Most in the church system will brush aside the truth everytime they hear it, the poem was nice, but whatt good is an emptional poem, when the professed are not on the narrow Road!
Draw Near to God!
Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously? But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble. Humility Cures Worldliness Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. James4:4-10
It’s not likely the saved in sin crowd has ever heard this passage applied to them in Church by their Pastors. In the Professed world of Salvation you’re a ‘sinner’, but saved by Grace, so the ‘sinners’ spoken of in this verse have yet to be saved because they haven’t done the repeat after me routine. Yet this passage speaks DIRECTLY to the professed presently committing adultery with the world on a daily bases and proudly flaunting their sins in God’s face as double-minded hypocrites who refuse to Purify themselves in repentance. But they THINK Sin humbles them, NOT departure from its corrupting influence.
Professing Christians today living as wretched, desperately wicked chiefs of sinners HATE to hear the Warnings of Scripture applied to their sinful conduct and excuse ridden lives. The Pastors are happy to oblige them because in the churches it’s a happily ever after world of anything goes. (Just believe in Jesus and everything will be fine) HOWEVER if what the Bible says about Sin is True, then the wretched double-minded folks in la la land are in dire straights with God! Let’s make a quick comparison:
IF the ‘repeat after’ routine is valid and people can be Justified in theirs sin and keep right on sinning without fear of further Judgment, WHAT really do they gain? The average professed Christian is a colossal MESS! Their lives are in a constant state of repeated failure. Their relationships are full of contentions and strife, separations, divorce, abuse, damaged children, drunkenness, lust, perversions and all manner of uncleanness that leads to further destruction of family and personal harmony. As Jeremiah would say they cry Peace, Peace when there is NO PEACE! (Jer6:14) They live in a constant state of carnality, sensual desires, self-seeking confusion and bitter envy. All proceeding out of their own desperately wicked hearts they LOVE to proclaim as the filthy rags to God. ‘Nice life!’ But it’s Pie in the Sky when you die---so they claim.
Under the same premise, WHAT do those of us who live Right, fear God, Depart from iniquity and keep our hearts Pure LOOSE by Walking Worthy of God? Our Minds are renewed from the insanity of having to ‘sin everyday’, our hearts are made Pure by Obedience to the Truth; our Conscience is clear before God and man. We have genuine Peace within our spirit, yielded to God, full of mercy, good fruits, without partiality or hypocrisy. We live in harmony with others, love our neighbor as ourselves, shun every appearance of evil; we focus our thoughts on things above, our flesh is crucified with Christ and lives hidden with Christ in God. The Word of God is alive and powerful, sharper than a two-edged Sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of our hearts. We Contend earnestly for the faith because the love of God within us does not rejoice in iniquity but in Truth. We are spared the horrible consequences that accompany a sinful life and live peaceably in a world gone mad with lust. Thus we have LOST Nothing because there is really nothing of any lasting value in the world and ‘if the Bible Warnings are true’, we’ve gained a life of eternal bliss with God! (all by simply taking His Word on face value obeying Him from our hearts, doing what He said and enduring to the end.)
In Contrast what occupies the lives of the sin everyday people? It’s just as the James Passage says:
They are constantly ‘warring’ (fighting, struggling) with the passions of their flesh based desires. They lust for what they don’t have, covet what they cannot obtain and mock God with prayers for the vanities of life. The lust of eyes, flesh and pride of life are their central focus as they willfully commit adultery with the world seeking after the vain glories of temporal pleasure. They are brought down to the dust in utter humiliation by the very Sin they thought would humble them before God as ‘sinners saved by grace!’
In their state of Ruin they despise ANYONE who offers them a life-line to God. (or a sure way out of the mess they’ve made of their lives!) But because it involves taking the WORD at face value as TRUTH, instead of listening to their pastors and pundits tell them everything will be fine and dandy, they arrogantly thumb their noses at the Warnings and shoot the Messenger who brought it. BUT what real assurance do they have? (Their strength in numbers, misery loves company or just plain vanity of pride?) If they would really Draw Nigh unto God and behold themselves in His mirror, the Shock would overwhelm their senses! Then they would be able to understand the depth of their double-minded ways, the impurity of their thoughts and the resentment they have toward God.
The Caption Says: ‘Humility Cures Worldliness’
BUT ONLY if a person SUBMITS themselves to God on His terms: this submission involves a ‘military’ type subjection to an Authority that commands your obedience to it. In God’s Service there are no Double-minded disciples. (Js1:8, Mt5:24) If you prefer worldly pleasures over God, you set yourself up as His enemy and reap what you sow. (the inevitable consequences of your own life of sin) James speaks of a Self-cleansing Humility that takes place in a genuine Repentance. The brokenness, mourning and crying out to God in a Sincere bid to get clear of your wrong doings and come clean with God.
In a Professing Christian world were the Warnings don’t apply and anyone who brings them is the devil, it’s ‘how much sin can I get away now and still have some fun’ before the Lord calls me home. BUT the nagging doubt remains (like an empty void that cannot be filled) WHY is your ‘Christian’ life a train wreck of wrongdoing when God was suppose to clean you up when you ‘received’ Jesus? WHERE is the Newness of life and the Promise of a renewed mind? WHY can’t you Escape the Corruption that is in the world through lust?
IF Faith is the Victory that overcomes the World; WHY are the ‘Christians’ overcome by lust for the world?
Logically IF the Warnings don’t apply then neither do the Promises. Again as James says, ‘You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss that you may consume and squander it on your own pleasures!’ (Js1:3) You count worldly gain as spiritual riches yet they leave you empty and wanting for more. The haze of worldly indulgence has blinded your eyes to the ONE fact that God has stayed His hand of Judgment on this obstinate, hard hearted generation out of the kindness of His Patience and longsuffering giving them an opportunity to regain their sense of reason and Repent! (Rom2:4) But nothing last forever in the realm of man; God has a time table when it comes to sin, He will allow man a ‘full measure’ of iniquity (Gen15:16) before the hammer falls. JUSTICE will prevail in the end.
The Lies and Vain Promises of men won’t get you anything of value in this life or in the life that is to come. You gain nothing on both sides, just more misery and shame and an eternity to contemplate how utterly foolish it was to defend a sinful life-style in the face of God’s crystal clear warnings of love. You shot the messenger and scorned his compassion for your soul. Maybe the happy buss ride will last another hundred years and most of the sin everyday ‘Christians’ will die quietly in their beds with the pastor standing by. And the remaining ones still on the happy buss to no-where will continue to wonder why ‘others’ insist on making such a big deal about sin that’s already taken care of by Jesus.
What more can be said? ‘Que Sera, Sera whatever will be, will be" The ‘sinning saints’, as they like to think of themselves, will continue to deny God’s warnings and test His patience. But they will lose on both counts. Their lives are a ruination of sin here and will be destruction and eternal misery here after. They are convinced God’s Grace gives them special preference over the other ‘sinners’ who have yet to receive Jesus. So they go about their days in absolute complacency committing willful acts of rebellion against God’s Word, violating every form of decency known to man and nay saying anyone who cares enough to warn them.
Warnings are given out of love (God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked Ezk18:32) Agape love is dispassionate; there is no malice or hatred involved. A heart that is in turn with Him is saddened by the lies and hypocrisy of people who call themselves by His Name and live in sin. We are compelled by His Love to persuade you that the Way you have chosen to follow will lead you to Perdition. 2Cor5:14
