Lukewarm

Exodus 15:3 The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name.

We are at war. We are at war and we've always been at war. From the beginning of time Satan and his angels have warred against God and His divine rule. And after his defeat and banishment, The Devil brought that fight to mankind...that same battle rages on today. 

Throughout the Bible, we see nations warring against Israel and Israel warring against nations. We see kingdoms rise to power under God's grace, and fall under His Judgment. We see the ascent of empires like Egypt, Greece, Babylon and Rome, both historically and biblically, raised up to bring the sword against the wicked, only to have that same sword brought upon themselves in retribution for their own sin. From the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelation, this whole story, and our entire reality will conclude in an epic battle where Satan and his followers are destroyed in the lake of fire and brimstone, day and night, forever. 

We see elements of warfare everywhere we look in society. There are Race wars, Class wars, and Culture wars, Wars on sexuality and biology; religious, political, economic, and psychological wars. No matter where you look, or where you're from, the fighting is constant, and it is tearing this world to pieces from the inside out. The nations are struck with madness. The heathen are filled with rage, and the wicked are drunk with hatred, violence, and with the blood of the innocent. All the fighting we see on the surface of our physical world, is only an outward reflection of what's taking place in the heart of mankind. 

The Lord is a man of War, clothed in strength. His followers are soldiers, prepared for battle. But though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but spiritual and mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, and anything that exalts itself against the knowledge of Christ. Our war is not waged with fists, or knives, or bullets but with The Sword of The Spirit which is The Word of God. This battle has nothing to do with race, or gender, or politics. It has everything to do with the human soul. 

Jeremiah 48:10 Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.

Every human soul is hanging in the balance, suspended between Heaven and Hell, and our enemy, The Devil, is a roaring lion seeking to kill, destroy, and devour the soul by any means necessary, and he doesn't play fair. He will lie to you, he will steal from you, he will cheat and trick, deceive and tempt with every possible resource and intelligence available in this universe. He will kick you when you're already down. He will attack even harder when you're at your weakest. And he will never stop trying.

Our only weapon--the only offensive resource we have--to fight this battle, to win this war, and to save the soul--is God's Word. This Word is the spiritual sword that slays The Dragon. This Word is the only instrument we possess that can kill our sinful nature, deliver us from the mouth of the lion, and lead us into eternal life. It's the only weapon we've got. And it's the only one we need. 

The Bible is the light that shines the way to Heaven. The Bible is the answer to life's greatest questions. It is the water that cleanses the soul. It is the bread that feeds the spirit. It is the truth that will set you free. It is our guide through this valley of death. This book is the very anvil God uses to hammer the worst of sinners into the greatest of saints. It holds the divine power of transformation. It extends to you the olive branch of God's magnificent grace. It is the tangible, irrefutable proof of the everlasting resurrected Christ. It is the doorway to His eternal kingdom, and it is the only path by which we may escape the judgement to come. 

Have you still not read it? Do you not know these things? Yet like the ostrich, you drown your head in sand? 

I don't blame you. You were brought up in a society which has done the work of The Lord deceitfully. They have kept back His sword from blood. They have preached a compromised gospel of limitless love and greasy grace, without telling the full story. They love quoting John 3:16, but they don't start in verse 3 and they don't end in verse 36. They conceal the flashing sword of God which is pressing into our necks. And they suppress His furious wrath with religious platitudes and pernicious lies. 

This is not a game. The stakes cannot get any higher. Your eternal soul is under assault. And the kingdom of Heaven is at hand. This is war. Are you even in the fight? Or are you just another casualty? 

Proverbs 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

The contemporary churches of today do not serve The Jesus Christ of The Holy Scriptures. Self-willed and selfishly moved, they serve a False Christ of their own design, who wouldn't offend a butterfly, so their seats stay filled, and the cash keeps flowing. They are not prophets, they are profiteers. These are not churches, they are businesses with a cross on the roof, and they are a den of thieves. With smooth speech they pour cliches into your ears and lies into your hearts, flattering the masses with kisses-filling them with sugar coated, "feel good" messages. These false shepherds are not your friend. They are not your guides to heaven. They are your greatest enemy, and the greatest threat to Christianity.

A true friend speaks the truth. The one who cares for you, while you head towards destruction will warn you, while the false prophet will bless and motivate and encourage you to death. The friend tells you what you need to hear. The enemy tells you what you want to hear. God's prophet warns. The false prophets sooth. No one is coming out of these churches bloodied, wounded, or grieving. No one is being rebuked and chastised for sin. And since nobody is being convicted, no one can get converted. 

The Word of God is supposed to wound us. It is designed to awaken our conscience to the reality that there is a Holy and Mighty God, whose bow is bent in fury, whose arrows are drawn in justice, and whose aim is fixed on the heart of every sinner, ready to be loosed. That the only factor currently obstructing His righteous anger is His grace. Only by His grace does your heart beat another second. Only by His grace does your ear still hear the call, and only by His grace is there any opportunity to repent. But the powerful hand of God will not always forbear. And that grace given to you now can expire at any moment. 

We should be sprinting to The Cross of Jesus Christ for salvation. We should be weeping at His crucified feet--begging for mercy. That should be the resulting effect every time this book is opened up and preached from but that does not ever happen in these churches today. They have become so soft, so pathetic, and so unbiblical, the only way to properly describe it-is Lukewarm.  

Revelation 3:14-18 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Are not the Americans like the Laodiceans? Is not our church body so lukewarm? There is a plague in this country. There is a curse on this land, and judgment is at the door. In an age of affluence, convenience,  and instant gratification, our churches and their people have grown fat, rich, happy, lazy, and blind. And as such, they have become an empty vine, devoid of fruit. The flavor has left the salt. The water has left the cloud. And their talents are covered in mud. This church is good for nothing. Infected with a spirit of passivity and comfortability, they sit in the stands and watch, gorging themselves on the filth of the world-while their children and neighbors are fed as fuel to the fires of Hell. Not one of you lifting so much as a finger for The Gospel. And you really think you're saved? 

How blind. How wretched. How miserable and arrogant and foolish can you be? How much hypocrisy do you think the living God can tolerate? How much idolatry and adultery can He stomach? What does the Lord Jesus Christ say about this church? The Alpha and The Omega. The Beginning and The End. In bold red letters, He shouts I will vomit you out of my mouth. I am disgusted by you. You are not worthy of me. You have no part in me. Thus saith The LORD. 

Isn't that a little too extreme? Don't you think you're taking the Words of God too seriously? Why not tone it down a little bit? Why don't we create an environment that's more seeker friendly? Let's emphasize more of the happier verses-we don't want to scare people off, we need their donations! Let's attract them with sparkling lights. Let's lure them in with enchanting music. Let's put on a show that makes them tingle, and feel so good-they can't wait to come back!...That church is not a product of Jesus Christ-it is a wolf in drag-it is the deception and counterfeit christianity of Satan. And it is the seductive marketing strategy of the serpent. 

The Gospel needs no makeover. The wounds of Christ require no cover up. The people don't need pampering, they need preaching. They don't need false prophets spewing lies, they need men of God, speaking the truth without compromise. The Bible is extreme. The crucifixion was extreme. The millions of Christians giving their lives in acts of martyrdom are extreme. Being burnt at the stake, being fed to lions, decapitated by guillotine, drowned alive in icy waters, tortured and murdered, sawed in half and sacrificed for the faith is extreme. Let me put it this way: If you're not extreme for Jesus-you don't know Him. You've got the wrong Christ and the wrong faith. You might think you're a Christian-you might even tell people you're a Christian-but you're not. You might think you see-but you don't. You might even think you're going to Heaven, but if you were to die right now, you would go straight to Hell with the rest of the hypocrites. If you are a lukewarm Christian, you are not saved...you're deceived. 

Do not be fooled by the charlatans telling you otherwise. We do not serve a lukewarm God. And Christianity is not a lukewarm faith. Our God is an all consuming fire. And those filled with The Spirit of God burn with the same all consuming passion. Jesus concludes in verse 19 saying, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent."

2 Corinthians 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

The resounding emphasis every single time a message is preached in Scripture whether in The Old or New Testament-is never on love, mercy, grace, peace, or blessings. The emphasis is always on repentance. The first words out of John the Baptist's mouth was not "saved by grace". It was "Repent: for the kingdom of God is at hand." The first words of Jesus Christ's ministry and of every message He preached thereafter was not "Jesus loves you" it was "Repent: for the kingdom of God is at hand." Jesus didn't send His disciples out to party and throw concerts like they do in these Satanic Churches every Sunday-He sent them out as soldiers to a battlefield, ready to be betrayed by their family, rejected by their friends, persecuted by their neighbors, hated by the world, and even to lose their lives for preaching the same message of repentance that He and Stephen, and Peter and Paul, and the rest of the prophets died for. Does that sound even remotely close to the sermons you hear today? Is that attitude in any way reflected in the churches you find in this country? Jesus did not promise an abundant, blessed, and easy life in this world. He promised conflict, suffering, sacrifice, and death...but whosoever would endure it all for Him, as He endured it all on the cross for us, the same will obtain eternal life in Heaven. 

No follower of Christ ever preached love mercy and grace. Look at Moses. He preached obedience, holiness, and hellfire. Look at Jonah. His entire ministry was one sentence: "In 40 days Nineveh will be destroyed". And that one sermon, that one warning filled an entire city with such conviction and sorrow that it led to wide scale mourning, repentance, and deliverance-hundreds of thousands of people saved as a result. Look at Jeremiah. He didn't comfort people with false hope and blessings. He warned them of impending obliteration! It was the false prophets preaching peace and blessings! It was the false teachers teaching love and grace! And it's the exact same thing happening in America today. For all those "pastors" speaking lies in God's name, misrepresenting The Gospel, leading His sheep to the slaughter, The Bible says they will be judged more harshly and more severely than even the greatest sinner. Like Judas, it would be better for them never to have been born. 

John tells us not to love in word, or in tongue; but in deed and in truth. The prophets never preached love, mercy, and grace. They preached holiness, the fear of the Lord, repentance, and hellfire. But they showed love, mercy, and grace, through their charity, hospitality, humility and service. Faithful preaching is what plows the field to open up the ground. Once the surface is broken, the gospel can be planted in the fertile soil beneath. The fear of God breaks open the heart to receive the gospel. The goodness of God plants that seed within, causing it to take root. Both The Love of God and The Fear of God are necessary and work together for The Gospel of Jesus Christ to flourish. 

Without godly sorrow, there is no repentance. And without repentance there is no salvation. Godly fear and sorrow are absolutely vital for the Christian faith to grow. Instilling those principles and providing that awareness is one of the most critical impacts a sermon can have on the listener, and by and large is completely absent of the modern Christian equation. Instead, these fake churches have traded godly sorrow for worldly celebration. They have exchanged spiritual conviction for fleshly comfort. And the many warnings within the gospel have been replaced with false assurances of safety and security. That's why the church has no power, that's why Christians are asleep at the wheel, And The Devil is having a field day as they and the rest of the world drive straight off a cliff into his hands. 

Romans 11:20b-22 Be not high minded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

How has the modern church fallen so far from the biblical standard? It all goes back to the Sword. Not only has The sword been held back from blood. Not only has the work of The Lord been done with greed and deceit. But the sharp two edged sword which swings from the mouth of Christ, slicing through soul and spirit, piercing to the innermost depths of the human heart; has been swapped out for a plastic butter knife. And the only thing it's good for is buttering you up before you get cooked. 

You see the very nature of a sword is to cut. And the very purpose of the preacher is to convict. The sharper the sword, the deeper the cut. And the deeper the cut, the greater desperation and appreciation there is for the bandage. The more you see your sin, the more you will desire The Gospel. A sword that draws no blood is useless. And a church that brings no conviction is vain. 

You will never see your need for a savior, until you know you're damned without one. You will never flee the wrath of God, unless you see it's coming for you. And you will never truly repent of your sins if you do not understand the gravity, the cost, and the consequence for them. It is every Christian's burden and responsibility to convince the ungodly of their ungodliness, and to convict sinners in their sin. Once a person is fully convinced in their own conscience, aware of the Almighty God standing with sword drawn in hand, ready to avenge all disobedience, their knees will finally bow in surrender, and their dehydrated hearts will feverishly drink His Gospel of Grace. 

First we need to hear the bad news before we can appreciate the good news. And the clearer that picture is painted, the more tenaciously we will cleave to The Savior. The Gospel of Christ will only forge deep roots if both edges of the sword are used, and the full counsel of God is preached: Both the blessings and the curses. The goodness and the severity. The love of God and the fear of God. And the mercy of God as well as the justice of God. The Word of God is both sweet as it is bitter. 

Yet a plastic butter knife has only one edge. And the lukewarm church presents only one side of the story. They will tell you some of the truth, while omitting most of it. And because it's half true, one sided, and sweet sounding, what you get is half baked, partially hot, partially cold fusion, thus a lukewarm conclusion. 

Week after week they preach on God's promises, but withhold the subsequent warnings and ignore their preceding conditions. They teach of God's goodness, but never of His severity. The proudly proclaim His blessings, yet the curses go unmentioned. There's a lot of singing and dancing but there's no weeping and mourning. Month after month, year after year, slowly but surely the congregation is melodically bewitched into a spiritual state of apathy; Where there's comfort without conviction, Grace without obedience, Forgiveness without repentance, Assurance without endurance. And ultimately; Christianity without Salvation.

Revelation 22:18-19 I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, 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, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

If anyone adds to God's Word, every ounce of God's wrath will be unleashed on them. And if anyone takes away from His Word, that person will have their part taken out of eternal life, and their soul forever severed from Heaven. 

Let us therefore identify a few things Lukewarm Christianity has removed from the totality of The Gospel message: The sharp two-edged sword was sold off long ago. The fear of God has left the building. Preaching on sin has become alien. The mandate for holiness is unmentioned. The horrifying reality of Hell is consistently neglected. And the endless repetitious warnings throughout the canon of scripture of your love growing cold, faith being shipwrecked, lamp going out, name being blotted out of the book of life after being written into it, that you can fall from grace after receiving it, be disqualified from the race after starting it, and depart from the faith after joining it; each and every warning from God's Word has been undermined and removed from Sunday Service across this country by one of the greatest deceptions and false teachings ever foisted against the body of Christ; "Ye shall not surely die."

Just as it was at the beginning, so it is at the end. Just as the Devil destroyed Adam and Eve in the garden with "Thou shalt not surely die", so has he destroyed the Church with "Once saved always saved". Satan has seared the contemporary Christian mind with a hot iron, convincing them with absolution, that it is impossible for any believer to lose their salvation after coming to the faith, no matter what they do, what they say, or how they live, despite the thousands of warnings throughout God's Word teaching otherwise. In fact, God teaches explicitly both in the Old and New Testament, that unless you abide in Christ, remain in the faith, continue in His word, keep his commandments, persevere through affliction, endure persecution, and overcome the many trials this world and the devil throw at you, that you absolutely, with a 100% guaranteed Bible based assurity, will lose your salvation. 

Salvation is not a one night stand. It is a lifelong marriage. It doesn't end with justification, it only begins with justification. Then, carries on to sanctification; which is on ongoing process and daily walk with God, wherein we must continue until our course is finished and we are finally redeemed. That's why Jesus says in Matthew 10, Matthew 24, and Mark 13 that only those who endure to the end will be saved. 

Anyone who teaches otherwise, attempting to dodge and slither around these blatant warnings from The LORD are in danger of hellfire, and from the judgments written of those who remove any words from this Book. This warning is in love. This warning is with fear, knowing the terror of The Risen Christ that is coming upon the church, and upon all the snakes leading his sheep to the slaughter. Do not listen to the reformed theological opinions of man. Do not follow the vain philosophies of Augustine and Calvin. Do not believe in the demonic doctrines of the devil. And do not listen to any of these multi millionaire celebrity pastors on Christian TV and Radio peddling this filth. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

1 Timothy 4:1-2 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.

Once saved always saved is like a spiritual sleep medication. Think of it as Christian Ambien. And just like the drug commercials you see on TV that come with a long list of side effects, so too does this spiritual drug affect the soul. Swallowed whole by the church through the trojan horse of Calvinism and Reformed Theology; this man made belief system - invented by murderers and liars mutilating the scriptures - brick by brick, heresy on top of heresy; the lukewarm church now stands tall, slumbering, and ready as ever to fall. 

Our wells are polluted and the water is poisoned. Seminaries and Bible colleges have spent the past 70 years prescribing courses in textual criticism and reformed theology, and as such, generations of pastors and Bible teachers have been deluded with this false teaching. These deceived theologians now enter the church in droves and begin systematically regurgitating these opinions, all of which have been imagined by corrupt men twisting scripture to fit their understanding instead of allowing the pure waters of scripture to form it. Now, masses of christians blindly follow these unbiblical ideologies - and because their message tickles the ear - they defend it with passion - and solidify themselves in an echo chamber of deception where everyone is saved, no one can lose their salvation, no one can judge error, no one can criticize or correct each other with biblical doctrine; where sin becomes tolerated, compromise becomes the standard, and moderation is the expectation. That's exactly how Satan is not only able to take an unconverted soul and convince them with confidence that they are saved, solidifying them in eternal damnation, but also able to take a True born again believer that was once on fire for Jesus, and cool them down to a lukewarm temperature, making them ineffectual in the work of the Gospel.

Once you're off the battlefield in the fight for souls and you're no longer laboring in the field of The Lord's harvest, your spiritual guard is lowered and the Devil can direct his focus on destroying you personally. The first step was for him to convince you that "you shall not surely die". Mission accomplished with once saved always saved. Next, all he has to do is tempt you back into sin and lead you to a backslidden state. And as long you stay there, he has won a soul for Hell. The Devil is playing the long game. Whether you slide back into sin quickly over the course of a day or a few months, or slowly over 20 to 30 years, to the enemy, it make no difference. He'll keep chipping away at you every hour of every day. Little by little doubt may start creeping into your heart. Then bitterness. Or anger. Jealousy. Greed. Lust. Pride. Unforgiveness. Grieving the Holy Spirit continuously, until eventually, He is quenched, and your flickering light is finally extinguished. 

You see, the reformed unconditionally secure calvinist adherent has a real blind spot. To them, they can retain any one of those sins and still go to Heaven. But according to the scriptures, if even one of those sins remain, there is no possibility of them entering. Be not deceived. The unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. And if you do not forgive men of their trespasses, neither will your Heavenly Father forgive you of yours. We all have free will. Any one of us can fall into these sins. Let us therefore fear God, and repent quickly. 

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

The end is near. The church is sliding into apostasy. The dragon has unleashed a flood from his mouth and a delusion upon the earth. With false doctrine wrapped tightly in Christian cliche, the modern church has been thoroughly deceived and undermined by the heresy of "Once saved always saved" and has become lukewarm as a result. By assiduously convincing believers that "Ye shall not surely die", the fear of The Lord has been completely removed from these churches, and complacency has settled into the body of Christ like a cancer, at a time where we need vigilance and action the most. 

While the macro Christian climate has become Lukewarm, that does not mean you have to be! Do not follow the herd mentality into death, follow Christ's mentality to life. Model your life and your faith after Jesus, after His Words. Let us be imitators of the apostles as they imitated Christ. Align your Christian walk with The Bible. This Word is a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path. Calvin is no lamp. Augustine is no lamp. Macarthur, Swindall, Stanley, Sprouls, they are not lamps. The Bible is your Lamp. Jesus is your light. Do not follow men. Do not follow doctorate degree earning TV preachers. Do not follow the pied pipers of these musical mega churches. 

Read, study, believe, understand, and follow The Lamp for yourself. No one is able to do it for you. Your faith is your responsibility. Pray your heart out to Him. Take His Spirit within you. Do not compromise. Be bold as a lion. Stand firm in the truth knowing that no lie is of the truth. Our doctrine must be pure. There is no leaven permitted in the perfect bread of Christ. We must fight to keep out the lies. We must fight to keep the Bride Holy. And we must fight for the soul of every human being that crosses our path. If you really believe these words to be true, now is the time to start acting like it.

This is not a light topic. This is not a breezy subject. This is heavy. This is real. And this something you must understand for yourself as we enter the throes of tribulation. This is war. The time has come. And judgment will begin at the house of God. That is a terrifying biblical promise. I tremble for the lukewarm house of God. And I plead for the lukewarm believer to ignite a fire in their faith, and step to the frontline of the battlefield. 

Greater love hath no man than Jesus Christ, who laid down his life not only for his friends, but even for his enemies. God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He is kind and merciful to the unthankful and the unholy. He is not willing that any soul would perish, but that every soul would come to repentance. 

Come. Let he who is thirsty come to the waters and drink. Let he who hath no money, come, and buy, and eat eternal life. Fill your mind with the Word of God, daily. Fill your heart with the righteousness of Christ, continually. Fill your temple with the Holy Spirit of grace, completely. Cut off yourself from sin, and clothe yourself with holiness. God understands you. He sees your every thought, move, and motive. He pays little mind to times in which you strayed from him in ignorance. But now He commands all men everywhere to repent. Resist not his voice. Harden not your hearts. Be zealous therefore, and repent.