It is self-evident ‘many’ Christians do not perceive what should be self-evident
A “self evident truth” is something that proves itself. It does not need further evidence if one is just honest with the truth or doesn’t try to explain facts away. There are many unsettling self-evident truths in the Christian faith that Jesus predicted will see “many” dismayed or rejected on Judgment Day after believing they had been faithful Christians in their lives. Unfortunately “many” today are unaware, or accept conditions as normal that the New Testament writers would have considered most abnormal. Without diving into specific doctrinal disputes, this article will call attention to a number of self-evident truths exposing an inconvenient truth in the macro-level, 30,000-foot view of Christianity today. The hope is it will be a wake-up call to anyone who wants all of God.
… broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. – Jesus Christ, Matthew 7:13
News Flash: Jesus was right.
It is a self-evident truth that many of those who count themselves Christian are not really following Jesus except in the most general sense.
Christians implicitly declare they are sheep or disciples, yet many of these who are called to deeply and personally “know” God (Jn. 17:3) only know at most about Him, but do not know Him in the sense that Jesus gave His life to make possible.
Hebrews 8 – 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.
Jesus called for close intimacy and direct spiritually discerned communication between a Christian and Himself, but most are not in this level of living Jesus considered as normal for His true sheep.
John 10 – 4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
It is self-evident many do not live in the paradigm Jesus called for because the Christian world consisting of tens of thousands of subsects has become a house divided – a state of existence Jesus once decried as that which “cannot stand.”
If everyone knew the Lord with a deep implanted sense as described in Hebrews 8, or were following Jesus’ voice as described in John 10, there would be far fewer disagreements, and far more harmony. The concept of deep spiritual and doctrinal “unity” as the New Testament calls for (Jn 17:20-23, Eph 4) would not now be spoken of as nothing but a noble ideal and otherwise unattainable goal.
1 Corinthians 1 – 10 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. 12 Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
Today groups claiming they have developed their practice of the faith to a state of correctness include those who say “I am Catholic,” “I am Baptist,” “I am Methodist,” “I am non-denominational,” “I am Charismatic,” “I am Pentecostal,” “I am Assemblies of God,” “I am Anabaptist,” “I am Lutheran,” “I am Mennonite,” “I am Amish,” “I am Orthodox,” …
The whole list of names of subgroups could fill many dozens of pages. Estimates are as high as 30,000-40,000 subgroups. The array of their beliefs of course has overlap being that they call themselves “Christian,” but in many ways they utterly contradict one another yet say they read the same Bible and serve the same God.
But Jesus said it was His will all His people be as “one” (John 17:20-23) and the apostles reinforced this prime dictate. This article assumes anything the New Testament called for was the will of God. It was therefore possible. It should be taken as not optional to do otherwise. It should not be redefined so as to lower the bar, or say the bar does not exist anymore, and so on, as theologians have done in dissecting the Bible to come away with incompatible views that lead to separation.
There are several reasons why it is an unspoken indictment against many who are supposed to be cut from the same spiritual cloth yet still argue, accuse, and separate and disfellowship.
o The Bible does not give mutually contradictory teachings
o God does not “bear witness” or give “peace” about mutually contradictory teachings
o Jesus and the apostles always expected unity
o Jesus said His disciples being a unified front, as “one,” would be His witness to the world
o This means countless human lives depend on the Christians keeping this commandment
o That is because Jesus is the only way, truth, life. To not come to Jesus in truth is a disaster
o To blur or water down or corrupt the testimony of those who say they live for Christ is to render them less effective and people will suffer as a result
o It is not God’s will any should perish
o It is God’s will people come to Jesus
o Suffering includes lives who do not enter into relationship with Jesus
o Their lives are not benefited but they remain slaves of the world, flesh, and devil
o Suffering includes people who die and go to hell
o Those who suffer and die will include “many” who name the name of Christ, said Jesus.
Matt 7 – 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
In order not to be declared lawless, one must “know” Jesus as He meant it in this passage. It cost Jesus His life in order to permit sinful humans forgiveness and status as God’s children by faith. His goal was a people who knew Him, and were in grace brought under willing control by His indwelling Spirit in each of them. God’s commitment to the New Covenant is great for more reasons besides this, and the very important statements listed above.
o He wants a people who will love Him and be His ambassadors
o He wants His people to bring maximum glory to Himself as a testimony in the face of those who do not love Him – Satan and evil spirits and disobedient people who live for themselves
o He wants to hasten the day of Jesus Christ’s return (2 Pet. 3:12)
o He wants His kingdom established
o He delegated responsibility to man to be His workers toward His goals
There is no way tens of thousands of subsects is the will or doing of God, nor should it be considered a normal state of affairs that is even spiritually safe for anyone.
The insidiousness of sin and the work of evil spirits to bring about “doctrines of demons” (1 Tim 4:1) is like an infection in what others call the Body of Christ; a mad state of reality that many are nonetheless numbed out to, or even happily well adjusted within. But it was never to be this way, it just is, despite God’s warnings.
2 Corinthians 11 – 12 But what I do, I will also continue to do, that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast. 13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
Be clear: Just as God did not create polluted and sickly waters for fish to live in, He does not create a landfill or desert and call it green pastures for His sheep. That is, He does not create the conditions of mutually contradictory ways, denominations, sects, and private interpretations for His people to hope to grow to full maturity – or even survive at all.
God did not create a house divided where the way of the faith permits and teaches that which would not have been approved of by His apostles and prophets in the first century.
Can you be honest with the truth, or will you be one of those who find reasons that seem right to you to declare all is as it should be?
Everyone is free to come to their own conclusions, but God did not conceive of men using their earthly minds untethered from Jesus’ voice to develop new doctrines and theories. He did not originate what can be effectively no more than philosophies of man propped by selected scripture verses – many out of context or reinterpreted – that define a form of “Christian” practice that is not the true faith.
How do you know you are not in jeopardy?
Anyone who does not know the inner witness of the Holy Spirit is in jeopardy. This is actually a working definition of the “voice” of Jesus. It is like the “still small voice” spoken of in 1 Kings 19:11-12 that the prophets might hear.
Christians declare they have the same Holy Spirit, yet it is entirely the capacity of the natural man to believe all is well when nothing is as it should be (2 Cor 11:4). But God says He is Spirit, and His truths are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2 – 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. … 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
The way Christians may otherwise “quench” the Spirit and still blithely declare themselves fine can go like this: Christian teachers or trusted authority figures – pastors, priests, preachers, whoever from any sect – give information about God and ultimately offer assurance to the so-called followers of Christ. In Protestantism this means sharing scripture verses on salvation that teach a picture of the expectations and way. In Catholicism and other sects it can be tied to membership in good standing within the group claiming God’s authority.
Make no mistake. The devil is in the details. It is self-evident that many presentations seemingly supported by scriptures have formed composite pictures of Christian faiths that do not agree with understandings held by the original apostles. Again, it is self-evident because neither the Bible nor God Himself contradict one another and He is devoted to the unity of the faith. Yet, this state of affairs is more often not the exception, but the rule.
The sense of “assurance” given to ostensible “sheep” may originate from words spoken from the religious minds of men claiming to give God’s words. These may serve as a substitute for the spiritually discerned Master’s voice. In fact they are the words of man representing themselves as God’s counsel, way, and will.
These words of modern preachers form a spin on the truth that may then be received in the minds of hearers. These hearers may believe they are fine if they meet the conditions as they are defined by men – who say they are only giving you the words of God, but who disagree one with another.
1 Corinthians 3 – 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.
The conditions Jesus laid down for who could be His disciple are much more strict and austere sounding compared, for example, to the easy-believism of modern Protestants who may redefine understandings or proffer relatively liberal doctrines that deviate from what was known of the apostles’ teachings.
John 3 – 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” … 5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
Matthew 18:3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Luke 14:26-33 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
Many today are entirely cerebral followers of Christ with maybe a smattering of their spirit thrown in for good measure. They primarily learn about God, discuss God, pray to God, and serve God with their fallen minds assuming the Spirit is or may be in what they do.
Luke 13 – 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
This is true in the Christians who are actually proactive and pressing in. Beneath that level, many who say they are Christians but otherwise worldlings do not retain in their minds even a sense of a life lived unto Him. Many such ones have been given assurance by preachers – or some watered down or sugar-coated teaching – and are completely lulled into complacency. Many who self identify as “Christian” make broad assumptions so as to put their concerns for their own status before God to sleep. This is actually a broad way that leads to destruction.
Matt 7 – 13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Spiritual Criminality
Any pastor or Christian teacher who upholds a cerebrally held faith without leading one to know Jesus Christ in truth may be criminally responsible before God for misrepresenting the way of Christ to a fatal degree. Paul the apostle said he was “free from the blood of all men” because he obeyed the true Spirit and gave God’s whole counsel (Acts 20:26). Those who do not must therefore have blood on their hands.
As it is, leaders are commonplace who do not yield the fruit and co-labor with God to raise up the caliber of Christian disciples for which the New Testament calls. It is the majority way that is ironically named for the Lord of Glory, Jesus Christ.
Christians in such a state of delusion may be tantamount to functioning psychotics in as much as they claim to have relationship with the invisible God but their lives do not show the proofs the Bible calls for, or they bear witness one against another evidencing they are not able to hear His voice.
God is faithful and committed and has promised fruit and guidance to those who meet the conditions. It is thus self-evident that fruitlessness, confusion, and infighting are not God’s doing.
While it is obvious there were issues in the New Testament, always the man of God said “brethren these things ought not be so,” and that God would enable the Christians to grow to a very high level of maturity that walked the talk.
Ephesians 4 – 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
God never sets His people one against the other, and then watches the fight ensue. That is, God is not like a brutal man who baits two angry dogs to engage in a fight in a ring only to stand back entertained at the carnage.
Nor is God pleased at a state of affairs in which believers who say they feel “at peace” with God yet separate from ostensible brothers and sisters with incompatible differences who say the same. It is not God’s doing to impart incompatible knowledge to His sheep so they have irreconcilable differences. This is self-evident.
Neither does God subscribe to “chaos theory” in which some errant people would believe that out of conditions of chaos and confusion comes order and truth.
Truth does not always rise to the top. Paul told Timothy “guard the doctrine” – doctrine they understood as given by the real Holy Spirit. New Testament-era leaders were very careful knowing humans are so very susceptible to accepting falsehoods as truth, and counterfeits even for Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and gospel.
2 Cor 11 – 4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted-you may well put up with it!
Beyond this, God does not tell His children that what may send them to hell is OK. He does not tell them new ways of approaching Him, knowing Him, serving Him that were not established in the first century.
He just does not do it.
He is consistent. He is the same forever. He does not change
The faith was once delivered to all the saints.
The foundation set in the first century is the only valid one.
That many do not follow it is self-evident.
This is not of God, and anyone not following the apostles’ doctrine of the first century – and the true Holy Spirit who originated it! – has reason to seek God’s face, even fear for their actual status.
God’s Voice?
A terrible theory has stated that the Bible is effectively God’s voice.
There is a belief that many hold variations of that goes like this: God had the early church write the New Testament so we can always consult Him on things and know what to believe – and in doing so, He eliminated the inner need for direct communication by Christ’s Spirit in us (Jn. 10).
This is only half accurate, and ultimately a false thesis. It is accurate in that the New Testament has been made the standard of the faith. It serves as a touchstone, a guide, to ensure what anyone later would postulate as God’s will or doing actually is of God. It can also be a test of the spirits – or Spirit – as God will not deviate from the spirit of the truth of the New Testament.
The part of the theory that is false is the part that says the Bible is God’s voice. By their own standard – the Bible – men who foist this theory on the unwitting are proven wrong. This is because the Bible in no place states that it is the replacement for the spiritually discerned voice of God as known by the first century disciples. There is no verse or passage that spells it out like men may explain in many words that come out of their own faulty minds.
The theory that the Bible replaces God’s voice in many broad ways is utterly a construct of man; it is a fabrication, an embellishment of the picture of the Christian faith well beyond what the Bible states.
The Bible does not say God will go silent once His Bible is finalized. It does not even say if He has already stated something in the Bible one need not pray for His will in a matter because it is already written in black and white text.
To be sure the Bible is replete with invaluable instruction. And often we will know in our inner being the truth for the matter based on what is written. But the New Testament itself espouses a far more deep and intimate walk with God.
Alternately people of the Bible-is-God’s-only-voice ilk say the Bible is the Word of God while deemphasizing or all but ignoring the living Jesus Christ as the Word of God. The New Testament writers knew living relationship with the living Word. He was the discerner of truth and could separate what was of the carnal soul and spirit.
Hebrews 4 – 12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
Eternal life is to know Jesus, not just about Jesus, or mentally digest the words of the Bible, or pose “what would Jesus do” ethics statements. Jesus is the Living Word.
John 1 – 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
Revelation 19 – 11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
A tree is known by its fruit. Jesus rebuked wrong-spirited disciples who did not know what manner of spirit they were of. Today there are flavors of Christians often with inward spiritual pride who have replaced the living Word, Jesus – known by His indwelling Spirit – with the words inspired by God in the Bible contemplated in their fallen mind.
The apostle Paul first showed it was a carnal mind, not a spiritual one, which could lead to divisions, and even smug self satisfaction among the early Christians.
1 Corinthians 3 – And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?
The very quality, nature, and spirit of many who have overemphasized the words of God and not the Word of God – Jesus, known by His indwelling Spirit – are carnal – unlike the New Testament believers who were “spiritual.”
Such carnal purveyors of the words of the Bible are condemned by the very book they nearly worship in idolatry.
If you think this describes only “narrow minded fundamentalists,” think again. It actually covers a broad swath of those today who name Christ whose theories of the faith reside largely in a mixture of flesh and spirit jumbled within.
That such a way is utterly damaging to the purposes of God and contrary to the true Way of Christ is also self-evident.
If it was the right way, one might expect far more fruit and success than we see among those who claim they are Christian disciples.
If it was as simple as reading the Bible as Martin Luther’s solo scriptura tenet espouses, then everyone would be unified in all important matters of doctrine and practice.
It is self-evident that this is not happening. If it was as simple as using good scholarship of the Bible, then we would not have perpetual debates on every conceivable point of the faith, including vitally important issues.
For example:
1) Can one remarry after divorce while their spouse is yet alive?
2) Once born again, are you permanently guaranteed heaven, or is eternal salvation a conditional promise?
3) Should Christians take up arms in defense of themselves, or state interests?
In the case of remarriage, this brings into question whether a remarriage is recognized as valid before God, or the couple are in adultery. If in adultery, it also brings into question whether they are headed to hell, as unrepented-of adultery for life could mean they forfeit salvation – that is, assuming they disbelieve “once saved always saved.”
In the case of whether “once saved always saved” is true, this has broad ramifications in how a believer will live. If they happen to be remarried and in adultery, they would not fear hell. Beyond that one issue, those who believe they have a permanent golden ticket to heaven signed with Jesus’ blood become very different kinds of believers than those who do not believe this. Much more could be said.
In the case of using arms – guns, knives, swords, tanks, planes, bombs, anything – this also raises a question whether soldiers are seen as killing people against the will of God – effectively committing murder for the state. The same questions raised by remarriage and potential adultery about the hope of heaven also arise for those who may be deemed by Jesus as murderers for the service of Satan’s kingdom.
There are innumerable other doctrinal divides that never come to unanimous conclusion. These are just briefly outlined, and it is understood many nuances come into play.
The purpose of raising the above few theological questions is not to answer them.
The only reason to show these high-stakes questions is to illustrate they are never answered to everyone’s satisfaction and this is a major problem.
The only point made here is this is a state of affairs by which most are so numbed out by and acceptant of, and it is not of God; it is not God’s doing; it is evident people who can be so divided are not walking with God.
It is a fair statement that in such debates a person claiming to be a disciple on one side of the table or the other side – or both – are not hearing from God, or properly understanding the Bible
If they were, God who is so invested in their success would correct them. But so many live their lives entrenched in their theological dogma, never corrected. That is not of God.
Would you like to honestly face this, or would you rather go into denial, or put your head in the sand?
Just like the Old Testament Jews
Matthew 23:15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
The error of Christians teaching a paradigm of understanding God predominately with their fleshly intellect and feelings is like in kind to that for which Jesus rebuked the hard-hearted and spiritually deaf, dumb, and blind and cut-off Jews of His day.
John 5 – 37 And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. 38 But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. 39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
The Pharisees had established their mental comprehension of the scriptures as their eternal security and overlaid their understanding with traditions and theories of man. The same is true of innumerable purported representatives of Christ today.
Galatians 3 – Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?
The root issue between many today who teach Christ is an over-reliance on the independent religious mind of fallen man, and not nearly the degree of acquaintance required with the living God.
That this is self-evident has been established.
That man is a huge sinner and as blind is also self-evident. If he were not blind like the “blind guides” who Jesus decried, they would see many points of error, but the alarm is not raised, and they sleep while the house is burning to the ground.
Indeed, they claim they are building the works of God, when He calls it a work of man severed and not “holding fast to the Head.”
If this were untrue, then there would be an order of magnitude more unanimity in issues of the faith. God wills and commands unity. He never wills that which is impossible, or that which He will not do if man by his own will puts himself in a place to see God’s will accomplished.
Look in the Mirror
James 1 – 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
The other blindness is many Christians may at least agree others are wrong. They may admit there are false teachings out there. The Bible after all warns of this much.
But many may otherwise be blind, and as blunt tools, who fail to realize they are just as susceptible to error as anyone. They may fail to realize they may be just as undone and not approved of by God as others.
It is easy to see faults in others, but this problem goes deeper than that: Carnal Christians are susceptible to the carnal mind’s psychology. First, a person only knows what they know. If they have been indoctrinated from the pulpit by falsehoods presented as truth, they may never know they are false if they cannot hear the Spirit of God’s actual voice to correct them.
Beyond this, all humans have a desire to feel secure, to have a comfort zone. They want to feel they are right with God and may hope in heaven. But many do not like to think or study much. Many are not even capable of doing it well. Many like having preachers do the heavy lifting for them, so they let the alleged experts with theology degrees do their deepest thinking for them.
Beyond that, many have no heart for truly becoming spiritual, as the first century disciples in good standing were. Many today love the realm of the tangible more than the intangible. Many want to control their own lives and not surrender in childlike trust to the degree Jesus commanded. Many therefore like to put God in a box, or contain Him and His teachings in their mind.
They become the ultimate arbiter of all they think, say, and do. They effectively become as their own gods. God is cut out. But they are satisfied by their own internal register that they serve God.
They think they are fine because God gave them the Bible and told them to do things this way, but He never did say such a thing. That is the invention of fallen man who supposes to offer God service, but in fact primarily serves himself.
This is exactly like the Jews of old who loved to dwell in the here and now, and placed greater confidence in what they could reason and comprehend with their fallen minds rather than develop the faculty called the spirit.
The Jews were not offered the Holy Spirit under the Old Covenant, but Christians are under the New Covenant and are commanded to be sure they receive and know Him, as this is to be their very life (Gal 5:16-25).
Indeed this is the “abundant life” (John 10:10) and only way of deeper abiding in Christ (John 15:1-8), and actually even loving God or your neighbor as yourself.
But even so, those who would be termed carnally minded Christians have substituted the voice of Jesus with the Bible and their intellects and commentaries and personal feelings and sensibilities.
That this is self-evident, again, is plain.
If it were not, we would see God’s plainly expressed will done far more than we do. He is committed and able to carry it out. Indeed for Him not to would make Him monstrous, or no longer perfect, and that is impossible.
The fault lies with those who substitute the fallen mind of man for the still small voice of Jesus Christ in them, their only hope of glory.
And by this many are on a broad way, and may God have mercy.
And may you repent and wake up to the degree this applies to you.
