Cedric Fisher: "earnestly contending for the faith."

Sorrow Belongs to the Temporal Realm

Imagine the great sorrow to enter the Celestial City and discover that a son, daughter, Mom or Dad, Grandmother or Grandfather, husband or wife, grandchildren, or other loved ones, are not there. How can we be eternally happy in eternity knowing that they are in a place of torment?

That thought has plagued Christianity throughout the ages. The Roman Catholics came up with some false solutions and take advantage of people. Heretics altered God’s word to declare that everyone will be saved. Other ones tamper with the Gospel to reduce the qualifications for salvation to mere lip service.

The fact is that someone’s son, daughter, Mom, Dad, Grand parents, et cetera, will be sent to eternal hell. When they die we will likely know that truth and suffer much sorrow, unless we believe one of the heretical salvation scenarios. Furthermore, when we enter the City of God we will likely know who didn’t make it and have great sorrow. Otherwise, why does God have to wipe the tears from our eyes?

Sorrow belongs to the temporal realm along with pain and everything else that could invade or hinder the perfect and full joy of the Lord. In my opinion, when God wipes away our tears He supernaturally ends forever our sorrow. We will not be happy that our loved ones entered eternal hell, but will be incapable of thinking about it. 

Heaven is not a place for regrets, for painful memories, longing for anything we had in our earthly life, or for pain and sorrow. If we are concerned about their eternal status we had better pray fervently for them daily while they live. Additionally, we had better be godly examples to them, and witness to them as the Holy Spirit leads us. We should also consider that if we want Believers to witness to our loved ones, we should be ready to give witness to their lost loved ones at every opportunity.

One day the door will shut and many people on the Broad Path will be eternally separated from God and us. I know people that will not hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord,”

They will instead hear, “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”

Will God admit into heaven the preachers and everyone who lied to them about salvation? Will He admit individuals who proclaim themselves saved even though God’s word clearly declares otherwise? Will He open heaven’s gates to the ones that craft a false Gospel by manipulating and adding opinion to God’s word, and the ones who perpetrate their heresy? How can He wipe the tears from the eyes of individuals that have committed a crime worse than abortion, causing billions of people to enter hell? 

Make no mistake about it. No matter how great their fame, or how venerated they are, how gloriously they are enshrined in Christian history, how gilded their earthly thrones, or how many people bow and kowtow before them, if they lied to people about the conditions for eternal salvation they are eternally cursed.

“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” – Galatians 1:8-9

There are times when the truth should strike fear to our hearts. Satan’s comforters will lie against that truth to keep people under deception. However, there is a reason that Christianity is now inundated and overrun with ungodly people who have no fear of God. It is quite easy to recognize that perhaps 90% of professing Christians have no fear of God. Fear of God is the primary target of the heretics. 

However, we are going to stand before Him in judgment in eternity. We are either going to enter eternal joy or everlasting damnation. Supporting movies such as “The Shack,” New Age books such as “Jesus Calling,” master heretics such as John Calvin or Charles Stanley, and living such an indulgent life that not one soul has been convinced to consider his or her lostness, are but a small sample of the dross that has corrupted the Gospel.

This is not the time to be rebellious or arrogantly self-righteous. The righteousness of Christ is not applied to individuals that have a love affair with sin and the world system 

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” – 1 John 2:15

Liars and reprobates explain away that and every other verse that denies an elitist salvation based on lip service. One has better know and accept what God’s word declares. It would be a tragedy to reach eternity and realize that sorrow followed and will remain with all its torment. No one is ever going to understand or accept that truth that does not have reverential fear of God.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.” – Psalm 111:10

17 Comments

  1. Linda

    So true.

    That seems to be the mode of the day too with the apostasy. Everyone just assumes that they can utter the ‘sinner’s prayer,’ and Christ’s righteousness is imparted to them, and they can go on in sin and no matter how much they continue in sin, God just ‘sees Christ’s imparted righteousness’. Folks, that is a lie of the devil!
    Yes, we do get Christ’s imparted righteousness. BUT. That is not a blank check to sin to no end. You must repent and turn from your sin. It is a process, some things happen ‘cold turkey’ and others take years. But the process is moving and that is the transformation process as we are conformed into the image of Christ. There are two things at work, one is justification, the other is sanctification. It is the second that most ignore entirely. If anyone says otherwise, they cry out ‘works salvation!’ But that is not correct. That is not what the scripture says. It is NOT okay to just continue on in sin and think you can skate to heaven. Any page of the Bible should make that clear. I also get so tired of the phrase ‘just a saved sinner.’ They still refer to the saved as sinners. Well, the newsflash is that if you are a sinner, then you are not saved. Now, I never said we must be perfect. Perfection is another thing. But if you are saved, you are not a sinner in the sense of practicing sin. Anyone should feel insulted as a Christian to still be called a sinner. It is not humble. It is an insult to the transforming work of Christ in our lives. He died for our sins and rose again. He lived the perfect life in our place. He went before us and tasted death and defeated it because only He could since He was sinless. Then He rose in victory over sin, death, and the devil. He imparts that same power to us through the Holy Spirit to overcome sin and the world. It is not just forgiveness of sin, past or otherwise, but He bestows in us the power over sin. It is those who overcome to whom He lets in to reign with Him. Then there are all these songs about how ‘God loves you “no matter what” and that you can’t outrun God’ etc. Sure, God loves you, but you may still end up in hell for not repenting. Folks, the issue is sin, and it is serious. Jesus had to DIE in OUR place for our SINS, so that we could even have a CHANCE of salvation. Sounds to me like sin is kind of a big deal to God. That is what separates us from God. That is why the cross and repentance is the answer. The sin nature is what wreaks so much havoc in the entire world. SIN!!! Here are some Bible verses about the seriousness of holiness and obedience to God:

    “Make straight paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be debilitated, but rather healed. Pursue peace with all men, as well as HOLINESS, without which no one will see the Lord. ” Hebrews 12; 13-14

    “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?
    Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such WERE some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”
    1 Corinthians 6; 9-11

    “Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5; 48

    “But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” Since you call on a Father who judges each one’s work impartially, conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.”
    1 Peter 1; 16-19

    “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.” Revelation 21; 7

    “‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.’” Revelation 2; 11

    And so many more….

  2. Colleen Dixon

    Just finished reading your book. Remember your family lived and still do on indianola street. Have your sisters book. History of checotah schools

    • C.H. Fisher

      Hi Colleen, actually we lived at the very end of Northeast 5th Street. We moved from there into the country a few miles west of Onapa where we lived until all the children left home. Mom moved back into Checotah where she lived alone until she died.

  3. Rhonda Williams

    Would you please explain why Charles Stanley is a major heretic? I have a friend who will not even hear of that..

    • C.H. Fisher

      Charles Stanley quotes

      “…Our works have nothing to do with where we spend eternity. But they have a lot to do with what we can expect once we get there.”

      “Even if a believer for all practical purposes becomes an unbeliever, his salvation is not in jeopardy”

      “And last, believers who lose or abandon their faith will retain their salvation, for God remains faithful.”

      “You and I are not saved because we have enduring faith. We are saved because at a moment in time we expressed faith in our Lord.”

      “Discipleship has nothing to do with whether you will go to heaven or not.”

      “It is possible to be a child of God and never a disciple of Christ. We can live the Christian life with the assurance of heaven as our ultimate destiny but miss the process of maturing as a disciple.”

      “Where is this place represented by the ‘outer darkness’ (Matthew 25:30) in Jesus’ parable? To be in the ‘outer darkness’ is to be in the kingdom of God but outside the circle of men and women whose faithfulness on this earth earned them a special rank or position of authority.”

      “…a Christian who at no point in his entire life bore any eternal fruit. And yet his salvation is never jeopardized.”

      “…there are Christians who show no evidence of their Christianity as well.”

      “Faith is simply the way we say yes to God’s free gift of eternal life. Faith and salvation are not one and the same any more than a gift and the hand that receives it are the same. Salvation stands independently of faith.”

      “But if a man or woman who has been rescued once from a state of unforgiveness need not worry. For once 100 percent of a man’s or woman’s sins have been forgiven, the potential for being unforgiven has been done away with. The risk factor is zero. There are no more fires from which the believer needs to be saved.”

  4. erik

    I know there are concerns about his son Andy. But what is the issue with Charles Stanley?

    • C.H. Fisher

      Please see my reply to Rhonda Williams.

  5. Linda

    Yes, Charles Stanley has been on the radar for some time. I would venture to say that 99%, (if not 100%) of all famous church ‘leaders’ are apostates. And by infiltration, not by falling away. Yet so many are unaware of at least half of them in the discernment camp. It never fails, when I do a search on one, one blog will expose one wolf while another wolf is shrouded with honors at their site. It’s like a partial blindness. Anyway, I googled and found more, Charles Stanley has been leading the way into the new agey contemplative mysticism as well. There is a list of articles on Lighthouse Trails exposing him and his magazine, below is but one excerpt of many:

    “Is this the kind of example of biblical Christian living that Charles Stanley’s readers have come to expect to see in his magazine? Unfortunately, this is not the first time an article promoting contemplative/emerging figures has emerged from the In Touch magazine. On January 18th, 2010, Lighthouse Trails reported in their article, “Letter to Charles Stanley: Is In Touch Getting Out-of-Touch With the True Gospel?” that In Touch magazine carried an article written by Joseph Bentz. Bentz’s article featured two women (both contemplative proponents, one a practicing lesbian). Bentz highlighted the spiritual journeys of these two women, whom Bentz claimed were both converted to the Christian faith. Both women today can be considered significant proponents of the new spirituality. In one article Lighthouse Trails wrote after Bentz’s article, it stated:

    While we are not suggesting that Charles Stanley is a contemplative now because of the inclusion of this article, we believe it is a perfect example of a steady blending of contemplative and New Age to the point where eventually no one will notice the difference, and what will be known as Christianity will be mystical.”

    See Lighthouse Trails Research Project, on the site go to the search box and type in his name.

  6. Linda

    I sense a “hornet’s nest” coming with the topic of ‘eternal security,’ therefore I am including my list of Bible verses that refute ‘eternal security’:

    God’s Word:

    Following is a list which refutes the doctrine of “Once saved, always saved.” As you will notice, the inspired writers were referring to Christians. This destroys the dodge: “If they fall away, they weren’t saved to begin with” and “If one is saved, he could never lose his salvation.”
    Matthew 24; 13, Matthew 25; 1-30
    Mark 4; 16
    Luke 8; 13, 9; 62, 12; 42-48
    John 15; 1-6
    Acts 4; 32, 5; 1-11, 8; 9-24, 20; 17; 28-30
    Romans 11; 13-23
    1 Corinthians 8; 11, 9; 26-27, 10; 1-12, 15; 58
    Galatians 2; 11-14, 5; 1-4, 13, 6; 1, 9
    Philippians 4; 9
    Colossians 1; 21-23
    1 Timothy 1; 18-20, 4; 1, 5; 8, 6; 9-10, 20-21
    2 Timothy 2; 16-18
    Hebrews 3; 12, 4; 1-2, 11, 6; 4-8, 10; 26-31, 38-39
    1 Peter 5; 8
    2 Peter 1; 5-11, 2; 1, 14, 20-22, 3; 17
    James 5; 12, 19-20
    2 John 8-9
    Revelation 2; 4-5, 10, 3; 4-5, 16-17
    Ezekiel 18; 24-26

    The devil’s word:
    “Oh, don’t worry my pretty, you can sin up a storm as much as your wicked little heart desires! You will still go to heaven because you prayed that sinner’s prayer back then! After all, we’re all just ‘saved sinners,’ right? God knows we’re not perfect… and… you can never outrun His love… right???”

    Who are YOU going to listen to?

    • Robert

      Linda, clearly you don’t accept the idea of “once saved always saved” that’s fine,
      so let me ask you to help me understand more,
      Do you believe in ” twice lost always lost ” ?
      See Heb. 6; 4-8. OR do you believe someone can lose their salvation and then get it back again? If so, how many times could this recur?
      Or again, do you believe, according to Heb. 6; 4-8,
      that if someone ever DOES lose it, they can never get it back? thanks!

  7. Nancy

    Eric, the difference is between those who believe that a ‘saved’ person can lose their salvation or ‘once saved always saved.’ Charles Stanley believes the latter.

  8. Rhonda Williams

    Hello Cedric,
    Just this morning I remembered something that shocked me this last year, when I heard a Pastor (who I thought was a solid Bible teacher/preacher) say something so absurd. Very adamantly he warns about the false teachers out there and not afraid to name names and how we must run from them and have nothing to do with them. But…in his next breath he says that they will be in heaven also because they are ‘saved’ ! If I am correct, I do believe he also said something about them being in ‘the outer darkness’ (Of heaven????) When I heard that, my heart dropped and I was so angry/disgusted. Naturally I stopped listening to him right away. I even went back to his messages to make sure I heard him correctly- and I did! I just wanted to share this with you. Thank you

  9. Nancy

    Linda, you quoted, “we believe it is a perfect example of a steady blending of contemplative and New Age to the point where eventually no one will notice the difference, and what will be known as Christianity will be mystical.”

    I am stunned at how many people today profess Christ Jesus and claim to be a Christian but once they open up about their faith they are actually New Ager’s and are part of this New Spirituality that is taking hold. Heck! Look at the rise of Yoga within the Christian community. It’s also very apparent in their vocabulary as well…Christ Conscienciousness, the Light, Karma, etc. Everything today is about love, love, love and unity, unity, unity.

    I noticed a spiritual ‘shift’ about 2 months ago within Christendom. Those true believers in Christ Jesus whose final authority is the Bible (kjv) are now perceived as ‘meanies,’ unloving and dividers. I see where this is all headed. Christendom is turning on/against the true body of Christ.

    Also, everyone now seems to be in ‘truth.’ It has been redefined. It appears that being in ‘truth’ means one is ‘awake’ to the evils against humanity that is taking place (i.e., chem trails, vaccines, Agenda 21/2030, etc.). Being ‘awake’ has NOTHING to do with being in ‘truth.’ These lines have been blurred. There is ONLY ONE TRUTH and that is Jesus Christ, the Word! Why do I bring this up? Because those who are ‘awake’ without ‘salvation’ have no hope. Most of these people are humanists!!!!!!!! This is a spiritual battle we are in that cannot be fought in the flesh. Many are getting defeated because what is happening in the world CANNOT be stopped. It is Biblical and it is bigger than all of us! So, I have said all this to make the point that what is coming, if one is not ‘saved’ is going to be absolutely devastating/catastrophic and that’s an understatement. And all this deception today is coming to a head (the wheat is being separated from the chaff). People are choosing sides whether they understand it or not and for many, they are getting caught in Satan’s net with this mysticism, new age, new spirituality that has infiltrated most, if not all, organized church religions. If one is ‘awake’ it makes no matter if they are not ‘saved.’ They simply cannot connect the dots to this bigger picture. In fact, to be ‘awake’ and not ‘saved’ is unimaginable to me – NO HOPE! NO PEACE! The result…depression, anxiety and anger. Many will be ‘swept away’ and we can see that based on the growing trend of the New Spirituality (one world religion) that is quickly taking hold.

    • Linda

      Exactly!

      See comment below.

      If you don’t mind me asking, did you hear that stuff in a church?
      ‘Awake’ is actually another new age term like all that other stuff.
      Ironically they are fast asleep!
      : )

  10. ken Hall

    I really don’t think it is even a question of ‘losing” our salvation. We do not lose a salvation that Jesus’s blood has atoned for and bought. What I believe can happen is that we start following false doctrines (really dogmas) perpetrated by deceivers who make ‘merchandise’ of unwary believers who fail to read and believe what God’s word really says about deception and our responsibility to stay away from it. We forfeit and start disbelieving the Word of God and substituting man’s opinion for the truth of God.

    We do not lose salvation because of our sin and our inabilities to overcome and therefore attain ‘sinless’ perfection. It is not even a realistic goal- to quit sinning. I would never advertise with a bumper sticker something like being a “saved sinner” or even ” not perfect-just forgiven”, BUT there is Gospel truth to those sayings. Here is a passage to remind me about my sin and how I am dealt with if I am a true Christian. As a “son”, and not a bastard. Thank Jesus, my Lord! That He is there interceding with the Father covering and re-washing me in His precious blood!!! “1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. 4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. 5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected [us], and we gave [them] reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they verily for a few days chastened [us] after their own pleasure; but he for [our] profit, that [we] might be partakers of his holiness. 11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. 12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.” [Heb 12:1-13 KJV]. Those are some comforting verses to me.

    Also, Romans 7 and 8 speak to our inability to overcome our fleshly sins in our own strength. It is a mental struggle and I will never overcome my own feeble mind, which is human and frail. The apostle Paul knew this struggle well and wrote about the truth of the “flesh”, that it is the “body of death”. God designed us with hormones which cause our body to war against mind. We end up doing the things we really don’t want to, and not doing some of the things we should. That is human frailty, even a Christian human. BUT, by following a good regimen of Bible reading, prayer, Scripture memorization, and daily confession we adopt a manner of life that exudes Godliness instead of worldly filth. That , IMO, is walking after the Spirit versus after the flesh. In Romans 8 that is what Paul is conveying when he talks about “walking”. If your manner of life says “flesh” you are not His sons and daughters. That is bottom line. The Spirit of God does not dwell in you. You are not a Christian! We all have ups and downs in the Christian life. God knew we are weak and would fail on a regular basis. We have the potential to get better. That is what sanctification is. But our holiness is because we reflect the Spirit of God that He gave to us, and try to put the flesh to death daily.

    The antinomanian preachers, Stanley and his ilk, will lead you to hell on a comfortable, easy riding train.

    One other comment and I will stop. 1 John 1:8-10 is used wrongly so much. Preachers use these verses as a prerequisite for salvation, for OSAS type “salvation”. Instead, those verses are for Christiansl to remember, to keep in the forefront of their minds, and they speak of our need for continual cleansing from the filth of our sin, whether it be omission or commission. We should take those verse to heart, request forgiveness and cleansing, and ask for the power to overcome our known besetting sins, whether they be pride or sexual lust, or anything in between.

  11. Linda

    Hi again,

    Interesting comments!
    There are several things going on so I want to get to them all.

    1. I don’t believe in OSAS. Period. People always try to dance around it. But just look at Rev. 3; 4-5. Jesus Himself says that there were people who were saved, but no longer are. Their names were written in the Book of Life, but they got blotted out due to falling away. It really is that simple and I’m not going on any rants about it. But these are the days that believing in OSAS can be catastrophic to your soul and lead you as far away from any sense of eternal security that you might have. We have preachers, CCM singers, and you name it telling you and sending you the message in subtle ways that you can do whatever you want and still end up in heaven when the Bible makes it perfectly clear that the opposite is true. Even worse, you have wolves like John MacArthur (who MANY look up to sadly), telling people that they can go as far as taking the mark of the beast and still be saved. You can google for a video of him saying that, and read his lips for yourself, but mark my words, that is the devil’s deception coming through his lips. Mark my words, it is demonic. The Bible says that ANYONE who even TAKES the mark WILL go to HELL. No u-turns allowed. Rev. 14; 9-11. Again, who are YOU going to believe??? It’s time to do the homework.

    2. In response to Nancy, YES. That is exactly what it is all coming down to. Basically the great divide between the true sheep and the goats. There are two paths and no one will be able to overt choosing one (not that they could before) but it will be really pronounced.

    Path 1 is us. We have chosen the narrow way of God’s Word and His Truth. Jesus only saves. You must be separate from the world. You must repent of sin. We must be willing to lay down our lives for Jesus on the road of discipleship. We can’t compromise to get by or go along to get along.

    Path 2 is leading to the one world religion. The broad road to destruction where anything goes. All is well, you’re okay as you are, all paths are good, we’re all basically good, sin is okay and even to be celebrated, we’re all ‘one’ with everything. All is ‘god’ and ‘good’ and to be embraced in the name of inclusion. It’s all a hippie yoga new age zen tolerance sort of oneness and inclusion. They deny the Word of God. They deny the cross and our need for it. They wave the rainbow flag in the name of ‘love’. They will hate us to death because we don’t unite with them in the name of ‘love’ and ‘unity’ and ‘brotherhood’ and ‘world peace’ and ‘inclusion’ etc. and because we stand on God’s Word and truth of doctrine. We will be called mean, haters, bigots, etc. We will be accused of hate speech for speaking God’s truth from the Bible. We will be called divisive and judgmental and every name in the book. And it’s already happening. By Rick Warren and his gang. By pope francis and so on. Who, by the way, is busy putting together the one world religion, government, and economy while the church is asleep.

    Most will choose path 2. By now most are well on it at full speed. And the church leaders are in the driver’s seat. It’s high time for people to wake up who have been in slumber, it is almost midnight. Sadly when the storm hits many will be looking for the rapture. They won’t be prepared for what is coming.

  12. Sandra Linville

    Cedric, I stopped listening to Charles Stanley many years ago…. I called InTouch and asked that my named be removed from getting the magazine for I saw the “Social Gospel”being pushed and the contemplative bent of all the writers…… this was not so when he was writing many of the InTouch articles!
    Perhaps this is why Stanley doesn’t chastise his son Andy for the ungodly things he preaches……
    Very sad…..

Leave a Reply to C.H. Fisher Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

© 2024 TruthKeepers

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑