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Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Being a Godly Christian Friend Only in Tragedies

Random Thought of Conviction 

Off the cuff posts are beginning to be the only posts that I write. I love when the LORD illuminates an idea to my mind, or my wife's mind, and it can be quickly put down into a blog post. This post was not written immediately after the fact; it came to us last night. But I believe it is fresh enough on my mind to elaborate on right now.

Think of this scenario. It happens all the time. There is an individual or a family (for the sake of the article, we will give the generic name to this individual or family, "Unloved Christian"), and they have a few acquaintances (I am using that word for a very specific purpose). They do not have a friend, though they refer to their acquaintances as "friends" because that is the common lingo.

Unloved Christian does not have much interaction with his 'friends". His friends are not much interested in getting to know him intimately. They just don't have time to get together often. There is not daily encouragement; we Americans have too busy of lives to follow Hebrews 3:13.

Friends Are There For You in Time of Need

One day, a tragedy strikes. Unloved Christian finds he has a disease. Or maybe his house caught on fire and he lost everything. Or maybe an immediate family member dies. Whatever the scenario, it is a terrible one. All of a sudden, those "friends" who were too busy to get involved in Unloved Christian's life, they all come rushing in like a flood to help. They send gifts, they send cards, they send food, they call and offer encouragement. They are there for you like a real friend, any time of the day or night.

What is wrong with this picture, you ask? Nothing. Not a thing. Actually, this is exactly the way a Christian community should respond. So why am I critical of it? Because the friendship extended to Unloved Christian is only and solely when tragedy strikes. When the crisis has passed, these "friends" slowly disappear back into the woodwork to live their own lives. When Unloved Christian needed a daily encourager, there was no one there. When he needed a true friend to lift his spirits, and worship and fellowship with him on a consistent basis, everyone was too busy.

The situation I describe here is why I refer to such relationships as being "acquaintances". It is not much different than a business relationship. The guys you see at work but not away from work are not friends. You just see them Monday through Friday while you work. The same goes with the folks you go to church with. Only you see them on Sunday and Wednesday at the most. Or maybe once every 2 months you go have supper at their house or vice versa. That is not friendship. That is not community.


Doug Tanner: Friends



The Root Problem

I have come to a conclusion in my mind that this is done on purpose. I do not think it is maliciously planned when I say that. But on the subconscious level, people just do not consider daily fellowship a priority. The book of Acts describes the early church in this manner:

"And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,

Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." -- Acts 2:46,47

If we really took the scriptures serious, and wanted to obey Hebrews 13:3, we would find a way to stay connected... connected on a consistent basis. And we would build true friendships, the way they used to be in the old days. I know that we all don't live close to one another and have the physical communities we used to have (and I realize that is what we truly need). But we have so much technology where we can at least overcome this to a certain degree.

Those of us who attended either public or private school can attest to the fact that we all had a childhood best friend. Do you remember how close you were to your best friend when you were in your school days? Why is that so difficult to come by today? It shouldn't be. The only difference is, families should have that kind of closeness with other families.

A true friendship will be demonstrated in a way that either side can say anything to one another bluntly, and the other party will not get offended and break off contact with you. This is what our family longs for; but it seems not many are willing to go this route and sacrifice for the sake of others, and ultimately for the sake of Christ. The Church of Jesus Christ is in a very sad state, indeed. Let us do what we can to reverse this trend, and thereby glorify Christ on a daily basis. Your Christian brothers and sisters need you a lot more than you realize, on a daily basis. And they need  you in "regular" times more than they need you in times of tragedy.

Swiss Kinist

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Issue Oriented Christianity

There are multiple root plagues that have destroyed and continue to destroy the work of the Holy Spirit in America. I have spoken about a few on this blog already. Today I am going to address a doctrine of devils that appears to know no bounds; whether "conservative" or "liberal", professing Christians and genuine Christians alike have fallen into this destructive trap.

The plague can be summed up and communicated best by giving sample phrases you will hear Christians of all persuasions speak. It goes something like this:

"I don't get wrapped up in all these issues. I just love Jesus."

or

"I don't want to be known for all the things I do or don't do-- I just want to be known as someone who loves Jesus."

or

"I don't want to follow a bunch of rules. I want to know God"


While such statements sound holy and pious, and commendable, what is behind these sayings is different altogether. How these practically play out does not produce the fruit of the Spirit, but rather the works of the flesh. So you hear these type of statements from two camps:

1) Christians who are already living to please the flesh and are not denying self-- whether they are genuinely converted or not.

2) Sincere and devoted Christians who are honestly deceived by the Christian doctrinal culture in America.

I personally know people in both categories. The sad thing is, in my observation, that even among good, home schooling Christian families that hold solid views of patriarchy, modesty, and separation from the world... these families are losing their children due to this Satanic scheme.

I first heard the term "Issue Oriented Christianity" from a false prophet from India named Zac Poonen (he is a preacher of lawlessness). He was influential to the small local fellowship my family attended in the early 2000s and came to visit America to preach in conferences. He still is welcomed in certain Anabaptist circles, however, some churches have recognized his message of "don't judge" is destructive to the holiness of the church and have recanted on allowing him to speak at their churches.

So if we make a big deal about certain areas of holiness, in order to obey the word of God, we are "issue oriented" and Pharisees, Judgmental, and "Accusers of the Brethren" (according to Poonen). Because after all, the only thing that matters is love, right?

We used to attend a home church a few years ago, and most of the families held this corrupt philosophy. Everything was going okay until their children started getting married and starting families. Then their worldview began to bear corrupt fruit.

One home schooled son in particular, of a family in the church, (the father of this family was the leader of the house church, though he emphatically rejected the doctrine of authority and leadership); this eldest son of his father has now entirely rejected God's patriarchal structure for the family and society. And his young family has also adopted the world's philosophy regarding birth control and family size.

This is not uncommon either; this son and also a brother of his, raised in the same home and philosophy, emphatically state that "home schooling is not for everyone" and that it might be okay to send your children to Marxist Indoctrination Centers (otherwise known as Public Schools).

Why do these children, although their parents held to firm convictions on these very issues... why do their children adopt the exact opposite worldview as their parents? Why? It is because of this doctrine of devils that "issues don't matter" and "don't judge anyone". I have seen it far too many times to deny the obvious connection between this worldview and the fruit that comes from it. We can only imagine what this younger generation's children will turn out like. But it is not difficult to predict.


 How does Jesus define, Biblically, the evidence that we know God, and love him?


John 14:

21He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

 Is "not being known for issues" Biblical? Certainly not. In fact, Covenant Israel was to be known for her obedience to "issues". I know this is a long passage, but read it very carefully and you will see. May the LORD open your eyes:

And what else does the scripture teach on this subject?

Deuteronomy 4

4But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day.
Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.
Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for?
And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;

 I want to point out, your honor, that this is the exact opposite of what "Bible Believing" Christians of today are teaching. This passage clearly states that God's people would be known for their obedience to God's commandments; implied is that they would, on an outward basis, look, talk, and behave differently than the heathen around them; in every way, shape and form. Christians of today want to deny this and say that Christians should be known only for their "love" as they promote a definition of love that is defined by the world and not by God in scripture. But the only kind of true love is the love that keeps God's commandments. Astonishingly even those who claim to have a high view of the law and follow Rushdoony, falter in this area.

Yes, my friends, outward obedience is important. Depart from the counsel of the wicked (Psalm 1) and embrace the type of faith in Christ that your fathers possessed. A faith that was not afraid to address specific issues of their day in a very specific manner. To do contrary is not only to go against church history, but against the Holy Scriptures, and God himself.

Swiss Kinist