“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? … For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Romans 6:1-2, 14
Are you familiar with Romans 6 as every disciple should be? If so, you know that between verse 2 and 14 is what? The cross!
A priesthood of wolves, false preachers, have pawned off to us the heretical notion that we are woefully relegated to a life of sin after Jesus saves us. Paul warns us of these “enemies of the cross of Christ.” (Philippians 3:18-19)
Is this defeatist perspective what we read on the pages of New Testament Scripture? Is God that powerless? Was Christ’s coming in vain? Read Romans 6:1-2.
“And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. 6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.” 1 John 3:5-6
Abiding in Jesus (John 15), integrally involves the daily cross, and those abiding in Him truly, are not living in sin.
The cross means that because we love God supremely as the “first love” of our lives, we are willing to lay down our lives and die that He might live, move, and reign in our lives (Revelation 2:4-5; 2 Corinthians 4:10-12). Isn’t this exactly what Jesus did for us? Did He not lay down His very life so we could have life? Did He not also command that we deny ourselves, die to self, that He might reign in us and that we might reign with Him forever?
It all boils down to WHO we love the most today saints – self or the Savior.
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40
IF the sins of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21) are having victory in our lives, what does that mean? That simply means that there is the lack of the cross in our lives and that God is calling us back to Himself as “first love,” to repent (turn back to Him), deny self, take up the cross, and follow Jesus (Revelation 2:4-5). The sins of the flesh are resident in every one of us and can only be crucified out of our lives by the daily cross! Jesus is so good and more than able saints! Oh, and He told as that we are not alone is such a battle. He promised that “through the Spirit” we can have the whole victory over the flesh! Read Romans 8:13-14.
“For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Romans 8:13-14
YOU are not a slave to sin but rather a friend and servant of Christ! Read Romans 6.
“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.” Romans 6:12
“I was personally not able to get out of my own way. I finally began to accept it when people and adverse circumstances pushed me out of my own way. I learned not to fight to regain my own way.”
Paul’s flesh was and our flesh is a constant reminder of the ever momentary need for the grace of Jesus. Romans chapters 6-7.
Until you realize the depth of your own iniquity, depravity, you’re not going to realize or understand the purpose of the cross Jesus mandated you to take up. The Son of God ordained Himself to be at the center of your daily life and that requires you getting out of the way (Genesis 6:5; 12; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 7:18, 24, etc.).
Every believer grapples with the downward gravitational pull of the flesh (Galatians 5:17; Hebrews 12:4). Obeying God is the only way victory will erupt, manifest in our personal lives (2 Corinthians 4:10-12). Death and burial will be followed by resurrection! And, when Christ is truly reigning is us, victory will be sure! Time to get down low and watch the devil and sin go! See James 4:6-10.
“GOD is able” saith the LORD! (Ephesians 3:20)
“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.” Ephesians 3:20
The law of God is “holy, and just, and good” (Romans 7:12).
The holy law of God and the depraved nature of fallen mankind could not be further apart – the righteousness of God inherent in His law vs the “old man,” the iniquitous fallen nature of mankind (Ephesians 4:22; Colossians 3:9).
Nothing but a caustic reaction, explosion could be the result of the two colliding (Romans 7). One or the other must reign.
“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” Galatians 5:17
The Christian life will not work without the power generator of the cross. Let the addiction begin – as the resurrection life of Christ fills, teems in, and works through His crucified saints! Read 2 Corinthians 4:10-12. Are you ready to exchange your sin, guilt, misery, and shame for Christ’s resurrection life? Cross – Resurrection Gospel Life
Those who claim to know Jesus and have no victory over sin in their daily lives, are not abiding in Christ according to HIS definition! That would mean that Jesus isn’t powerful enough to conquer the sin He died to free His people from! No, such a person is not in obedience to the cross message Christ and his apostles gave us – which means they are not following Jesus on His terms (Galatians 2:20, etc.).
Lately I’ve been pointing Christians I meet back to their water baptism after Jesus saved them and how that was the symbolism of how their life in Christ was to go from that point onward – they are dead, buried, and Christ is raising them upward. This is the only way the Christian life works. The cross life is the power generator for our whole life in Christ saints (2 Corinthians 4:10-12). Nothing else works without it.
IT would be impossible for a preacher to be taking up the cross himself and not be preaching the cross, the crucified life. What’s that say for America’s preachers? (Philippians 3:18-19)
The dictates of the flesh, the motions of sins, will reign and wreak havoc in our lives until the cross takes its proper place to bring a crucified vessel to naught. Romans 6 and 7 summated.
Sin is avoidable, right? Yes. Jesus Christ died to take away our sins and not to enable us to live in them (Matthew 1:21; John 1:29; Titus 2:11-14, etc.). Note the word “IF” in this following verse. It does not say WHEN but rather “IFFFF any man sin.” Big difference. Watch this…
“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And IF (not when) any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:1-2
There really is victory in Jesus – meaning that when we do things the simple way He prescribed, not following a cross-less false message, victory will manifest in our personal lives as God has ordained that it be!
“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57
You see, just previous to this resurrection “victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” Paul is speaking of in 1 Corinthians 15, he says “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31). Life can only spring out of death (John 12:23-25). Daily dying and the consequent raising up of the LORD causes a foretaste of what lies ahead in eternal glory with our LORD.
The Cross – death, burial, and resurrection – grants God’s people a “daily” foretaste of glory divine!
The whole of New Testament doctrine testifies to the necessity of experiencing our own death in order to be raised up by Christ eternally (2 Timothy 2:11-12, etc.).
When we truly “follow” Jesus, who went to His own death in order to be raised, we see the same in our own lives as the Gospel takes its place daily in us. We are dead, buried, and raised again to new life in Christ daily.
“Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. 11 For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death worketh in us, but life in you.” 2 Corinthians 4:10-12
In the professing church world, the Gospel, the work of Christ is seen only as that which the Son of God accomplished on the cross 2,000 years ago. Yet, that’s not what Jesus and His holy apostles taught. The Gospel is “daily” according to the original Gospel.
Jesus Christ Died to Grant His People the Whole Victory
“Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from ALL iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.” Titus 2:11-14
In light of the biblical revelation of the fallen nature and the cross, there’s no need to wonder WHY we sin if we sin. If the “old man” is not “put off” by the daily cross life, there will be sin in our daily lives and we know that brings dismal results (Romans 6-7; Colossians 3:9, etc.) right? SO, we must see that our weakness reveals that Christ was not reigning in us when we sinned, right? Right (Romans 6-7).
God is able! (Ephesians 3:20)
In Colossians 3:9 we read this:
“Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;” Colossians 3:9
Yet, what precedes this? Watch this, just a few verses before the one above:
“For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:3
This crucified life Jesus prescribes must not only be recognized positionally but also practically, daily in our personal lives. That is what brings the victory Jesus died to procure for each and every one of His saints in whom He has all His delight (Psalms 16:3).
The same Savior who said “It is finished(HIS work, not yours)“ also said that to follow Him, one must daily deny himself and take up his cross (Luke 9:23-24).
Putting off the old sinful man is only divinely possible when we “reckon (count) ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:11).
In short, the answer to the question posed… If we sin, we are to:
Admit it, repent, confess the sin transparently, and get back to the cross – lay down your life afresh and march forth – “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).
Yet, we all wonder…. How do we continue to live in God’s overcoming grace? How do we live consistently in Christ, glorying Him daily?
The Solution – What it is and What it’s Not
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:1-2
Read together, as this is written, it begins to come clear that the cross necessarily precedes the transforming of our minds, right? Read this again please. Notice that as the born again saint presents himself a living sacrifice (the cross), he is then divinely enabled to be transformed by a renewed mindset – attitude, cross perspective – where Christ reigns, not us!
Transform your thinking? Yes and yet that’s only generated by the cross. Read Romans 12:1-2 together. The answer to glorifying God is not better mastery of our thoughts. No it’s not trying harder – but rather dying deeper. No, it’s not having a positive mental attitude (PMA). Instead, it’s worshipful faith-obedience to God – a consenting to the cross where you say “Jesus, I want YOU to reign in my life!”
Sure those things like thinking on the things of Christ play a part and yet, without the cross nothing works (Philippians 4:8).
Lots of people today preach peripherals and not the primary – the cross. Regrettably, there is no cross in the modern false gospel, which makes it “another gospel” and false (Galatians 1:6-9).
Jesus is Coming but for Who?
“Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25-27
So we know from Scripture that Jesus will return for “a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemis.” (Ephesians 5:25-27). So it is clear to see that Jesus is going to return for a people, His people. His people are defined in Scripture as those who are simply obeying His instruction to deny self, take up the cross, and follow Him (Luke 9:23-24). Here is the message of Savior – the only prescription for following Him:
“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” Luke 9:23-24
Becoming saturated in the central Gospel message of the cross, is essential to being rooted and grounded in Christ and thereby receiving His divine grace to overcome. This is exactly why the ministry site features the cross category – for your edification in your walk with Jesus. Peruse….
What Did Paul Mean by "I Keep Under My Body"? [podcast]
In spite of all the evil that is me, dear LORD You have been so gracious (Genesis 6:5, 12; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 7; Titus 3:5-7). If OSAS/eternal security is true, WHY did Paul say he himself that he could be “castaway” from God in the end if he didn’t endure to the end, perpetually keep under his body (the cross life)? “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” 1 Corinthians 9:27 Here Paul speaks of his own need for […]
"Jesus the Author and Finisher of our Faith" [podcast]
“From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. 67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?” John 6:66-67 WHERE O WHERE are we going to go if we depart from Jesus? …. does He, the eternal God and Creator of all things not hold the future of every living soul in His holy hand? FB Meyer on John 6:60-71 “THE SIFTING OF JESUS’ FOLLOWERS Christ’s pathetic question-Will ye also go away?-elicited from Peter a reply which proved that the inner meaning of His words had already broken upon their […]
The Cross Imperative [podcast]
The cross is not about self effort but rather self denial. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30 Dear LORD Jesus, please take all of me. Have Your way in this life. “not my will, but thine, be done.” Luke 22:42 The cross, the blood of Christ’s cross is what He commanded we take up daily in order to follow Him (Colossians 1:20; Luke 9:23-24). The divine economy is a cross economy and that is the only way one can truly walk with the LORD, pleasing Him in all things. Pouring over the words of 2 Corinthians 4:10-12 is […]
Jesus Calling Devotional Exposed: 10 Things You Might Not Know
“I know so many who are so deceived by this book!! The author is a woman and she makes Jesus sound like your boyfriend who is so in love with you he can’t bare a minute without you! It is sickening! Plus she says the Bible was not enough for her. She needed more. This author died and if she did repent of her blasphemy against a holy God she is burning in hell as we speak.” Karen Cochran
BEWARE of the Jesus Calling devotional book which is written by a full blown heretic, Sarah Young. This book continually assures things to lost souls (catholics, etc.) reserved only for the true Christian. It promises salvation, assurance, grace, mercy, the glory of God, etc to lost hell bound idolatrous sinners. Like antichrist Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life book, Jesus Calling never calls sinners to repent which is a Gospel essential and without which God will never save any soul from sin and hell (Luke 13:3, 5). You will never hear Jesus’ born again commanded or command to repent in this heretical devotional book title Jesus Calling. This monstrosity simply confirms sinners in their sin, sealing their doom in the lake of fire (Jeremiah 23:17; Lamentations 2:14, etc.).
Sarah Young is just another self-willed false prophet who does “ministry” her way, not God’s, in order to sell books and to mislead eternal souls into eternal damnation.
The blessings of God in Christ’s salvation are reserved only for those born again “in Christ,” and never for hell bound religious idolaters (John 15:7; 2 Corinthians 1:20; 2 Peter 1:1-4, etc.).
Stacy Strother writes:
“Her subtly, deceptive, doctrinally corrupt fairy tale version of what she calls bible studies for all the different ages of people, including children’s bible studies, teen and other, are found in the book stores—shelves filled full.
She is deceived, a false witness, False bible teacher, and has not heard from our Jesus—the Christ, Son of the living God, of which, is the very Word of God.
She hears from demons. Period! She needs to REPENT, and be born again! Please Lord Jesus, help her see her own demise!”
About That Jesus Calling – 10 Things You Might Not Know
ARE you seeking to experience God OR to KNOW HIM? (John 17:3)
“People want a word from God instead of the Word OF God.” Warren Smith
by Lighthouse Trails Editors
1. Did you know that Sarah Young says she had been inspired by the “Jesus” of a book called God Calling?
2. Did you know that Christian publisher Harvest House’s book TheEncyclopedia of New Age Beliefs says that God Calling is an example of a channeled New Age book “replete with denials of biblical teaching”?1
3. Did you know that the “Jesus” of God Calling teaches that God is “in” everyone?
4. Did you know that the “Jesus” of Jesus Calling contradicts the Jesus of the Bible?
5. Did you know that the “Jesus” of Jesus Calling rejects the Jesus of the Bible’s warnings about the future and tells us to “laugh” at the future?
6. Did you know that the “Jesus” of Jesus Calling frequently flatters his followers, which contrasts the way Jesus Christ spoke to people?
7. Did you know that Sarah Young’s “Jesus” revises the night that Jesus Christ was born and calls it a “dark night” in a “filthy stable” in “appalling conditions” even though the Bible says the shepherds rejoiced in all that they had seen that night? 2
8. Did you know that the “Jesus” of Jesus Calling revises the accounts of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph of the Bible?
9. Did you know that the “Jesus” of Jesus Calling encourages his followers to practice contemplative “listening” prayer and to have a “buffer zone of silence” with no warning about seducing spirits?3
10. Did you know that the “Jesus” of Jesus Calling emphasizes New Age terms and concepts throughout the book?
The 10 points above have been taken from Warren B. Smith’s new book, “Another Jesus” Calling. This book provides valuable information that can help you warn your family and friends how the “Jesus” of Jesus Calling contradicts the biblical Jesus.
Notes:
1. John Ankerberg & John Weldon, Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1996), p. 103.
2. Sarah Young, Jesus Calling, p. 376.
3. Jesus Calling, June 15th entry
FEEDBACK:
“Solid Biblical refutation of the “New Age ” nonsense passing itself off as the latest thing God is doing. In our area a number of Churches have embraced this and other similar material with no discernment to the un-biblical nature of this drivel. Thank God for Warren B. Smith and others who provide an inestimable service to the Body of Christ as “watchmen on the wall.” Pastor Tom, West Harrison NY”
“And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:” Romans 1:4 Chapter 1-16 Chapter 1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, 2 (which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) 3 concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: 5 by whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience […]
How We Know the Bible is the only Holy Book on Planet Earth [podcast]
Only God knows the future. Law of probability and the fulfillment of Bible prophecies: Odds of the 332 prophecies of the prophets concerning the coming Messiah, given hundreds of years prior to His arrival coming true are: 8,749,002,899,132,046,697,490,008,908,470,485,461,412,622,723,572,849,745,… 703,082,425,425,639,811,996,797,503,692,894,052,708,092,215,296 to 1 Fact: Only the Almighty could know the future and forthtell it in specific detail, long before it ever happened. THIS is how we know that the Bible is truly the Word of the one true God and that all other so-called “holy books” are frauds. “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.” Mark […]
Jesus vs The Pope, Muhammad, Joseph Smith, and Ellen White [podcast]
*CORRECTION: Ellen White was the false prophet of the SDA (Seventh Day Adventists) and not the JW (Jehovah’s Witness) cult. Both the Seventh-day Adventists and the Jehovah’s Witnesses grew out of the Adventist movement of the 19th century, the Seventh-day Adventists specifically through the Millerites. Both still cults. Jesus Christ founded the Christian faith. The kingdom of Christ is revealed in the Bible which is the only divinely inspired holy Book on the planet and we know that because only God could know “the end from the beginning” which is something He declares and demonstrates in His Word (Isaiah 46:9-10). […]
What should be our view of and responsibility to God-ordained civil authorities?
In light of these truths, it seems wise to remove oneself and family from the country, state, or local jurisdiction that is not punishing evildoers as God has ordained.
CRUSHING AND SEPARATING EVIL DOERS FROM THE GOOD PEOPLE IS GOD’S ORDAINED DUTY AND WILL FOR CIVIL AUTHORITIES TO CARRY OUT.
“A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them.” Proverbs 20:26
A king or civil servant, ruler will destroy the wicked, he will truck them, he will crush them! Read the above verse again.
“The phrase ‘bringeth the wheel over them’ comes from Proverbs 20:26. It refers to the act of a wise king punishing or dealing with the wicked, particularly through the process of threshing (separating the good from the bad). The ‘wheel’ imagery suggests a thorough and often harsh application of this punishment.”
“Proverbs 20:26: Bringeth the wheel over them – He threshes them in his anger, as the wheel does the grain on the threshing-floor. Every one knows that grain was separated from its husks, in Palestine, by the feet of the oxen trampling among the sheaves, or bringing a rough-shod wheel over them. Asiatic kings often threshed their people, to bring out their property; but this is not what is intended here.” Adam Clarke
God ordained civil authorities to punish EVIL DOERS and not the good people! Any civil authority, whether an individual or the whole governmental system that punishes the good people, that weaponizes the system to destroy lawful, law abiding citizens, should be replaced. The framers of our Constitution actually set that in place.
God bless our Constitutionally abiding law enforcement which God ordains in order to punish evil doers. “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; 14 Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him FOR THE PUNISHMENT OF EVILDOERS, and for the praise of them that do well.” (1 Peter 2:13-14)
“He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.” Proverbs 17:15
Read Romans 13 and notice…. Civil Rulers, including the Police, are ordained of God to punish those who do evil. They are His “ministers.” A few bad cops doesn’t change this fact. Oh, and notice how criminals all go to hell—“damnation.”
Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2:12-14 …. whenever government isn’t punishing evil doers, and instead, turns and punishes well doers, that government is the antitheses, the opposite of what God ordained civil government for and should be abolished.
Submission to the Authorities
1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. 5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. 6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. 7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. Fulfilling the Law Through Love 8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” Romans 13
Truth: This priesthood of fake pastors bowed to Satan long ago. They are antichrists who bought into and even defend Satan’s fake “bibles” and teach heresies such as eternal security, etc.
Submission to civil authority has its limits and is contingent upon those authorities who are punishing evil doers and not having become the evil doers who then turn and punish the righteous.
Submission to Authority
“Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; 14 Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.” 1 Peter 2:13-14
Jesus died. He shed His precious blood to redeem His people “out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;”
“And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;” Revelation 5:9
“He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” Micah 6:8
Let’s Grow Together! Sign up here to begin receiving the Moments with Our Master email devotional that is sure to help you grow in His grace and in the knowledge of our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 1:2; 3:18). It’s sent out for the edification of the body of Christ. Sign Up HERE.
The Purpose, Limits, and Blessing of Civil Government
WHO ELSE IS LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS DAY? “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” Isaiah 9:6-7 There […]
The Golden Rule Life: What's that Really Mean? [podcast]
Thinking, Knowing, Applying, and Doing the Golden Rule of Jesus Golden Rule living is the only way to live in glorification of our Maker. Spread this word. God calls you, yes you – to love Him supremely and to love your neighbor as you wish to be loved, treated (Matthew 7:12; 22:37-40; Philippians 2:3-5). We must teach ourselves, our children and those around us the Golden Rule. “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12). Jesus is coming. “Golden Rule, […]
Billy Graham Promoted and Sent People to Go Join the Catholic Church
“One of the most troubling problems within the church today is the unwavering loyalty to a ‘christian’ personality rather than to Christ and His Word. The unwillingness to test every man’s teaching with God’s Word, coupled with a stubborn lack of discernment, produces fertile ground for deception to flourish.” Evangeline DiChristi
from Chick Publications
Billy Graham Still Sending Converts Back to the Pope
Billy Graham. We know that his messages are solid gospel. Few in or out of the Christian World have not heard of him. Since 1949 he has held the spotlight as the most prominent evangelist in Christendom. He has just finished his 416th crusade in Pasadena, California that drew over 300,000 people in four days. 13,000+ responded to his altar calls. Graham is now 86 years old and has one more crusade scheduled in New York City next year, health permitting.
The Pasadena crusade was on the anniversary of his first Los Angeles revival 55 years ago. It was after that meeting that Graham was “kissed by William Randolph Hearst” according to Dr Cathy Burns in her book, Billy Graham and His Friends. This meant that Hearst had decided to promote Graham’s ministry in his nationwide chain of newspapers.
Immediately, reporters and photographers were crawling all over the Graham meetings. Front page articles began to appear in the leading local papers wherever Graham held meetings. One reporter was assigned full time to travel with Graham’s team.
In 1991, Graham claimed that this sudden attention remained a mystery. Burns describes a more complex scenario. Regardless, the publicity propelled Graham into the national, if not international, limelight.
Jesus warned, “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you.” Over the years, Graham became the friend of presidents and kings, a beloved “America’s Pastor.”
But the fame came with a price. In his book, Smokescreens, written in 1983, Jack Chick describes how Roman Catholic leaders viewed and used Graham as a key player in their ecumenical plans. As early as 1965, he was a guest speaker at Catholic Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina where he received an honorary doctor’s degree. A college official’s letter describes Graham’s address as “theologically sound” as may have been given by “any other Catholic preacher.” The letter further states, “I would state that he could bring Catholics and Protestants together in a healthy ecumenic spirit.” Graham was also speaking at several other Catholic colleges at that time.
This prediction was fully realized. In Smokescreens, Chick shows various illustrations. In 1971 Graham is shown meeting with Oakland, California, Catholic Bishop Floyd Begin who lauded Graham’s ministry. In 1972 he received a Franciscan Friars’ award for true ecumenism. In 1979 Graham praised the pope as a “moral and spiritual leader that believes in something.”
In 1981 he was closeted for almost two hours with Pope John Paul II. After the 1982 New England crusade, thousands of those who went forward for salvation were turned over to Catholic clergy for follow-up.
And this hasn’t changed. Before the Pasadena crusade this year, The Tidings, official newspaper for the Los Angeles diocese, reported that Cardinal Mahony had written to parish priests to encourage their members to attend the crusade.
Crusade officials bragged that they had “a marvelous agreement” with Graham to give all registration cards to the diocese, of the inquirers who identified themselves as Catholic. The object was to “reincorporate Catholic Crusade participants back into full sacramental life in the Catholic Church.” “This is ecumenicity at it finest,” said Alexei Smith, Ecumenical and Interreligious Officer for the archdiocese.
There is no doubt that hundreds of thousands have been swept into the kingdom during the Graham crusades. But how tragic that so many who responded to Graham’s call to salvation were then sent back to the spiritual bondage and pagan rituals of the pope’s prostitute church?
Jack Chick concludes the Smokescreens chapter: “Yes, beloved. Billy Graham, as much as I love him and hate to say it, I believe was cleverly used as a smokescreen and as a pied piper for the whore of Revelation.”
In Graham’s 1952 Pittsburgh crusade, the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph reported that Graham said:
“Many of the people who reach a decision for Christ at our meetings have joined the Catholic Church and we have received commendations from Catholic publications for the revived interest in their Church following our campaigns. This happened both in Boston and Washington. After all, one of our prime purposes is to help the churches in a community. If after we move on, the local (sic) churches do not feel the efforts of these meetings in increased membership and attendance, then our crusade would have to be considered a failure.” [Emphasis in the original.]
Did you notice that Graham was only interested in a church’s increased membership-but nothing was said about a person receiving Christ as his or her personal Lord and Savior. This is what is important-not church membership! Church membership could increase a 1000-fold but if people are not being saved, then all is in vain.
Graham also gave a boost to the Catholic Church (in 1952) when he added that he “hoped to hear Bishop Fulton J. Sheen at one of the masses at St. Paul’s Cathedral tomorrow. ” [Emphasis in the original.]
“In 1968, Graham was in a meeting in San Antonio, Texas. He said that the Roman Church had given ‘tremendous cooperation’ in areas where he had held crusades. He added, ‘A great part of our support today comes from Catholics. We never hold a crusade without priests and nuns being much in evidence in the audience.”
By 1973 nuns were singing in the choir at Graham’s crusades.
Continuing on with Graham’s ecumenical outlook, the June 10, 1966 issue of Time said that volunteers “will tactfully receive those stepping forward to make a decision for Christ, [and] steer them to the nearest church of their chosen denomination….”
In Poland in 1978, “Graham taught nuns and priests how to evangelize. A picture taken at the famous Polish Shrine of the Black Madonna shows Graham welcoming pilgrims to the worship of their Virgin.”
Historical List of Atrocities of the Popes [video]
Peter was not the first so-called “pope” because there’s no such thing in Christ’s kingdom. Not one mention in the Bible and such would actually blaspheme the only Head of HIS truth believers, the nail scarred risen Savior Him, “the blessed and only Potentate (Supreme Ruler), the King of kings, and Lord of lords;” (1 Timothy 6:15) Therefore we rightly conclude that the pope is the head of a false church. 1 Timothy 2:5 Historical List of Atrocities of the Popes Speaking of things not found in God’s Word ….. Can anyone please show us where there is a novena […]
Paul Washer Exposed: Pope Connection Exposed! [video]
IF we want to see who the antichrists are among us, just look at the frauds who get their picture with the pope. By doing so they told you with shameless impunity that they are antichrists. Should we be quoting this guy? NO. …. Watch the demons manifest when one of the puppet idols of Satan is exposed. Those who’ve put their trust in these false prophets garnered to themselves demons which manifest when these dark agents of hell are exposed. … We already know that Paul Washer is a Calvinist which alone makes him a diabolical heretic. WANT to […]
Did Mary Die for Our Sins? [podcast]
Mary is just one of millions of people who have obeyed their Maker. That doesn’t make the immaculate conception heresy correct, that doesn’t make her anything other than a sinner, which she admitted (Luke 1:47). If Mary had refused to obey God, He would have simply replaced her (Esther 4:14). Did Mary walk on water? Did Mary tell anyone to pray to her? Is there even one prayer in the Bible to Mary? No. Did Mary raise the dead, open blinded eyes, heal the lepers, or die for anyone’s sins? No. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH TEACHES THAT MARY IS THE MEDIATRIX/co-redeemer: […]