The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Part Three

The Christian Fools Paradox, Black Is Black?

and White Is Actually White?

Part One

Part Two

An offering of bliss, or an intolerant assault on insanity?

The Christian lives his/her life in conflict, or at least they should, say true wisdom. There is not only the conflict of their life with the world, a continual struggle of lifestyles; but there is the conflict of paradox; living a life of contradiction, as seen from the natural man when compared to the Bible. Folly makes capital of the wisdom that postulates that we must die to live, we must mourn to be joyous, we must surrender to be victorious, we must hate to love, we must follow to lead, we must become poor to be rich, we must become the least to become the greatest, we must be blind to see, we must work to rest, and we must be homeless to have a home. The hardest thing a Christian can do is to be faithful to this life of self-contradiction, and this is the greatest contradiction of all, that it cannot be done by any of them. This paradox brings much scorn and laughter from Folly and her cohort of motley fools, whether they are humanist, trans-humanist, or the new variety of "Christian" humanist; or just the generic tomfools lacking any sense of judgment or understanding.

As contrary as Christian truth appears to those outside, the “truth” of the world is even more-so. For with the world, even though they use the word truth, they can never see black as black, or white as white; the ground is always giving way under their feet and balance is found in a vacuum of uncertainty. To understand anything absolutely, is to wage war with the Queen of conundrums and lord of the ludicrous; better to go with gray; a moving target is hard to nail down. They see the world as silly putty; fashioning peace on the passing approximations of plastic truth, and take their stand in the flux of creative thinking, having their feet firmly planted on nihilistic delusions. Is not this the paradox of paradox; the confidence to trust the wreathing truth of the witless?

In Folly’s jovial irreverence she sees only those things that lend to pleasure and happiness. Everything she represents is geared to produce the “happy human,” but she never deliberately divulges at what cost her happiness is procured. Whole societies are instituted for nothing else than to worship and adore her in drunken humanistic happiness; but the folly of Folly is that she cannot keep us laughing, and the truth of despair, frustration, loneliness, and guilt keep returning, calling us back to a tormented sort of sanity, which by design encapsulates a hope of deliverance. There is not enough foolishness in Hell to keep back the truth of our depravity; and our own consciousness of damnation is a signal that help is very near, that rescue is a reality, and that our sight can be restored. But, Folly in her cunning, foolishly makes us think we have no sin, when we are all sin, through-and-through; then periods of powerful soberness invade our inebriated slumber and the penetrating light of conviction brings our eyes wide open, and is the signal that it is time to fly to Jesus; a way of escape has once more opened into a foolish heart.

But many also are the Christian foolish, who have seemingly fled to the threshold of faith toting a truckload of earthly gained talents, on a quest to the Celestial City, and to build something for Jesus, and found the gate a difficult endeavor, (I think strait is the term), not adapted to heavy loads or self-imposition; and turning to a less treacherous and more stimulating way lead off into the fog of delusions, half truths, and the perceived values of good marketing. Folly wants us to believe that we are some new kind of Jew, that we must be working, doing, working, doing, and doing some more, whether in sweat, song, or sermonizing; when in truth the dead do nothing. If we want to do something for Jesus we must first do nothing at all. “Unless a grain of corn falls to the ground, and die. . . .”  “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.” (Jim Elliot)

The Cost of foolishness; it is much more than any of us can afford. Since foolishness is nearly universal, then we need only inquire of those whose job it is to gather facts and statistics and see for ourselves the very high price of frequenting the house of Folly. With the increase of foolishness comes increased cost, and foolishness is habitual, so consequently, the ultimate bankruptcy of her children. The cost of foolishness is not apparent all at once, but is generally hidden in our slumbering attitudes of acceptance over time; it becomes a “norm.” Early America was characterized by Pilgrims and Puritans in sacrificial service to God who gave them great abundance through enormous loss. These many years later, their progeny is characterized by religious entrepreneurs, lost in their own self-consciousness, making merchandise of men’s souls. And, this attitude is equally wretched in the not-so-pious group known in the new religious jargon as “the un-churched,” who used to be called “lost.” Their lostness or un-churchedness, or what-ever, is best portrayed in the form of statistics, but is probably seen by them as being progressive and diverse, or even culturally hip.

Folly has our eyes fixed on the surface of things and is always involving us in some gag to prevent our eyes seeing below the crust. Truth is not generally apparent in superficial things, or trivial things that only have the appearance of importance. It takes a discerning eye to perceive, or judge, on matters of true truth. Truth is more than a definition or mental favoritism of “what is.” Truth is a revelation of the right “idea” coming to mind when you hear the word of the Lord. The word of truth should be neither an empty sound nor a vague notion of what is meant. What did Jesus mean when He said, “I am the truth”? Folly would state something merely intellectual that she could hand out or teach a class on, and leave lying on a shelf to gather dust. Jesus, on the other hand, meant something vital, something alive, self-sustaining, and so vital that all relationships are subject to it; He was not just speaking truth, He is Himself the embodiment of truth; all truth is comprehended in Him. Folly merely puts the highest word she knows to the highest fact she knows, and calls it the–truth; but is there a higher order? In our world of jest and joviality we say no, but in our moments of extreme mental anxiety we pray there is a higher order, and the real hope of such a thing keeps us off the bridge. But, we cannot know “truth” until we know the soul of truth and that soul’s true determination; we need "truth in the inward parts."

Christian truth appears to be an assault on what the world calls sanity, but what is the truth? The Great Physician has told us not to listen to all the voices in our head, but to follow His prescription precisely.

John 7:17 “Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.”

 John 8:31,32 “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”

John 15:7 “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”

2 John 1:9 “Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.”

The world is a hellish insane asylum with all the doors left open and the most insane of all become the ward keepers and directors. The best that the resident doctors can do is to keeps us all medicated and away from any desire to escape into the light of true truth pretending to see beyond the realm of our detention. In the world of the benumbed  truth is like the pretty shells along the sea shore, everyone holding fast their prettiest one, never lifting eyes to gaze upon the mighty ocean from which it came.  Reality for them is found in the debris that is washed ashore; the remains of the catastrophe that once was life. They see shadows and glimmerings of things that speak of another time, but never question the reality of the once living thing that is now dead, and carefully placed on the mantelpiece to enchant us.

We never question the remote presence of flowers, even though we cannot see them, when their scent reaches our nostrils; or the nearness of a restaurant when the smell flows down the corridor of some mall; nor the fact that water exist when thirst awakens our desire. Every man and woman has been given the innate desire and sense of the supernatural that Folly masks in humor or ridicule; but have you every desired something that has no root in reality or fulfillment; your desire is prophetic of its own fulfillment. Reason and logic are confounded when presented with the true facts. 

The truth is ever before us and is nowhere hid from those who want to see it; and the truth is much more exciting than the lie. 

Think for a moment now, and ask yourself, What color is my world? Do I live in the light of truth or the fog of folly? In every thing you do, and every answer you give, test yourself; you may be quite surprised at what you find.

Against her better judgement, this could be the very best gift you receive this year; plucked from the fist of Folly.

Poor Harold Camping, the whole world has witnessed his fall, and now he must bolster his pride and continue his self-deception or confess and repent. But, let me say this in his defense; he is more honest in his promulgations than the whole camp of liberal Emergents. Harold studied the Bible, in the power of his own mind and reasoning, and boldly stated his conclusions to the world. The liberals, on the other hand, do their studying and then scurry off into shadows, innuendos, insinuation, half-truths, and misrepresentations.

These New Age liberal Emergents come to no absolute conclusions. By making no judgments, they can say everything, without saying anything. They have perfected the Luciferian art of “doublespeak” by virtually prefacing all they say with the preamble “Hath God really said,” or as Rob Bell would say “. . . and someone knows this for sure?”  Harold did no such thing; he boldly proclaimed his error, in the face of truth; he dared to come against the light in the open, and fell. The liberals lay in ambush with snares and pits, and hide in the fog of deceit. Harold was not really honest by any stretch of the imagination; even still, he was more honest than the Emergents.  When Satan initiated the use of Liberal tactics, in the Garden of Eden, he was awarded the title, “Father of all lies,” so what does that make the Emergents?

Harold rejected God’s truth and is condemned. The liberal Emergents reject God’s word and are applauded, proving that it is hard to hit a moving target or put fog in a box. At least Harold tried to be honest in his own deceived way. The best way to deceive is to copy Satan, by muddling, diluting, mixing, melding, stretching, bending, thinning, reducing, cutting, adulterating, or prostituting the truth, and never show your hand. Harold showed his hand, and is now clearly a liar and false prophet. You will rarely get a peek at the hand of an Emergent. Emergents love to engage in mind manipulation and ego massage, and appeal to the desires of the flesh, where the subtle effects of leaven can work unnoticed.

Who should we be concerned about mostly? Harold was a shooting star, his predictions were confined to a small group of followers, and collateral damage was minimal. On the other hand there are the liberal Emergents, whose infectious disease gnaw on and disintegrate the very foundation of truth. Harold Camping’s teaching is unsound, and needs to be exposed, and was mostly accomplished by his own actions; but the Emerging scourge is a wretched curse by which many a soul will be damned.

We love to focus on today’s headlines, and laugh at such foolishness as billboards predicting the return of our Lord, when all the while leprosy is creeping up our legs unnoticed. Satan will keep our eyes on the immediate comic display of a few as the real enemy surrounds the city. Harold Camping is more like a sedative to distract our attention till it is too late, until the last curtain falls on the final act, and the world is carried away in its stupor. 

The false prophet Harold Camping (see my article Harold Camping proclaims the Lord’s return will be in May 21, 2011) has put up billboards across the nation advertising his belief that the Lord will return for His Church on 5-21-2011, one such billboard is in Indianapolis. Harold’s heresy has been matched by the American Atheists who have put up their own billboards mocking, not Harold Camping, but all of Christianity. My question is, what will Harold be doing on May 22?

Where do we start an examination of “truth,” well, at the beginning would be a good place, so let’s go back to Genesis and the Garden of Eden.

The common story of the “beginning” seems to always start and finish with the disobedience of eating the forbidden fruit. That is all well and good, but much is being left out. A few questions need to be asked:

·         Why the test

·         What is the significance of the test

·         Why is the “knowledge of good and evil” a bad thing

·         Why is it important today

Let’s go back to before the eating of the fruit, when things were good between man and God. God walked with Adam and Eve, and there was an open, harmonious, relationship; not like today. Adam, not knowing “evil,” instinctively knew the right thing to say and do, always. He was not distracted with all the mental gymnastics that accompany decision making now.  Answers and solutions flowed easily from a mind uninhibited by contrary thought processes and guilt.  All of nature was in sync and operated according to a perfect order. It was a time that we can only dream about; the stuff fairy tales are made of. Adam and Eve never spent time considering a better life than what they had; trying to imagine a more perfect perfection doesn’t even make sense. They were perfectly content.

In the entire Garden there were only good things, and Man and Woman had every bit of it at their disposal, to enjoy for evermore, and never grow bored, or complacent. Only a single test was required. God did not put any pressure on them outside of a single test.

It is paramount that we understand what happened in the Garden for us to understand all the problems that followed, and to grasp the significance of our predicament today. It is kind of like a math formula; if you get the expression wrong up front the outcome will be wrong also. When things don’t work mathematically it is necessary to go back and see where you erred and make corrections.  Consequently, very much of what we are faced with today, in the church, and in the world, is a miscalculation of the consequences that took place with that single test.

There are a lot of opinions as to why God tested our ancient parents, but the one thing we know for sure is that they failed. Speculation and debates are useless and only allow good debaters to take advantage of those who are not as talented in arguing, and we see this in the world stage at every level; men, governing, controlling, and lording it over those who are considered to be their “lesser.”

The church has missed a very important part of the event that took place in the Garden. The issue of sin is not being minimized; sin is tragic, and will be the reason for the loss of so many souls to the torment of Hell. But, there is something else here that is going virtually unnoticed, and is critical for our successful navigation through the maze we call human life. How do we find our way back to God? How do we determine good from evil, and truth from error?

 The Bible declares that men are “lost.” I went wandering off one time in the desert around Superstition Mountain in Arizona. It was a long time ago. My girls were still very young. I pulled the car over to the side of the road and told Marilyn that I would be back shortly. So with camera in hand and brain turned off I started taking pictures. When I was finished I turned to go back to the car, but to my stark realization, I had become “lost.” I did not know where I had come from, or where to go. I became acutely aware that this was serious, and for an instant an adrenaline rush of fear passed over me. Lucky for me Marilyn had the presence of mind to honk the horn and direct me out of danger. That was a great lesson, and the lesson of the Garden is similar. What men have failed to learn from the Garden lesson is that they are very lost in this world and hear horns honking from many different directions, and have only succeeded in going deeper, and deeper, into a vast waste land, trying to reason-out which horn is theirs.

A human characteristic, which is now an inherent part of our makeup, is this new ability to know both good and evil. But, wouldn’t this be a good thing? Where once we were in harmony with God and His creation, and now we are in such pain, sorrow, and confusion, do you think this is a good thing? It is true,  we do know both good and evil, we just don’t know good from evil; so now what do we do? God has chosen this way to make His offer of salvation; He had a plan.

The whole idea of faith, trust, belief, devotion, obedience, consecration, dedication, sanctification, allegiance, and reliance, is that we would be able to find our way out of this wasteland by being able to distinguish the sound of God’s horn, from all the others. The horn I refer to is the voice of God. This is exactly the problem we now face, the inability to distinguish right and wrong, good and evil, and black from white. Every question has a thousand nuances, and every horn sounds like salvation.

God was clear in His directions on how to distinguish the correct path to follow, so what’s the problem? Human nature is the problem. If the easy path can be the right path also what a blessing that would be, and there lies the problem. When I was lost in the desert I had good reason to be afraid, but being lost in the “world” doesn’t appear that bad. As a matter of fact, most people don’t even consider themselves lost with all the creature comforts they have. Our diversions hide the problem, and the solution.

Have you ever stopped to consider that everything in nature takes the path of least resistance? Water will always run downhill and into the sea. The wind is the same, unless forced into another path. The laws of electricity are governed by an equal reality. The “law of the jungle” is dictated in the same way. Animals push their sick and weak to the back of the herd. Animals will do their business in the open without shame. They will procreate in the open with no regard for onlookers. They have absolutely no consciousness of guilt about destroying other animals, and little concern about the death of a sibling or parent. Humans who display such characteristics are called “animals.” Why? If evolution is the correct answer then why are we infected with all this inner turmoil to “care” about others? Why do we protect our sick and elderly? Why do we take food out of our own mouth to feed the hungry? Why are we tormented with guilt when we lie, cheat, and steal? Are the traits in animals somehow left undeveloped in humans? Are lower animals actually more highly evolved than humans in this sense, and humans still evolving to this higher state of being self-centered, un-caring, and free of guilt?

As we see in all of our surroundings, mankind is very confused in their role on this planet. Our human nature seems to be a composite of natures, a good caring side, and an opposite “law of the jungle side.” It is this law of the jungle side that desires the, go-with-the-flow, I’ll do it my way, path of least resistance, way of life. This way appears to be the right way because it blends so nicely with what we experience in life. But, this way always leaves a lot of baggage behind in the form of guilt, and the common way to remedy the problem is to submerge our hearts and souls into the mire of this depraved kind of “freedom,” and liberate ourselves from conscience. These warring natures are actually clues of how to distinguish which “horn” to listen to.

Here is the part that never makes it to the pulpit, and for some reason, we never hear of; it is the new way of coming to the knowledge of “truth,” and hearing God’s voice outside the Garden; don’t follow your heart or its reasoning. [1]Because of this we have accepted that it is O.K. to have divisions within the body of Christ, that achieving [2]“unity of mind and thought” is passé. “Is Christ divided?” Did the Holy Spirit communicate one truth to one denomination and another truth to a different denomination? Or, was truth spread around through so many religions and cults? All the Christian denominations look at all the other religions and say they have missed it, while thinking it is alright for them to pulverize God’s word into so many sects and denominations.

[3]Our “natural” ability to find solutions to problems has been totally corrupted by the invasion of a foreign element–the knowledge of evil– and there is now no way to escape from the wasteland. [4]All of our imagined solutions are only mirages, which lead us further and further away from the “truth,” and into despair. [5]There is only one way out of this house of mirrors, and without help we are doomed. [6]All of the solutions we are faced with today are only different facets of the grand delusion that [7]Eve was offered; and that delusion is the lie that we can be self-reliant; that in and of ourselves, and our own brilliant insight, we can be complete, and make our own decisions.

At this point God steps in. In our minds we would reason that the best thing to do would be to just kick the Devil out of the Garden, but the truth is just the opposite; God kicks us out, and gives us [8]instructions on how to distinguish the sound of His “horn,” or voice. Faith, trust, and belief, are key components of those instructions.

This is all very [9]simple, but has been missed by the majority of people, including Christians. We cannot see the truth because it all seems so illogical to our now impaired ability to reason correctly. Here is the simple God-logic of the situation. [10]Do not listen to the instructions that come from your faulty navigation system—your mind‑‑they will trick you into faulty conclusions, and keep you self-confident, and follow the wrong path.

In the Garden, God told our Grandparents to enjoy all of His creation for their own benefit; nothing was off limits, except one tree; “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” God told them not to eat of that tree, that if they did, they would die; it would be the beginning of a trip into superstition and despair, which would result in death.

We don’t know how long Adam and Eve lived in the Garden before the “fall;” all we know for sure is that they fell, and they died.

According to the Bible the Earth is the kingdom of Satan and his horde of disenfranchised angles called demons. God obviously had a plan since He created this place of beauty and rest in the middle of a prison planet occupied by evil on all sides. The Garden was a haven in the very center of enemy occupied territory.

Outside the sanctuary of Eden is the chaos of Satan’s dark kingdom. In this kingdom everything is antithetical, pretentious, and counterfeit. Out here, in the world, there are many horns sounding, and everyday more are heard. All of them come with a promise of light and wisdom, showing us a way to god or to become gods. Even as we speak, all of these prognosticators, seers, oracles, soothsayers, esoterics, philosophers, prophets, politicians, mystics, kabbalist, sects, denominations, cults, orthodox and unorthodox, are raising high the standard of truth, with voices sounding ever more as one voice, propagating the religion of the world.  

 In the Garden, beauty, simplicity, peace, and harmony, was obvious; chaos could not be found; everything was “the truth.” Outside, chaos and confusion reigns, and lying is the norm; you will look very hard to find true peace.

 The Word of God, i.e. the Tree of Life, has been reduced to a loosely held set of cultural events and archaic moral recommendations. The Bible has become a muffled sound in a whole concert of horns, all blaring and blending as one synchronized commotion to drown out the one true sound that can save us.

 This is exactly what we should expect if we understand what has happened in Eden. What God has said, Satan has copied, or tried to destroy. God said to Adam, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Gen 2:16, 17. The anti-type of Satan sounds something like this, “my world is here for your enjoyment, take all you want and have fun, and be happy, but there is this one restriction, do not eat from the tree in the midst of my garden, the tree of Life, or you will die.”

 What the Bible says throughout is to live a separated life, isolated from all the commotion outside the Garden; from all the efforts of Satan to tempt and trick us into responding to one of the false sounds of deliverance. We must make a decided effort to ignore the sirens and seductresses of this world by closing off all avenues of assault. Not only that, but we are instructed to not even trust our own thinking. I know this all sounds ridiculous, and that is precisely why very few will heed the warnings, and so many will be lost.

 [11]As the world continues to rumble, and the seas roar, like a woman in labor, ready to deliver, the events that took place in Eden, and after that, should begin to make more sense. The tree of Life—the Bible–that we are advised to not take literally, is our only escape. It foretells of these end time calamities. The religious and political power structures of Satan’s world have diluted the message to a near meaningless book of verbiage. For anyone still seeking the truth, the message is still absolute, and able to lead any who follow to safety, but the trip is not without perils; the Bible is clear on that point also.

 The Bible, the Word, is the “tree of Life.”  When the Bible speaks of mixing two types of cloth together, plowing with an ox and an ass, or adding yeast to dough, it is speaking of the peril of adding or mixing anything of the world to the truth of Scripture; this will never work; it is like adding venom to vaccine, as history has proven.

 By extension we can say: If you think you can do something good for the Lord, you are wrong. If you think you can build or plant a “Church” for the Lord, you are wrong. If you think you can live a good life and please the Lord that way, you are wrong. If you think speaking in tongues, or healing the sick, or even reading your Bible will secure you a seat on the Gospel Train, you are wrong. We had life once, inside the Garden of Eden, but now, outside the Garden, the Lord requires death. Jesus said to follow Him. Where did He go? He went to a hill outside Jerusalem and died, and it is there we are to follow. Dead men do not do anything, they are dead. All our thoughts and good intentions must go; all our aspirations and education, no good; all our lust, desires, and habits along with all of those things, even our devotion to children and spouse, must take their place on the burning altar and be reduced to ashes. Then, and only then, with the faith and belief of Abraham, we know that what we have dedicated to the Lord He is able to raise again from the ashes, to be a vessel for the King’s use, forever, and evermore.

Rom 12:1-2

 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

 John 14:23-24

 Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

 This is part of the lost truth of the Bible, and this is only the beginning. There is so much that we are not hearing from the sounds coming from so many religious buildings, with their CEO’s and Sunday morning speeches, and the horns are earsplitting. We have men trained by men to preach the party line; ordained by men, commissioned by men, sent by men, to build something for “men.” It sounds very much like the episode of Nimrod and the Tower of Babel.

 These are the last days of the last days, before the Lord’s return, and truth is at a premium. Solomon instructs us to “buy the truth and sell it not.” Jesus instructs us to sell everything we own and buy “the pearl of great price.” They both speak of “truth” as the most valuable possession that a person can own. There are so few of us who really want to know the truth. We will satisfy ourselves with concession, because it is something we can live with.

 You have to be very careful and “See to it, then, that the light that is within you is not darkness.” Luke 11:35

 “Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”  Matthew 7:22, 23

Many people, and Christians also, simply do not understand the story of the Bible, and throw out the parts that bother them. The Bible is the complete testimony of God; we accept it all or we reject it all, there is no middle ground. Those who did not accept Noah's offer of safety inside the ark perished; mercy had run it course. The Truth is still setting people free.

I am not a doctor, philosopher, or psychologist, but I have discovered a few things about honesty that I would like to share with you.

Honesty, as a Christian spiritual virtue is nearly non-existent today. Hear me out and I think you will agree.

Honesty has several different facets. When we generally think of honesty we mostly consider it to be an outward act toward other people, whose opposite is displayed in acts of lying, cheating, or stealing. This aspect of honesty, although severely played down through the re-defining of modern morals and ethics, is not what I’m addressing.

Another facet of honesty is the inward element, which I will not address either. It is the mental judgment of the one we see reflected in our mirror. This type of illusionistic honesty is better known as self-deception, or psychological dis-honesty, played out in things like disavowal or aggrandizement.

There is another area where honesty is of utmost importance, and more vital and foundational than the outward or inward types mentioned above. As a matter of spiritual fact, the two named above cannot be understood correctly unless foundational honesty, i.e. spiritual honesty, is practiced.

Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part you shall make me to know wisdom. Psalm 51:6

For most of my Christian life I was a dishonest follower of Jesus, which just means that I was not following Jesus at all, only in my mind. After praying, maybe one of the few honest prayers of my life, the Lord answered me. I honestly wanted to follow Jesus, but I didn’t know how, and the answer to my prayer was an unfolding of events in my life, which demanded “honesty” in the inward parts. I was honest in my business dealings, and with my employees, and with the IRS, and with the man-in-the-mirror, but something was wrong. It was around this time that I discovered my dishonesty, how, spiritually, I had allowed deception and dishonesty to govern my life. I had failed to honor God by believing His words; I was a un-believer. The only way for me to discover this dishonesty was through the stern intervention of Father with an adult dose of truth.

The initial lesson in “spiritual honesty” came to me in two, what now seems as obvious, revelations: a giving of sight, and a hearing of the Word.

The first to get my attention was something I already had a surface awareness of and that I had witnessed in the Church, but I did not really “see” it as a manifest display from Almighty God. What I became acutely aware of was that the Church looked and acted like the world. The statistics were all there: divorce, abortion, pornography, drug and alcohol abuse, and perversions of all kinds. The Church was in denial, and I was in denial. I enjoyed my vices, and rested secure in the illusion that I was going to Heaven. I was headed for a crisis of Divine magnitude. The impact of seeing my Christian life against the backdrop of those statistics made me physically ill. Would I continue to live in denial, which demanded that I do nothing, or be honest, which demanded that I die? I choose death. I would learn what that decision meant; the Lord would pick the time and the place, and the sacrifice would be required. That decision was now in God’s hands.

The stench of those statistics began to rise up and gag me. I could not look in the mirror, or at the Church, without seeing an embarrassing hypocrisy: its ministers as agents of compromise, and myself as a very lost soul, in an impossible situation.                                

The second revelation came as I was listening to an associate pastor give his take on 2 Timothy 3:12 “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” I had never heard this passage before. I don’t mean that I had never read it before, I had read it many times, but I had never “heard” it before that night. It wasn’t anything the pastor said, he was just reading the words, it was something the Spirit said, and it was loud, and it was clear. What the Spirit said was that I was not living a godly life. How did I know, because I was not being persecuted, that simple. These two things I have come to learn are inseparable. This is the message of Jesus, and the Apostles, and is illustrated in the lives of all those who dared to live godly, Genesis to Revelation. The bottom line is that, if you preach the truth, that truth is going to land you in a position that is opposite to that of the world, and if that truth gets you opposition from the pulpit, then it is indicative of just how far the world has advanced, it really is that simple.

“Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.”

Luke 6:26

If the world hate you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. John 15:18

These two seemingly simple tests of the Lord, regarding “honesty,” presented to the Church, have come back with failing grades. There is a lack of truth and honesty in the New Age Commercial Church of the twenty-first century. They do not see that the Church, as an institution, has failed, and this is plain dishonesty, because the failure is too obvious. They fail to recognize the simple truths of Scripture as to the primary personality trait of those who truly desire to live godly lives, and again the failure is obvious.

So, I ask you again, “are today’s Christians honest,” are you honest?

 “So justice is driven back,

and righteousness stands at a distance;

truth has stumbled in the streets,

honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found,

and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.”

Isa 59:14-15

Rob Bell is obviously not one of those to whom the truth has been revealed, and has found it necessary to rely on his own “reason” to try and de-code Bible mysteries.  Rob’s results are laughable since he overlooks the evident simplicity of “truth.”

When Jesus spoke, many misunderstood Him, because He would use the apparent to identify the not-so-apparent. Most often this was seen in the many parables He spoke. Even His Disciples had to be taken aside and the meaning “revealed” to them. We are told that this is how we are to understand everything spiritual; it has to be revealed to us. Also, we are told that to those outside, the answer is not revealed, and that they will remain in the dark.

Understanding the inspired writings of God, which is proven by our obedience, is a wonderful “fruit,” and much joy comes as a result; along with much trouble. We are told to look for the fruit to distinguish the true believers from the false. But, in Rob Bell we see no fruit of understanding, only the fruits of a clever mind. Rob stumbles along, when trying to grasp what the Bible could possibly be talking about, when it uses words like “Gehenna.” Many in Jesus day were confused by His use of the common to illustrate the uncommon; they just couldn’t connect the dots, because the Master did not reveal the answer, and the Holy Spirit had not yet been given.

There were some of those surrounding Jesus who would have understood that the Greek word Gehenna was the same as the Hebrew Old Testament word Tophet , “ Topheth has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its fire pit has been made deep and wide, with an abundance of fire and wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of burning sulfur, sets it ablaze,” (Isa. 30:33; Jer. 7:31,32.)

Jesus was linking Gehenna with Tophet, and neither Gehenna nor Tophet were the same as Sheol, Hades, the Abyss, or Tartarus, although they were translated Hell. Thus our Savior says in Matt. 10:28, “that we are not to fear them which kill the body, but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in Gehenna.” This is the same place that John calls “the lake of fire which burneth with brimstone,” and into which the Beast and the False Prophet, Satan, Death, Hades, and whosoever is not found written in the book of life, are finally cast, and swallowed up forever; i.e., it is the ultimate “Hell” of full and final punishment.

As far as Rob wishing that this world is “Hell;” he can only wish.

Rob’s ignorance of Scripture shows up in his dealing with the Rich Man and Lazarus also. This story is not called a parable, and could very well be the unveiling of an invisible world where departed souls, of both good and bad, continue on in life, after leaving the body. Is not God the God of the Living?

If I may add my two cents worth here concerning Hades I think that the Scriptures have designated Hades as a place, other than just a hole in the ground. A careful inventory of the passages where this word is used I think is conclusive that Hades is the name of a place in the unseen world. But, it is distinct from Hell as the place of the final judgment. The ancient's understanding of the word was that it was a place of departed spirits, a receptacle of souls that have left the body. This is the place where Christ descended into, a place where both good and bad souls, up to the time of Christ's resurrection, went. The reason I say this, is that it seems that Hades was divided into two compartments, one side of which was known as "paradise." Hades is the place where the rich man and Lazarus both went when they died. Lazarus went into the bosom of Abraham, i.e. Paradise. In Hades the rich man lifted up his eyes and seeing Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. Lazarus was then in Hades too, as well as Abraham, and the only difference was a great gulf between them. Lazarus was comforted and the rich man tormented, but Lazarus was not yet in Heaven. And, also, the words of our Lord while on the cross to the thief; today you will be with me in Paradise, i.e. the better part of Hades. They were neither in Hell nor in Heaven. It is kind of like a holding area for both, a place of detention. We don't hear that there was any compensation given to the good, or of judgment for the bad. Christ, by virtue of death went to Paradise, but not as a subject of death, but as its conqueror proclaiming victory to the departed saints (1 Peter 3:18, 19) and brought with Him the faithful souls as "having the keys to death and to Hades." Paradise no longer is in Hades, but only those who await judgment. "O death where is thy sting? O Hades where is thy victory?" The grave still has its victory, all our dead bodies will end up there, but there is no victory for Hades as to the faithful, but only for those who have no claim in Christ; no share in His redemption. But, Hades is not Hell/Gehenna.

Rob’s nice little story may appease weak souls who feed on corn husk, but it will never convince anyone who is filled with the Spirit of God. Rob Bell is an unbeliever and a false teacher which can be proven by his fruits and his theatrics, and his rejection of the simple word of God.

Establishing the Fact

Why is it that every "Christian" thinks he or she is going to go to Heaven? The Bible is very plain concerning the fact that that isn’t going to happen. Everyone who says "Lord, Lord" will not make it. But, it doesn’t matter, wherever you go, or who ever you talk to, they’re all going.

Now, we have a little problem; either the Bible is incorrect or a whole lot of people have been deceived into thinking they have their ticket purchased and their trip all squared away, and they’re just waiting on the bus. Of course the idea that the Bible is not the final word and not totally correct is becoming more popular, and the issue of “having it all squared away” is becoming less controversial; there is a general consensus that that particular point is settled and we’re O.K., but the other idea, deception, ends up being the more realistic problem.

Deception, trickery, ruse, sham, fraud, con, cheat, what interesting words. Is it conceivable that so many Christians are deceived? Who is doing the deceiving? The preachers? The devil? The government? God? Maybe it is ourselves; Paul says, “…let no one deceive you…” as if we can only be deceived if we “let” ourselves be deceived. I can understand deception in the area of un-believers, but we’re talking about “Christians.” Ask anyone who has raised their hand during a worship service and they can assure you that they have followed procedures and that their bus token, regardless of how “straight” or hard the gate is to get through is valid. Who is it then that the Lord was referring to when he said in Matt 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven…” Paul, interestingly enough, encouraged Timothy to “lay hold of eternal life,” creating the notion that it might slip away, or tear itself loose from its mooring, that even he might be deceived. Deception, a very interesting concept indeed, and one that needs to be comprehended, after all, it could be soundly stated that we are living in the age of deception, at the end, when all the chips are on the table and the great contest of wills and wit comes down to “the Lie,” the bluff that will win the ranch away from so many deceived Christians. But it isn’t just salvation that is at stake here, it is the whole body of Truth. This is a dangerous time, a time when we must be able to think clearly,  to cut through the haze and fog, and discern Truth.

The Bible instructs us to comprehend the “signs of the times.” Even professional poker players, gamblers in this world, make their living knowing how to read signs or “tells” that enlighten them on how to stay in the game. The overriding principle of winning the game of poker is to “put all the odds in your favor,” so studying the cards, being able to read the other players, having discipline, and being consistent, are keys to winning. No professional poker player thinks poker is a game of chance; if he puts “all” the odds in his favor he knows he can win. There is something to be learned from their technique. We can put the odds in our favor by knowing how to read the signs of the times (discernment Jn. 16:13), by studying Jesus (Heb 12:2-3), looking for the “tells” which expose false teaching (Matt. 7:20), living a disciplined life in the Lord (walking in the Spirit Gal. 5:16), and by being consistent (faithful Jas. 1:6). We can not allow our salvation to become a game of “chance;” we must not be deceived.

Re-discovering the Path

Things have been going the way they are at present for an extremely long time. If we are deceived, when did the deception sneak in? We should be able to look into the past and discover the point at which the path was departed. At the point of exit is where we must return. We need to begin with a firm foundation, of belief and doctrine (1Tim. 4:16), from which we can establish a boundary marker or a base, and then we can determine if those markers have been moved or tampered with. Once we see where the boundaries belong we can alter our heading to resume the correct path. Getting back to where we belong will mean an exercise of extreme faith and discipline, saving ourselves (Phil 2:12,13), and becoming a beacon of light for those who follow. The laws of inertia have a cementing effect on men, especially men who have become weak and at rest, and much effort will be involved to get them moving again, effort directed by the Holy Spirit.

First, we need to establish the fact that it is conceivable that the masses of mankind can be deceived. If this fact cannot be firmly established then we are wasting a lot of time looking for something that may not even exist. We talked about discovering the old surveyor’s marker that determines what the standard should be, the boundary marker that tells us that we can go this far and no farther. Now we are at the spot where we have to ask ourselves, “Will I believe what the marker says or will I be enticed to move the marker and break through the wall into areas I’m not permitted.” The Bible is our standard; it is the ancient boundary stone that we are forbidden to move at our own hurt. Hos 5:10 says "The leaders of Judah have become the lowest sort of thieves” as those who move boundary markers to steal property from their brothers and from the Lord (see Dt. 19:14, 27:17). The truth is we have moved it many, many, times over the past two thousand years and that is why we are wandering and confused, desiring Agape (Divine love), Koinonia (fellowship and sharing), and Ecclesia (the gathering of the saints) but knowing deep inside it is more our imagination than reality. We get the sense of it, the scent of it, like a flower we can’t see, and we know it exist because we can smell it. It is genuine and it is that yearning, for the real thing, not the “replica,” which demands that we press forward; it is the smell of our Lord that we sense and it is He that draws us to Himself. It is Jesus who is the boundary marker, the standard, and it is He that the Bible speaks of, from beginning to end. Jesus can be trusted and He Himself cautioned us to, “Take heed that no one deceives you for many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many”( Matthew 24:4-5). “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many” (v. 11.) “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (v. 11). Note the words Jesus used: ". . . Many will come . . . and will deceive many . . . Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many." The Greek word polus, translated "many," means "many, much, great" (Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, 1985, "Many"). This deception is clearly massive and widespread. Who is the real mastermind behind this worldwide deception?". . . Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works" (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).

Satan's Modus Operandi, DECEPTION  

"But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!" (2 Corinthians 11:3-4.)

"I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ" (Galatians 1:6-7).

Jesus Christ predicted that some would take His name and claim to represent Him—but those same people would be deceivers. They would claim to be Christian but would bring a different message and a counterfeit Christianity. In Paul's day this movement was already well under way. Some were already preaching "another Jesus" and "a different gospel." Most churches in our time focus on a gospel about Christ while ignoring the focus of His teaching. Obscuring His intended message, they preach a gospel that is different from "the Gospel of the kingdom of God"  that Jesus taught (Mark 1:14, 15).

What is the extent of this deception?

"… that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world" (Rev 12:9)

“…and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while” (Rev 20:3).

“Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea…” (Rev 20:7-9).

“Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth” (Rev 13:14).

Who is involved in this deception?

"For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:13) .

Within only a few years after Jesus Christ's death, people began to distort and misrepresent His message. When two decades had barely passed, the apostle Paul warned congregations about "false apostles," telling them that he had already suffered at the hands of "false brethren" (2 Corinthians 11:13,26). These deceivers came in Christ's name, but they led many astray with their distorted message. By the time we reach AD 68 Jesus is telling John, in a vision, that if the Church did not do its first works over their candle stick would be removed. The social gospel had been born and was gaining a life of its own, a child of deception, and the offspring of Satan. The social gospel was no threat to Rome because they were of the same family. These corrupted believers could worship their god without the risk of persecution, just like the church in America and Europe.

In the face of  persecution, that followed closely, the genuine “Body of Christ” grew at an astounding rate. Within 300 years nearly the whole known world had been Christianized. All of this took place as Satan and his demons were lighting up the Roman Empire with the bodies of Christians, turned into human torches; while hungry lions gorged themselves on the members of Christ’s body; while Christians hid in caves and catacombs and fled for their lives into the vast reaches of the then known world, carrying with them the news of God’s immense love, His Kingdom come to earth, as exhibited through the living Body of Christ, the Church.

In A.D. 311 the Emperor Constantine declared the Roman Empire a Christian nation and established Christianity as the state religion. Did you catch that? Now, believing became easy, as the cost was reduced and persecution stopped. The doors were swung wide and the pews became packed with unbelievers anxious to partake of this free lunch of "Christian" importance. The numbers grew steadily, for awhile. Today, in this same area of the world, Christianity has been reduced to just a handful of believers and persecution is on the rise again. With Constantine, building the church was something men did. Men sanctioned it, men sponsored it, and men built it, with earthly materials. It was decided by men that building, maintaining, and spreading Christianity was something best accomplished by trained experts. Jesus was no longer the living head of the church body but rather the absentee landlord who has become a symbolical figurehead of the new church organization. The Body of Christ had become an organization instead of the living organism that characterized the early church of the Book of Acts. Only rumors and spotty second hand accounts remained to identify this new church with the power of the Holy Spirit displayed in the form of gifts and miracles and supernatural love. The church, as warned by Jesus Christ, was now in the hands of its captors, with miracles, healings, dreams and visions, and prophesies, all of another sort.

An historical account taken from Schaff’s History of the Church

\Volume Three – From Constantine the Great to Gregory the Great (A.D. 311-590)\NICENE AND POST-NICENE CHRISTIANITY (A.D. 311-590)\1. Introduction and General View. – §

1. Introduction and General View.

“From the Christianity of the Apostles and Martyrs we proceed to the Christianity of the Patriarchs and Emperors.” “The third period of the history of the Church, which forms the subject of this volume, extends from the emperor Constantine to the pope Gregory I.; from the beginning of the fourth century to the close of the sixth. During this period Christianity still moves, as in the first three centuries, upon the geographical scene of the Graeco-Roman empire and the ancient classical culture, the countries around the Mediterranean Sea. But its field and its operation are materially enlarged, and even touch the barbarians on the limit of the empire. Above all, its relation to the temporal power, and its social and political position and import, undergo an entire and permanent change. We have here to do with the church of the Graeco-Roman empire, and with the beginning of Christianity among the Germanic barbarians. Let us glance first at the general character and leading events of this important period.”

“The reign of Constantine the Great marks the transition of the Christian religion from under persecution by the secular government to union with the same; the beginning of the state-church system. The Graeco-Roman heathenism, the most cultivated and powerful form of idolatry, which history knows, surrenders, after three hundred years' struggle, to Christianity, and dies of incurable consumption, with the confession: Galilean, thou hast conquered! The ruler of the civilized world lays his crown at the feet of the crucified Jesus of Nazareth. The successor of Nero, Domitian, and Diocletian appears in the imperial purple at the council of Nice as protector of the church, and takes his golden throne at the nod of bishops, who still bear the scars of persecution. The despised sect, which, like its Founder in the days of His humiliation, had not where to lay its head, is raised to sovereign authority in the state, enters into the prerogatives of the pagan priesthood, grows rich and powerful, builds countless churches out of the stones of idol temples to the honor of Christ and his martyrs, employs the wisdom of Greece and Rome to vindicate the foolishness of the cross, exerts a molding power upon civil legislation, rules the national life, and leads off the history of the world. But at the same time the church, embracing the mass of the population of the empire, from the Caesar to the meanest slave, and living amidst all its institutions, received into her bosom vast deposits of foreign material from the world and from heathenism, exposing herself to new dangers and imposing upon herself new and heavy labors.”

“The union of church and state extends its influence, now healthful, now baneful, into every department of our history.”

“The Christian life of the Nicene and post-Nicene age reveals a mass of worldliness within the church; an entire abatement of chiliasm with its longing after the return of Christ and his glorious reign, and in its stead an easy repose in the present order of things; with a sublime enthusiasm, on the other hand, for the renunciation of self and the world, particularly in the hermitage and the cloister, and with some of the noblest heroes of Christian holiness.” “Monasticism, in pursuance of the ascetic tendencies of the previous period, and in opposition to the prevailing secularization of Christianity, sought to save the virgin purity of the church and the glory of martyrdom by retreat from the world into the wilderness; and it carried the ascetic principle to the summit of moral heroism, though not rarely to the borders of fanaticism and brutish stupefaction. It spread with incredible rapidity and irresistible fascination from Egypt over the whole church, east and west, and received the sanction of the greatest church teachers, of an Athanasius, a Basil, a Chrysostom, an Augustine, a Jerome, as the surest and shortest way to heaven.

It soon became a powerful rival of the priesthood, and formed a third order, between the priesthood and the laity. The more extraordinary and eccentric the religion of the anchorets and monks, the more they were venerated among the people. The whole conception of the Christian life from the fourth to the sixteenth century is pervaded with the ascetic and monastic spirit, and pays the highest admiration to the voluntary celibacy, poverty, absolute obedience, and excessive self-punishments of the pillar-saints and the martyrs of the desert; while in the same degree the modest virtues of every-day household and social life are looked upon as an inferior degree of morality.”

Today we have reached the pinnacle of pride and human glory in the man-made church and it is identified with a totally outward appearance but utterly lacking of inward substance. In the preface to his book The Knowledge of the Holy, A. W. Tozer says the reason for writing the book was “called forth by a condition which has existed in the Church for some years and is steadily growing worse.” “Modern Christianity is simply not producing the kind of Christian who can appreciate or experience the life in the spirit.” “…The churches are more prosperous than at any time within the past several hundred years. But the alarming thing is that our gains are mostly external and our losses wholly internal; and since it is the quality of our religion that is affected by internal conditions, it may be that our supposed gains are but losses spread over a wider field.”

When we look for the church today it can be found in these outward characteristics of architecture, religious symbolism, or the increase of knowledge and intelligence. Mans seeking “his own” glory is at the root of the problem. Their earth bound desire to unlock Holy Scripture reflects a similar incident, involving the Pharisees, related in Matt. 22:29 “You error, not knowing scripture, or the power of God.” If we are not seeing God’s results from God’s Word then we are in ERROR and deceived. Even the disciples, after three years of teaching had to be rebuked for their unbelief. It wasn’t because they didn’t understand what they were told; it was because they did not believe what Christ said. “O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken” (Lk. 24:25-27). All the theological schools and universities and man made churches are filled to the hilt with deceived “Christians” trying to determine what God means in His word. Almost ninety times in the New Testament alone, an appeal is made to readers to just believe what “is written,” as if everything was simple enough to understand if you wanted to. Pride, self-will, self-deception, and rebellion against what “is written” are the causes of the Bible being hard to understand.

The Body of Christ today has become the invisible church, only to be found by very few. Today, as never before, it has become very apparent that all the building of our modern Tower of Babel has failed. The sheep of His flock have scattered and are lost and hungry and listening for a voice from heaven. Jesus promised that His sheep would hear His voice and would follow Him. The Good Shepard’s voice is being heard now, even though faintly, calling His sheep out of the dark.

“My sheep know my voice….”

Love Wins

A New Book by Rob Bell

Every marketer knows that it is the headline or title that causes most people to read news papers, or buy books. Advertisers will tell you that the most important thing when advertising is the headline. Pick up a Readers Digest, they have mastered the "headline."

Rob Bell knows this also.

LOVE WINS,  A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived.

Who can argue with the title of Rob's new book? What sect of Christianity, or any religion, would deny that Love wins in the end?  The question comes down to the definition of "love" and where that definition comes from.

In the sixties we were bombarded with "love," and we have seen what that experiment has produced; a whole generation of babies murdered in the womb. Today, love is in the air once again, and Rob Bell has captured the essence of this love fest by making scandalous claims against God. He has put words into the mouth of God that are pure and simple lies; Rob has made God a liar. Rob's definition of love has been plucked out of thin air, and can nowhere be found in the document given to us by God Himself. Rob's definition of love comes not from the Living God, so it must come from another source. Where, or who, might that source be?There is only one other source; if it is not from Heaven then, it is from Hell; if it is not God, then it is Satan. This is a trustworthy saying, because it comes from the Book of Truth, the Bible, God's own words.

Rob Bell understands marketing, and knows there is a "market" for his version of love. There has always been a market for Rob's version of love, because it appeals to the sensitivities of men and women wanting to fashion a life of love, on a definition that in no way interrupts their efforts to feed their desires or require absolute truth and repentance.

Rob Bell, is in effect playing god, like so many before him. Mary Baker Eddy, Joseph Smith, L Ron Hubbard, Sun Myung Moon, Charles Taze Russell, the Pope, and the beat goes on, and on, and on. These all pretend to have esoteric knowledge, i.e. understandable by only an enlightened inner circle. They all regard themselves to be able to know some hidden interpretation of Scripture other than what is plainly stated. At least the others claim to have had some supernatural experience, or angelic guidance, but Rob, he just sucks his knowledge out of thin air, or worse yet relies on his heart, which the Bible says is "deceptive beyond all things."

I will give credit to Rob for one thing, he got the title right. Unfortunately, everything else is wrong. From his web site,

Rob Bell addresses one of the most controversial issues of faith—the afterlife—arguing, would a loving God send people to eternal torment forever…? With searing insight, Bell puts hell on trial, and his message is decidedly hopeful—eternal life doesn’t start when we die; it starts right now. And ultimately, Love Wins.

The question becomes, is Rob Bell right, or is the Bible right. Where do we derive truth? Rob claims that with his "searing insight" he can put God on trial. Since it is God/Jesus that talks so much about hell and the "searing" reality of the place, it is really God who is on trial in Rob's court, and he finds God guilty of lying. Rob, through his omniscience, has discovered knowledge, that even God was unaware of.  Although Rob has gotten the title right, we must conclude that the love he speaks of is not the love spoken of in the Bible. The truth is that God has found Rob Bell guilty of "presumption." He has presumed to know God better than God knows Himself, and that what God has made known, is not what He really meant. The Hebrew word za·dhohn′, rendered “presumptuousness,” is derived from the verb zidh, meaning “boil up, become heated.” (Ge 25:29; Ex 21:14) The heat of anger or pride can cause one to act rashly, to become unwarrantedly bold, and to overstep one’s rights. The pride of one's own ability to see clearly, to reason correctly, or to follow his heart's leading is rebuked by Solomon in these words, "a man who trust in his own heart is a fool." Could it be Rob, that the reason God gave us His written word, is so that we would not trust our own "searing insight" and make a fool out of ourselves?

God's written word is the scales on which all our own "searing insights" must be measured. Rob's searing insight is just that, it is his, and therefore must be thrown out with the garbage. It is true that through study, prayer, and meditation on God's word, that we can move to deeper levels of understanding that exceed that of some others, but it will never, and I will repeat, never, contradict God's own revelation of Himself in His written word. Rob Bell's words, along with those of the newly formed cult of the Emerging church, which Rob is part of despite his claim to the contrary, are wholly contradictory to God's revelation, and for that reason, it is Rob who is on trial here, and not hell or God, and he is found to be wanting.

Rob's message is not only NOT "decidedly hopeful," as he promotes, but it removes all hope, and leads his followers to a hell he claims does not exist. He bases this on his own brilliance, which the Bible says is darkness, "Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness" Luke 11:35.

The Bible is either God's word, and therefore the truth, or it is not the truth. If it is not the truth as written, then throw it out, but throw out Rob Bell also, because he claims he is a follower of God. If Jesus was not God as He said, and was lying, then He was the Devil, because He said He was The Way, The Truth, and The Life, and that He should be followed to get to Heaven; and he said He could forgive sins, and only God can do that. If the Bible cannot be trusted, and Jesus cannot be trusted, where does that leave Rob Bell? Is he now made to be the way, the truth, and the life?

I think you can see where this is going. We have to have some means to know "truth." Jesus lived among us, His life was documented, and He proved to all posterity, by all of His miracles and His ultimate resurrection from the dead, that He is, in fact, Who He said He was, God, the Savior of mankind, from an eternal hell, by believing in Him and His word, and repenting from the works of sin through the deceitfulness of our own hearts, to follow after others who proclaim to have truth, and "searing insight." If we cannot trust the documented facts of the life of Jesus, why should we trust Rob Bell, who has only a few books, harvested from a few contrary thoughts of a fertile imagination? The bottom line is, that if we cannot believe the Bible as written, then there is no such thing as truth, and we are all free to live and think as we wish, and the law of the jungle rules; every man for himself, might is right, and the best man wins, NOT LOVE.

Link to Rob's video   http://vimeo.com/20272585

This is a very good question since we all want to be strong, healthy, and enjoy many good days of peace and comfort.

In our everyday relationship with God the strength, health, courage, peace and consolation of our spiritual lives depend much on our mortification of sin. I said these things depended on mortification, but that they are not the cause of our peace and spiritual health. Mortification is an essential condition, but only as a thing that has an effectual influence toward spiritual health and peace. Why is this so? Because:

1.                  Sin weakens and darkens the soul. Unmortified sin will hide the truth like a thick blanket spread over us, depriving us of light and oxygen for the soul. King David in Psalm 38 & 40 talks of his condition while living with unmortified sin. He said that it broke all his bones and left him as a spiritual weakling; and he complained of being weak, wounded, and sick. Allowing sin to live in the soul will exhaust and drink up the spirit, and its energy, and cause the soul to look outward for relief.

2.                  The perfectly tuned soul resonates with the Holy Spirit and is the picture of health. Unmortified sin un-tunes the soul and entangles it with other affections breaking down Godly communion needed for strength and vigor. Love of God is expelled and love of idols (the affections for the world) become our Abeloved.@ To be able to say of God Ayou are my portion@ means the devices used to satisfy all your fears, desires, and hope, which are the souls choice affections, are not entangled with other creative means of the deceptive heart to achieve satisfaction.

3.                  Unmortified sin is evidenced by our thoughts being filled with contrivances to make provision to satisfy the affections of the soul. The peace our souls require for health is replaced with worthless fleshly acts to bring us happiness. If sin remains unmortified in our hearts we must, over and over again, continuously, be making provision to fulfill the lust thereof. We must always be adorning, the objects of the flesh and its lust to get satisfaction; and this we are able to do while living in the wonderland of our defiled imaginations.

4.                  Unmortified sin will finally find expression and break out of any feeble attempt to confine it. The ambitious person must be constantly planning and studying, the greedy must be always busy working or contriving, and the sensual, vain person=s eyes are always looking for arousal of their vanity and lust, when they should be engaged in the worship of God. Sin in the heart will rob us of our duty of worship toward God by raising up idols in its stead.

It is in this regard that the strength, vigor, health, and peace, of our spiritual life depends on our mortification of indwelling sin. The lust of the flesh cause men to cry out to God for deliverance and help. When their sins become apparent as sin, and that it isn=t the blessing of God they had so imagined, and they are overwhelmed, they cry out to God, but they are not delivered, and in vain they seek many cures and remedies. ASo Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound,@  but God says, "they shall not be healed" (Hos5:13). Ephraim and Judah looked for cures in different ways. Their own ways were not recognized by God and He would not heal them because they (v.15) would not "acknowledge their offense." Men may seek all the outward satisfaction they want, and divert and cover over their illness for a time, but they are only growing worse and worse as their real life ebbs away. Their sore may scab over and they think they are healed, only to have the cancer come out at another spot. Unless the proper application is applied, their own cure will not be effective.

The death of sin in the heart is like the pruning of a fruit tree, it cuts away the bad so the good can come forth. Mortification of sin in the heart makes room for the graces of God to thrive and grow. An unkempt garden, although planted with precious seed, will produce no life sustaining fruit unless the noxious weeds are removed, and the soil fertilized and tilled. It may even happen that a seed will grow somewhat, but it will be a poor, withered, thing. The good seed will hardly be recognized amongst the thriving weeds.

We must oppose every unclean thought. To give way to sinful thoughts is to build up a wall against God. Sin is the enemy of God and the soul. If sin would have its full expression, every hateful thought or word would be murder; every greedy impulse would be armed robbery or oppression; every sensual imagination, adultery; and every unbelief, atheism.

Mortification of indwelling sin is the soul's vigorous opposition to self as commanded by Christ. Mortification is an act of obedience, not for the express purpose of obtaining gifts, but because we are followers of Jesus. Mortification of indwelling sin and dying to the old man, may not earn us any peace or health, but those things cannot be obtained any other way.

Is God here warning us about prostitutes and wayward wives? Yes, of course, but there is a deeper reason Solomon sounds this warning. These verses are actually a commentary on the verses in James above. The prostitute mentioned above can be categorized in two ways: first, it is outward, the prostitution of the word and doctrine, through ignorance and false teachers. This is the sin of being carried away by every wind…. This prostitution is willful in the sense that we use our eyes and ears and deliberately look upon and listen to books, movies, or preachers, who appeal to our ability to reason, and thereby entice and draw away the will to some philosophy or teaching that satisfies a desire for something other than truth.

The outward lures of immorality are hard enough to resist, given the openness of sin in this late hour, but the dripping honey of an immoral imagination, and ungodly thoughts, provoked by the continuous infiltration of evil through television, radio, movies, marketing, and approved by nearly every pulpit, makes chastity an unrealistic goal for the average Christian. The supposed impossibility of living for Christ has made the 21^st century Christian presuppose that God must necessarily approve of all the sinful lives that institutional Christianity is producing and endorsing today. All sinful endeavors have been elevated, sanctified, and approved, if said endeavor can be adorned in Christian garb.

Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing… Who is Paul talking about? He is talking about himself, Paul the Christian, the author of two thirds of the New Testament, the Godly man Paul; he says that in himself dwells nothing good. Is that possible? Yes! Paul said that often when he would want to do good, he instead did evil. Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Paul went on to say, Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. It is indwelling sin that Paul had to fight; it is the prostitute living inside Paul, and in each of us, that Paul was required to stone to death. And, here is the most important thing Paul says, and that we need to hear, Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.  You must understand this if you will ever live the Holy life God requires. Paul made a profound, earth shaking, discovery, he says he found a law. Now, get this! He is not talking about a law like the Ten Commandments or a speed limit regulation, or a tax law ordinance. He is talking about a law like a law of nature, like the laws of physics, a law that says that water will always freeze at 32 degrees at sea level.  It is a law that is a constant influence, like gravity. So, what was this law? when I would do good, evil is present with me. This law is the law of prostitution, that lays wait for any opportunity to draw away, entice, conceive, birth, and then kill those who are so foolish to wander into her neighborhood and listen to her deceptive words.  The prostitute receive great joy in the fall of the righteous, and Paul says that every time his Godly inclination to do good arises the prostitute appears with her lures to entice and inflame some lust of greed, envy, hatred, jealousy, desire, or ambition. In Paul's case it was the heat of covetousness, inflamed in his heart, that brought the prostitute out in him, in all her pretended glory and cheap makeup, and warred against the law of grace, and caused him to cry out in his hopeless state, Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

To conclude: Of this prostitute, a.k.a. this law of indwelling sin, there are may more words that remain to be said. But, if by chance you make the discovery, as Paul did, you should become acutely aware of her ways and means, her power, her ability to prevail over the flesh, and her ability to succeed through deception, and that she is the greatest adversary you will ever encounter. But, as for those true characteristics that mark Christians, who truly understand the seriousness of what Paul discovered, and the warfare involved, their walk will not be void of, humility, self-denial, watchfulness, diligence, separation, and continual prayer to the Lord for help. These are some of the tools we must learn to master if we will win the battle against the prostitute that live within us.

To the God who is all knowing, even the deep things of our hearts, give us strength and mercy to fight the good fight against, not only those who would oppose us from outside, but arm us with weapons to stone every impure thought, and give us light enough to see us through tomorrow's conflicts.

To the only wise God and Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever.

Amen