“'For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.'
Working from the premise that deception is a product of confusion about truth, this passage foretells of a great confusion in the world; a confusion that not even the elect would escape save for the supernatural hand of God"
The forth "confusion" I would like to profile comes from more clandestine measures. Such measures make them more dangerous because of the difficulty in detecting the poison that they spread. This confusion comes from assemblies that are on the surface, and in statement, doctrinally sound. On the inside however they have become increasingly ashamed or afraid of doctrine in practice. They have succumbed to the fear of man, and the fear of division, and though they have not perpetrated the lie that truth is unknowable, they have placated the lie by simply avoiding the discussion altogether. These assemblies have chosen instead to focus on man or US, how God is interested in US, how God wants to know US, and bless US, and how WE are important to God. Now while this is true, and it isn't entirely doctrinally unsound, it misses the more important point that these things are not true because of anything we bring to the table. Rather, they are true because of the glory it brings to God. And there is a huge difference. In these assemblies there is a very real feeling that we are redeemed of God because it was the just and right thing for God to do. Such thinking brings about a hideous confusion because it is so close to the truth but veers quietly away from our true state at the last minute. That it is not readily obvious that confusion has even entered the mind and our midst makes this confusion especially dangerous.
Furthermore, this confusion is supported and masked by the comfort of our emotions. These assemblies are very concerned about feelings: good feelings about God trumps the truth about God, and good feelings about ourselves trumps the truth about ourselves. The leaders of these assemblies bend over backward to make God "likable" within the confines of the vain thinking of this age and in so doing confuse many about the Gospel and lead many astray.
Posts
7 comments:
I remember reading Titus 1:1-3 and seeing that believers are the love promise of Father to Son. We are the Bride prepared by the Father out of love for the Son.
I imagined, then, a parable. My wife loves orchids, so because I love her I procure the seeds of one of these rare orchids and grow it for her to give to her on her birthday. This orchid is a living plant -- it thinks. So what does it think? "This guy sure takes good care of me. He feeds me and waters me and gives me everything I could need. Wow, I must really be important!" In fact, the orchid is important in that it is a love gift. It is loved because it is a love gift. But it is not, in and of itself, important or loved. It is important and loved as a measure of my love for my wife.
Sometimes we can be silly orchids.
AMEN Danny. Oh, how we love to pet ourselves and think we, and what we do, is so important. A subtle way of "self" "I" refusing to die and surely forget about "taking up the cross" that would not be comfortable to "ME".
"Then he told them what they could expect for themselves. 'Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat-I am. Don't run from suffering, embrace it. Follow me & I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self sacrifice is the way, my way,to find yourself, yours true self." Luke 9:23-24 The Message
"Feelings" are a trap, and remembering to KNOW is sometimes all that helps me remember who God is.
I like Stan's orchid analogy.
Martin Luther's writing so often discuss what you're talking about; it's about GOD, not US. EVERYTHING comes from Him, not US. That's a hard sell in today's "ME Society"
Dan,
Your post brought to mind the Father's approval of Jesus as He announced "THIS is my beloved Son..."
I really like Stan's comment and illustration of "how" God can extend that love to us.
I'm very predisposed to allowing my feelings to influence whether or not I'm right with God. Thing is, it's often the "bad" feelings which reveal a believer's utter need for Christ--and I tend to want to avoid the discomfort of having to examine my own heart in light of His perfection. It's very humbling to be loved in spite of what I am rather than because I somehow have merited it.
Heather
ditto Z-
:-)
C-CS
Hello Dan, I hope things are fine with you and your family. I always enjoy what you write and if you're just devoting more time to your family that's super, but if there's something else I could pray about let me know. I probably worry to much ... I abandoned my blog for the summer, I guess you can too. Gordon
Thank you so much for your concern CE. Everything is OK here. I had been toying with abandoning my season of blogging for some time, mostly due to the time consumption on my part, as writing is not a natural talent of mine. I was not finished with my series on confusion, but I was finding less time/motivation to write. My children have been much happier since and so thus so have I. Perhaps I'll pick it up again. I was reconsidering it just the other day as a matter of fact. It is definitely a thing I love.
Post a Comment