Strong Man Of God Blog

            The call to spiritual unity the Lord led me to make in a recent post was to and is only possible among His followers genuinely repentant and revived by the Holy Spirit in the paradigm shift created by His Coronavirus judgment.¹  This should not be shocking since authentic, Spirit-filled believers are strictly who the apostle Paul is speaking to when he issues his unity call to the church at Ephesus (Ephesians 4:1-6).  It is also important to understand now, as the Lord’s Coronavirus judgment has ushered in another clear reality of the paradigm shift spawned with it: the launch of His days of separation not completed until after His Kingdom reign in this present earth and mortal age end.

            The love of God in us and for each other that fosters unity is Christ’s standing “commandment” and instruction of His apostles to all disciples that would make up His Body, the Church (John 13:34-35, 15:9-12; Romans 5:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; 1 Peter 1:22, 4:8; 1 John 4:8-11, NKJV).  The Lord Jesus is direct in declaring real love for Him is displayed in obedience to His commandments--agreed with or not; disobedience from Adam being why He had to come (John 1:29, 14:15, 19-24)!  Likewise, the apostle John pulls no punches about the Lord’s standing commandment that His disciples love each other; describing those that refuse as still “in darkness,” (1 John 2:7-11, NKJV).

            John goes on to mark the presence or absence of love for one’s Christian brother and practiced “righteousness” as a point of “manifest” separation between the “children of God and the children of the devil.”  This separation was first made in the world by wicked Cain when he murdered his righteous brother, Abel, and continues to this hour.  John further describes a professed Christian that does not love, but hates his brother as abiding “in death” and being “a murderer” (Genesis 4:3-8; 1 John 3:10-15, NKJV).  He also calls the professed Christian man who claims to love God, but “hates his brother,” “a liar” (1 John 4:20-21, NKJV).²

            There is then, a very real separation between the children of God and those of Satan in the world and within professing Christianity!  We understand why this is so in the world since Christians are called out of it to follow Christ (John 15:19; Galatians 6:14; James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17).  While we remain in the world physically, we are no longer of it spiritually, morally or ethically (John 17:9-19; Romans 12:1-2)!  Indeed, this world--enemy territory--is hostile to Christ, His Kingdom and us in Him (Ephesians 6:12; 1 John 5:18-20).  We supposedly understand this too, and the fact we are destined by God to be separated from the wicked of this world forever (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, 47-50)!

            However, why until now, has God allowed His children and the children of Satan as religionist impostors, rebels and apostates to co-exist in the churches or has He?  From the beginning Christ and His apostles warned and taught about separating out and barring from among the churches those that would not stop sinning against a brother or obey right (sound) doctrine (Matthew 18:15-20; Romans 16:17-20; 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15; Titus 3:9-10; 2 John 7-11).  And while it is true “certain men crept in unnoticed,” the apostles with the Lord fatally judged even some sinning believers as an example to all (Acts 5:1-11; 1 Corinthians 5:1-8, 11:23-32; Jude 4, NKJV).

            Historically after the apostles, the church fathers stood against many false teachers through the 4^th century using excommunication and public repudiation.  At the end of the 4th until the 19^th century Christianity the religion of men manifested prominently among Roman Catholics with others and Protestants that followed, wrongly and wickedly took it into their own hands to put to death those that were heretics in their eyes to include true saints and prophets of God sent to call them to repentance (Revelation 17:1-6)!³  Today though, like the church at Corinth fearfully slow to deal with a man in sexual immorality so, many churches all manner of sin that sanction it too (1 Corinthians 5:9-13).  They do this to fill empty seats, give support to and serve their manmade religious purposes.

            Church discipline of any kind in this 21^st century epoch of tolerance is virtually non-existent in all but the most conservative (not necessarily biblically so) of churches.  The result is much carnality, corruption, wickedness, turmoil, acrimony and falsehood from false prophets, brethren, teachers and churches (Matthew 24:11; 2 Timothy 3:1-9, 13; 2 Peter 2:1-3; Revelation 18:1-3) influenced by unchecked demonic deceit as foretold (1 Timothy 4:1-5).  Now, the Lord during His Coronavirus judgment has served notice to all professed Christians emptied out of their buildings that He has come to the end of His forbearance with the status quo.  With judgment, His days of separation are underway within professing Christianity; the Lord, separating out His faithful from the wicked!

1 See the April 26, 2020 post, There Is Only One..., under the category, Instruction.

2 Here  is  where the glaring inconsistency of being a professed Christian and racially bigoted is so striking!  John calls such a person what he or she really is since God

   who  is  love  and  has  commanded  Christians to love one another is not at all behind ethnic or racial prejudice.  So, you cannot be both a Christian and a bigot!  This

   means the evident hardened, institutionalized racial bigotry extant in professing American Christianity is not ordained of God or His Word, but a counterfeit Christianity

   of  manmade  invention.  See  my  most  recent February 2, 2020 post on racism, Ethnically Diverse Mankind Is Of God and on February 3, 2019, Christianity In Black

   And White both under the category, Black History.

3 Read the Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica for articles on Christian heresy for more details.

            Those professed Christians that cannot bear to hear talk about God as Judge may not actually know Him from the Bible and are in a bad place spiritually.  As the Lord has led me to write in recent blog and social media posts, much of the blame for this must be shouldered by those pastors and teachers whether in church buildings or the media that have deceitfully focused exclusively on what are considered the non-threatening, positive aspects of the divine nature, character and acts presented in Scripture.¹  However, the evidently massive numbers of fragile souls that need God to only show His sunny side must also accept responsibility (Isaiah 30:8-11; 2 Timothy 4:3-4).

            While space will not allow me to do more than give only a very lightweight introduction to the God of the Bible, I proceed as the Lord leads out of His love for those He foreknows will be helped to understand who it is that has called them to salvation and eternal life!  God wants to be known by us and has taken the initiative in four ways to make this happen.  God is revealed through what has been observably created both external in the creation all around us (to include the human body) as a first and internal--made as we are unique above all animals in the divine image and likeness--as a second way of knowing Him (Genesis 1:1, 26-27, 5:1-2, 9:5-6; Psalm 19:1-4; Romans 1:18-21).

            A third way God makes Himself known to us is in His written Word; a marvel of divine inspiration using human vessels over many centuries (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).  A fourth and final way humanity can know God is up close and Personal through Jesus Christ, the Son and Word who revealed God at His first century A.D. coming and after to all who believe on Him (Jeremiah 31:31-34; John 1:1-18, 14:7-26; Hebrews 1:1-4).  From all of these ways of Self-disclosure, but especially the written Word, mankind can know what God wants known about Him.  For this reason, every man should read the Bible for himself; not relying solely on what others tell him it says!

            According to His Word, God is the eternally living God whose nature and character do not change--He is who He is forever (Exodus 3:13-15; Isaiah 40:27-28, 43:10, 44:6-8; Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8; Revelation 1:4-8, 17-18)!  God perfect in nature is alone just, righteous, truth, holy, merciful, gracious, good, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kind, gentle, faithful and Self-controlled as some of His attributes (Deuteronomy 32:3-4; Leviticus 19:1-2; Psalm 103:8; Matthew 19:17; Galatians 5:22-23).  His nature informs His character so that as holy for example, He is set apart from and has no dealings with sin lest He break out in wrath to destroy its bearer (Leviticus 10:1-3; Isaiah 6:1-7).

            Because God does not change in nature and character, even after the coming of Christ in mercy and grace to endure the divine wrath against human sin as our sin bearing substitute, the benefit of His sacrifice extends only to those that repent of their sins, believe the Gospel about Him--that He died on the cross for our sins, was buried and rose again on the third day--and receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:36-38; Romans 3:21-26, 10:6-13; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Hebrews 9:27-28).  However, those that reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ remain in their sins and must find another way if there were one to turn the wrath of God away from their sin guilt (John 3:16-21, 36; Acts 4:8-12).

            Now, this is where many professed Christians and those that lead and teach them (some well intended) in these latter days are getting into trouble with God.  For though, He is loving, good, kind, benevolent, merciful, gracious, longsuffering and ready to forgive the sins of believers (all disobedience to God’s written Word is sin) in the aftermath of Christ’s sacrifice, He does and will not do so unless we in humility confess, repent from and forsake them out of reverence for His holiness (1 John 1:5-2:2).²  Otherwise, the professed believer who refuses to do so faces God as Judge now, and in the future (Romans 2:1-11; 2 Corinthians 5:9-11; 1 Timothy 5:24-25; Hebrews 10:26-31).³

            Indeed, Christians are called to be holy as God is in the New Covenant just as Israel was under the Old (1 Peter 1:13-21).  Knowing God as He is, we supposedly need no one to teach us these things since His law is in our hearts and written upon our minds and we are eager to obey all of His commandments (Hebrews 10:11-22).  Out of this context alone comes our legitimate confidence in all of God’s scripturally assured promises, benevolences and blessings.  We are also enabled to “be strong” and do great deeds out of our knowledge of God (Daniel 11:32, NKJV).⁴  Nevertheless, the apostle John is very direct in declaring that anyone who professes to know Jesus Christ, but “does not keep His commandments is a liar,” (1 John 2:3-4, NKJV).⁵

            Therefore, coming to Jesus Christ, Son of the holy God, believers that do not want to fear facing Him as Judge are called to follow His example of love motivated obedience to all of His Father’s commandments which are His too (John 14:31, 15:10; Philippians 2:5-8)!  Keeping the Lord’s Word in obedience proves one truly knows and loves God and is in Christ, while walking as He did is proof one abides in Him (1 John 2:5-6).  This is all critical to understand now and going forward.  The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"

1 See the two-part post beginning May 17, 2020, Persecution, Hatred And Betrayal, under the category, Bible Prophecy.

2 God  already knows He has called us to mission impossible as it concerns sin without His help.  He has provided the Holy Spirit and continuing access to His throne of

   grace and mercy where our confessed and repented from sins are forgiven through the shed blood of Jesus (John 16:5-15; Hebrews 4:14-16).  For more instruction on

   biblical forgiveness, read my November 2, 2014 post, Once And For All Forgiveness?, under the category, Call To Repent.

3 Many Christians and their churches in sin now, endure God’s Coronavirus judgment as an example and are called to repentance.

4 This  is  the heart of every faithful Christian aspiring to be strong men or great women of God in the image of Jesus Christ I write about in my book, The Strong Man Of 

   God:  Back To Basics.  Get a print copy or digital download of the book at major internet booksellers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, ChristianBooks.com and Apple

   (digital only).  You can also purchase a print copy in the Strong Man Store.

5 See the five posts on the topic of obedience that begin on September 7, 2014, under the category, Call To Repent.