1"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." 6Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them. 7Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
This particular scripture often comes to mind while reading the words of various "Christian" commenters, bloggers, and authors. They come in the name of love but are in deed supporters of killing, stealing, and destroying. While claiming to hold to the Bible and its standards they, in actuality, reject it in favor of the wisdom of man; twisting its words to mean whatever suits their current cause. Their worldview is not discernible from the most outspoken of anti-Christ apologist.
While they distort Christianity to an unrecognizable form, they join with the accuser in blaming those who reject their distortions for historical evils that resulted from the actions of previous distorted versions of Christianity. They do so in an effort to convince people that theirs is a better way. No doubt the time will come when their "intellectual" progeny will one day blame today's Christians for the current holocaust of abortion. They will surly have no problems finding examples of such support from the likes of the messenger-of-light preacher Jim Wallis, while of course completely ignoring those Christians who took a stand against it. They will do this in the process of coercing those who do "listen to His voice" into buying into the folly du jour of that age.
So, is Satan a Christian? Why not? Is life so simple that Satan always comes in the form of a monster? No, he comes as Lucifer, an angel of light, (1)indeed a Christian saying "follow me" instead those back-wood, flat-earth, anti-intellectual, neanderthals. Then will come the tell-tale sign as they insist that you can have it all; you can live the Christianity that best suits your "needs" and this "age", and in the end, you surly will not die.
(1)2 Corinthians 11:13-15
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14 comments:
Dan, I don't get it. I mean, good post and all, but I don't see any politics in it. Did you forget to put something in there? :)
Oh yes, His sheep hear His voice and they not only hear, they follow, and they do not recognize the voice of a stranger. What a glorious assurance and protection He gives us. Praise His Holy Name...JESUS!!!!!!
Susan
Stan
It's very political. I talked about abortion. That's political isn't it?
Susan
That is one of my favorite and most comforting verses.
Oh yes, people love to use pretzel logic when it comes to Christ, but obfuscation is born of fear...fear of how simple the message really is...and of what it ask of us: That we hear and that we follow.
Larry
I was worried about you. You hanging in there pretty well?
Satan is not a Christian although he believes in Christ.
He might believe, but he has no faith. He does not trust the Lord his God for his life. He want to rip away from the Living God all those who do trust in the Lord their God Jesus Christ.
He is a lair and a thief and a thug with great power but not great enough to overcome the cross and the resurrection.
I backed WAY off of my spiritually oriented blog when it became evident to me that there is WAY too much controversy in the ranks for my tastes.
It now is used primarily to give an outline of my weekly Bible study (now in Romans, by the way).
Having said that, I will venture in a shallow manner into these waters.
My definition of a Christian is: one who has recognized that the sin in his/her life leaves him/her eternally separated from God; one who expresses eternal sorrow for that sin; and, as an act of faith, trusts in and only in the finished work of Christ at the cross of Calvary for his/her salvation and believes in His subsequent resurrection from the depths of his/her being.
Whew!
Using that definition, satan is not a Christian.
Satan is the greatest deceiver ever, and takes on all kinds of forms to fool people into thinking they are following Christ when they are not. That includes making hiself look like a Christian.
But he is a liar and the father of lies. His is a false visage.
"himself" I meant to say.
I have found this passage to be very useful to distinguish who is a true follower.
It reminds me of the intern pastor my old church brought in that managed to destroy and divide my bible study group of a few years in just a few weeks. Mainly because the leader of my group did not recognize the intern pastor's voice. She immediately knew she was not one of us (indeed a stranger) and I also had strong feelings. Once all that got out in the open, things deteriorated quickly not only in the group but the church in general.
I am vary wary now that I just don't accept someone who says they are a Christian at point blank. Their actions and voice will determine if they are a Christian.
It's funny because I was just talking to the kids about this verse today, and in another conversation with someone it came up again...."My sheep hear my voice."
Danny, this is a good post, and it's a good reminder (that we even need one is terrible) to BE IN THE WORD. I really believe and am sure that if we're in the Word often the discerner who is alive and well in our spirit will surely start jumping up and down and waving red flags when things we're potentially falling prey to are off. We'd better listen!
Steve
Your comment caused me to go back and reread my post. I wrote this awhile back after reading a thread of comments in a debate between two "Christians", except that one obviously was, the other obviously was not, though he claimed to be. He tortured scripture to make it say anything he wanted it to say so that it would support the natural man's view of the world. I based the idea of Satan being a Christian on the fact that he claims to be one everyday, and not, of course, because I think he actually is.
Just felt like I needed to say that. Gotta run!
Good post, Dan. So many Christians don't even mention Satan out of fear of looking foolish to the world. But the Bible mentions him over and over in a very real sense.
And yes, those who deny him are doing his work.
I love the specificity...He calls us by name! Really makes you question..."Ya'll come now!" Maybe we should be asking...is Satan a Texan?
"...you can live the Christianity that best suits your "needs" and this "age", and in the end, you surly will not die."
Ah, custom-made Christianity.
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;" (2Ti 4:3.)
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