Our Lord and God Jesus Christ made a remark most telling of this world, "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil." (John 3:19). We are living in an age of darkness, when morality is being replaced with immorality, when all sense of right and wrong is being uprooted, and people are finding themselves justifying evil. I have no doubt that many in mainstream Church institution would not welcome Jesus, because they have altered their Biblical beliefs to suite this age of immorality and darkness. In fact, I worry with a similar ardor as the Apostle Paul who said, "I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ." (1 Corinthians 11:2-3). I have the same fear as the Apostle Paul, that the church may be lead from sincere and pure devotion to Christ. Today many brothers and sisters are becoming seduced by the darkness of pluralism, post-modernism, Unitarianism, and Universalism. For the sake of not looking like bigots, many are falling from pure devotion to Christ, and drinking and supping with false disciples and false apostles (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).
We are living in times where you must have spiritual eyes to see the Lawlessness that is at work (2 Thessalonians 2:1-11), and how the Church in public sphere, just as Pharisees, has become corrupted by lust, power, and money. In fact Jesus has much to say about the blindness that is upon eyes of those who do not want to see how dark everything is and how Light the Lord is, "Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.”Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?” "If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see." (John 9:39-41). Indeed, this is statement for mainstream churches who aren't blind, "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should remain in darkness," (John 12:46), the church believes in Jesus and should not remain in darkness, but they do by altering sound doctrine and blinding themselves spiritually by listening to the serpents (spirits) of darkness. The Churches (mainstream) are indeed what Christ said, "If you were blind, you wouldn't be guilty, But you remain guilty because you claim to see." Church pastors and their flocks claim to see with their teachings and slogans, but they slowly falling from pure and simple devotion to Christ, and quickly shaking the hand of Universalism or corruption or the 'almighty dollar'. Many in mainstream Church institution and empire are blind like the Pharisees. They cannot see how darkness has entered their den and dwelling place, how they have comprised God's Truth to be touted by the world. Sound doctrine is fastly disappearing, something the Apostle forewarned, "For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths (mythologies)." (2 Timothy 4:3-4). Indeed, the mythologies of Thor, Zeus, and so forth are the fallen angels who joined Satan (Genesis 6:4-6, Revelation 12:7-12), and do we not see how egyptain gods are in commercials now, Thor is huge superhero franchise, and how mythologies were revived by C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien not long ago?
We are at the turning point in Church History, where I believe we shall soon be shifting from cathedrals and buildings back to homes and even fields (like Jesus preaching Beatitudes on hills). Our public displays of piety, like those of Medieval People, aren't impressing anyone, and they show lack of genuine and deep devotion. Those who really love Christ don't need to flaunt it with bumper stickers and slogans like "WWJD: What Would Jesus Do" or "Not Today Satan!" These slogans aren't bad in themselves, but you cannot live faith on your sleeve, and lack sincerity and true spiritual depth, " There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. 12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word.You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. 13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. 14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong." (Hebrews 5:11-14). So many brothers and sisters deck their halls and even bodies with crosses, but they don't carry their cross, "Then he said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23). So many claim to be mature in the Lord and His Spirit, but they actually are what Jesus said, "You are guilty because you claim to see." (John 9:16). No one is impressed with out shows of piety, attending services and wearing tee shirts. The time has come for our spiritually to mature, to move in the Holy Spirit, and realize what true Christian maturity looks like, "7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained." (Phillippians 3:7-11,14-16). Maturity of faith is to arrive at the Apostle Paul's revelation in your heart, mind, spirit, and body, "I count all things as nothing compared to Christ."
I want to revisit what it means to follow Christ in this maturity. The truth is "once saved always saved" is not true, you merely need to read Matthew 24, and Hebrews 6 to see people will fall away from faith. We teach wrongly in the West, that you pray a prayer (Sinner's Prayer, Born Again) and that's it, you're saved and now can nominally follow Jesus and act like He's an afterthought. The truth is that being saved is accomplished through believing and having faith in Jesus (John 3:16, John 4:20, Romans 10:9-10), but that faith must be alive daily, "Then he said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23). I am not preaching a salvation based on works, no it is by grace (Ephesians 2:4-19), Jesus saved us on the cross and when we believe and confess Him as Lord and God, we are saved. However, this is lived out too, in that after confession and belief, you don't just stop and put a "go to heaven" card in your wallet and act like Jesus is for Sunday or worse, pay him no heed at all, faith is active and alive (), and its a relationship with God the Trinity through Jesus of the Trinity. Faith isn't a singular, past tense event where you prayed a prayer, it is present and future tense, you must keep following Jesus, because many are going to fall way according to Jesus' own words, "Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name, At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other." (Matthew 24:9-10). Jesus in this chapter of Matthew's Gospel Account is speaking about the future, not His time, and much of it is about the Last Days we live in, to which Jesus gives sobering words about falling way, "A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. 46 If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. 47 I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. 48 But what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ 49 and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? 50 The master will return unannounced and unexpected, 51 and he will cut the servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth," (Matthew 24:45-51), these servants are Christians, for Jesus said elsewhere, "But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant," (Matthew 23:6-11), "Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God," (1 Corinthians 4:1), it is clear that leaders in the Body of Christ are to be servants, and if they are found beating, or becoming drunkards, Jesus will caste them, apostles and leaders into the gnashing of teeth! For the truth is that Jesus cares about intimacy, closeness to Him, for He says elsewhere, "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven (this is John 6:40). 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." (Matthew 7:21-23). Thus it is abundantly clear, that working out our salvation is not salvation earned by works, but is instead us continuing to daily seek Jesus Christ in faith, and having that relationship with Him tell He Returns or we repose to be with Him.
Finally, regarding that spiritual sight Jesus spoke of earlier,
"One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs.[d] 21 You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.[e]”
22 Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see the day when the Son of Man returns, but you won’t see it. 23 People will tell you, ‘Look, there is the Son of Man,’ or ‘Here he is,’ but don’t go out and follow them. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so it will be on the day when the Son of Man comes. 25 But first the Son of Man must suffer terribly and be rejected by this generation.
26 “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. 27 In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.
28 “And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business—eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building— 29 until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Yes, it will be ‘business as usual’ right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day a person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return home. 32 Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! 33 If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it. 34 That night two people will be asleep in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. 35 Two women will be grinding flour together at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.[i]”
37 “Where will this happen, Lord?” the disciples asked.Jesus replied, “Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.” [Supliment/ read this with Matthew 24 whole chapter, and 2 Peter 3 whole chapter].
22 Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see the day when the Son of Man returns, but you won’t see it. 23 People will tell you, ‘Look, there is the Son of Man,’ or ‘Here he is,’ but don’t go out and follow them. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so it will be on the day when the Son of Man comes. 25 But first the Son of Man must suffer terribly and be rejected by this generation.
26 “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. 27 In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.
28 “And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business—eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building— 29 until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Yes, it will be ‘business as usual’ right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day a person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return home. 32 Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! 33 If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it. 34 That night two people will be asleep in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. 35 Two women will be grinding flour together at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.[i]”
37 “Where will this happen, Lord?” the disciples asked.Jesus replied, “Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.” [Supliment/ read this with Matthew 24 whole chapter, and 2 Peter 3 whole chapter].
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