Gates of the City

(I am presently writing an article today on a passage the Lord has laid heavily on my heart. It is not a message that I have any desire or eagerness to give; saving it may stir some out of their lukewarmness into repentance and absolute surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ. However, while praying over what God has placed upon my heart, I felt the need to repost this older one as a prelude for those who may have ears to hear…)

Sadly, what is mostly offered to the world as “The Church of Jesus Christ” is in truth nothing more than an apostate whoring religious system which, though naming the name of Jesus Christ, has succumbed to the worldly wisdom of marketing experts in order to increase their numbers. To avoid offending the attending ignorant, they eagerly embrace the latest fashionable watered down translations of Holy Writ reducing God’s word into a flimsy weapon useless against the adversary and too dull to pierce the heart of unrepentant sinners . . . many who already proudly boast in their illusion of “salvation.” Have they forgotten the warning “If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life?” Or are they just so arrogant and lacking of fear?

Where are the holy men of God crying out against sin and the wicked? Where are those who are jealous for God’s holy name? Where are men like Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, who when he saw the blatant defiance of one of the children of Israel as he openly brought a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and of all the congregation of the children of Israel, rose up and took a javelin in his hand and went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through? Are we now too afraid to offend the sinner that we are no longer jealous for the Lord? Do we no longer “hallow” the Lord’s name or care about men’s souls anymore? Where are these needed men of God today? I know they are out there; for God is faithful to send forth His servants to warn men before His judgments. But just like Elijah felt alone when there was still seven thousand others who had not bent their knees to Baal in a spirit of apostasy, so today do many of God’s watchmen feel alone.

Pitifully, here in America for the most part the hireling shepherds of the Church have become intimidated by the godless “politically correct” to the point that the western church in danger of becoming no heavenly good, existing on earth with little or no benefit or purpose other than existing as a target for the widespread mockery of fools. Where are all the Great-Hearts and Valiant-for-Truth warriors of God; the master swordsmen who are skillful in handling the Word of God against a treacherous and lying foe who is lulling men to sleep with empty words of vanity? Silly men teaching goodness instead of godliness and a worthless watered down morality instead of being true preachers of righteousness. Please, quit ye like men and stand up in fervent jealousy for the Lord’s name. Oh Lord, cause men to fear and tremble at the mention of Your Glorious Name.

Oh sure, we religious folks all readily turn our heads when we hear someone curse saying the “G-D” or using our Lord’s name as a slur or outburst of disdain over someone or a mishap. How quickly we judge those who seemingly without care or respect “take the name of the Lord in vain.” With a holier-than-thou disdain, all too often “Christians” look down at such heathens with their smug religious attitudes, confident that they are well “accepted in the Beloved.”

Somehow Christians have come to presume that simply because of  “grace” we are automatically “holy and without blame” in Christ just because we “confess” with our mouths the Lord Jesus and “believe” in our hearts the historical fact that God raised Him from the dead. Many think that just because they acknowledge they are not perfect by confessing their sins, that somehow God only sees them as perfect “in Christ”  . . . even if they don’t repent off their sins. It is as if they believe God owns a pair of rose-colored glasses (Jesus colored glasses) that when He looks at them/us He only sees Jesus. Is it because these simpletons have only learned “The Roman Road” in 10:8-10 and have failed to fully ingested the previous nine plus chapters leading up to Paul’s simplistic summarization of how and whereby all men must be saved? Or is it they don’t read their bible and only eat what they are spoon fed by the apostate tare-gathers posing as ministers of righteousness? Many need to leave this simplistic “Roman Road” and run back to the Cross which is still an offence to those who refuse the command to pick up their own cross if they truly wish to walk with and follow Christ.

Trust me church, you are completely naked before God and He sees everything about each of us  . . . and each of us are examined by the plumb-line  of His Son, which is why we are called to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. For the word whereby we are born again and are sanctified and cleansed to a point of “not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing;  . . . holy and without blemish,” this very word is precise the discerner of our thoughts and intents which exposes men’s hearts for what they truly are, if we would only look humbly and honestly into the mirror of God’s word.

Job 34:21 For His eyes are upon the ways of man, and He sees all his goings.

Psalm 90:8 You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

James 1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

1 Peter 1:22 Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently: 23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and abides for ever.

Shortly after exhorting them to study God’s word and rightly divide it (apply it)that they might not have to be ashamed, the Apostle Paul invokes the third commandment as the foundation for an admonition when he warns the Church about hypocrisy and willful disobedience in his letter to Timothy and the church of Ephesus.

2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, The Lord knows them that are His. And, Let everyone that names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

What does Paul mean “names the name of Christ?” Perhaps sisters and brothers we should reflect on the God’s relationship with Abraham and Sarah, who were simply called Abram and Sara before they became partakers of the personal covenant initiated by God. It has been reasoned with considerable persuasion that the justification for their names being changed was because God willingly took one of the letters of the Tetragrammaton, (or one of the four letters of His own name YeHoVaH,) and added it to Abram and Sara’s names for the sake of dignity; associating the patriarch and his wife more intimately to Himself by imparting a portion of His own name to both of them.

Has this not been the custom of men for ages that of those entering into the covenant relationship of marriage that it is the lesser who would receive with honors the name of their husband? Was she not thereafter called by his name, does she not from that time forth “names the name” of her husband when she shares or writes her name publicly? Surely this should shine some illumination on the justification of God’s jealousy and wrath on those who casually take His name to themselves, professing to be part of the Bride of Christ yet walking with little or no different from those who deny Him. It is in this light Paul delivers his following admonitions to the church to “walk worthy.”

Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Colossians 1:10 That you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; 12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 Who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son.

1 Thessalonians 2:12 That you would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto His kingdom and glory.

Please consider these passages again in the Bible in Basic English translation –

Ephesians 4:1  I then, the prisoner in the Lord, make this request from my heart, that you will see that your behaviour is a credit to the position which God’s purpose has given you, 2 With all gentle and quiet behaviour, taking whatever comes, putting up with one another in love; 3 Taking care to keep the harmony of the Spirit in the yoke of peace.

Col 1:10 Living uprightly in the approval of the Lord, giving fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 Full of strength in the measure of the great power of His glory, so that you may undergo all troubles with joy; 12 Giving praise to the Father who has given us a part in the heritage of the saints in light; 13 Who has made us free from the power of evil and given us a place in the kingdom of the Son of His love.

1 Thessalonians 2:12 So that your lives might be pleasing to God, who has given you a part in His kingdom and His glory.

Sisters and Brothers, are we not called to be house of God?

1Peter 2:5 You also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Heb 3:6 But Christ as a Son over His own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

Now humbly consider again of what God says concerning His house –

Jeremiah 7:11 “Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” says the LORD.

What truly born-again believer can read Jeremiah’s 7^th chapter and not be grieved in their heart with God’s own heartbreak? Stop now and read it prayerfully, really take a break and read it. Don’t you hear God’s warning to His “house” as His heart is breaking?

Jeremiah 7:4 “Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD are these.’

They were boasting in their faith, religion and the very Temple but they still were not serving the Lord. They were claiming to be His people by calling Him their God, but their words were lying words in which they foolishly placed their confidence. They were claiming to be King’s kids while still socializing among His enemies, living with little or no distinction other than an empty profession.

Jeremiah 7:8 Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. 9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, 10 and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations’?

“Grace, grace” the church cries out, “we are saved by grace!” Yet they continue to live in their lies and hypocrisy. Are they really seeking first His righteousness and kingdom? So many now say they have been saved and foolishly believe it doesn’t matter anymore if they sin, because they are saved by grace and grace alone . . . as they walk unworthy of His name. They are like the Jews whom Paul reproves in Romans chapter 2 . . . please bear with me as I swap the name “Christian” for “Jew” and “grace” for “law” only to make sharper my point (Eccl 12:10-11) –

Indeed you are called a Jew Christian, and rest on the law grace, and make your boast in God and know His will and approve the things that are excellent,  . . . and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness. You feel you are an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, because you have having the form of knowledge and truth in the law grace.

 You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob God of the purpose of His temples? You who make your boast in grace, do you dishonor God through breaking the law  ignoring  grace?

Have we forgotten Jesus died not just to forgive us of our sins, but to save us from them? That real grace is actually the divine indwelling of His Spirit which empowers us to become sons and daughters of God, transforming our old natures into that of His Son?

2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the acknowledgement of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 According as His divine power has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the acknowledging of Him who has called us to glory and virtue:  4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

And yet what happens when we ignore the purpose of that “grace” which God said was “sufficient,” (2Co 12:9), do we not think we can run the risk of exhausting it? Surely anything clearly revealed to have limitations by God’s own description as being “sufficient” can not only be exhausted, but frustrated as will, (Gal 2:21). Surely we have all uncomfortably read Hebrews about insulting the Spirit of Grace. Will we not give heed to the Holy Spirit’s warning?

Hebrews 10:26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The LORD will judge His people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

We think it is simply because the unsaved don’t believe in Jesus that they carelessly use our Lord’s name as a slur and that they are the ones guilty of “taking it in vain,” but that is not what God says. When I quoted from Romans 2 above I intentionally stopped one verse short of who really is the blame for the unsaved abusing God’s holy name –

Romans 2:24 For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written.

It was because of them which God had called by His own name that when they defiantly chose to walk unworthy of it, committing spiritual adultery against God, gave this occasion to the heathen to blaspheme God’s holy name. Remember Nathan’s strong words against David when he sinned against God with Bathsheba?

2Samuel 12:14 “However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.”

Listen carefully to God’s word through His servant Ezekiel to the house of Israel –

Ezekiel 36:17 “Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own ways and deeds; to Me their way was like the uncleanness of a woman in her customary impurity.  18 “Therefore I poured out My fury on them for the blood they had shed on the land, and for their idols with which they had defiled it.  19 “So I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries; I judged them according to their ways and their deeds.  20 “When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they profaned My holy name-when they said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, and yet they have gone out of His land.’  21 “But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went.  22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went.  23 “And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD,” says the Lord GOD, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes.

Beloved,  Romans 11:28 tells God has preserved Israel because they are “beloved for the fathers’ sake.” God made a promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and He will certainly keep it. His re-gathering their descendants back to the Promised Land is not just for their sakes, but rather that He might sanctify His name among the nations because His own people through their disobedience had caused it to be blasphemed. Do you think that your sins are any different? Do you think that the unbelievers do not see or take notice whether or not you are “hallowing” His name? Surely you don’t think God fails to see or take notice whether or not you are “hallowing” His name?

Sisters and brothers, unless we forsake all that we have and pick up our crosses denying ourselves we cannot be the disciples of Jesus Christ. Unless our righteousness exceeds that of the hypocritical Pharisee we shall in no case enter the kingdom of heaven. If we love anything or anyone more than we love Jesus, then we are not worthy of Him. That is the sound biblical truth that many can no longer endure today.

Psalm 15 tells us what manner of people shall ascend hill of the Lord and dwell with Him forever, and no, it isn’t a list of qualifications. It is a testimony of the completed work of grace in those who have given themselves wholly unto God. Listen, the word of God clearly tells us, you know you are sitting with Christ in heavenly places not when you accept some “positional” theology, but rather when sin no longer has dominion over you.

We know because by God’s grace (Christ in us/the hope of glory) you are now reigning over your old nature and the sins that beset you. You know it because you are keeping His commandment and not constantly excusing yourself with “God’s not finished with me yet.”

You know you are saved from your sins because you love God and your sisters and brothers, and are therefore willing to lay down your life for them.

You know you are saved from your sins because you because you are a cheerful giver and willingly bear another’s burden as your own.

You know you are saved from your sins because you walk as He walked in the Light and His blood cleanses us from our sins enabling us to walk in fellowship with Him.

You know you are saved from your sins because you work righteousness and are therefore are righteous as He is righteous.

You know you are saved from your sins because you because we keep  His word and in us is the love of God perfected.

You know you are saved from your sins when you do all these things because these things are evidence of walking worthy of the name whereby you have been saved.

Regardless of these profound biblical truths, many, many of those who have called themselves “Christians” are guilty of having taken the Lord’s name in vain. To these Jesus is going to say, “Depart from Me, I never knew you.” They are the ones who are not only guilty of taking the name of the Lord in vain, but are also guilty of having received God’s grace in vain when they first believed.

2Corinthians 6:1 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.

2Corinthians 5:20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be a sin offering for us, that we might [could/should] become the righteousness of God in Him.

Romans 12:1 Wherefore, brethren, I beseech you, by the tender mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind; that you may prove the will of God, by living according to that which is good, and acceptable, and perfect.

Dear reader, if you have read this far, please hear me now; God’s grace to you is powerful, greater than any sin that has you bound. It is what makes us more than conquerors, just like the grace given to those to whom Christ referred to in Revelations 2 and 3 as having ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches and thereby became the overcomers who will inherit His promises. The same exact grace is readily available to “whosoever” by the passion and resurrection of Jesus Christ that Paul makes his boast in below.

1Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; thereby I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

“Grace” is Christ’s Spirit living inside us, empowering us, changing us, making us holy as He is holy, transforming us into His image . . . only if we entrust all that we are to His leading and care. Let go of the world, and cling to Him who is our Light and Life. Have no longer fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.

1Corinthians 15:34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.

Ephesians 5:14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

1Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Ex 20:7 You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain.