Going
Secular – Abandoning Christ
9/6/2012
by Ron Graham
“And
be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your
mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of
God.” Romans 12:2. As the born again children of
God, we have been transformed into the exact representation of our Lord.
Obviously as we look at the Ekklesia of Christ today, this concept is foreign to
many professing Christians. We are a peculiar people as Paul tells us in his
epistle to Titus. “Looking for that blessed
hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify
unto himself a peculiar people…”
Titus 2:13-14. The Greek word translated
into English as peculiar is “periousios”, which actually means
“possession”. What we understand from this verse is that Jesus has taken us (His
followers) as His possession. When our Creator justifies us we become His
property, which means we have been transformed. Our minds too are to be
transformed, thus conformed to God and His will – and no longer to the
world.
How is this
transformation possible? “In whom we have
redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of his grace;” Ephesians
1:7. When Jesus died on that cross His blood was shed. His death and
the shedding of His blood was the full purchase price for our redemption. We who
believe in Him have been redeemed. The very fact that we will have no part in
the Lake of Fire, that we have been given eternal life through Jesus Christ
should give us pause when we are confronted with tough decisions during our
sojourning on this planet. Tough decisions are only a dilemma when we see two
paths before us. As God’s children there is only one path, therefore no dilemma,
no decision. We stand with God – period.
“I
am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of
mine.” John 10:14. Jesus bought and paid for His
possession (His sheep) with His very own blood. Therefore we, the children of
God, no longer belong to another, but Jesus Christ alone. If you dispute His
claim over you then perhaps you should re-evaluate your future eternal
destination.
“According
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before him in love:” Ephesians 1:4. There it is. We, God’s
children, should be holy and without blame. Holy in the Greek is “hagios” and it means to be set apart. Set
apart by God from what? The secular world. Being set apart by God should bring
about our devotion to God’s precepts, especially in regards to our conduct in
the midst of a lost world.
“Abide
in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide
in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the
branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much
fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast
forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the
fire, and they are burned.” John 15:4-6.
Since we now belong to Him we
are to abide in Him as He abides in us. We must never allow ourselves to be
conformed to this world. Falling back into the things of the secular world and
participating in those things as though God didn’t even exist, and as if your
faith in Christ has no bearing on your decision making, is a blatant refusal to
conform to the authority of Christ and His doctrines. This attitude of
dissention in the ranks is not worthy of a child of God. Sadly there has been a
rate of descent toward the secular occurring among the Christian Ekklesia for so
long that many Christians currently live their lives in secular mode. There is
no visible outward sign that a transformation had ever
occurred.
Here’s an
example of non-conformity to the world. I will not place my Saviour on an
outside handrail as I go in and place my vote this November. I’ve received
numerous letters condemning my stance on America’s current choice of people
running for the leadership of this nation. Just so there is no confusion, I
stand opposed to both individuals currently running for the office of president.
Why? Because I have been set apart by God to be holy and blameless. When we take
God’s word seriously, only then will we begin the most incredible trek of our
lives. Standing on God’s precepts means we will at times be confronted with
difficult decisions, many of which will oppose God. This is where every born
again child of God will stand at various junctures in their life. How we honor
God will be determined by our response to those difficult decisions. Voting for
the lesser of two evils is simply conforming to the world. The lesser of two
evils is still very much evil.
“Be
not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner:
but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of
God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our
works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ
Jesus before the world began,” 2 Timothy 1:8-9. The children of God are
called with a holy calling from God to stand firm on His precepts. Standing firm
means we do nothing that would move us to the dark side.
“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;”
Ephesians 4:14. Standing firm on
God’s word is fully expected by God of His holy children – never
suggested.
There are many
professing believers who simply ignore the fact that God is not a part-time God,
nor does He expect His children to be part time children. Stepping away from the
faith while we once again join the secular world is heresy. A very visible sign
of the times in which we live is Christians subordinating their faith in Christ
by supplanting His precepts with secular motivations and desires. There are
numerous scriptures in our Bibles declaring we hold fast to the doctrines of God
and never divide ourselves between the sacred and secular.
That good thing which was committed unto thee keep
by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.” 2 Timothy 1:14. The word “keep” is
translated from the Greek word “phylassÅ” which actually means to guard,
to keep watch over as though someone is continually trying to take away from you
what God has entrusted you with. Satan will do everything possible to separate
you from what God has committed unto
thee to guard (Godly instruction). Even while enticing you with
the lesser of two evils.
We live in a
time where faithfulness is only expected so long as it serves our own interests.
When faithfulness stops being to our immediate advantage many Christians feel
just fine about giving up their responsibility to God as they wallow in the
secular. How can divided loyalties be honoring to God? As God’s children we are
to be faithful to Him at all times. Our hearts are His, our minds are His,
suffice it to say our full being is His. Standing firm on God’s precepts means
having the heart and the will to do what is right even when it seems to be crazy
or even contrary to our own personal interests. But God honors those who fear
Him and keep His commands.
Doing the right
thing may be difficult, and it may seem like it is contrary to everything we see
crumbling around us. Many times we are motivated to do the wrong thing out of
fear. Fear of course is a very powerful emotion, if allowed to fear will steer
our lives. Because of fear we may take the wrong path believing it to be the
less dangerous when in fact it may lead to destruction. But God tells us over
and over again to fear not.
“For God hath
not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound
mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7.
When we honor God by trusting Him, He blesses us - exceedingly. When we dishonor
Him by descending into the muck and mire of the secular world leaving Jesus
behind, we then become subject to our own wrong choices which invariably bring
about heartache and pain. Making choices contrary to those that God would
approve of means we aren’t taking God seriously. The fact is it means we are in
rebellion to our Saviour. As God’s children, we are entrusted with His word to
promote it and to follow it ourselves – without question. This concept has
either been lost or was never embraced by many who profess to be
Christians.
“…what
fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath
light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath
he that believeth with an infidel?” 2 Corinthians 6:14b-15. Question: does God
turn a blind eye to those who intend to compromise their faith by choosing the
lesser of two evils? I’ve asked this question previously and as yet have not
received even one response. My response to that question is. Not hardly. The
path of least resistance is, in many cases, the most desirable, but it usually
runs contrary to God’s will. When we choose one evil over another, in the end
we’ve still made a choice for Satan not God. We should never attempt to justify
our rebellion to God by thinking He might condones, at least this once, our
failure to stand firm in our faith.
How do we face
our God once we’ve compromised our faith by promoting one evil over another?
Chosen one demonic doctrine over another (Muslim or Mormon)? According to the
word of God, we, who He sees as His children, are never afforded such
liberty.
Many are in a
quandary these days as it becomes harder and harder to remain a solid
conservative Christian. Christians are given very little to choose from that is
actually godly in this secular world, especially in regard to politics. This
dilemma didn’t just recently raise its ugly head. Decades ago when the followers
of Messiah Jesus let down their guard and allowed a more liberal mindset to
become entrenched in every aspect of national government, the pendulum began to
swing toward the enemy of God. For decades the Ekklesia of Christ, on a whole,
has been usurping the word of God in order to secure a more harmonious
relationship with the god of this world (Satan); thus pacifying themselves in
the process.
God says have no
fellowship with unrighteousness (doctrines of demons), period. God has set His
saints apart from the world, and as such we must shun all doctrines that oppose
His word in any way. “Let no man deceive you
with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the
children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were
sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of
light:” Ephesians
5:6-8. We, the justified children of God are the light in the Lord.
As such we are to walk in that light – always. Everything we do in this life
must reflect Messiah Jesus. Never are we to choose evil, no matter how appealing
or self-satisfying that evil may appear. Siding with the enemy can only bring
disaster. America has been siding with evil for far too long, you don’t think
so? You better take another look at the current state of this once great nation.
It has become
glaringly obvious to me that the majority of Christians understand very little
about what Messiah Jesus meant by His statement “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross, and follow me” Mark 8:34b. When we take up our cross we
must be prepared to deny ourselves even if it means suffering. We will be
rejected as Christ was, persecuted, maltreated, denied the fundamentals of God
given rights, even to die for our Lord. That’s what it means; the followers of
Jesus Christ must be prepared to take up their cross – daily. The doctrines of
Jesus Christ are binding on all the born again believers in this world. There is
no middle ground, no putting Jesus on a shelf until after we make the hard
decisions, and then picking Him back up again as though we were completely
blameless.
The more the
Ekklesia of Christ in America compromises their faith through the casting of
their vote for the lesser of two evils, the more persecution will increase. How
can I say that? The more influential the doctrines of demons becomes, the more
pressure will be put on the followers of Messiah Jesus to toe the line of those
demonic doctrines. Then how will the Gospel of peace be preached without the
freedom to speak the truth? Satan wants your vote, are you going to give it to
him?
Jesus says “He that is not with me is
against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.”
Matthew 12:30. Satan, his
doctrines, his religions are diametrically opposed to Jesus Christ. When we fall
for Satan’s lies we follow his doctrines/religions and we scattereth
abroad. Decision time in America is almost upon us; path to
destruction – “Obama/Romney”, straight path – Jesus Christ who died to give you
life. Choose wisely!
God bless you
all,
Ron
Graham
All
original scripture is “theopneustos” God breathed
I’m
greatly encouraged by all the response to my prayer
request.
Please
continue your prayers for my health. The MG
continues to destroy the skeletal muscles in my body, thus the
fatigue
and eye problems are
becoming more of a
daily hindrance.
I’m
very grateful to those of you who have been lead by God to send a
gift
of support.
God, the giver of all good gifts, is great and greatly to be praised. If God is
leading you to send a gift, please send it to Ron Graham – 96 County Road 5480,
Salem, MO, 65560. Thank you my dear brethren, God bless you
all.
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past commentaries are archived at the following
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