Thursday, May 13, 2010

# 298: God’s Complete Plan of Salvation

This post will point out that it is crucial for all Christians to understand God’s entire plan of Salvation through Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, beginning with the initial part, which is passive (believing in one’s heart that Jesus Christ has become the Lord and Savior of all people who have faith in who He is, in what He did, and what He taught).

Most people who call themselves Christians have the above faith. And they didn’t have to do a thing to personally receive Christ as their Lord and Savior. Salvation is too precious to be earned by doing anything good, or to be bought with all the money in the world; therefore, it has to be given free of any charge and only by God’s miraculous Grace; otherwise, some might think they have reason for their pride, as if they earned it.

That saving faith is meant to produce several pertinent qualities in our lives: Since Jesus has become our Lord—the word “Lord” actually means all who have faith in Him—we now belong to Him. 1st Corinthians 6:19-20. “You are not your own; you were bought at a price.” Since all genuine Christians belong to Jesus Christ (we are His property), they/we must do exactly what He commands and teaches.

Christ’s ownership of His disciples/Christians is where many may not make the grade. They may not know ALL that is required by Him via the New Testament. Then there are others who know what is commanded but don’t obey those requirements. In short, Jesus Christ staunchly expects obedience from all of His followers. Is that too much for Him (the Son of God) to demand?

The next quality which will/must spring from our faith is a wholehearted love for God and a selfless love for others in need—both their spiritual and physical needs. Those who are poor/indigent Christians are partially excluded from the physical part of loving others in need, even though they can help other poor people by advising them about many of the ins and outs of the plan of Salvation. By the way, this above-mentioned love for God and the needy must be demonstrated with action (works/deeds/fruit). If that obedience and love do not start to materialize as Christians mature, most likely our faith is not the kind that is needed to be disciples of Christ.

For all who call themselves Christians but do not obey and live as Jesus Christ requires according to the New Testament, they are “christian hypocrites,” and thus, they become the most formidable enemies of Christ and His cause. One of the reasons is because, unknowingly, these hypocrites—especially if they are well-respected/admired in the community—become role models for other Christians and would-be Christians.

Therefore, the harm caused by the role-modeling a hypocrite engages in is far more detrimental to the cause of Christ than an extremely evil person or even an outspoken atheist. The title “hypocrite” goes for the lukewarm, the marginal, and even those who belong to churches that claim to be Bible-believing, but whose pastors avoid verses of the New Testament that could/would beleaguer the laity; then they might think about going elsewhere, to a more positive/uplifting gospel—the kind that Joel Osteen preaches. Click on post #296 to see the verses that are usually avoided like the plague.

Many pastors and teachers are not aware of the harm they are causing to naïve people who truly trust their pastors with all their hearts and think that what they teach is the complete plan of salvation. These loving and kind, but deceived parishioners—as previously mentioned—become examples for others as to what the complete gospel really is.

This hoax, if continued—and who is going to change it?—will make millions of sincere and good people into fools. The moral of this hoax—which is worldwide—is this: If the love and obedience as vividly described/commanded in the New Testament are not adhered to, regardless of the reason, those millions will end up in a place they never expected. God forbid this should ever happen.

Without anyone knowing it, Satan secretly inspires these church leaders to count the number of people who attend their churches as a priority without measuring the quality of their teachings. And of course, that means more tithe in the collection basket. And I can understand that. Regardless, that is the main reason the New Testament and I pick on religious leaders.

Scripture teaches that those who are the poorest will be the greatest in heaven. Matthew 23:12. “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” A Godly preacher who teaches the complete plan of Salvation will be content with what little he/she will receive. But that “little”—blessed by God—will bring more Godly contentment than the “much” that mega-churches pull in. These true and genuine men/women of God may not speak up for fear of being called judgmental for speaking out against what some of their peers are doing. Please read Matthew, Chapter 7, verse 5, and 1st Corinthians, Chapter 5, verse 12. These verses teach us that we must judge evil action as evil, regardless of what types of high positions anyone may hold—the Godly preachers, including myself, still know what’s behind those scheming, smooth-talking counterfeits. Although I am not a church leader, I have been speaking out for the last 5 years. But what good can one wee small voice do to help save millions?

In Matthew, Chapter 23, Jesus is confronting the religious leaders of His time by letting them know, in no uncertain terms, what type of scum they really are: He calls them hypocrites five times; blind fools, blind guides, or blind Pharisees four times; snakes, broods of vipers two times; and says that they are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. Now anyone can see why he or she wanted to have Jesus killed.

Those religious leaders must have known Jesus was from God, and yet in John 9:24, “Give glory to God,” they (the Pharisees) said, “We know this man [Jesus] is a sinner.” In John 9:31, the man who was healed said this to the Pharisees, “We know that God does not listen to sinner. He listens to the godly man who does his will.” And yet, these religious hypocrites still wanted to believe that they were doing God’s work. They just couldn’t leave the good life of prestige, wealth, and the power they were used to having over the common people. And when they finally got rid of Jesus, they continued “business as usual.”

This chapter will clearly display that Jesus Christ’s greatest enemies were not the ungodly Roman Empire but religious leaders who were supposedly representing our Lord God Almighty. As this blog undisputedly reveals, the religious leaders of our time are not that much different. Even after 2,000 years, their greedy, sinful human nature is still at work. And just as the clergy got away with it then, they are getting away with it now. And who is there to call them on their hypocrisy? Where is Christ (and the ones who possess His Spirit) at this time?

In this scenario, no truth is better than half-truth. In other words, in God’s sight, the atheists are more honorable than the hypocrites. The atheists tell it as they see it, which is based on stupidity, while hypocrites have been (and still are) pulling the wool over the eyes of many religious people.

This is not something this author is making up; there is New Testament evidence to this fact: Since we all know that the Roman Empire was made up mainly of atheists (heathens), you would think that Jesus Christ would point His finger at them as the bad guys. No! To my knowledge, Jesus never spoke one bad word against the Roman Empire, even though He and everyone knew how wicked they were. That is the reason I very seldom, if ever, mention the wickedness that is being done by modern heathens, but instead pick on the evil of silence done by Bible-thumping religious leaders.

When Jesus was questioned by the religious leaders in Luke 20:22, “Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” ‘“He said to them, ‘Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and give to God what is God’s’” (Luke 20:25). The only thing that Jesus was doing by giving them that answer was openly acknowledging the truth, that they were subjects of the Roman Empire, and were required to be obedient to the laws that Rome instituted as long as those laws did not interfere with how they worshiped according to their religion. That fact was true throughout the whole Roman Empire.

As often mentioned in this blog, anything less than believing and living the whole plan of Salvation will have no eternal benefits. As for those (the clergy) who are responsible for this treachery of deceit, they will be beaten with many blows (the most severe punishment possible.) Luke 12:47. “That servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows.” This verse infers that there are different degrees of punishment in hell.

In conclusion, when truth is silenced by loving men and women because it is too difficult to digest, they unknowingly become the devil’s advocates.

Many times the “subject” (to reveal the disobedience-inspired mediocrity in Christianity) chooses the writer (this author) and not what is normal: The writer chooses the subject. I know this is my case/calling, since I have been a carpenter the majority of my life and not a professional writer.

For that reason I have a somber responsibility to all Christians to tell it like it is, and not be the least bit silent. Amen!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

A bit long winded!

Fiftythree said...

When I was 3 years old,I was alone and was electrocuted,after that time I started seeing demons.I,honestly have been tortured ever since.Two exorcisms failed,Gravette Ark.& Finley Ca.The third,the priest ran away.Was told that the devil will hide men 3 ways and I am a victim of this.I've read the bible.We lived on Railroad Ave.,Boyes Hot Springs,the year was 1957.Wheres the LORD now ???

JC said...

Dear Fiftythree,

I will continue to pray for you until you are healed. jc