Deep down, most Christians want more people to come to a saving faith in Christ. Whether we think of a relative or a friend, our desire is that someone we love does not end up in Hell for eternity. Were you baptized as an infant? You didn’t make your own choice, nor did you repent from your sins. Let’s be clear: there is no purgatory. The individual choice has to be made before we leave this earth. No matter how sweet Aunt Clara is or how kind and reliable Uncle Bill is, without faith in Jesus before death, they won’t go to a better place. Neither will you. Another truth to understand is that everyone lives forever…some to eternal life, while others join Satan and his minions in the Lake of Fire that burns forever.

Forever is a long time to live with poor decisions. The Apostle Paul understood this. After he met Jesus, his life was spent sharing the Gospel. The only way anybody can accept Christ is for someone to share the truth with them. “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14). 

Today, I see a lot of people who think that bribery is the way to spread the Gospel. Missionary work today is not what it once was. There are groups who think the way to spread the Gospel is to do repair work on homes (provided the person has insurance) or to give Christmas gifts to children who have no idea who Christ is. Brothers and sisters, the Biblical way to bring someone to understand who Christ is and why they need salvation is to share the Gospel. I attended a church for many years that has forgotten who Christ is, and it is under the leadership of a very seeker-friendly pastor who seldom preaches from the word of God. Pew-sitters will multiply, but true believers will be divided.

God’s word must be understood from Genesis through Revelation. Each concept and each verse is important and must be applied to each person in the congregation. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

It might be a feather in the cap of a preacher to have a full congregation to speak to every Sunday, but if those people aren’t hearing God’s truth, it profits nothing… except a stuffed collection plate. I hear so many people yearning for revival, and so do I. The problem is that it seems people want revival without Christ. This is a sign that we are in the end of days. Too many people have turned away from God’s truth found in Scripture and cling to the man-made ideas of “church doctrine.”

When the rules and regulations of the denomination you attend conflict with God’s word, obey God. There is much division among denominations, and that doesn’t honor God. Today, outright sin is accepted by many Christians, but if the Bible is seen as authority, the sinner would be shown God’s love, but the sin would be rejected.

After Moses died, Joshua was the strong leader of the Israelites. The first thing he did was to lead the people back to God. He re-established the celebration of Passover and brought the people back to a covenant relationship with God. This meant all the men had to be circumcised. Yes, it hurt, but unless they were right with God, they couldn’t expect God to bless them. Giving up a sin may hurt, but we can’t honor God if we pick and choose what rules we will follow.

Years passed, and Solomon desired to build a temple to honor God. Solomon’s father, King David, wanted to build it, but God didn’t allow him the privilege, so the honor fell to Solomon. God was pleased with what Solomon had built. Then God told him, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways: then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). Today we just want God to bless us because we want Him to. We take no responsibility for our actions as we dabble in sin and accept false teachers into the pulpits. God wants Christians to multiply, but we must follow His ways, or we will be divided.

Time passed, and the people forgot to honor God. Israel divided into two kingdoms, and the Northern Kingdom was destroyed because of the evil leadership and pagan worship which they embraced. The Southern Kingdom fared much better, for a while. They didn’t fully follow God’s Law like they were supposed to. It’s never wise to pick and choose which part of God’s word you want to obey, or twist Scripture to condone your sin. The beautiful temple which Solomon built was destroyed, and the people were taken captive to Babylon.

Years later, the time had come for the temple to be rebuilt, but there was much turmoil. Read Ezra and Nehemiah to understand what all went on, but once the temple was rebuilt, it was time for revival. “And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel” (Nehemiah 8:1). 

The first thing that must be done in order to bring revival and be in a right relationship with God is to understand God’s word. “And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithia, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, and Zechariah, and Meshullam” (Nehemiah 8:4).

Revival cannot happen unless God is honored. “And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground” (Nehemiah 8:6). 

Does your pastor honor God’s word? Does he preach a sermon centered upon Scripture, or is it centered upon books written by men? I’ve listened to too many sermons that are centered around a purpose-driven idea, or quotes by atheists and rock stars. These sermons aren’t designed to edify anybody or confront sin but to assure that everyone is happy. Never mind that the word of God is compromised. The congregation may multiply, but those who come to faith and honor God are few. In fact, such sermons actually deny Christ. “But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 10:33). It’s very serious to deny Christ in order to tickle ears.

Jesus was born at a time when there was much turmoil and tension in the world. The Jewish people were allowed to practice their faith, but the Romans ruled over them. Jesus came to fulfill the Law, not to demolish it. God’s morality still applies to us today. When Jesus walked in Jerusalem, it was a serious offense to follow Christ. The temple was the center of Jewish life, but anyone accused of following Christ was expelled from the temple and the protection it offered. If you followed Christ, your family would disown you. Jesus wasn’t unaware of this problem but was more concerned with saving souls than with multiplying followers who would be persuaded to follow each new craze.

“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law, and a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:34-38). 

That’s not very seeker-friendly, but it is the truth. Will it cause division? Yes, but it will also bring salvation. If you only want to please people, you may have many followers and be a megachurch, but unless you follow Christ, you gain nothing. Christ brings division between those who follow Him and those who follow the world.

One of the most non-seeker-friendly sermons ever preached was spoken by Simon Peter. The disciples, now Apostles, were gathered together. They must have been unsure of what to do after Jesus had died, and their hopes had been dampened. They didn’t know that they would be the ones to bring revival into the world. “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place” (Acts 2:1). They were of “one accord” in “one place.”

There was no division in them. They were all together, with the exception of Judas who had turned against Jesus and ultimately committed suicide. Judas would have always caused division. Peter was there. Peter had denied Christ three times but repented and was restored by Jesus. He would be used in a big way. The Apostles weren’t divided; they knew what Jesus had taught them and didn’t deviate from His truth. That’s when the fire of the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they were never the same. Peter turned his boldness towards spreading the Gospel. “They were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). 

People who heard thought they were drunk. Peter had been told by Jesus to feed the sheep, and feed them he did. He used Jewish Scripture found in Joel 2:28-32 to explain that prophecy was being fulfilled that day; prophecy is a very important study. Peter’s main focus of this Holy Spirit-inspired sermon was Jesus. Peter convicted the crowd of their sins, but he also spoke of the miracles and sacrificial love of Jesus. “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it” (Acts 2:23-24). 

Many of these same people who were listening to Peter had been in the crowd at Jesus’ trial. They were shouting, “Crucify Him!” Peter didn’t sugarcoat their sin. Did these people get in a snit and stomp away? No, they didn’t. “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). They were to repent and be baptized. They couldn’t remain in their sin; they had to turn away from it. The baptism was an outward sign of an inward change. “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41). Christians were multiplying, not dividing.

Today, we have many divisions among the various denominations, and many of the doctrines aren’t found in Scripture. Some denominations say that musical instruments cannot be played in worship services, and others believe you have to speak in tongues. Jesus said to “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39.

When the Apostle Paul took the Gospel to the people of Berea, he found that “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11). If your pastor doesn’t teach from Scripture, he is in error. That shouldn’t stop you from studying God’s word. Brothers and sisters, be like the Bereans.

Paul also encouraged the young pastor Timothy to study Scripture. Remember, the Scriptures were Old Testament writings, so don’t neglect any of Scripture. “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). You need to study to be sure you’re being taught properly.

My husband first came to know Christ in a church that had many false teachings. I encouraged Ron to compare what was being taught from the pulpit to what God said in Scripture. Ron was very discerning and soon came to realize how wrong that church was. Ron never lost his love for God’s word and did his best to live for Christ.

If your pastor is trying to multiply pew-sitters by preaching seeker-friendly or New Age heresy rather than rightly dividing God’s word of truth, then you need to rebuke him or find a Christ-centered, Bible-believing congregation to worship God.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com
ron@straitandnarrowministry.com

Recommended prophecy sites:

www.raptureready.com
www.prophecyupdate.com
www.raptureforums.com

All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

If you’d like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know.

 

What is the definition of “love”? In Greek, there are various words that are translated as love, and each is used for a specific type of love. The one most commonly associated with God is agape. It’s the caring type of love that all Christians should display for the world to see, especially to each other. That word appears 116 times in Scripture, but the first place it’s used is in a negative sense.

“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold” (Matthew 24 12).

Jesus used agape in describing the way life will be as we draw nearer to the Tribulation. There will be false prophets who deceive people, and persecution will be great. There will be very little agape evidenced around us. Do we see any of the “iniquity” today? The Greek word “anomia” is translated as iniquity, and it means a condition without law either because of ignorance or because of violating it. It’s also translated as “unrighteousness” and “transgression.” We are moving quickly into a very wicked time. As the final seven years of life on earth draw near, agape is growing cold.

Brothers and sisters, we need to stop allowing the wickedness of the world to negatively affect how we serve Jesus. Christians are very, very blessed in that our sins are forgiven, and we have hope in Jesus. We are the ones who need to share God’s perfect love with the people who live in this wicked and evil world that’s under the control of Satan.

“Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin” (Romans 4:7-8).

Because Christians have accepted Christ for salvation, our sins are forgiven. Even King David understood this blessing. In a psalm of praise for God’s mercy, he wrote, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). David wasn’t a Christian, but he truly understood repentance and turning from sin. It’s a blessing that God agapes us so much, and we should humbly show our gratitude to God by living to please Him.

King David was an excellent king. He loved the Lord, and his desire was to honor God with his life. Was he perfect? Hardly, but when confronted with his sin, he was broken over it. He never committed that sin again but told God how sorry he was.

I see many so-called Christians giving lip service to Jesus but not truly repenting of their sin. They continue to hold tightly to the sin from which they claim to have repented. When we accept Christ, our sins are forgiven, but in accepting Christ’s forgiveness, we need to repent. That means to change your mind about the sin you embrace and turn from that sin. If you continue to lust after fleshly desires and give into that lust, then you haven’t truly repented.

As long as we live on this side of Heaven, we will always struggle against sin in order to honor God, or even give into the sin and lust found in the world.

Jesus forgave a woman who had been having a sexual encounter with a man she wasn’t married to. He forgave her, but He told her to stop sinning. We can’t accept His forgiveness and then mock Him by continuing to sin. The Apostle John assures us of God’s forgiveness. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:9-10).

Everyone sins. Gossiping is a sin, disrespecting parents is a sin, sexual activity outside of a one-man/one-woman marriage is a sin, and there are more. The closer you draw to God, the more broken you will be over sin. Today it’s common to hear someone try to justify their own sin by saying that Jesus would have been a part of the sin. That’s so wrong. I’ve even heard people say that Jesus would be leading gay pride parades. First, pride is a sin, and second, those parades glorify sin, and Jesus would not participate. He would absolutely love the sinner, and if they repented of their sin, He would forgive, but He wouldn’t celebrate the sin.

As Christians, we need to stand firm upon God’s word. Nations may “legalize” sin, but that doesn’t make sin right in God’s eyes. How do we, as Christians, show God’s agape to a world that embraces sin and promotes ungodliness? It isn’t agape to allow another person to die in their sins because they love that sin so much. It isn’t agape to allow Jesus to be slandered and mocked by people who say He would accept sin and even promote it. We can’t expect people blinded by sin to know who Jesus was and what He did for us. On the other hand, we need to show agape to those who are lost in sin.

Paul was a very wicked man who thought he was serving God by arresting and murdering those who embraced Christ for salvation. While he was on a mission to punish Christians in Damascus, he met Jesus. Paul repented of his way of life and became a true follower of Christ. It is Paul’s example of missionary work that we should follow. It was Paul who wrote letters to Christians to encourage them and keep them grounded in the faith. Paul was bold in his witness for Christ and didn’t fear prison or being beaten, but he loved people enough to spread the Gospel. His letters are inspired by the Holy Spirit and stand today as Christian doctrine. Each letter should be used for information about Christian life.

Our first and foremost example is Christ, but Paul’s writings are full of instruction for us. His letters to the believers in Corinth give us some important information. The attitude of the Corinthians was what today would be called a “seeker-friendly” congregation who were proud of the sin they accepted. A man was in a sexual relationship with his father’s wife. Paul told them to expel him from the congregation until he repented. He eventually did, and they accepted him back. Today we see many pastors who claim to be homosexual, and congregations hosting drag queens to preach from the pulpit. Should we, who honor God, get angry? We shouldn’t accept any of this.

Paul had a lot to say about “charity,” which is also translated from the Greek word agape, often translated as love. “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as a sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1). We can talk and scold and make ourselves very annoying, but if our words aren’t spoken with agape, we are just making noise. We might be the most “perfect” person in our walk with Christ, displaying spiritual gifts, but without agape, we aren’t serving Him.

“And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2-3).

Our simple human minds like to think that doing things (works) is enough. Works are good, but works don’t save anybody. If the Gospel isn’t shared with lost souls, you aren’t showing love.

Jesus is our example. He loved people, but that love didn’t mean accepting their sin. Jesus shared the Gospel, but although He was a carpenter by trade, He never built a house or planted crops for anybody He met. He healed many people, but He didn’t just throw money at them. It was up to those that were healed to then earn their living and not accept welfare. When they were unable to work, it was acceptable to beg, but once healed, welfare wasn’t acceptable.

The Apostle Paul goes on to give a picture of agape love. “Charity suffereth long, and is kind, charity envieth not, charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).

A respected Bible teacher once said to read through these verses but place your own name in place of “charity.” That is very humbling. The word “charity” is translated from agape. If you show God’s perfect agape love, then you serve Him well. Don’t boast or brag about all the wonderful things you’ve done, but give God the glory. Don’t do good works for what you will profit from them, but for what the Kingdom of God will gain.

Remember, water is wet because that’s what it is. Honey is sweet because that’s what it is. God is agape because that’s what He is. God is love. If we love Him, then we need to follow Him and live to please Him.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com
ron@straitandnarrowministry.com

Recommended prophecy sites:

www.raptureready.com
www.prophecyupdate.com
www.raptureforums.com

All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

If you’d like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know.