On Iniquity

Post 228

 

As the events in our world move at an alarming rate, most of us can see the very black storm looming larger on the horizon, we don’t need someone to tell us that as many hunker down to wait what comes with apprehensive uncertainty. But due to the long history of many claiming to be prophets of God with a seemingly unending variety of “prophetic” details and timelines, the majority of Christians have simply shut their ears to the cacophony of confusion by declaring; “We cannot know what the prophecy of scripture means until it comes to pass”. Yet most of these same Christians have a insatiable fascination with UFOs, the Mayan calendar, Nostradamus, Global Economic Predictions and the Global Warming - Hole in the Ozone - Acid Rain - Asbestos - Lead Paint - Ebola - Aids - scientific forecasts of doom.  The world ending fear mongering of these things are quickly accepted and earnestly investigated with the perverse sick curiosity of a drive by car crash gawker. But scripture prophecy? “I guess we will never know until we get to heaven.”

What is with that?

I contend it is because like Peter told Simon of Acts 8:9-24, “Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.”

What did Peter mean by that? Simon was a solid Christian as the scripture states; “Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip…” Acts 8:13a.

I feel I must draw attention again to some of the points of the last post because of the incredible importance to this generation as we watch come to an end the short transition between the 7th and 8th Global Dominant Empires (GDEs) of Revelation 17:10-11.

The obvious black storm now coming with enormity is an excellent wake up call and many are heeding its warning by seeking after God more earnestly than before. Since you are reading this I imagine perhaps you are one of these. So let me again be clear;

Although I earnestly believe my interpretation of scripture is of God and correct, I do not pretend to suppose I am given everything the scripture has to say. The scripture is so full of all wisdom that no man can glean its full truth anymore than we can fully comprehend God himself.

“…Oh that he (God) would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! … Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the almighty unto perfection?”

Job 11:5-7

What I present is only a small portion of what the scripture has to say, so like the drive by gawker of all manner of prophecies of doom except the scriptures; do not, like the Jews, be content to read the work of expositors of the scriptures over the scriptures themselves; (Talmud over the Torah). Expositors, like jumper cables, are there to jumpstart your own searching of God and his word to help you then get from him directly the true fuel for your soul. My work is intended to be just such jumper cables, to excite your hope in God that he is not dead, his word is incredibly relevant, and that most of his holy word was written more for our time than any previous if that were possible. And so, the purpose of my work is to excite you to seek for the moving of God in your spirit through the Holy Ghost where he runs deep and not primarily on the surface with flamboyant displays of prophecy and miracles and tongues and such.

Do not be like Simon who actually believed in Jesus Christ, followed the instruction of baptism, and earnestly made the work of the faith his life, yet still lacked the power of God moving on him personally so remained curious in wonder as he observed the Holy Spirit moving on others.

“…he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done” Acts 8:13b.

There are those who want desperately this fellowship with God but somehow never figure out how to access it and so choose “second best” by joining themselves earnestly to those who do.

As we see in the Acts 8 narration, Simon was not rebuked for this until it became a problem. This might suggest, like Matthew 13:25-30, that the line there is too gray to distinguish in the early stages as people sort out the working of their faith by clinging to those who can mentor them, but Simon eventually showed his problem when he made the wrong conclusion;

“And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost”  Acts 8:18-19.

Finally Peter was able to address Simon’s error as it came to a head and expose for him his root iniquity that lay at the source in his heart. How is it possible that a Christian who worked in the ministry with the saints of God could conclude that the Holy Spirit could be had for money? It was because no matter how hard he worked at applying the faith, the Holy Ghost never came but he didn’t know why. So as he observed the apostles simply giving it away to others with a bitter heart casting the blame elsewhere, he concluded surely he could buy it from them as he was one of the ministers with them.

“But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought (3543) that the gift of God may be purchased with money” Acts 8:20.

The reaction of Peter tells us this was not simply a case of ignorance but due to a rooted wickedness that produced such a thought.

Thought 3543 nomizo; from 3551; properly to do by law (usage), i.e. to accustom (passively be usual); by extension to deem or regard:- suppose, think, be wont.

3551 nomos; from a primary nemo (to parcel out, especially food or grazing to animals); law (through the idea of prescriptive usage), general (regulation), specifically (of Moses [including the volume]; also of the Gospel), or figuratively (a principle):- law.

This definition of thought has a curious source of development that warrants further investigation:

Such a thought is not a sudden idea that pops in from nowhere; it is a methodical working of accepted and approved ideas that build one upon another similar to the scriptural “Whom shall he teach knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand doctrine? …for precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little;” Isaiah 28:9-10.

Yet this passage goes on to state that this very process of learning is also the cause of the fall of those who would not learn what God is instructing by this method (Isaiah 28:12-13). The process of learning is the same but everything about what is learned is different because of the various chosen elements of the construction of that thought. This is the building up of wrong comprehension by which Simon reached his concluding error. And Peter shows us the cause of such wickedness; “…thy heart is not right in the sight of God”.

We can easily see in Acts 8:9-11 that the cause of wickedness in this man’s past deception and manipulation remained as a seed of bitterness in his heart upon which he continued to build with the truth of his new faith to eventually come to a completely blasphemous desire that seemed logical to him. Instead of repenting from his ways of error he only incorporated the new faith into his previous perceptions.

Dear Christian who sees the great black storm building on the horizon and darkening the sky of world events, are you even now trying to “buy” safe passage around the storm with your salvation? Do you suppose that Christianity is a golden ticket to avoid the horrors to come by expecting “the rapture” and so have turned a deaf ear to the watchman on the wall because you believe you won’t be here to endure it? (I Peter 4:19).

Have you shrugged your shoulders at the fall of America because it simply does not matter to you since you won’t be here to experience the evil in all its unresisted glory because your Christ is promised to rescue you… as did the Jews who by scripture were confident their Messiah would come before Judah fell to the horrors of Rome? (Genesis 49:10). Have you so long been following the methodical teaching of the scholars as they build a strong case for the rapture in your lifetime, yet have not bothered to search the scriptures for yourself to see what the Spirit of God has to say to you? Maybe the scholars are right… but maybe not.

Frankly my point today is not the eminency of the rapture but the fact that you have nothing more than a belief based on little more than someone else’s opinions. You are confident that a learned and studied methodical conclusion of scripture by “someone smarter than you” is all there is to have, and you know even less about the rapture itself than its timing, yet like Simon you wonder at those who seem to have more than that. Are you buying the teaching of the Holy Ghost from others because you don’t have it? and you know you don’t have it because you “simply don’t have the time” to get it? Do you suppose the Holy Ghost comes with more knowledge? How much knowledge do you need before he comes? The next book, the next DVD, the next conference?

* * *

OK, Before you feel like I’m beating you, let’s move on toward the answer, so bear with me a little longer:

Let’s be honest and quickly push away the security of an imaginary holy spirit of common powerless Christianity, and address the topic of a real and powerful Holy Ghost promised to every repentant Christian (Acts 2:38) which you don’t have. If you do not have a part or lot in this matter of the Holy Spirit, there is a reason. And if there is a reason there is also a solution. But the hard part is logically and emotionally tearing down the huge structure of reasoning you have built over time with the wrong materials. Nobody likes to start over after years of work on anything; All the wasted time, all the embarrassment of being wrong; all the new work of starting from scratch. These are the thoughts and emotions that keep us from reaching the right ends by choosing a different road once the error has been discovered. This concept was expanded in post 129 All Roads November 23, 2010 (http://when-did-reason-die.blogspot.com/2010/11/all-roads.html).

The correct focus to maintain is not about you and your public image, but about the end result you are endeavoring to reach; are you arriving at the wrong destination in spite of the fact you are sure you are on the right road? Wisdom will tell you the resulting destination trumps the confidence in your present course, every time. Simply change toward the correct direction and suddenly you will be getting closer to the actual goal, (keep this thought in mind; we will develop it in a moment). Looking back in my own past I am still surprised how long and hard it was for me to actually wake up to the truth I already knew but could not make my heart believe. My mind was fully in agreement with the word of God in principle, but my heart had an incredible ability to maneuver around the truth to remain where it was happily grazing. This too was expanded in post 168 The Heart February 20, 2011.

(http://when-did-reason-die.blogspot.com/2011/02/heart.html).

These are both well worth a fresh reading.

* * *

As you look around the world through Youtube, the internet, or TV, and see all the glories of technology and science and advanced achievements, of happiness, and comfortable living, it is very easy to agree with your heart and grow dull to the warning cries as the black cloud looming on the horizon doesn’t seem any closer than it did yesterday and things are really not all that bad. I am not ashamed to admit that these are two competing worldviews from which you must choose your course. And in this choice is the continental divide from which everything that follows will take opposing courses to different seas of reasoning. Among all that confusion of input we have arrived at the summit on the Pile of Decision. From here you choose the Creator or the creation (Romans 1:25).

Simon also arrived at just such a summit when Peter confronted him with his wicked heart. Suddenly washed away was his argument that he believed in Jesus Christ, that he was baptized into the faith, that he gave his life to the work of evangelism and was a co-worker with the apostles themselves! Peter gave no weight to any of that argument as he pierced the heart of Simon to nail the root of his failure to receive the Holy Ghost.

“Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity”

Acts 8:22-23.

“That is some very harsh words to a fellow believer Pete!”

But at this point there was no use dancing around the issue. It was now time to address his heart, he was at the dividing line between watersheds, and according to Peter’s words it seemed that he was already on his way down the wrong side. Peter himself was uncertain if Simon could be delivered as he must have been thinking about the tragic end of Ananias and Sapphira so recently in the past (Acts 5:1-11). Notice that the last verse on the subject leaves us hanging as to the result;

“Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me”

Acts 8:24.

There is no other Simon in the rest of the bible that might be this man. We simply do not know what became of him and I believe there is a reason for that. If such a person who finds himself in the condition of Simon was to read that Simon was saved, it would allow them to be relieved in knowing there was still hope and so not feel as pressed to repent in the cold sweat of great fear. And bitterness will not give up if there is even a thread of alternative.

But if it was revealed that Simon was lost, it would condemn such a confused person in hopelessness and they would not have the strength to seek repentance at all. The self-destructive power of bitterness will grasp even at the hope of hopelessness rather than give up. And so it seems that scripture leaves out the result so that in great fear such a one might earnestly seek God in repentance and hope, turning from the iniquity of the heart with great diligence.

There is one other point that should be made; Peter told Simon it was his job to repent and pray, but it is also stated without rebuke that Simon asked Peter to pray for him. I believe this suggests that the combination has the most successful chance of recovery in such a case.

* * *

Now here is the crux of this post that should alarm virtually every Christian in America:

Nearly every breathing person in America can see the storm clouds building. We really are in very serious trouble. Forget the arguing about the causes or the solutions; we all know things are very bad. Agreed?

So do we, or do we not believe God the Creator? We do. Agreed?

So what has God promised?

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” II Chronicles 7:14.

God is speaking to those like Simon who are called by His name and committed to the faith perhaps even in ministry but have built over time a value system of solid and logical thinking one brick at a time … that results in wicked conclusions. The problem is that by the time an entire nation needs healing, it is because God’s people as a whole have become Simons.

Did you hear that?

The problem is that by the time an entire nation needs healing, it is because God’s people as a whole have become Simons.

Now when most everyone is a Simon living out his faith in honest ministry to the best of his ability without the Spirit, what authority does a Peter have in making his argument? The whole pack of Simons stand up in the security of democratic defense and tell Peter he is out of line, they drive him from the church as a disrupter to the ministry and think they do God a service, and eventually do even worse;

“They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service” John 16:2.

Jesus the redeemer said to this kind of Simon; “Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust” John 5:45.

The Jews trusted in Moses the bringer of the law, as do the Christian in Christ the bringer of liberty; both are missing the point as they blindly break the ways of those whom they trust, and both result in the destruction of their land; The Jews as our historical example and the Christians as yet near future.

Look, I am not trying to save a nation, but if one person receives the fire of the Holy Ghost and spreads it to another and they to others, the end result could be a saved land. It is not impossible as God has already declared, America is only doomed if she does not repent from her wicked ways. And yet if America does not repent but you do, then you go through America’s consequences with everyone else but are in the very center of God’s eye like Caleb, and that is what is far more important (Deuteronomy 32:10, Psalm 17:8).

But here is the obvious problem that is evidenced by America’s looming storm clouds of destruction. As a whole, God’s people don’t recognize their own wickedness and so see no need to repent;

“Yep, America is in bad shape, but it ain’t my fault, I’m good; I have faith in God.”

I recently had a discussion with a pleasant young Christian woman who is a smoking, drinking, blaspheming, fornicator as she earnestly declared she is a God fearing woman. How is this possible? What does it mean to her to fear God?

Do you know that statistically approximately 80-95% of Americans feel they are above average? *1, So honestly, should I judge the merits of my own “goodness” when it comes to eternity, or perhaps take some other “above average” person’s perspective on my righteousness? Or might it be wiser to spend some time reading what God has to say on the matter, and search for the confirming evidence of his active Spirit? If American Christians were as good with God as we all think, America could not be on the verge of destruction. Just this Sunday in church, I heard a group of grown Christian men question why God remains silent and inactive while evil runs free.

I don’t see him silent or inactive as he has already declared that if we do good he will bless us, but if we do bad he will destroy us (Deuteronomy 28). It seems that God is speaking loudly and is very active!

* * *

So let’s stop beating around the bush, and cure the problem as Peter directed Simon:

Simon only had 2 things to do (Acts 8:22):

1.      Repent, and

2.      pray for forgiveness.

How simple is that?!

Well, first we have to see our wickedness as Peter so un-delicately pointed out to Simon. And here is where Simon gets lots of hopeful credit; He did not argue with Peter but readily agreed that Peter was right, and he immediately sought help in the very real fear of God. And here is another hurtle for America;

Our abundance of preachers are not showing to us our wickedness, nor the root cause of iniquity that binds us, but rather like Rick Warren’s books “The Purpose Driven life” and “The Purpose Driven Church”, they are soothing our humanity and decrying the need for Christ. And our people are eating it up. So how can an “above average” Christian actually see his own wickedness so that he can repent of it and pray for forgiveness? God gives us a clue in the steps he lays out;

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” II Chronicles 7:14.

Humility is the place to start, but not ignoring the rest.

Admit to God you are probably not as above average as you presently think. Start looking for what ways you are currently offending God, and ask him to help you discover them. Begin with those things you already know about but have long been willing to ignore. Yep, that one! Say, that was quick! And now as your insides are instantly cold from the sudden realization this is going to be personal, you have to decide if that thing is actually worth your soul.

“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and loose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matthew 16:26.

Sure you are really quite attached to that simple and harmless sin and the thought of giving it up is unthinkable, but if you do actually consider the silliness of the battle, is that stupid trifle really worth your soul? Of course not! Give it to God with delight because he wants something so insignificant!

But the actual reason why that little thing is so impossible to consider giving up is not because of the thing, but because by giving it up you are turning over control of your life; you are surrendering your will to God’s, and right now you are actually more attached to that thing than to God. Such “things” only provide evidence of the self-rule that is the source problem. This is the actual focus of salvation; Saving you from your stubborn self. So what kind of salvation is it that retains control? The kind that displays no power of the Holy Ghost.

I wasted far too many Christian years excusing away those insignificant trinket sins by rejecting the idea that such a small departure could be so expensive. But God’s word many times says otherwise; (Hebrews 10:38, Ephesians 1:4 etc.) and;

“Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls” James 1:21.

This verse is worded this way because the filthiness and superabundance of depravity will keep you from applying the soul saving word into your life (engrafting). But you don’t think you are as bad as all that, right? Except somehow the word of God just doesn’t rock your world or “speak” to you anymore does it? You would rather do virtually anything than read your bible. Except you want to read it, you just… can’t.

Hmmm. Nothin’ spiritual going on here.

Perhaps you are involved in far more filthy depravity than you think. Like that simple insignificant sin that just came to your mind a moment ago but it quickly evaporated from your thoughts because you love it and want to hid it from the chopping block. I can hear Satan in your head now; “Oh that is ridiculous! This is such an insignificant thing it can’t possibly matter to God at all, let’s look for something else that is probably the real problem.” So just to prove its not Satan with power over you, let’s experiment with that one if you will simply choose to cast it off since it’s so insignificant. And honestly, is it so important to you that you couldn’t afford to do without it for experiment sake regarding your eternity, even if somehow it turns out not to actually make any difference? (Yah, I heard him make that argument too.) But let me assure you it does matter.

Remember the above discussion about changing direction when you discovered you were not getting to the intended goal? Wisdom will tell you the resulting destination trumps the confidence in your present course every time. Simply change direction and suddenly you will be getting closer to the actual goal. This is the meaning of repentance.

Repent 3340 metanoeo; from 3326 and 3539; to think differently or afterwards, i.e. reconsider (morally feel compunction).

* * *

Straight Paths:

This reconsidering of what has been established as “normal” and “acceptable” is to be a fresh examination of what has long been “beyond question”. I use a lot of air quotes here because the difference between what is actually true and what is perceived as true is the very crux of the cry of John the Baptist! “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” Matthew 3:3.

The wording of this verse indicates the paths already exist but are now crooked, and they need to be made straight. So how did the paths of the Lord become crooked? Acts 2:40 gives us a clue in context; “…Save yourselves from this untoward generation”

Untoward 4646 skolios; from the base of 4628; warped, i.e. winding; figuratively perverse:- crooked, froward, untoward.

(Remember this is the root of our word Scoliosis; a curvature of the spine.)

Therefore we are able to conclude that the original paths of the Lord had become perverse; crooked, warped, by the generations of those to whom the straight paths had originally been given. And now, after John’s straightening, we are back to a nation full of American Christians who are walking perverse paths of the Lord resulting in the destruction of our land but feel confident that we are not the problem because we are on the Lord’s path.

* * *

What is the purpose of paths?

It is to get from one place to another in an ever easier and confident manner. Lewis and Clark first hacked their way to the West through a laborious and perilous effort so that those who would come after would have a path to follow. Each use of the path created a more defined trail increasingly free of obstacles, and the trail eventually became a road, and the road became a paved highway for the masses to travel so easily it is now regularly done by 18-year-old girls in expensive shoes with little concern.

The way West had been made straight. But then because of the great ease and security of travel, there are many more that are able to set out on the journey, and there was also a greater opportunity to deviate from the highway to things previously inaccessible and so unknown. And with the ever-increasing deviations by the masses using the straight highway, there came an ever-increasing need for maps while traveling the road west in order to distinguish one destination from another.

In analogy, the straight path West has been made crooked; it had been perverted from its original purpose by those later many who had altered the intent to go West; they stopped short of the goal or deviated from the plan as it were, and after many followers to the various new ends, the road west is no longer plain (straight).

But is this wrong of them? Not by their perspective or opinion; because theirs has deviated from the original goal of Lewis and Clark. This is the way of the modern Christian who has included in his faith the bondage of iniquity and does not know it’s wrong. They are “this untoward generation” from which we now must save ourselves;

“The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul” Proverbs 16:17.

* * * * * * *

*1 Statistic Resources:

General Aviation Stats

(http://www.meretrix.com/~harry/flying/notes/aboveaverage.html)

American drivers Stats

(http://www.cheapcarinsurance.net/above-avarege-driver)

*