One of the things that people miss is that Christ saved us for a purpose. I know that the four spiritual laws are not that accurate, and it is better to say that the chief aim of man is to know God and enjoy him forever than it is to say that God has a wonderful plan for your life.

Because we interpret wonderful as comfortable. When often we are called to do our duty in pain and in grief and anxiety. Almost everything that is worthwhile is hard.

And we do these things not for our glory, but so the church can grow, refine, and be the bride of Christ. For there is opposition in this age, and there has always been opposition.

They are heathen. They rage. That’s what heathen do. We stand in their judgement, so what else could they possibly do than want to kill us? It is futile to argue this point. It’s simply a choice that they have to make. Would they rather have us restricted by Paul’s words by not drawing first blood, or would they rather have our hands untied, and take yet another stab at wiping out Christianity.

We can’t make that choice for them. We’ll just respond to their choice.

Without the church there is opposition to the work of Christ and any attempt to build up the church: the kingdom of God is not the kingdom of men, it follows different rules, and the elite know this.

And within the church there are those who try to be novel. This is hubris.

As if we can add to the completed work of Christ. Our actions should be to glorify and bear witness; for Christ graciously allows us a part in healing and preserving the good.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

(Colossians 1:24-2:7 ESV)

Now, we are not sure who is heathen, who is faking, and who is of the faith. We know that there are people of the faith who are not gathered into the reformed (or orthodox, or roman) churches. But there is a difference between supporting my Russian and Roman brothers and saying those who oppose Christ and his church believe.

What our religion demands that we do, is to do our best so that all the inhabitants of the planets declare themselves believers in the only true faith. Being a heathen is no distinction in any way, shape or form. …

“This should lead to a dialogue among religion” Eh? No. This should lead to this:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you

What does this ass Francis think: that Jesus did not know that most people on earth consider themselves “believers”? Is this a discovery that Francis has just made, or perhaps are we assisting now to a new development in world religion?

Jesus very well knew there are an awful lot of heathens around, and he demanded that we try to convert them, not to dialogue with them.

“We should not stop praying for it and collaborating with those who think differently” Evil Clown clearly did not get the message of Christianity. Instead of praying (and acting) for the conversion of the heathens, he prays for the dialogue. Dialogue is his religion. No time for Christ.

Now, that is one Papist witness. Whom I agree with. Here is another witness, evangelical, who is even blunter.

But this “personal relationship with Jesus” thing is very often applied like Pastor Rich and other trendy Christians apply it: as a means to strip the faith of its moral demands and reduce it down to anemic ambiguity. When many people speak of a Personal Jesus, what they really desire is an Adjustable Jesus. They want to be disciples on their own terms; to calibrate their religion to a more relaxing, luxurious setting; to throw out the difficult, challenging aspects of Belief and put something customized and convenient in its place. When these folks say “my personal relationship with Jesus,” all that really registers is the “my.”

Their “personal relationship with Jesus” is only individualistic, rejecting the imperative communal dimension of faith (Ephesians 4:16). They keep it contained only in their heart, but they ignore the necessity of the church, which is Christ’s body (1 Corinthians 12:27). They render their faith dormant, but it should be a light for the Earth (Acts 13:47). I am not suggesting you should have no “personal relationship with Jesus,” I’m just saying that nearly every Christian who wishes to justify their dormant, hidden, individualistic, private, convenient, customized, contained “faith”; nearly every Christian who wants to find an excuse not to go to church; nearly every Christian who wants to pretend their faith should have no bearing on their lifestyle or their sexual habits; nearly every Christian who wishes to minimize the moral characteristic of their religion, utilizes that catchphrase in doing so.

In any case, the real direct heresy proposed by Wilkerson and myriad others is that the Gospel has no message of “behavior modification,” and that Christianity should be a Faith that appeals to people who “don’t want to be told what they can and can’t do.” This is by far the most popular modern revision of Christian doctrine, and it couldn’t be further removed from the Gospel itself.

It’s true that the Bible is not merely an instruction manual like some kind of spiritual IKEA assembly guide. And it’s true that we can’t just do good things, acquire Salvation Tokens, and cash them in for a ticket to heaven. Clearly, it doesn’t work that way. We cannot earn salvation through our own merits, and whoever says otherwise is repeating a retro heresy called Pelagianism, which was condemned about 1600 years ago.

We are saved by God’s grace, not by giving to charity and holding the door for strangers. Salvation is a gift given by God and ultimately accepted through faith. We cannot bargain for or purchase it. Christ already paid the price on the cross. But if we are to truly accept the gift of salvation, then we must have faith, and our faith must be living, vibrant, active, and functional. It cannot be just an emotion felt or a refrain repeated. I think this is the part many of these trendy, comfortable churches miss.

We are not promised comfort, but suffering: not approval, but opposition, not praise, but conflict.

There is a crowd of witnesses who gave their life for the gospel. My fear is that more will be added, as the elite bring the heathen into Christendom, and encourage (simultaneously) the heretics and the entryists to rule the church.

But let this not deceive is. We need to stay with the teachings of Christ. And he tells others to judge truly, not by appearance, but by how we affect those around us.