On Truth

I have people all the time from various religious affiliations within Christianity who try to set forth to me the rightness of their affiliation's creed, and of the traditional Christian doctrines in general. What they do not realize is that I already know that they are wrong before they begin. The whole Christian thing is just way off the beaten path, or at least off of God's beaten path. And the bottom line of their claim ALWAYS shows up, and it is the bottom line of the entire modern Christian religion. That bottom line is sin, and the allowance and practice of it. You see, the truth that I have been established in is simply the deliverance power of God's Spirit, which Jesus sent back from heaven when he went away (Acts 1:4,5,8; Acts 2:1-4). The power of God's Spirit literally washes sin out of the inner man, and imparts the divine nature of God's love in its place (I Cor. 6:11; Rom. 5:5). That is why Jesus came, to make the way for that to be accomplished in the hearts of men, thereby reconciling all who believe unto God (Mk. 1: 7,8; II Cor. 5:17,18). The scripture plainly says, "He that is joined unto the Lord is ONE SPIRIT" (I Cor. 6:17). Really, if we truly become one with the Lord, either he becomes a sinner, or we literally lose sin; and I believe the answer is obvious. So everyone who is continuing in sin either hasn't been joined to the Lord, or has become detached from him at some point; and it is only sin that separates anyone from the Lord. The scripture clearly states the same: "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? ... Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be DESTROYED, that henceforth we should not serve sin" (Rom. 6:1,2,6). Yes friend, the real new birth, which in fact is the Spirit baptism, delivers the heart and soul of a true believer from the very nature of sin (Jn. 3:5; Jn. 3:7; I Cor. 12:13). Of course one must grow in their experience with the Lord, and there are struggles at times. I'm aware of that by experience, but I am also aware by experience that there is a reality to maturing in the faith, and being made freer and freer from sin and sinning as one grows. And to this fact the scriptures also agree: "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up INTO HIM IN ALL THINGS, which is the head, even Christ" (Eph. 4:13-15). And for the short version of that truth we have Jesus: "Be ye therefore perfect, EVEN AS your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Mat. 5:48). And that sounds a lot like the beloved apostle: "And every man that hath this hope [of salvation] in him purifieth himself, EVEN AS he is pure" (I Jn. 3:3). And John sounds just like an echo of God himself: "Be ye holy; for I am holy" (I Pet. 1:16).

So it's like I said; the doctrine I adhere to not only requires true holiness, it also makes me able to be that way. If you don't believe that, then you need to give your Bible to someone who will believe what is written in it, and just go ahead and live in sin openly. Hypocrisy and self righteousness is the worst of sins, and even though I haven't tried it, I can't see how it could be be any fun. But if you are going to sit in front of me and try to convince me of your doctrine, and at the same time tell me, "We all sin every minute;" you not only are wasting your time, but you also are going to incur a sharp rebuke (I Tim. 5:20; II Tim. 4:2; Tit. 1:13; Tit. 2:15). I do not allow anyone to be in my presence and promote doctrines of sin, without reproving that kind of garbage. I simply love the Lord and my brethren too much to let that kind of thing go unchecked. The Jesus I serve suffered and died, and then rose again to provide me with something BETTER than what I had before (Heb. 7:19). He did NOT do these things so that we would be no better off than we were before he came (Heb. 9:13,14). If you are going to tell me, "We know that you're just not there yet Lary," and then promptly excuse yourself for a smoke break; you'll have to go and blow your hot, filthy breath at somebody else. And if you are going to say of me, "Lary's just a little off," and then worship in a religious habitat of fornication and adultery; you are fooling yourself sorely. Or if you are going to tell me that your "pastor" has "out-revelated" the great apostle Paul, when in fact your pastor has not only harbored sin in the congregation, but criminal acts as well; then you need to wake up out of that nightmare. Paul himself dealt with talkers like this, and said the following: "But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power (I Cor. 4:19,20). That power is first and foremost for keeping those who believe FROM sin unto salvation (I Pet. 1:4,5). So again my friend, this is the bottom line: If you are talking Jesus talk, but are continuing in sin, you simply do not have any power with God; and you have no business talking. I certainly don't have time to waste on people who are more concerned about finding a nice safe, religious harbor for sin, than they are about "working out [their] own salvation with fear and trembling" (Philip. 2:12). Because I AM "striving to enter in at the STRAIT gate," and I long to see the one who has redeemed me from sin, and has kept me redeemed. And where I come from it says, "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which NO man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14). Dear friend, may God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, "make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you;" that we might one day rejoice together in glory for eternity (I Pet. 5:10). God bless.