To the Godless American Church...

[Galatians2-20]

#GodlessAmericanChurch

The reason why the United States is on a downward spiral spiritually & morally is because the modern American Church, for the most part, has forgotten how to walk daily in the presence and personality of God.

Most professing Christians believe that because they have - at some point - repeated a prayer or answered an altar call, because they go to Church regularly, because they pray before meals & at bedtime, because they read their bible for a few minutes on occasion or daily, and / or because they listen to Christian radio or watch Christian television on a regular basis, that they are saved & everything is just fine. Some go so far as to believe that this particular brand of "salvation" can never be lost. The harsh reality is that, although they may be very religious, most may not be saved at all.

You see, salvation is not about what we think or what we do. Rather, salvation is a person named Jesus Christ and unless you live each day walking in intimate fellowship with Him and complete reliance in Him, you can not partake of His righteousness (salvation), His nature (sanctification), or His redemption (eternal life). [*1st Cor. 1:30]

The genuine gospel of Jesus Christ is not that He died for your sins so that you would not have to, as some believe & teach today. Rather, it is that He gave His life so that He may reside in you and you in Him. Basically, Jesus sacrificed His earthly life so that right relationship between God & man could be restored. You can not boast that Christ lives in you if you choose not to abide in Him. [*John, chapters 14 & 15]

This my friends, is why our nation is going to hell and the American Church, at this time, is powerless to stop it; American Christians are content with going through the motions, jumping through religious hoops, and doing what THEY THINK will please God. All of which is being performed through self effort, void of the presence and power of God. They do not take the time necessary to walk in and maintain an awareness of the presence of God so that they might immediately hear and respond to the will (heart) of God throughout each day, every day. Consistant abiding in Christ is an absolute necessity in order to operate in the power of God so that souls will be saved, bodies will be healed, and captives will be set free.

Is "churchianity" (various forms of religious activity that your church or denomination expects of you) your daily routine or is Christ someone you truly know and trust? Before you answer, keep in mind that to truly know Christ is to become like Him [*1st John 3:2].

My friends, for the authentic Christian, Christ is our very life! [*Col. 3:4]

 

[Ugly]

Find it funny how many non-Americans have so much to say about the church here. Really Anerica is just becoming a scapegoat for people to look elsewhere, rather than their own back yard, so they don't have to own up to what's going on locally. Perhaps worry more about your local churches and less about churches 1000s of miles away.

 

[Galatians2-20]

Find it funny how many non-Americans have so much to say about the church here. Really Anerica is just becoming a scapegoat for people to look elsewhere, rather than their own back yard, so they don't have to own up to what's going on locally. Perhaps worry more about your local churches and less about churches 1000s of miles away.

I am an American. Born in America, raised in America. In fact, I am of Native American descent.

 

[dcontroversal]

I think the use of (THE) as applicable unto all churches in America is a little misleading.......NOT ALL churches are found under this banner you have spread over the churches of America......

 

[Galatians2-20]

Find it funny how many non-Americans have so much to say about the church here. Really Anerica is just becoming a scapegoat for people to look elsewhere, rather than their own back yard, so they don't have to own up to what's going on locally. Perhaps worry more about your local churches and less about churches 1000s of miles away.

This, my friends, is why our nation is going to hell and the American Church, at this time, is powerless to stop it;

Personally, I find it humorous when people comment about a post that they obviously did not read.

 

[mwc68]

Judge much??????

 

[Skinski7]

#GodlessAmericanChurch

The reason why the United States is on a downward spiral spiritually & morally is because the modern American Church, for the most part, has forgotten how to walk daily in the presence and personality of God.

Most professing Christians believe that because they have - at some point - repeated a prayer or answered an altar call, because they go to Church regularly, because they pray before meals & at bedtime, because they read their bible for a few minutes on occasion or daily, and / or because they listen to Christian radio or watch Christian television on a regular basis, that they are saved & everything is just fine. Some go so far as to believe that this particular brand of "salvation" can never be lost. The harsh reality is that, although they may be very religious, most may not be saved at all.

You see, salvation is not about what we think or what we do. Rather, salvation is a person named Jesus Christ and unless you live each day walking in intimate fellowship with Him and complete reliance in Him, you can not partake of His righteousness (salvation), His nature (sanctification), or His redemption (eternal life). [*1st Cor. 1:30]

The genuine gospel of Jesus Christ is not that He died for your sins so that you would not have to, as some believe & teach today. Rather, it is that He gave His life so that He may reside in you and you in Him. Basically, Jesus sacrificed His earthly life so that right relationship between God & man could be restored. You can not boast that Christ lives in you if you choose not to abide in Him. [*John, chapters 14 & 15]

This my friends, is why our nation is going to hell and the American Church, at this time, is powerless to stop it; American Christians are content with going through the motions, jumping through religious hoops, and doing what THEY THINK will please God. All of which is being performed through self effort, void of the presence and power of God. They do not take the time necessary to walk in and maintain an awareness of the presence of God so that they might immediately hear and respond to the will (heart) of God throughout each day, every day. Consistant abiding in Christ is an absolute necessity in order to operate in the power of God so that souls will be saved, bodies will be healed, and captives will be set free.

Is "churchianity" (various forms of religious activity that your church or denomination expects of you) your daily routine or is Christ someone you truly know and trust? Before you answer, keep in mind that to truly know Christ is to become like Him [*1st John 3:2].

My friends, for the authentic Christian, Christ is our very life! [*Col. 3:4]

Good post.

Salvation can be described as a present manifest state of abiding in the Spirit of Christ whereby one is a doer of the will of God.

One whom is not saved is still walking according to their own passions and lusts and thus has not subjected themselves wholeheartedly to the grace of God.

One of the facets of modern false Christianity is the redefining of salvation to be a purely positional or forensic status which is totally disconnected from the condition of the heart. Thus those with filthy hearts can be convinced that they are saved simply because they went through the motions of "confess, trust and receive" where no wholehearted abiding in the Spirit of Jesus Christ is required.

 

[Galatians2-20]

Judge much??????

According to scripture, both Jesus and the apostle Paul insist that christians must judge. However, they also insist that when we do, that we judge righteously. Everything in the OP is something that God has dealt with me about on a personal & corperate level.

 

[Skinski7]

Jesus taught this...

Joh 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Joh 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Joh 15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

Paul taught the exact same thing...

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Rom 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Abiding is a WALK. Abiding is a YIELDED STATE. Abiding involved submission of the heart. Hence...

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Mat 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Mat 7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Mat 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Mat 7:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

A hearer and a doer is one who has SUBMITTED themselves to God. A hearer and doer is not in rebellion to God.

Jesus preached REPENTANCE because it is through repentance that we become DOERS as opposed to hearers only.

True salvation is wrought through the implanted word within and one must lay aside all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness in order to receive that implanted word.

Jas 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
Jas 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

James clearly connected HEARING AND DOING with the LAYING ASIDE OF WICKEDNESS and the RECEPTION OF THE IMPLANTED WORD.

The problem today is that so many people want a salvation or a cleaning which does not involve a laying aside of wickedness. Today many people want a salvation or a cleaning which does not involve a genuine repentance. Thus many people so easily buy into a false gospel message which offers them exactly what they want, a message of "confess, trust and receive" where DOING is completely omitted. DOING is then relegated as something that is SUBSEQUENT, something that is meant to occur LATER, and thus a MEANTIME STATE OF ONGOING WICKEDNESS is brought into the salvation experience.

The vast majority of professing Christianity has fallen for this lie.

 

[Skinski7]

Thus if one is to walk up to practically any pastor and ask them...

"Is there any sin or sins that one must stop BEFORE God will grant forgiveness?"

The pastor will be troubled by that question because in their mind salvation is not related to HEARING AND DOING, rather salvation is a state of POSITIONAL or FORENSIC justification premised on a LEGAL EXCHANGE PROVISION which an individual is to TRUST IN (and there is a lot of theological deception behind this provision they believe in).

The pastor does not believe in a HEARING AND DOING MECHANIC which produces a transformation of heart whereby one is literally SAVED FROM SIN (saved from the service of evil). It is the service of evil which separates one from God and no reconciliation can occur whilst one remains a servant of evil. The pastors cannot comprehend this and thus that question above will produce all sorts of vague answers as they dance around it.

The true answer to that question is that ALL KNOWN SERVICE OF EVIL must stop BEFORE God will grant forgiveness. Thus there is no such thing as Christian fornicators, drunks, liars, thieves, pornography addicts etc. A true Christian is an individual who has been SET FREE FROM THE BONDAGE OF SIN through the Spirit of life in Jesus Christ and the Spirit of life in Jesus Christ is only entered into through REPENTANCE.

 

[Stephen63]

The problem today is that so many people want a salvation or a cleaning which does not involve a laying aside of wickedness. Today many people want a salvation or a cleaning which does not involve a genuine repentance. Thus many people so easily buy into a false gospel message which offers them exactly what they want, a message of "confess, trust and receive" where DOING is completely omitted. DOING is then relegated as something that is SUBSEQUENT, something that is meant to occur LATER, and thus a MEANTIME STATE OF ONGOING WICKEDNESS is brought into the salvation experience.

The vast majority of professing Christianity has fallen for this lie.

Yup..... & they do it thru "making a decision" for Christ, & not by genuine repentance of sin.

 

[Skinski7]

The whole issue of "works vs not of works,"merit vs unmerited" and "conditional eternal security vs unconditional eternal security" are DISTRACTIONS designed to keep people running in circles never coming to a knowledge of the truth.

When Paul wrote, "not of works" he was referring to the rites and rituals of the Mosaic law or in a broader sense EXTERNAL RULE KEEPING. Salvation is wrought through a yielding of the heart to God, not through the keeping of external rules and regulations. Thus we are saved by grace through faith, not of works, lest any man should boast. Paul summed it up nicely...

Gal 5:4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
Gal 5:5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
Gal 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

In other words one is not justified through the law (because the law effects the EXTERNAL) but rather through faith (faith effects the INTERNAL). God reckons FAITH AS RIGHTEOUSNESS because FAITH IS A REFLECTION OF THE STATE OF THE HEART. It is the PURE IN HEART WHO WILL SEE GOD.

No one merits salvation because once we sin we are guilty and the crime cannot be undone. Thus no sinner (repentance or non-repentance) can stand before God and claim they deserve mercy. No sinner can claim that God owes them anything. This phrase of "earning your salvation" is pure foolishness. The Prodigal Son did not earn his restored status by forsaking his rebellious and riotous living, he simply REPENTED and through himself before the grace and mercy of his father.

Likewise the OSAS vs non-OSAS debate is pure foolishness. Both sides speak of salvation as some abstract concept kind of like a mere book keeping entry. Is your ticket valid right now or not? The OSAS proponent thinks their ticket will always be valid whilst the non-OSAS proponent things that it can be valid one moment and not the next. Salvation is not based on a PROVISION which provides some kind of spiritual ticket. Salvation is a PRESENT MANIFEST STATE of ABIDING IN JESUS CHRIST. If one is not abiding one is not saved, it is as simply as that. Abiding is inclusive of wholehearted yielding, we are CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST, WE NO LONGER LIVE FOR OURSELVES, WE LIVE TO GOD THROUGH THE SPIRIT OF LIFE IN JESUS CHRIST.

Don't be deceived.

The opening post in this thread is spot on.

 

[Mitspa]

According to scripture, both Jesus and the apostle Paul insist that christians must judge. However, they also insist that when we do, that we judge righteously. Everything in the OP is something that God has dealt with me about on a personal & corperate level.

How do we know your not just like many other false groups that don't really know the gospel but only seem to have a ministry to find fault in others...The Sda comes to mind. They have no clue about the truth, but attack every other group as if attacking others is the gospel.

If you don't mind..please explain the gospel, if you can?

 

[damombomb]

You have got to be kidding..............you should be encouraging others to go, not fall away.

 

[VioletReigns]

Speaking of the church waking up, has anyone here heard of Dan Mohler? Someone posted something about him in another thread and I'd never heard of him before. Is anyone here familiar with him? Thank you!

[video=youtube;9eemC3X5vUs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eemC3X5vUs[/video]

 

[Blain]

Actually while he could have done it in a more loving way there is some truth in what he says. Many of you have even seen it here in the forums- the ppl who are Christian by title only who judge others who deem themselves righteous while others are unholy who think themselves the authority on scripture while actually being blind to its truth who use the bible as a weapon against others ect.

It isnt just here in the forums its everywhere, there is a reason the world sees Christianity as a joke and sees us as hypocrites as liars as judgmental bible thumpers. There is a great lack of love in the church as if many believers have forgotten what means to be a Christian. The mark of a true believer is love and this unseen mark is only visible by those who also bear this mark, you can tell the what from the tears the sheep from the wolves in sheep clothing by this mark. Jesus prophesied that in the end days love would wax cold and sadly he was right.

 

[shotgunner]

There's a lot of truth in the posts above concerning the necessity of a changed heart and fruit of such in the lives of all who call themselves Christians.

I would just like to remind everyone that only God can judge the heart. Many new Christians have a changed heart and the desire to bear fruit but haven't yet renewed their minds or learned how to crucify their flesh. We need to be teaching these things more and lovingly helping all Christians to grow into the image of Christ.

 

[AgeofKnowledge]

I believe the present behavior we see today of Christians beating up other Christians because most people in our society have increasingly chosen non-belief, apostasy, etc... began with the emergent movement. It's in that movement that I see the condemning of genuine Christians for America's decline peak.

Personally, I don't share this sentiment. I believe that "Christians" verbally abusing and condemning genuine Christians for what everyone else has chosen is misguided and counter-productive. Just as I don't blame God for what the devil does, I don't blame genuine Christians for what everyone else does.

 

[Galatians2-20]

You have got to be kidding..............you should be encouraging others to go, not fall away.

Wow, you obviously misunderstood everything that I wrote. My letter is to encourage everyone to evaluate their life and their beliefs, to ask themselves "I am I really the Christian that I think I am?" and, if not, then "How do I get right with God?"

My letter is a call to biblical repentence. Not a letter of condemnation. It's too bad that people are so used to sugar coated messages today that they don't know the difference betweem conviction & condemnation.

 

[Galatians2-20]

I believe the present behavior we see today of Christians beating up other Christians because most people in our society have increasingly chosen non-belief, apostasy, etc... began with the emergent movement. It's in that movement that I see the condemning of genuine Christians for America's decline peak.

Personally, I don't share this sentiment. I believe that "Christians" verbally abusing and condemning genuine Christians for what everyone else has chosen is misguided and counter-productive. Just as I don't blame God for what the devil does, I don't blame genuine Christians for what everyone else does.

What abuse? It is wrong to ask others to eximanine themselves? Obviously the apostle Paul did not think so:

"Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" [*2nd Cor. 3:15]