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Discussion Forum : Scriptures and Doctrine : 2 Thes. 2:2

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 2 Thes. 2:2

Last night, I mistakenly ran into a web site called "Ex-Christian" and I was drawn to read some of their "testimonies" in the forum area. As I read them, my spirit was greatly troubled and grieved. It was surreal. There are people on there who believed in Jesus their whole lives. Some were preachers, some were brought up in the faith, others were missionaries, etc. They now proudly proclaim to be atheists, agnostics, satanists, etc.

Then yesterday, while watching the "Not a Fan" movie, the pastor (Kyle Idleman?) brought up the example of driving down a highway thinking you are almost to your destination then realizing you missed the "exit" sign an hour back. the roads all looked familiar, similar, the same. You just weren't paying close enough attention to the "signs" to notice the exit. Or there's the example about an airplane that veers 1 degree off it's original course, and you never land at your intended destination...

The thing about it is, any one of us can veer off the course, one degree at a time. A little bit of leaven here, a small sin there, a white lie here, a bit of adultery there, some pride here, a little doctrine controversy there, etc. A little sin becomes a big sin. A distant heart becomes cold. A cold heart becomes hardened. A hardened heart becomes disheartened. Then, comes the feeling of complete disillusionment. And at last, the enemy wins. God help us all. He's warned us to be watchful of the times...

Today, while I was pondering all of these things over in my heart, I was listening to a study on Revelation 13, and he pointed out the scripture below:

2 Thessalonians 2:2-3=
"2That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;"

The great falling away... And as Matthew 7:21-23 says:

"21Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

To tie all of these rather disjointed thoughts together, please pray for all of us, please pray for the ex-Christian community, God help us all. Everything that will be shaken will be shaken. May we all be standing until the end. Fight the good fight, brethren. It's worth fighting, one that many have overcome before us. May we follow in their footsteps and be beacons of light to a darkening world around us.

 2012/1/16 20:27
sonsigns
Member



Joined: 2005/6/6
Posts: 224
Brumley Missouri

 Re: 2 Thes. 2:2

Wendio, what a great job you did with this post. Let us all stay in the will and word of God, walking in the spirit by faith and daily renewing our mind to be more like Christ.

As for those who have fallen away from the faith probably made a soulish decision and not a real heart decision to receive Christ as there savior. There is still hope for them.


I hope that no one stumbles over this saying especially those that are a new convert and suddenly wonders if they made a soulish decision for Christ.

Don't let the devil steal the word that is sown in your heart!

Romans 10: 9-10 says:
10:9 that if with your mouth you confess Jesus as Lord and in your heart believe that God brought Him back to life, you shall be saved.

10:10 For with the heart men believe and obtain righteousness, and with the mouth they make confession and obtain salvation. Wheymouth translation

I like Acts 16:30-31 which says:
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved... and thy house.

That's how easy it actually is to be saved. If anyone that reads this post and has done what the verses says above... You are saved indeed.

Yet so many people try to make it hard by thinking they need to get rid of all there sins first and other excuses before making this decision.

We are Saved by Grace... Not by works!

Now get out into the world and preach the word to the lost...


_________________
William Cato

 2012/1/16 23:54Profile









 Re:

"I hope that no one stumbles over this saying especially those that are a new convert and suddenly wonders if they made a soulish decision for Christ."

amen to that sonsigns, i wasn't sure whether to post the testimonies or not for that very reason? but, maybe there's someone on the fence who needs to make the solid decision to follow Jesus? or maybe there a long-time "fan" who hasn't truly become a "follower" (i recently watched the "Not a Fan" movie...), or simply to not be double-minded about Jesus?

honestly, after i was perusing the testimonies, it was eerie for two reasons - one, seeing people who were lifelong believers fall, and two, reading the thoughts i've sometimes wondered myself at one time or another in my walk.

as i'd mentioned in a recent post, i tried losing my faith last year during a wilderness season (which we are still in), lacking face to face fellowship w/the Body of Christ; but, God's such a part of my life now that i couldn't shake Him. i love the Lord. He's such a wonderful Father.

i may not hear His voice clearly amongst the battlefield in my mind, but He speaks to me in other ways. i may not speak in tongues, but He hears my prayers and answers them. i may still struggle with unrighteous anger at times, but He's delivering me one day at a time. He teaches me His Word by His Spirit, in a way no man has been able to. He shows me things i've never seen before. He provides for my family in ways that only He could. so if doubts start to creep into my mind, i fight back with all the proofs of Him in my life, taking those thoughts captive until the enemy flees.

Lord bless you all in your walk with Him. He's truly the only fulfilling One worth chasing after, He's a battle worth fighting. when we go through struggles, illnesses, near death, etc., He's the one we turn to in the end.

 2012/1/17 9:19
TrueWitness
Member



Joined: 2006/8/10
Posts: 661


 Re:

After reading the "ex-Christian" testimony entitled "A Sabbatical", I couldn't help but be reminded that the number one truth about Christianity: It is first and foremost about RELATIONSHIP with Christ. This is something more than praying a list of wants and needs to God. It is nurturing a close, intimate love relationship with the living Christ. His testimony is mostly about his quest of finding answers in books, doctrine, do's and don'ts. Doctrine and practice are very important but are almost insignificant when compared with a Christian's relationship with the Lord. Don't get me wrong, Christ will never lead or instruct someone to say or do anything contrary or inconsistent with the letter or spirit of the written word. If a believer does not learn to walk in the Spirit, not leaning or trusting in their own ability or intellect, they will eventually burn out in their walk. Christianity is about letting the Lord live His life in and through us, not trying to imitate Him. I grieve and mourn for him.

 2012/1/17 11:26Profile





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