Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, - 2Thessalonians 2: 3 (NKJV)
The key verse today comes from the portion of Scripture often referred to as the Great Apostasy. Bible dictionaries define apostasy as intentionally falling away from what you have believed. When Paul opens his letter to the Galatians, he was amazed at how quickly they were deserting the Gospel by which they were saved. In modern times we now see that this great falling away is well underway but as usual, the church cannot look in the mirror to see that it is they themselves who have walked away. I say this as a backdrop to a short article on Charisma News today entitled, "Christian Rapper Renounces His Faith in Jesus as Great Falling Away Continues." Renowned Christian rapper, Jahaziel made headlines this week by announcing that he was indeed walking away from Christianity after 20 years in the organized church. I do not wish to rehash that story at great length because I just wrote about it and if interested, you can find it here:http://www.828ministries.com/articles/Christian-Rapper-Jahaziel-by-Anthony-Wade-Christianity_Faith_God_Religion-151228-725.html
The focus for today is on the very poor understanding of where we are at as a church and the role we play in the Great Apostasy. Jahaziel leaving the church is not part of the Great Apostasy; he is a victim of it. When you read his statement you do not get a picture of a man torn between God and this world. You do not get the picture of a man something drastic happened to that has made him question his faith. No beloved. You get a picture of a man who was told he was saved twenty years ago when he never was. He spoke about meeting many great people during his twenty years but not a word about the great God he professed to know. Even in the new blurb posted in today's article we see an arrogant, worldly man who says that God cannot "earn his respect" by "demanding his fear." Now I understand that talk like this is common amongst those who do not know Christ. But someone who allegedly was saved for twenty years? God is not trying to earn our respect beloved. Such nonsensical talk is purely carnal and of this world. Likewise, and equally carnal, is the notion that God demands that we fear Him. The fear of the Lord being the beginning of wisdom simply means that it is wise to fear the one who created you and can un-create you. He makes no demands one way or the other however. He does not need to. He is God. Jahaziel now refers to Jesus Christ as a "mythical savior" and I understand why. He was never saved to begin with.
and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain - 1Corinthians 15: 2 (ESV)
There is no doubt that Jahaziel believed in vain. Fruitless, useless faith in a fairy tale God and mythical savior that cannot save you. He met this false savior in the church. This is the end result of compounding false teachings piling up over decades of evil work. The purpose driven church growth models result in Jahaziels every single day. But the CEO-Pastor Dude is just supposed to look the other way when they walk away. It is called "blessed subtraction" by Rick Warren and is taught to all up and coming pastors today. The difference in the case of the real Jahaziel is he was a celebrity and had his own bully pulpit from which to speak.
How many formerly professing believer would tweet the exact same thing if asked? How many would hold press conferences and wax eloquently about how bloody the history of Christianity was and how it demeans women? How many would admit that they tried this Jesus thing and in the end they had too much integrity to stay with a God they could not respect within their own carnality? My guess is nearly every single one of them. None of them however are part of the Great Apostasy because they were never in the faith to begin with. They were in the church. The actual Great Apostasy is occurring within the walls of the church every Sunday. Because every Sunday the pastors across this country engage in church without the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is dressed up to not offend anyone and therefore it cannot save anyone.
"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. - Matthew 10: 34-39 (ESV)
Beloved, the Gospel is meant to offend. It is meant to divide. What we have done to it over the past few decades is eviscerate it in the name of relevance. We have cheapened salvation down to a nine-word faux prayer then arrogantly welcome the goat into the family of God! Then we plug them into a ministry so they can feel pious without ever changing. Without ever repenting. Losing their life for the sake of Christ? Is that EVER preached anymore? The answer is no! Instead the CEO-Pastor Dude works very hard to mangle the Bible, which is a story about Jesus, into a story about you. At the end of the day however you can dress a goat up like a sheep but a goat it remains. This is how so many will say "Lord Lord" on the last day! In Matthew's Gospel account Jesus tells a parable about the Wedding Banquet and it is a remarkable picture of how Israel has rejected God and Jesus to the point that salvation came to the Gentiles. But here is the concluding portion:
"But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For many are called, but few are chosen." - Matthews 22: 11-14 (ESV)
The King is God.
The guests are those who are saved. The man without the wedding garment is
Jahaziel. That garment he was missing is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. It covers
our sin and who we really are. None of the rationales offered by Jahaziel had
anything to do with him and how much of a sinner he is. It was a mish-mosh of
atheistic talking points about how bad Christians have behaved throughout time.
Jahaziel was never clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He was just
trying to sneak into the banquet. The worst part? The church is who let him in
and told him he had a wedding garment when he really did not. He is not part of
the Great Apostasy; he is a victim of it. Pray for him and all the lost souls who
are being deceived today that their continued darkness is somehow light.
Rev. Anthony.
