DEVALUING CHRISTIANITY (Guest Post)

Here's a special treat...

A guest post by
Brother Jason Randolph
taken from his personal blog, Paul Points, exploring topics vital to our Christian walk:


Hello dear readers…


Our scripture for today:

1 Corinthians 2:14 (KJV): "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."

For those of us who dare to read the news or turn on a news related channel, things may be looking a bit spiritually bleak right about now.


It is hard not to notice the constantly increasing discrimination against the long tenured basic belief of our nation (and in most of the world, historically) — Christianity. It’s also not difficult for Christians to recognize the reasons why this is happening (considering the verse I shared with you above). One thing that may be difficult to keep in mind is this; we must continue to support each other as members of the Body of Christ in this age of grace alone, through faith alone with the knowledge of our ultimate victory fresh in our minds. We also need to continue to help benefit those who could be added to the Body of Christ.


It is, of course, wonderfully natural for those of us who can spiritually discern to view the world today and see the increase in the power and control of Satan who is the king of deceit and the masterful agent of evil. This is being allowed by God, as He alone is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and sovereign. The methods and talents of Satan are devised to lure mankind into the exact scenario that we are looking at currently. Ultimately, Satan wants to completely devalue Christianity in the eyes of humanity. This is his ultimate purpose and desire.


Satan does not realize that he has already been defeated! Satan still does not fully comprehend the meaning and value of the birth, life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Why should he? How could he? Satan does not understand or comprehend the things of God, as is obvious by his recorded interactions with God in the Word.


The situation is simple folks… God created the universe. God provided mankind with the opportunity to live life in the best way possible. Mankind declined that offer, God (the only true and perfect judge of morality) took the opportunity away from man as a natural right. Man continues to reject God, regardless of how God attempts to deal with mankind. God provided the ultimate opportunity for man to be reconciled to Him, His own Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other way to reconcile with God outside of the perfect sacrifice.


That paragraph above is the true history of the people of this world. Satan, through various means, is directly influencing mankind to ignore these truths, to rewrite these truths, to devalue these truths. Mankind, through their hedonistic desires and foolishness, allows this devaluing and many even embrace it.


As time passes, it does appear more and more likely that we are nearing the end of the long suffering of God, that eventually mankind will run out of options. It does seem that the continued blaspheming of the Holy Spirit by humankind has been engineered by the failure to grasp true reconciliation with God as they are willingly led away by Satan.


It may seem to secular humanity that the faith of a Christian is foolish and narrow-minded. What else can we expect a secular mankind to believe? We must have hope to communicate the truth to these people, we must teach the Word by the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit, prayed for in earnest each and every day. Recommit yourself to the beautiful truths and values of our faith. Be a profound believer! Act upon those values, show to your neighbors, friends, etc. that you are separate and different, not just like everyone else (Romans 12:2).


We are destined to win… Learn like it, live like it, love like it. When you fail, rise up in the power and wisdom of His Word, with humility and the fellowship of believers around you. Continue running the race (I Corinthians 9:24 forward to the end of the chapter).


As one of my favorite songs says, “crosses in life must precede the crowns”. It’s our destiny to win in the end. With Christ on our side, we are destined to win (Romans 8:31).


Don’t go toe to toe with others demanding the “proof” of your faith. If we try to use scientific facts to prove our belief, we will ultimately devalue Christianity ourselves, it will be inevitable. Ultimately, faith is based upon just that, faith. If there was not a shred of disbelief possible, it would not be called faith and our entrance into the Body of Christ would not be based upon that faith. God demands our faith to Him, we cannot prove our viewpoint to an unbeliever. If we could, then we would no longer have faith, we would have a surety.


So, as the world devalues the truth contained in the whole Word of God, as they attempt to undermine the tenants of our belief and as they try to overwhelm that which Satan fears the most (the beautiful truths of the Lord), keep in mind that you do have truth that they can never disprove to the faithful in His Word. If you are edifying yourself and others for the cause of Christ and the education of the Holy Bible, the Word of God, you will ultimately withstand the spiritual storms. It does take some effort from time to time to not be too discouraged. You are not alone if you feel that way. Never forget, with Christ on our side, we are destined to win.


So, get out there… Learn the facts, never surrender on your love for the Lord and His Word. Teach others and be an eternal optimist. Show the values of Christ as conveyed by our apostle Paul. Only the Lord knows when he will ultimately return (perhaps today?), are you prepared? How about your friends, families, strangers? Have you done your best to prepare them as well?


As they devalue Christianity, be prepared to see the attacks and onslaught from corners and commentators you would have never imagined.


Have a profoundly powerful day in the name of Christ my friends…


Brother Jason
Paul Points Ministries

Langlois, Oregon

jason@paulpoints.org
866-881-7002

(Thank you for allowing me to re-post this great article from your blog, Brother Jason!
- Deborah)

FREE NEW E-PUBLISHING SERVICE FOR GRACE AUTHORS AND CHURCHES!

Sandra and Jason Randolph

Langlois, Oregon

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Oregon grace believer Jason Randolph. He wanted to let me know that he enjoyed and appreciated the rightly-divided aspect of my end time novel, COVENANT WITH MY CHOSEN (under my former name of Deborah L. Kuzenski). He had found a PDF version of the manuscript online and subsequently converted it into formats for various types of e-reader devices, such as, Kindle, NOOK, smartphones, etc. Jason had such fun accomplishing the task that it inspired him to set up a side business (he's a fine arts photographer by day) through which he's pleased to offer his document conversion services free of charge to Christian authors and churches that who'd like their books, pamphlets, and teaching materials placed into an e-reader format to reach this high-tech generation! Jason's only stipulation is that the recipients of this service adhere to a salvation gospel of grace through faith alone in our Lord Jesus Christ and his death, burial, and resurrection.

If you or someone you know is interested in taking Jason up on his extraordinary offer, please visit his new website, Shelf*Bloom Quality E-Publishing, for more information. Be sure to spread the word to everyone you know who needs this valuable service as Jason will gladly accept, for a reasonable fee, any e-publishing job that comes along from secular sources as well.

To learn more about Jason Randolph and how he came to understand and preach the grace message, please visit my Grace Testimony site and Jason's blog: Paul Points.

What a blessing to the Body of Christ when grace believers like Jason and his beautiful wife, Sandra, give of their valuable time and abilities so freely to the other members of it! Thank you so very much, Jason and Sandra Randolph!

Are You Studying the Bible Too Much?

Do you have sluggish blood flow to your brain? This article will get it moving fast! Take a look at what Brian Jones, a leader in the emergent church movement, has to say about studying our Bibles: "Christians Spend Too Much Time Studying the Bible." Never mind, Brian, that God himself inspired our apostle Paul to command us to "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)

CAN A TRUE BELIEVER FALL INTO APOSTASY?

Received this question by email recently:

Hi, Sister Deborah!, I read your mid-Acts blog all the time, and I love it. I have a question that I've been wrestling with for a little while, and I'm wondering if you'd like to take a crack at it. Can a person get genuinely saved, and then go into complete apostasy? Would God allow one of his children to fall so far that they are actually preaching/teaching a false gospel? Or is it the case that someone who is apostate never got genuinely saved in the first place? Your thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated. Grace and peace! (A fellow grace believer).

Here's my reply:

Thanks for writing -- and for reading my Mid Acts blog. As to your question about believers going into apostasy, I know from experience that the answer is yes, they can and do. My own younger son acknowledges truthfully that he completely trusted Christ for his salvation when he was 13 years old but that later he lost his belief in anything supernatural, especially God. He knows the Bible as well as many Christians and even understands right division...says it's the only system that explains the scriptures logically; but he's an atheist now. I believe he's still saved because he was sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise when he trusted Christ. I lean on 2 Timothy 2:13: "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful; he cannot deny himself." He is "in Christ," and Christ "cannot deny himself." I warn him that he will hang his head in shame when he sees his Lord but that he will still enter heaven but "yet as so by fire." (1 Cor. 3:14, 15). Only God knows who has truly trusted his Son at some point in that person's lifetime, though, so many who claim they've done so may be mistaken, especially if they trusted Christ but with some reservations, like believing they themselves must do "their part" by being obedient and/or staying faithful. I believe my former pastor at Calvary Chapel comes under that heading. He just thinks he's saved.

As for a true believer later turning around and preaching a false gospel to others, I believe Chuck Missler of Koinonia House is a good example of that. His earlier teachings showed a good understanding of salvation by grace through faith alone in Christ alone, but now he's teaching that there will be punishment and banishment for believers who have not measured up to some Biblical standard (all found in Israel's law gospel, of course!). You can find my articles on Chuck on my blog. Some of Chuck's works will remain at the Judgment Seat and some he'll see burned up; but he himself will be saved. (We'll all see some works burned; some more than others, amen?)

There are two main reasons why some "Christians" fear they can lose their salvation: (1) They mix Israel's "insecurity" message with our "eternal security" message found exclusively in Paul's epistles; and (2) They use a corrupt version of the Bible. Only the King James declares that we are saved by the "faith of Jesus Christ," (Rom. 3:22; Gal. 2:16, 20; Php. 3:9) while other versions say it's by our OWN faith in Christ that we are saved. Our own faith can waver and even fail altogether, but the faith of Christ is rock solid for eternity! I guess only God really knows what's in someone's heart and if they ever trusted his Son. It's our job to tell everyone the gospel of grace -- even people who insist they're already saved -- because we just don't know, amen?

Are you a grace believer who understands the importance of recognizing Paul's special apostleship and message? If so, I would love to have your personal testimony of how you got saved and how you came to understand the message of grace through Paul's writings. Please consider jotting it down -- I'll edit for typos, etc. -- and send it to me here so I can post it to SavedByPaulsGospelNOTPeters.webs.com. Thanks for writing and for considering submitting your testimony!

Deborah

VIDEO: WHY I HATE RELIGION & LOVE JESUS

You'll enjoy this short rap-style video with a great message!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IAhDGYlpqY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

IT'S NOT THE BABY...IT'S THE CROSS!

My friend, Rita Bauschard (Bible Ambassadors) said it best in her email to me yesterday:

"Wishing you all a thoughtful and Merry Holiday!

I don't wish to remove Christ from the holiday, or from our thoughts, or from our celebration -- just the word, "Christmas," because it really has nothing truthful to do with our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He was (and is) Father God's gift to me, and to you. All wrapped up in that gift of Jesus the babe, was the gift of the man, who then, in obedience to the Father, gave himself as the price of the gift of eternal life for those who will rest in that truth alone."

Thank you, Rita; and a blessed day of wonder to all!

NEW ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSAL CAN BRING OPPORTUNITY TO PREACH THE GRACE GOSPEL

Photo found at blog.al.com

You're probably aware by now that the Roman Catholic Church made some changes to their missal, which is the official handbook of how to conduct oneself at Mass and the exact words to say at proscribed times. Many longtime Catholics are upset about this as it will force them to learn to recite different words by rote or risk embarrassment from their peers. I've spoken to a couple of Catholics about this myself who said that even with the "cheat sheet" pew card, they found themselves repeating the old mantras. Knowing the R.C.C. considers itself to be the "new Israel" and applies the words of Christ to that nation directly to itself, I had to bite back a reference to Matthew 6:7: "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do; for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking." Knowing that would be counterproductive, I used the conversation, in one case, to share the good news of a salvation free from works and ritual: by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that he died for the sins of the world, was buried and rose again to justify us from all things (1 Cor. 15:1-4)

and that is what the risen, ascended Lord Jesus Christ returned from glory to tell Paul to tell us.

Rita Bauschard of Bible Ambassadors has for many years had a heart for Catholic souls to be reconciled unto God through his Son, Jesus Christ; and she likes to keep an eye on what the Roman System is doing. She recently sent me this Huffington Post article, along with her incisive comments (below):

"The attitude of this gal is just one reason I don't usually recommend reading the Huffington Post. Seems to be a lot of sexist females there. Putting aside her feminist attitude and her lack of scriptural support for her printed insight, the article does address issues regarding the new R.C. missal, which is why I was reading it after a search for information on it.

"I have always been an advocate of 'equal pay for the same work;' but other than that, I am perfectly willing to accept my role as a female as God Almighty has ordained it (i. e. no women clergy); and I have no doubt that the word, 'man' applies to me when speaking of salvation. It would have been well for Michele Somerville to quote God's words on the matter of salvation today, those words are the power of God. (Note: the R.C. Church is using a word - 'many' - from the Old Testament Scriptures when they framed the new response: 'Take this, all of you, and drink from it: for this is the chalice of my Blood, the Blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of me.' God DID only come for 'many' when he came to earth over two thousand years ago: He came for the Jew only.)

"Matthew 26:28: 'For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.'

"Matthew 10:5-6: 'These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.'

"Matthew 15:24: 'But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.'

"God's words have a lot more influence on me than a sour feminist's words. When God says something, I perk up! But, neither has the R.C. Church learned that the O.T. scriptures are written TO the nation Israel and that the following words of Christ from 1 Timothy 2:4 are written to ALL men today:

"1 Timothy 2:4: 'Who will have all men to be saved, AND to come unto the knowledge of the truth (emphasis mine).' (From a book that needs no imprimatur -- the King James Version.)

"When the R.C.C. tries to steer you away from something, beware. It's usually because they have changed something in their own teaching or wish to teach it differently.

"As a writer herself, Michele should know that 'men' in this verse means, 'mankind' and includes me as a female. There is another scripture passage I would recommend to her:

"2 Corinthians 6:17-18: 'Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.'

"Come out from among whom? From among the idol worshipers. Mr. Ratzinger is an idol worshiper. The context of the passage tells us who to come out from among. Mankind today in 'Christendom' is making the same mistakes the nation Israel made; and God set them aside, causing them to be blind as a nation, and is offering salvation to ALL mankind (individual Jews and Gentiles). But God will not always strive with men. HE has a plan. Are you a part of it? Verse 18 tells us that if we obey the words given to us today, God will then be our father, rather than what he said in the O.T. scripture in:

"John 8:44: 'Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it.'

"Versus: 2 Cor. 6:17-18: '...and I will receive you, And be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.'

"(For those who question the inclusion of Matthew in the 'Old' Testament, the events and messages of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were under the Old Testament program and the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Nothing had changed as far as God's people being the 'Jew Only' -- the nation Israel. But, after that, God, through the victorious RISEN Lord Jesus Christ, gave a new message for ALL men to the Apostle Paul...See Romans through Philemon.)

"Serving, in Christ,

Rita"

Thank you, Rita, for cutting to the heart of the problem! The Roman System, by ignorance (or design?), chooses to keep their members under the thumb of Israel's now-set-aside gospel of law and works. It's undeniable that playing on people's guilt makes them easier to manipulate and fleece. The old saying that religious institutions such as this, "Wet 'em, whip 'em, and work 'em," springs to mind... I hope and pray that those caught in religious bondage, as Catholics are, will come into contact with a believer who loves them enough to tell them the good news of God's grace to all today that will set them free to truly "go in peace to love and serve the Lord"!