Religious Facade Christianity

[Episkopos]

It has been said that for every mile of road there are 2 miles of ditch (one ditch on either side of the road)

But in truth those ditches are more like vast fields. The road is the elevated road of holiness.

Isaiah 35:8-9
8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.

The early church was called the followers of "the way".... the way of Christ which is in holiness.

But that way is narrow and few can find it. So then the possibility of missing that road and ending up rather in left field or right field are great indeed. In fact we all will fall into the ditch at some point. We will all fall into traps. But it is what we do after that that determines what we become.

We could see the left ditch field as the sins of the flesh...the carnal rebellion of man. Debauchey, perversion, lusts, obsessions, greed, gluttony....etc

I think we all understand this side of sin...the sins that are in the world that we are called out from in order to lead a life with God.

What we don't hear so much....and we should all the more...concerns the religious field which is the ditch on the other side of the road.

This field consists of......religious pride, presumption, delusion, judgementalism, indoctrination, hypocrisy....

Jesus was more concerned for the sins of the religious right as opposed to the sins on the carnal left. And this goes contrary to what most churches teach. Most churches see sin as worldliness (the sins of the flesh) which is that which we can fall into on the left side while fully ignoring the more prevalent sins on the right side that believers fall into on a routine basis.

And this is due to the overwhelming infiltration of error into the modern church. There is a blindness that has come into the church at the level of an epidemic in our time. And this epidemic is spreading.

 

[Episkopos]

de·lu·sion
/dəˈlo͞oZHən/
noun
noun: delusion; plural noun: delusions
an idiosyncratic belief or impression that is firmly maintained despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality or rational argument, typically a symptom of mental disorder.
"the delusion of being watched"
synonyms: misapprehension, mistaken impression, false impression, mistaken belief, misconception, misunderstanding, mistake, error, misinterpretation, misconstruction, misbelief; More
fallacy, illusion, figment of the imagination, fantasy, chimera;
fool's paradise, self-deception
"the male delusion that attractive young women are harboring romantic thoughts about them"

the action of deluding or the state of being deluded.
"what a capacity television has for delusion"
synonyms: deception, misleading, deluding, fooling, tricking, trickery, duping
"a web of delusion"


The wordings of the bible can be easily misinterpreted. That fact is amply illustrated by all the opinions and denominations that have arisen due to the different interpretations and applications that are possible by reading the biblical text in a certain way. We could say that we are experiencing a spiritual Babylon of confusion based on all the different possible human interpretations.

Now nothing is by chance or accident. There are no coincidences that God has not foreseen. These delusional interpretations are made possible by the way the biblical text is written. IOW, there are built in snares and traps for those who read the bible the wrong way.

Is. 8:13 Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.
16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.

We tend to grossly underestimate how easy it is to be deceived into a lie or a half-truth that becomes a death dealing lie. To believe a lie comes naturally to the human mind. But worse still we tend to not pay attention to the warnings of the bible once we have swallowed the lie. The lie to us so often seems more real than the written text of the bible. But this way of ignoring the bible in favour of the lie or partial truth is to fall for a dishonest gain that we seek for ourselves, thinking there is a benefit to us for that lie we have received. The condemnation of these who receive the words of God with dishonesty is a righteous condemnation. We would be wise to consider that.

The beginning of error is to forsake the fear of the Lord. Only a lie would cause this. And can we see that Jesus is not only the cornerstone of God's building but also a stumblingstone...and not just to the Jews but to us as well? We are not better than the Jews. It is a vain pride to think that.


Isaiah 66:4
4 I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.

God has indeed chosen our delusions...in the very wordings of the bible as we shall see.

 

[Nancy]

It has been said that for every mile of road there are 2 miles of ditch (one ditch on either side of the road)

But in truth those ditches are more like vast fields. The road is the elevated road of holiness.

Isaiah 35:8-9
8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.

The early church was called the followers of "the way".... the way of Christ which is in holiness.

But that way is narrow and few can find it. So then the possibility of missing that road and ending up rather in left field or right field are great indeed. In fact we all will fall into the ditch at some point. We will all fall into traps. But it is what we do after that that determines what we become.

We could see the left ditch field as the sins of the flesh...the carnal rebellion of man. Debauchey, perversion, lusts, obsessions, greed, gluttony....etc

I think we all understand this side of sin...the sins that are in the world that we are called out from in order to lead a life with God.

What we don't hear so much....and we should all the more...concerns the religious field which is the ditch on the other side of the road.

This field consists of......religious pride, presumption, delusion, judgementalism, indoctrination, hypocrisy....

Jesus was more concerned for the sins of the religious right as opposed to the sins on the carnal left. And this goes contrary to what most churches teach. Most churches see sin as worldliness (the sins of the flesh) which is that which we can fall into on the left side while fully ignoring the more prevalent sins on the right side that believers fall into on a routine basis.

And this is due to the overwhelming infiltration of error into the modern church. There is a blindness that has come into the church at the level of an epidemic in our time. And this epidemic is spreading.

"And this epidemic is spreading."
Like wildfire!

 

[stunnedbygrace]

But this way of ignoring the bible in favour of the lie or partial truth is to fall for a dishonest gain that we seek for ourselves, thinking there is a benefit to us for that lie we have received.

That falling for a lie for dishonest gain is the taking of a bribe.

Ex 23:8
“Take no bribes, for a bribe makes you ignore something that you clearly see. A bribe makes even a righteous person twist the truth.

Deut 16:19
You must never twist justice or show partiality. Never accept a bribe, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and corrupt the decisions of the godly

 

[Episkopos]

More and more believers today cannot accept the truth that a belief in Jesus and His grace could be a stumbling stone. People have turned aside to fables and an imbalance whereby they can do no wrong...as long as their beliefs are accurate.

The verse that states "all that is not of faith is sin"...can be grossly misapplied to actually become something that is more akin to "all that doesn't stem from a religious belief is sin". So then once a lie is accepted as truth...any deviation from the belief in that lie would be seen as a sin. The delusion becomes entrenched in the believers mind in this way. And so much so that once so entrenched...all the verses in the bible, all the testimony of the brethren...ALL recourse to spiritual truth...will just be seen as the devil trying to steal away the religious salvation that is held by these in a religious dogmatic fervency.

So we see the effects of delusion...and mass delusion...and even great delusion.

The offense of God...the rock of offense that is Jesus...is that He is testing His followers to see if they love Him in truth.

We all have iniquity bound up in us...all of us do. But if we forsake that iniquity through humility and the fear of the Lord...we can become a vessel of honour for the Lord. However, there is a doctrine out there that states that once a person believes...they have already received ALL of Christ. No need to cry out or seek God any longer. All you have to do is believe you already have something...and you do! This is of course a human philosophy...as in..."I believe I am, therefore I am".

But this human philosophy is very far from the truth in Christ. This fact does not get in the way of it's popularity in the modern church.

So then they who have believed a lie will see the snare that challenges their ingrained iniquity as coming from the devil...rather than the Lord...and stick to their iniquity as if that was salvation itself. So then these prefer the lie to the truth...and are ready for condemnation unless they repent.

 

[bbyrd009]

More and more believers today cannot accept the truth that a belief in Jesus and His grace could be a stumbling stone. People have turned aside to fables and an imbalance whereby they can do no wrong...as long as their beliefs are accurate.

The verse that states "all that is not of faith is sin"...can be grossly misapplied to actually become something that is more akin to "all that doesn't stem from a religious belief is sin". So then once a lie is accepted as truth...any deviation from the belief in that lie would be seen as a sin. The delusion becomes entranced in the believers mind in this way. And so much so that once so entrenched...all the verses in the bible, all the testimony of the brethren...ALL recourse to spiritual truth...will just be seen as the devil trying to steal away the religious salvation that is held by these in a religious dogmatic fervency.

So we see the effects of delusion...and mass delusion...and even great delusion.

The offense of God...the rock of offense that is Jesus...is that He is testing His followers to see if they love Him in truth.

We all have iniquity bound up in us...all of us do. But if we forsake that iniquity through humility and the fear of the Lord...we can become a vessel of honour for the Lord. However, there is a doctrine out there that states that once a person believes...they have already received ALL of Christ. No need to cry out or seek God any longer. All you have to do is believe you already have something...and you do! This is of course a human philosophy...as in..."I believe I am, therefore I am".

But this human philosophy is very far from the truth in Christ. This fact does not get in the way of it's popularity in the modern church.

So then they who have believed a lie will see the snare as coming from the devil...rather than the Lord...and stick to their iniquity as if that was salvation itself. So then these prefer the lie to the truth...and are ready for condemnation unless they repent.

i'm happy that you have so succinctly described the problem that every other believer has, except me, and i'm so glad that since i believe Jesus died for my sins i will be going up to heaven after i have died, woo-hoo

 

[Episkopos]

i'm happy that you have so succinctly described the problem that every other believer has, except me, and i'm so glad that since i believe Jesus died for my sins i will be going up to heaven after i have died, woo-hoo

Yes...the "no way I could ever be wrong" syndrome.

Amos 9:10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, "The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us."

The irony is that they who believe in their eternal security are themselves in the most danger of judgment.

Amos says...the sinners of MY people...not the world. That's us!!! But the words of the Lord are seldom taken seriously...to the detriment of they who don't listen to God.

Hos. 7:13 Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.
14 And they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine, (communion or the Lord's supper) and they rebel against me.

 

[Episkopos]

Hos.12:1 Ephraim feeds on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt.

What does that mean..."to feed on wind"??

The Hebrew word for wind is "rouach"...which means "spirit" or wind. So then the counterfeit of the Holy Spirit is an empty wind. An empty spirit whose promises are lies. And very convenient lies that few men can resist. If possible even the very elect would be deceived...because the words sound right...although it is based on religion and lies rather than Spirit and truth.

They who believe the lies of these empty and false spirits are themselves like empty clouds that bring no rain (false empty teachings)

Jude 1:11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; (spirits) trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.


(In Hebrew rain and teaching are written the same when teaching is in the future tense.)

 

[Not me]

True, there are so many voices in the world today claiming that they alone have the correct interpretation of scripture.

So how is one to know who speaks out of themselves and who speaks out of Christ?

Thank God, for He has made a way, by giving us the “peace of Christ in our hearts” to be the arbiter of truth.

This is were our personal relationships with Christ is paramount, for the more we build this One and one relationship with Him the clearer will the peace of Christ in our hearts speak. So to Him we look that our hearts might know this “Christ in us”

Blessings,

Much love in Christ, Not me

 

[Episkopos]

The modern religious system is based on dogmatic beliefs that are imposed on the biblical truths that actually speak of something in the realm of Spirit and truth. The shallow cannot comprehend the depths of these. What is taken for an unconditional love from God for adherents of vain religious dogma is seen as an unconditional approval of what men invent for themselves in their own private interpretations. God is love after all. Surely He won't judge His own people? Peace and safety!

That is how everything gets subverted and inverted away from it's intended meaning.

Believing becomes "make-believing" and the world of the Spirit becomes a fantasy world whereby only good things happen to those who "swallow the pill."

Any verse that brings a warning or a curse is for others..."Not me."

That is the clarion call of the false..."not me." No evil can befall me.
So then there is another spiritual force at work in the church...that would take advantage of the weakness of men and their inclination to vain glory and self-delusion.

So there is a counterfeit offer of eternal life...but from the wrong spirit. A salvation based on vainglory...and empty religious notions...that have no power, no life in them. The slogan goes like this..."Good people go to hell...but saved people go to heaven."

So the truth is defaced to make way for a salvation scheme based on lies. A counterfeit promise of life that sounds quite a bit like the truth...utilizing similar wordings...but without the fear of the Lord, humility. righteousness and truth.

Ezekiel 13:22
22 Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:

 

[Episkopos]

True, there are so many voices in the world today claiming that they alone have the correct interpretation of scripture.

So how is one to know who speaks out of themselves and who speaks out of Christ?

Thank God, for He has made a way, by giving us the “peace of Christ in our hearts” to be the arbiter of truth.

This is were our personal relationships with Christ is paramount, for the more we build this One and one relationship with Him the clearer will the peace of Christ in our hearts speak. So to Him we look that may our hearts might know this “Christ in us”

Blessings,

Much love in Christ, Not me

When speaking of things on the level of life on a resurrection level...you will need more than some peace in your heart. That is to trust in your own heart. And the heart is deceitful above all things.

Why stake so much on so little? Even having an angel of light visit you can be suspect. One must not go easy on what one thinks is justifying you.

Real faith has a healthy amount of doubt and unsureness to it. If you are too willing to believe something, and are not careful...all your bearings can become false...leading you into a whole counterfeit realm that is actually fashioned to deceive you.

And God will allow that to happen...to see if you will cry out to Him.

So then for the disciple there is no danger even in the depths of the surrounding deception..because he/she will cry out to God.

These are perilous times where God has sent a great delusion to catch the ones who are too willing to believe a lie....because of the promises that sound so good to the ears.

One can tell that one has believed a lie when all the promises sound good. That is the way of the devil. But with God everything is in balance. He beats those He loves with many stripes. He warns His people constantly for the evils that will befall them if they stray in their hearts and minds.

We are to TREMBLE at His words. We are to fear and tremble.

Isaiah 66:2
2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at my word.


No one is safe from God's judgment..The "peace and safety" wind of doctrine is a lie. Only they who are deceived preach peace and safety. It is from another spirit..NOT the Spirit of God...the Spirit of truth.

For every blessing there is a curse. "Behold the goodness AND severity of God." "Be not high minded but fear."

 

[Not me]

So your saying the correct interpretation of the scripture;

“Let the Peace of Christ rule in your heart”

Should actually be understood as;

“do not let the peace of Christ rule in your heart”?

Scripture also says;

Let one or two speak and the rest judge.

Blessings,

Much love in Christ, Not me

 

[Episkopos]

Believers today are encouraged to put on a fake smile...a fake religious facade..in order to appear loving and good. It was the same with the religious ones in Jesus' day...the hypocrites, the actors...who put on an outward display...approving those who approved of them. Looking for honour from men.

But Jesus does not receive honour from men...and neither should we. We should shun the fakeness of a facade religiosity masquerading as a walk in the truth.

The truth is to embrace obscurity, adversity, and others misunderstanding you, misquoting you, hating you and looking for your fall.

And so as was Jesus treated by the religiously fake. he came to expose them.

And we should also want to be exposed if we were wise. And this in order to drop what hinders us from an authentic walk in the Spirit.

Walking in the Spirit is to walk like Jesus did...without even a spot or wrinkle of sin. But then only they who walk in the truth know this. The counterfeiter will deny it. That's how you can tell whether someone has been with Jesus or just holds theories about Jesus in his own carnal mind.

 

[Not me]

Aren’t we blessed than to have a God that has put Christ in our hearts that we might be obedient to Him who has come to make His abode with us.

Blessings,

Much love in Christ, Not me

 

[Episkopos]

So your saying the correct interpretation of the scripture;

“Let the Peace of Christ rule in your heart”

Should actually be understood as;

“do not let the peace of Christ rule in your heart”?

But who is discerning whose peace it is? A private interpretation? A feeling?

Sure there is peace...but at what level? If you comfort yourself, you don't need the Spirit to comfort you.

We are to walk in the fear of the Lord AND the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Only in God can you do both at the same time. When you have just a peace without the fear...it is NOT from God.

Acts 9:31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

The truth is a DOUBLE-edged sword...not a single cut. ALWAYS look for the double evidence.

 

[Philip James]

they rebel against me.

Rebellion, has ever been the source from which evil flows....

Peace!

 

[Episkopos]

Aren’t we blessed than to have a God that has put Christ in our hearts that we might be obedient to Him who has come to make His abode with us.

Blessings,

Much love in Christ, Not me

We are actually called to further enter into Him so that we can partake of His grace and life. Those who abide in Him walk as He walked...in His holiness. To be holy as God is holy.

This is a gift...by grace through faith. Sanctification is about location. In Him. We are to be partakers of HIS holiness..not our own. So there is no process to undertake for holiness...but an abiding that one enters into in the twinkling of an eye...a rapture, a translation into the spiritual place where God dwells...Zion in the Spirit.

 

[Not me]

So if I do understand you correctly;

You can not trust the Holy Spirit in you to guide you into all truth.

A most fearful belief.

Blessings,

Much love in Christ, Not me

 

[Episkopos]

So if I do understand you correctly;

You can not trust the Holy Spirit in you to guide you into all truth.

A most fearful belief.

Blessings,

Much love in Christ, Not me

Actually what I'm saying is...

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world."

Do you not think you are above being deceived by A FALSE SPIRIT? Which of course means that you are very much a candidate for such.

Pride goes before a fall. Humility comes before honour.

 

[Not me]

Than aren’t we back to my first statement of what God has given to be the arbiter of truth? To tell Christ from not Christ?

We seem to be going around in circles, for either;

“The Peace of Christ in our hearts” can be trusted or it can not be.

For this hearing/listening to the peace of Christ in our hearts, is our relationship(s) with Christ. It is there He has made His abode, as He has promised.

So to Him to we turn in full assurance of faith.

Blessings

Much love in Christ, Not me