires still burned as many women marched in the streets, dressed as their own perverted genitalia, holding signs spewing hate, rioting still, and cursing those who they had seen as a threat to their cause. But how can we call the mass murdering of unborn children a “cause”?

I was once a “metal head” and one of my favorite bands then was Tool. On one album they have a song called “Right in Two” and there is a lyric that has returned to my mind in these recent days:

Monkey killing monkey killing monkey.
Over pieces of the ground.
Silly monkeys give them thumbs.
They make a club.
And beat their brother, down.
How they survive so misguided is a mystery.

            How did we get here? Men exchanging sexual relations and vows with the like, women as well? Brother killing brother over political differences? Christians being persecuted over their beliefs that have been intact since the beginning of creation? Bullies bullying bullies over their differences of opinion? Crimson rivers flooding their banks? Eyes fixated upon darkness in lust? God in the grave and mankind upon the pedestal?

And society calls it good!

How did we, as the evolutionists would like to say, become like the Neanderthals?

Black vs. white vs. citizen vs. non-citizen vs. gay vs. straight vs. woman vs. man vs. family vs. urban vs. rural vs. upper class vs. middle class vs. lower class vs. veteran vs. pacifist vs. well off vs. welfare vs. you vs. me vs. America vs. everyone else vs. thugs vs. police vs. media vs. truth vs. common man vs. Hollywood vs. Christian vs. atheist vs. my rights vs. your rights….

Republican vs. Democrat…

Conservative vs. Liberal…

Trump vs. Clinton…

But…

THIS ISN’T ABOUT POLITICS.

It Is Finished

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” (John 19:30, KJV).

We have to ask ourselves this Resurrection Sunday, as with any day of our Christian lives, “what was finished”? We know that Jesus’ earthly ministry was done, as He had given up the ghost, or His spirit. But was it that simple? Many atheists and followers of other religions would surely like to think so. They would love to believe that Jesus was entombed and rotted away like the nice man that He was. But was He more?

…It is finished…

First, we should note, is that Satan’s reign was finished. In Genesis 3 God said to the serpent “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (3:15). Since man’s fall in the Garden of Eden it was prophesied throughout the Old Testament that there would be a Savior. Sin is the poison the Satan serves us. We are born in it (Psalm 51:5, Romans 3:23). And the wages of sin are death (Romans 6:23). So how can we be saved from this imminent death that is guaranteed to us, the sinner? “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10). If we believe that Jesus is the Christ and has indeed risen, and confess that we are a sinner in need of saving, and that only Christ can save (John 14:6), then we shall be saved from Satan’s “death grip”. “For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” (Romans 6:20-22). “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” (Romans 6:18). Lots of great theology in the book of Romans.

Second is that religion was finished. What? Isn’t Christianity a religion? It is classified as one, but it is really a faith that draws upon the work of the Holy Spirit and not a system of laws and rules in order to gain righteousness. In John 8 we find the scribes and Pharisees bringing a woman to Jesus who was caught in adultery. They said “Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?” (8:4-5). Jesus’ response was “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.” (8:7b-9). Jesus caused the self-righteous religious elite to turn their eyes inward. Their own system of laws that they strictly adhered to wasn’t enough to save them from their own sins. They had no choice but to drop each stone and walk away. Again, in Romans 6: “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” (6:14). However, it is important to remember “What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (6:15-16, ESV).

Third is that any debate of Jesus’ deity was laid to rest. Notice it says that “he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost”. The Greek term for “gave up” is paradidōmi, which means to surrender or deliver. Typically, one does not involuntarily surrender or deliver something. It is done by choice. Jesus said “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.” (John 10:17-18, emphasis mine). Jesus chose to die once His work was finished. Death did not defeat Him at the cross, He chose to draw His last breath. This leads us to…

…the resurrection. Notice in John 10:18 Jesus said “…and I have power to take it again.” Jesus made the decision to rise again. His earthly ministry was finished, but He was not. Satan was finished at the cross, as was death. Jesus also proved by His power that He was indeed who He said He was….

“When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 16:13-17).

In Christ Alone.

The Two Twisted Truths

Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen Him or known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as He is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. (1 John 3:4-10).

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His. We know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death He died He died to sin, once for all, but the life He lives He lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:1-23).


How my heart breaks when I visit other blogs and newsgroups on the internet! Anything where someone writes about our Lord, and then opinion follows, is where it happens. In the past two months my heart has been broken so much by this that I had even thought that I was wrong and I wasn’t sure I was worthy to continue my walk with Jesus. Until one night my wife’s grandfather came by for a visit. We talked about The Lord. It was a good talk. Then the following week we started our nightly devotions in the book of Romans. That’s when it all came full circle and God’s Word hit me like a ton of cinderblocks. So what is it that had broken my heart you ask? It was the two twisted truths of the bible.”…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and the thought/statement “freedom in Christ Jesus”.

Let me elaborate. A few years ago I was on delivery with a guy who was working through a temp service. This fellow claimed to be Christian, yet his actions spoke otherwise. One thing I noticed was that he smoked a lot (I know you are saying “smoking is not a sin”, but I will open that can of worms and burst your bubble at a later date). Finally at the end of the week he said “Someone told me ‘You smoke? I thought you were a Christian?’ and I said ‘Hey! We all fall short of the glory of God.’” and then he lit his cigarette. Another fellow I worked with who was also a Christian used to get into discussions about Jesus. It then would become a debate when the word “sin” was introduced. My view is that sin does matter, it does separate us from God, and it needs to die and we need to repent and be righteous. His view was that sin does not matter and because Jesus died for our sins we are automatically saved no matter what we do and we can do whatever we want in life because we have “freedom in Christ Jesus”. Can you believe this fellow told me that drinking, smoking, drug abuse, cursing, and sexual immorality is NOT a sin? Wow! Then what is?

I illustrate these two stories as examples. Over the years they have repeated themselves, only with different names and faces. But always with the same scenario: We can live how we want and do whatever we want because Jesus gives us freedom. And if that involves sin, then that’s OK because we fall short of God’s glory. Oh my! Knowing how God’s truth has been perverted like this disturbs me. Is sin OK and salvation hollow? It’s a crying shame that all you have to do is read the beginning part of Romans to find out. Further proof that “Christians” who live in sin and feel justified by it don’t actually read God’s Word.

A lot of people take these statements and run with them and ignore that it is talking about falling short of God‘s glory when we were sinners. They use it as a justified excuse to sin. My friend, if sin is justified and excusable, then why did God allow His only begotten son to be beaten, bloodied, humiliated, and crucified? It would seem pointless and would leave the world thinking “Does God even know what He is doing?” If sin is OK, then why did it get Adam and Eve kicked out of Eden and caused a chasm between man and God? If you really think sin is OK, then give your bible away, because the entire book from Genesis to Revelations says otherwise.

The reason for Christ’s death and resurrection is redemption and salvation from being lost and sinful. He freed those of us who believe in Him (in relationship and walk with) from our sins. “Freedom in Christ Jesus” means that we are free from the bondage of sin, not free to go out and sin. Yet some Christians believe otherwise.

Now if you claim you are saved, yet you live in sin and feel like your actions are justified, then what exactly were you saved from? When someone is being carried away by flood waters, and a rescuer throws them a rope, but they refuse to take the rope, do they get saved? When someone is in a burning house and a firefighter comes in to rescue, and that person hides in a closet, did he get rescued by the firefighter? You cannot claim to be saved if you are still in peril. In order to be saved, you have to acknowledge the peril and cry out for help. When you recognize that sin has enslaved you and has destroyed you, then you cry out for Christ’s salvation. You cannot claim to be saved if you are still being swept downstream. So if you think that you are free, yet continue to sin, then you are sadly mistaken.

Another view we can take on the “freedom case” is simply the results of sin. It got Adam and Eve ejected from Eden. It caused the entire world to be flooded. It caused the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. It caused a chasm between man and God that could only be corrected by the bloodshed of God’s only son. Do you hate something so much that you would sacrifice your own child to save people from it?

If you believe that “freedom in Christ Jesus” means that you can live life by your own path, without seeking God’s direction, without being righteous, without edifying yourself by His Word and works, without surrender and obedience to God through Jesus, and you believe that falling short of God’s glory is an allowance to sin, then think of it this way:

Man sinned since Adam and Eve. Since then man had a hard time living by God’s standard and following God. Maybe God seemed like a distant being. Maybe it was hard to believe in what you could not see. But nonetheless man continued to sin and fall from God. Man fell short of God’s glory. Then God revealed Himself to us in the form of a man. We could see God, feel God, and hear Him speak. The veil that separated us from God was torn. We now have a direct link to God. Jesus is our advocate in Heaven.
But, with your view, you are saying that God sent Jesus to die to automatically save us from our sins. That we could go on to live with reckless abandon because His death gave us freedom to keep doing as we please. This is implying that God said “I can’t get them to listen to me. So I’ll send my son to die for them so that they can keep sinning, but be automatically forgiven of their sins”. In other words God gave up and let man have his way. Man defeated God.
It’s kind of like giving man a “Get out of Hell Free” card. Or telling a repeat criminal that they are free to go because the legal system is tired of putting up with their crimes. Go on thief. Go on rapist. Go on dealer. Go on DUI champion. We’ll turn a blind eye and ignore it. If you believe that this is God’s truth, then I suggest you read or re-read the bible. As all bible believing Christians will agree, God hates sin and wants us to live an obedient and righteous life. Reading the four gospels we learn from Jesus how to live, and Paul’s letters to the churches is a further illustration on how we should live accordingly. I can assure you, being that I do read and study my bible in several translations, that I have never seen any writing that says that sinning is OK and justified with God. And if you know of any writing that says otherwise, please let me know in the comments section of this blog so that we can publicly discuss it before the other readers and get other points of view.

So, in closing, I urge you to continue reading and studying God’s Word. Make it first and foremost. Meditate and pray on what you read and seek God’s guidance. And never believe in the lie…”God loves the world and all of it’s worldliness so much that He gave His only begotten son so that we can automatically be forgiven of all we have done and will do. That whoever believes in Him may go on living in sin and lust, with total reckless abandon, in whatever way we want. Because He came to allow the world to carry on in Satan’s ways, but being justified in doing so. We all fall short of God’s glory because man cannot help himself. So keep on sinning because we cannot change and God doesn’t expect us to, because He gave up on trying to convince us to be righteous. So don’t worry, get drunk and be merry.” (John 3:16.7.89.34/5.1@78%, Revised Standard Americanized British Edition)… (an obvious altered view of John 3:16).

Love In Christ

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption (redeeming of sins) that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. It was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26).
(My emphasis added).