Beware!

Let's face it! I'm not young anymore (this is usually where my husband laughs and heartily agrees). I’ve lived a fair number of years to have first-hand experience of the transition in what Christians hold as truth. This transition is disconcerting at the very least, heart-wrenching is more apt in describing what has become so apparent to those who refuse to be moved by the dictates of the world church—the watered-down messages of bless me, make me rich, and make my life fun and easy.

As I grapple with this new form of Christianity, I wonder how things devolved so quickly. What once was holy is now deemed radical belief. What once was sacred is now political incorrectness. And we dare not cross the line else we be called out as radical and out of touch with today’s world.

Has the world changed? Or have the hearts of men changed? I propose it’s man’s response to sin and the ability to recognize and deal with sin that has changed. This change has opened the door to loss of sin-sensitivity, calling evil good and good evil.

Self-control for the purpose of one’s own integrity and response to the Gospel are virtually gone and any semblance of restraint has now become heralded as some form of phobia, laying guilt and shame at the feet of the one who chooses to steadfastly remain on the straight and narrow path.

Has God changed? Does He now wink at the sin which in yesteryear He condemned? Has the blood of martyrs for the faith—men and women who refused to bow to Ba’al or submit to worldly passions and influences—now become inconsequential in His eyes? Has the terror of the Cross of Calvary somehow become not so important and even unnecessary for salvation?

I recently searched my own heart in light of the Word of God—the only Truth wherewith we can plumb our hearts. It’s God’s Word that brings us back into alignment much like the surgeon had to surgically bring my back into alignment. He had to cut away bone, trim other areas of bone which were putting pressure on nerves, insert screws and spacers and bone grafts in order to align my spine and relieve some of the pain. God’s Word does the same, if we allow it—if we look at it rightly through a Spirit-led and prayerful study.

The Word cuts away those things that cripple our walk with God. It trims away areas that cause us unnecessary pain. God’s Word serves as pins and rods to support us and align us to His will for the journey ahead; His Word grafted in our hearts brings us life and empowers us to finish the race.

My question is, however, what about those who refuse to submit to the counsel of God’s Word? Those who view it as subjective and out of touch with today’s reality? Has God really changed His approach to mankind in this newfound freedom to act out natural, carnal desires while demanding the right to be acceptable in His eyes? Has God suddenly changed His definition of just or holy? Has He finally decided to make no distinction between good and evil when it comes to eternity? Did He finally become so loving that no one will suffer the consequences of sin?

It’s time for all who call themselves Christian to ask themselves these questions in light of their lifestyles and life choices. It’s time Christians took a bold stand on the Truth of God’s Word and refuse to bend to the pressure of society and political correctness. It’s time to return to the God of the Bible and to understand that He is indeed righteous, holy, and worthy of our total surrender.

Beware of manufacturing a God of your own:
• a God who is all mercy, but not just;
• a God who is all love, but not holy;
• a God who has a heaven for everybody, but a hell for none;
• a God who can allow good and evil to exist side by side on earth, and will make no distinction between good and evil in eternity.

Such a God is an idol of your own creation as real as Jupiter or Moloch; as true an idol as any snake or crocodile in an Egyptian temple; as true an idol as was ever moulded out of brass or clay. The hands of your own notions and emotions have made him. He is not the God of the Bible, and apart from the God of the Bible there is no God at all. – J. C. Ryle, 1883

Beware! The God we serve is not of man’s design. He cannot be or else He would be as flawed as man. Christians must be careful not to attempt to fit God into our own mold of what and who we think He should be; rather we must labor to mold our lives into God’s perfect law.

Beware! Compromise is unacceptable in the heart of the believer. Reject the temptation to redefine God’s will and intentions to have a holy and sanctified people, set apart and dedicated to Him alone.

Beware! Altering God’s Word to reflect carnal wisdom is more than egregious to a Holy and Righteous God. He alone, without our help or adjustment or redefinition, is most worthy of all praise; He is to be feared above all, by all, and in all.

There is none who can compare to the Most High God.

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his dwelling place. (1 Chronicles 16:24–27)

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Copyright © 2016 Jan Ross Ministries
Copied from Seasons of Refreshing: Winter, True Potential, Inc.