Monday, December 2, 2013

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When Should We Judge?


        Most people like to say the Bible says "judge not lest ye be judged"; and it does in Matthew 7:1-5 and Luke 8:37, however, the Bible also says that we should look out for false doctrine, brethren that are sinning, false teachers, the doctrines of men and in the end time the apostate church.  We are to be ever diligent to recognize the wiles of the devil.  We are instructed, in scripture by Jesus and the Apostles, to judge everything by the yardstick of the Word of God.



           2 Peter 2:1-22 says: "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingers not, and their damnation slumbers not.  For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;  And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy  conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds.) The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:  But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.  Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:  Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam  son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;  But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet. These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire."

          What are the warnings given in the Bible for things to be judged by us?  Matthew 7:15-16 warns of false prophets.  Matthew 10:16 says: "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."  Matthew 18:18 says what we bind on earth will be bound in Heaven.  We would have to judge what needs to be bound.  Matthew 24:4-5 says: "And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.".  Matthew 24:11 says that many false prophets shall arise and deceive many.  Matthew 24:24 says: "For there shall arise false Christ's, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.".  Mark 6:11 and Luke 9:4-5 tell us to kick the dust from our feet in judgment of those who reject the Gospel.  Mark 8:15 says to "beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod".  Mark 12:38-40 tells us to beware of the scribes, "which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces, And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts: Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation". Mark 13:21-22 tells us "if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:  For false Christ's and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect".  In Luke 21:8 Jesus said: "Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draws near: go ye not therefore after them".  John 7:24 says: "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment".  Acts 20:29-31 tells us to beware and prepared to judge..  Romans 16:17-18 says to nark them which cause division.  2 Corinthians 6:14 tells us not to be unequally yoked.  2 Corinthians11:12-14 says: "But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we. For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light."  2 Corinthians 11:26 talks of false brethren.  Galatians 1:7-8 says: "Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed."  Philippians 3:2 tells us to beware of evil workers.  Colossians 2:8 says: " Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."  2 Thessalonians 3:6 tells us to withdraw yourselves from every brother that walks disorderly.  1 Timothy 4:1 says: "Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;"  2 Timothy 3:1-5 says: "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away."  1 Peter 4:17 says: "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?"  2 Peter 2:1-3 says: "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingers not, and their damnation slumbers not."  1 John 4:1 says: "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world."  1 John 4:15-18 talks of false prophets and anti-Christ.  1 John 2:22 speaks of anti-Christ.  2 John 7  talks of deceivers and anti-Christ.  2 John 10-11 says: "If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:  For he that bids him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds."  Jude 1:18 warns us about mockers in the last time.  Revelation 2:2  tells us about  apostles that are not real.  Revelation 2:6  tells us to hate the Nicolaitanes  that He hates.  Revelation 2:9 says: " I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan."   Revelation 2:14-16 Jesus says: " But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.  Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth."  In Revelation 2:20 Jesus says: " Not withstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou suffers that woman Jezebel, which calls herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols."  In Revelation 3:9 Jesus says: " Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee."  All of these things we are told to judge and avoid.

         What are we to judge today but the gospel of the progressive

movement (left or right), which is one of the present names for the anti-Christ in the world?  This gospel has been known by many names in the past (such as socialism. communism, secularism, humanism, atheism, or any other non-biblical world view).  No matter what it is called, it manifests itself as it has in the past, by its anti-God, anti-morality, anti-family, lawlessness, and ignorance of the things of God.  Trust not in the multitude of man made gods, but of the God who created all things; the Lord God of the Bible, which is the true Gospel. 

         Even in the United States of America, a republic established by Christians, for Christians and based on Jewish/Christian principals, has been attempting for years to kick God out of the public arena.  Atheist organizations, our military, progressive organizations and our schools are among the worst offenders.  The Bible and the Constitution are under attack.  

          Matt Barber is an attorney concentrating in Constitutional law. He serves as Vice President of Liberty Counsel Action. A former undefeated heavyweight pro-boxer, Barber has taken his hard-hitting style from the boxing ring to the culture war.  He wrote the following which is a prime example of things we should be judging.

"The magnitude of this Obama administration’s “progressive” radicalism becomes more evident with each passing day. In recent months, there has been a drastic spike in acts of both anti-Christian and anti-conservative discrimination and intimidation on military bases across the country. This mounting harassment is not being carried out at the hands of regular enlisted folk but, rather, at the hands of high-ranking officials who, in their official capacity, are targeting Christian and conservative organizations and individuals in an effort to silence them.

It has long been suspected that the Obama administration is using propaganda circulated by the roundly discredited Southern Poverty Law Center, or SPLC, a left-wing extremist group that, in recent years, has adopted two primary goals: 1) raising truckloads of money and 2) smearing as “domestic hate groups” dozens of mainstream Christian ministries like the Family Research Council, or FRC, and the American Family Association, or AFA.

This suspicion has now been verified.

The problem on military bases has gotten so bad, in fact, that the U.S. Congress is demanding answers from the Pentagon. Recently, the AFA-affiliated OneNewsNow.com newsgroup reported that:

“Congressman Alan Nunnelee (R-Mississippi) is 1 of 38 members of Congress signing off on a letter to the Secretary of the Army – especially about an incident last month at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, in which the Tupelo-based American Family Association was labeled in Army training material as a ‘hate group.’ The Army initially claimed it was an isolated incident.

“‘But as we looked into it, [we found] this is not an isolated incident,’ Nunnelee [told] OneNewsNow. ‘There are a number of cases where the Army has singled out the American Family Association and other Christian organizations as hate groups, and service men and women have been threatened with sanctions if they support these groups.”

After a tremendous public outcry – and in an embarrassing slap to the face of the SPLC – the Pentagon quickly backpedaled, later apologizing about the Camp Shelby incident and publicly admitting that, despite the SPLC’s absurd claims to the contrary, the AFA is not a “hate group.”

In fact, if you happen to be a Bible-believing Christian, you too are hateful.

Share: Still, rather than distancing itself from the anti-Christian SPLC as one might expect, the Obama administration has, instead, strengthened ties to the hard-left outfit. Even after this string of military scandals.

For instance, I recently learned that on its official website, the FBI lists as one of its primary “hate crimes resources,” the Southern Poverty Law Center.

This is especially mysterious when you consider that the FBI’s own verified hate crimes statistics are completely at odds with numbers put out by the SPLC in its fund-raising propaganda. Whereas the FBI indicates that there was a sharp 24.3 percent decrease in hate crimes from 1996 to 2010, with racial hate crimes dropping by 41.9 percent, the SPLC incongruously claims that since 2000, the number of “hate groups” has somehow increased by 67.3 percent.

In this March 22, 2010 file photo, signs promoting equality hang in a storefront in Patchogue, N.Y., the town where Ecuadorian migrant worker Marcelo Lucero was killed two years earlier in a hate crime stabbing. Migrants and activists on Long Island say response to the killing of Lucero has led to an atmosphere of greater tolerance toward Hispanic immigrants. They say the reaction has made it easier for them to go to local authorities when they have been victims of crime. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File) 

So send your money right away!

The FBI’s empirical data doesn’t track with the SPLC’s political propaganda. Consequently, by partnering so closely with this discredited organization, the Department of Justice significantly undermines its own credibility.

Still, while the SPLC has proven utterly unreliable in its actuarial acumen – as well as intentionally dishonest – it has also proven demonstrably dangerous in its prolonged campaign of anti-Christian agitation.

You may recall that it was the Southern Poverty Law Center’s somewhat clever, yet patently dishonest and reprehensible strategy of juxtaposing, as fellow “hate groups,” mainstream Christian organizations like the FRC and the AFA alongside violent extremist groups like the Aryan Brotherhood and the Skin Heads that, on Aug. 15, 2012, led to an actual act of domestic terrorism.

On that date, “gay” activist Floyd Lee Corkins II – who later confessed in court that he was spurred-on by the SPLC’s anti-Christian materials – entered the lobby of the Washington-based Family Research Council intending to kill every Christian within.

Corkins was armed with both a gun and a backpack full of ammunition. He also had 15 Chick-fil-A sandwiches that he intended to rub in the faces of his would-be victims. (FRC had recently defended the food chain’s COO Dan Cathy for pro-natural marriage statements he made.)" (http://www.theblaze.com/contributions/extremist-groups-war-on-hate-is-actually-a-war-on-christians/)

          Knowledge has been expanding exponentially, however wisdom has not followed.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  Only by the

knowledge of God, and His wisdom, can we rightly judge the things that are of God and the things that are not.  Without the wisdom of God, man can institute all the 'hope and change' he can muster and it will be of no avail;

and destined to fail.  The god of this world (Satan) can never bring about a true betterment of man (neither is it his intention), because man is not the

center of the universe; the center is God.  Without the wisdom of God we can refer to Dante - "abandon all hope who enter hear".  Therefore we must judge the things of this world, whether they be of God, and abandon all that is not. 

           The "great commission" is not to exalt mankind, it is to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth.  We are meant to judge anything that interferes with this as unworthy.

          If we are to be a part with Christ, at His return, we must judge daily whom we should follow.  The first step would be to follow Jesus' instruction to be born again.  That is the beginning of our walk with Christ.  Once we turn our lives over to Him we can gain the knowledge and wisdom, through His Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit, to be able to rightly judge all things.

          "In the beginning God" (Genesis 1:10), the Alpha is Jesus.  John 1:1-5 says: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.  And the light shined in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not".  In the everlasting, it will be God the Omega.  Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, therefore shouldn't we put our trust in Him?

          Is God judging our nation? I think the answer is obviously yes.  It is beyond doubt that our chickens are coming home to roost.  God is using the uncovering of each of the scandals, for which our government is responsible; to teach us we are going in the wrong direction.  You can’t offend God’s people without consequences and America, once being a predominately Christian nation, qualifies as God’s people. How much it is going to take to turn us around, to do what is right for America is anyone’s guess. I do know that in the history of God’s relationship with man; the consequences will mount in intensity until we finally bend to Gods will, or are destroyed. 

          What I am offering is not from me.  I am relating what God is offering to you, if you can find it in your heart to accept it.  Despite what you may have heard, this is not just any god, it is the God of the bible; which is the God that created everything.  "Ye must be born again".  Jesus, himself said this and the way is described in John 3:16-17 and Romans 10:9-10.  "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."  "That if thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shall be saved.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

          As we read through the pages of the Bible we can see that God has given us the knowledge to know what is His best for us and also what we should be aware to avoid.  Condemnation of others is not given to us, however, we are instructed to judge for ourselves what to be associated with and what to avoid.  We are instructed to relate to others what the Word of God says: not in condemnation, but in love.  We are to be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.  The "great commission" is to bring the Gospel to the world: not in condemnation, but rather as what it is - the Good News that their salvation is available and has been paid for by Jesus.  God will be the final judge of all things.  Hopefully we will all have our names written in the Lambs book of life.


 
 

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