Progressive Christianity

The following links are to articles that are written for the benefit of people who desire Progressive Christianity.    

The New Christianity

Almost Victorious

Full Surrender

The Effects of Season Changes

Walking through Hard Places

Passing through the Fire

The Affliction of Progression

The Work of the Holy Spirit

Eternity in Suffering

Abiding in the Vine - part one

Abiding in the Vine - part two

Transforming the Natural mind (with audio series)

Revelation of Excellence

The Explanation of Progressive Christianity

Many people have asked me to define Progressive Christianity.  The term is simply a way of describing the example that is explicitly outlined in the life and writings of the Apostle Paul.  The term would not be necessary except for the fact that presently there are many versions of Christianity based on the writings of the Apostle Paul.  It therefore behooves us to consider what he both said and did as he laid the foundation for true Christianity, which is another way of saying progressive Christianity.       

The Apostle Paul declared himself to be a pattern and example of following Christ, i.e., a model Christian (Phil. 3:17 ).  In on of his most notable and important statements, he gives us a significant view into the philosophy that empowered his great effort for God.   

He begins by stating that he was not a man with nothing to lose.  However, he willingly left it all for one thing—the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, the Lord and Savior.  In spite of his great sacrifice, Paul did not consider himself to be perfect or that he had attained a particular goal.  In his words, "—but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me."  What is "that"?  What ever is was Paul did not believe that he had yet attained or apprehended it.  

He mentions it in the 11th verse.  Paul desires to attain or arrive at the resurrection from the dead.  This is the "that", which Christ had laid hold of him.  It is, in fact, the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  In other words, Paul wanted to be found worth on that day when Christ appears and calls His people up from the earth and their graves.  

This means that the Apostle Paul, writer of over two thirds of the New Testament, minister to the Gentiles, did not believe in Unconditional Eternal Security.  To further prove this fact, consider his statement in 1 Corinthians 9:27.   

"But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:27 NKJV)  

The Greek word for disqualified, adokimos, is the same word translated as reprobate and castaway in the KJV.  It is translated as debased in Romans 1:28 (i.e., debased mind).  Adokimos means unapproved, i.e. rejected; by implication, worthless (literally or morally).[1]  Some supporters of UES would declare that although Paul feared becoming worthless, morally debased, and rejected, it does not mean that a person who enters such a state would lose their salvation.  UES proponents believe that even if one became a pedophile after saying the "sinners prayer", such a person would still be secure in his or her salvation.   

There is a faction of UES proponents and adherents who believe that such an individual was never saved in the first place.  In the case of such a belief, their version of UES is moot for one reason.  Either the person was never saved in the first place, or they abandoned their salvation—either case he or she is lost and in danger of eternal perdition.  This modified version of UES is actually Conditional Eternal Security.  It is predicated on the condition that one must prove that they are truly saved by the purity of their lives until the point of death.  Amazingly, most adherents of Reformed Theology, or Doctrine of Election believe the same way.  The believe that one validates his or her status in the elect of God by the life of dedication and purity.  

My disagreement with these two modified versions of scriptural salvation is that they impose hopelessness on people who commit sin.  If an individual lives a dedicated and pure life, labors in the ministry, wins lost souls, and in a moment of temptation, surrenders and commits a vile sin, he or she has no hope of salvation.  I have actually met people such as this.  Because they believed that they were never saved in the first place, they cannot now trust that they can be saved.  The joy of their salvation, the experiences that they had with God, the euphoria of soul winning, and all of their other experiences, are now considered fraudulent.  Thus, if they could not trust that God had truly saved them before their sin, they cannot trust that they have the possibility of being saved.  In other words, they can never come back to a loving, forgiving, merciful, and gracious, Father.  That is a horrible thought for anyone to possess for who Christ has died.   

It is a matter of saved by keeping a covenant relationship, or saved in spite of breaking and even rejecting the covenant relationship.  The question is whether or not one intends to maintain the requirements of the covenant he or she entered into with God.  No one is perfect, in the strictest sense of the word, but intent is measured by effort. The covenant that every true Christian has agreed to is to reject sinfulness and live righteously, to become the property of God, and to surrender ones life to His Divine and perfect will.  If a person did not agree with that covenant, how can he or she say that they have eternal security by merely acknowledging that such a covenant exists?  On that point, I agree that many who profess faith in Christ are not and never have been saved.  

13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."  17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. (1 Peter 1:13-19 NKJV)  

The Apostle Paul did not believe that one earned salvation by the works of the Law, but he believed that salvation was secured by righteousness, which is from God through faith (Phil. 3:9).   This righteousness came through faith in Christ (also in Phil. 3:9).  This means that Paul is saying what James said in James 2:17-26.  

17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. 25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.  (James 2:17-26 NKJV)  

The Apostle Paul is telling us in Philippians 3 that true faith is a living faith.  Living faith is an active and productive faith; otherwise, it is dead and worthless.  People who believe in UES/OSAS for the most part believe that salvation is procured by dead faith, i.e., faith without works.  Thus, a carnal individual—who has no intention of serving God, becoming dedicated to His will, or in any way establishing and maintaining an intimate relationship with Him—can come to an altar, say the "sinners prayer", and thereby make a profession of dead faith in Christ.  He or she may then shake the pastor's hand, join the church membership, and be considered eternally saved and secure.   

Nothing in God's Word even implies such a thing.  As I have repeatedly said throughout the years, we have to both read the instructions and consider the demonstrations.  The demonstrators, such as the Apostle Paul, wrote the instructions—so we do have examples and patterns to guide us in understanding how to follow Christ (true Christianity).  

Progressive Christianity is the mind and heartset of total surrender to Christ, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and to the will of God.  This purposeful following will lead a true Christian into the life of progressive maturity and productivity.  Eventually, the progressive Christian will come to a perfect state (fully mature, complete, sound in faith), and no longer babes in Christ (Ephesians 4:13 -15).   

This is what the Holy Spirit is leading all true Christians toward, if we will become fully surrendered.  It would be ludicrous to assume that the Holy Spirit—who came to lead us into all truth—is simply a good feelings or a dormant seal that has no active properties.  He cannot lead people who believe that they have no place to go after confessing a "sinners prayer."  

Progressive Christianity is for people who continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast (Colossians 1:23 ).  "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." (Eph 2:10 NKJV)  

Progressive Christianity is accomplished by fully surrendering our lives to God's hand, to be purged and purged again, to become vessels of honor, branches that bear fruit, and more fruit.  It is not to consider our conversion to Christ an end in itself, but a beginning to a glorious end in God's eternal kingdom of heaven.

The New Christianity

No one knows exactly when, but a huge paradigm shift has occurred in the way professing Christians view Christ and their duty to follow Him.  What I know is that professing Christians were ready for the shift.  They were sitting in church pews, bored and unfulfilled, and unknowledgeable about God or His word.  Most of them were biological Christians, which is really no Christian at all.  The Apostle Paul wrote that if one does not have the Spirit of Christ, he or she is "not His" (Romans 8:9).  

Therefore, millions of church-going people were susceptible to deception.  It came in the form of a lightweight, convenient, and inoffensive cross with a new gospel.  This new gospel and its teachers challenged the scriptural view of God as being flawed with negativism and a martyr's complex.  Their method is to twist scriptures, take verses and even sentences out of context and conjure their own version of God.  Their gospel has even changed prayer from communion with God to chanting positive confession mantras that inform God of His responsibility to make them rich, healthy, and happy.   

Consequently, the worst of all concepts of God has appeared—that of God as a servant.  The new gospel and cross rejected the idea of serving God, and replaced it with the concept of God serving us.  He went from being God for whom the Apostle Paul would sacrifice everything, to the God who is most concerned with every inconvenience that might disturb His people's comfort.  Millions rush to hear these new prophets and teachers.  They hear God being challenged to keep His promises.  They listen as false teachers even tried to manipulate God into giving them cash, luxury houses and automobiles, and private jets.  The false teachers remind God that He could not lie, and therefore had to do the persons bidding who spoke the right words in the proper manner with the correct state of mind.   

What did these teachers do with the Apostle Paul or the book of Job for that matter?  The most popular one among them declared that the book of Job should have not been included in the Bible.  Then he went on to say that the Apostle Paul would not have had to suffer so much had he known the full revelation of truth that he (the false teacher) knew.  Of course, Paul would not have suffered so much had he accepted the present day false gospel, but he would not have written over two thirds of the New Testament either.  

The people should have known better than to have fallen for such a sucker play by Satan.  However, to their shame, they did not know better. 

Subsequently, another generation of professing Christians has arrived who also view God as a servant.  These individuals are taking this false doctrine as a time-honored truth, simply because they received it from their parents or older church leaders.  Presently, they are taking the false path onward to its logical conclusion, which is full-blown apostasy.  These people can, by sheer numbers alone, bowl over any protests against their declension into the darkest regions of error.   

The conclusion that they are chasing with logic is as follows.  If God is so concerned about our comfort, then He is also permissive concerning our pleasure.  After all, pleasure equals comfort.  The next logical step is that His people need pleasure from the world system.  According to their logic, this pleasure must come from the world system since there is little pleasure in Christianity.  They seem incapable of taking pleasure in God alone, and certainly not from carrying a cross that results in alienation, persecution, or some other suffering.  In fact, "suffering for Christ" has become a term of derision hurled at people who oppose the new gospel.  

Thus, the new Christians along with their new gospel have decided that to be acceptable, pleasure from the world system needs to simply pass an Old Testament "righteousness" test, basically determined by the "thou shalt nots".  Someone may ask, what is wrong with that?  The answer is because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is the judge of all that is right for a true Christian, not the old law.  We must be led by the Holy Spirit because many modern sins are not named verbatim in the Scriptures.  The Holy Spirit will teach and lead us according to the Divine Nature of God.  He will convict or warn us about what ever does not please God. 

Secondly, the pleasure of the world system must be "cleansed."  This "cleansing" was accomplished by simply adding a hint of religion to it.  Music from the world system was adapted by hinting that God or Christ might be the object of its lyrics.  Thus, the artists could cavort and mutilate their image as if they were possessed by the same demons that designed the music for the world system.  They became obsessed with sports, justifying it by pointing out that there are many Christians involved in the games.  Hollywood 's vile offerings became accepted because there are professing Christians involved in Hollywood .   

The result is that not only do they believe that God is now their servant, but also that life consists in the abundance of things possessed and enjoyed.  Christianity has become one big party with no shortage of pleasure and fun.  No one has to worry about giving up anything anymore when he or she comes out of the world system.  Present day Christians have a substitute for everything the devil has to offer.  There is little room in these people for the Holy Spirit.  However, Satan has supplied a very good imitation.  

Therefore, off they go down the path of life to meet God in eternity.  They are so far removed from biblical Christianity that there is little resemblance, but they do not care.  As long as they can have their fun, enjoy the substandard spirituality, and party all the way through life, they are satisfied.  They have all the benefits of the world system and chase the dream of materialism with pleasure.  It is not important to them that they have no wedding garments.  As long as they have hell insurance and false assurance of heaven, they travel on without heeding the Holy Spirit or God's word.  

This type of Christianity has now become very popular.  Its music tops both Christian and secular charts.  The most visible leaders are heroes to the masses of both realms.  Their books top the New York Times bestseller list.  However, popularity is not the power of God.  Christians do not need popularity to influence the world and impress souls with the message of Christ.  What we need is power, and power does not flow from broken cisterns contaminated with sin and worldliness.  

(1 Corinthians 2:1-5 NKJV)  And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. {2} For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. {3} I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. {4} And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, {5} that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.  

One cannot possibly enjoy continuously living almost victorious. The feeling of almost victorious is about as rancid as totally defeated. Notice that joy comes in the morning. This means that since several hours later joy arrives, the weeping that occurred the previous night was almost victory. Therefore, almost victorious does not feel like victory.

We need to learn how to become completely victorious. This takes pressing and fighting the good fight of faith to the end. The enemy and problems in the flesh must be put completely under our feet. Rising to the level of near victory does not mean that one is now ready for the white robe and golden crown. Our garments must be spotless, so God did not almost apply the blood of Christ. Nether should we almost believe His word, almost trust Him, almost pray enough, fast enough, have enough faith, stand, almost fight and almost finish the race.

It is not easy nowadays. Every discerning Christian has noticed the declension in the numbers of true Christians. There are few people that we can trust. Troubles come at us in waves. The lack of spirituality and spiritual doldrums is a plague on professing Christians. We often feel alone, forsaken, without a hope or an answer to our calamity that seems to go on and on without end. The battle is hard and fierce. If you let up in the slightest, the enemy tries to crush you. However, we have to rise above it all in Christ. The victory does not come from quelling the storms, but in progressing in spite of them. Remember, Jesus was not only a storm-stopper; He was also a storm-walker.

If we are to get past near victories, we need to plunge wholly into God's will, yield entirely to His Holy Spirit, and start winning some battles by rising above them in the Spirit. I've had enough of almost victorious. It's time to get either half of that word, all or most.

When one starts down the path of full surrender, there is no turning back without severe consequences. The greatest consequence is the fact that knowledge of God's perfect will enters the conscious mind. From that point on, there can be no more wiggle-room, no more grounds for living weak and unproductive, no more excuses for disobedience, and no further pleadings of ignorance. All other consequences are contingent on this one, which opens up many locked doors in our souls—doors to places that God has been denied access—where lies hidden our motley treasures of fleshly origin. From within these secret dark nooks come selfish ambitions, lusts, wayward desires, and other sinful longings that influence and drive our lives.

The process of death to these things begins during the pilgrimage to full surrender. God reaches out and lays His fiery scepter on each characteristic that is opposed to His Divine Nature. That is what full surrender is all about. It is about finally giving in all the way to the Divine Nature who resides in every true Christian. The Divine Nature is of course the Spirit of Christ, Holy Spirit, who is the epitome and essence of God. He did not come to reside in us as a visitor, a guest whose presence is limited in power and privilege. He came to rule in us as Lord and God. This means that He will not linger while we put Him in a small room, locked out of everyday life, and only conversed with when we get in trouble or decided to some small thing spiritual.

The Holy Spirit is the most neglected member of the Godhead. He is thought to be a secret and silent member, or a fell-good agent who dispenses shots of excitement and pleasure as we worship and praise God. Hence the idea that He "comes down" or "fills this place" when people are excited or saturated with emotion of some type during a church service. If people were to allow Him to operate as powerfully in transformation work as they suppose that He does during their feasts of emotion, multitudes of people would fall prostrate before God in complete and lasting surrender.

The way to full surrender is fraught with many difficult battles. Satan knows that a fully surrendered person will do great damage to his kingdom of darkness. Therefore, the satanic accusations, threats, assaults, and insults, will come in waves between the victories. We must live from faith to faith during this time, but between the degrees of faith lays a host of negative and contrary situations. For this reason, the path to full surrender is called the Dark Night of the Soul.

When a person decides to take that journey into complete transformation, it is goodbye and death to all that is considered valuable to self. The cherished ambitions, goals, and desires are exposed and melted by a developing fiery love for God. One comes to the realization that he or she is not their own property, but have been redeemed and thus purchased by God. This reality causes us to recognize our rebellion in holding back God's property from Him. We have insisted on doing what we desire instead of what He desires. The way we avoided accepting guilt in this matter is by labeling all conviction and guilt as attacks by Satan.

Only when we surrender do we understand that greed, covetousness, lust for material things, and insatiable desire for comfort, are disguised as true blessings from God. We looked at fat-cat, Christians and their super apostles, considered their comfortable lives and greedy materialism and decided that they have the true liberty and faith in God. The very things that God opposes have become the ruling factors in our lives.

Consider the disparity between the example that Christ left and the lives of modern Christians. We desire ease and comfort, while Christ took a cross for us. We want to be coddled and filled with pleasure, while Christ suffered humiliation and torture. Our goals and ambitions are to live in as much luxury as we can attain and obtain, while He had no home and lived sacrificially. He submitted to a life of full surrender, while we only want to surrender what is convenient.

Much of our ideas about Christianity goes against the course and cause of God. The Scriptures declare the truth about following Christ, which is what Christianity is in all essence. Christ said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. (Luke 9:23-24 NKJV) He also said, "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. (Matthew 10:38 NKJV)

When He talks about losing our lives for His sake, He is not necessarily talking about martyrdom along, but about full surrender. Full surrender is about losing ones life in Christ. To become Gods subject and Christ's' kinsperson completely, means to sever all ties without former king and owner. It means that we died, and our life is hidden with Christ in God—that the life we not live, we do not live for ourselves, but for God (Colossians. 3:3 and Romans 6:10).

The blazing reality of this truth sears the document containing our Declaration of Independence. If we will fully surrender, then we will throw it in the flames and accept His blood covenant and its terms. This is not about confessing Christ as Lord and Savior, or about attending church services. It is about believing in the heart and then turning that belief on self like turning a flamethrower on a brush pile. Out of the ashes will arise a new person, which is created in God according to true righteousness. A spotless, white, garment will replace the filthy rags of the old person. The nature and ways of the old person will be replaced the nature and ways of Christ. Desire for riches, vain honor and glory, and all other selfish pursuits and passions will die and be replaced by a burning passion for intimacy with God and the subsequent desire to do His will.

I am also not talking about legalism or asceticism here. Those vain and carnal theories about righteousness only operate from without a person. "These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh." (Colossians 2:23 NKJV) I have never met a happy legalist or ascetic person. Where there is not joy of the Lord, there is not strength. The fully surrendered person has died to the flesh, but that does not mean he or she has soured to all joy and happiness. "Happy are the people whose God is the LORD!" (Psalms 144:15 NKJV) Instead, an immeasurable peace and deep joy has flooded their souls. They have no wants or desire other than God, so why would they be miserable? It is at this point of surrender that God gives them the desires of their hearts. All of Him floods all of them. It is the sweet joy of communion that cannot be measured in terms of secular measurements. One cannot simply say, "That person is so happily pious," because it demeans their true condition. It appears to be ascetic or legalistic to some people, but it is actually more than that. It is instead a matter of being rather than of doing. There is no laborious and painful striving to avoid lusts and pleasure. Instead, the entire nature has changed so as not to even desire the former things, nor the lust of the flesh, nor the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life. What one does not desire one is not tempted to obtain and does not strive to overcome.

The fear of entering this state drives many professing Christian to the outer edge of God's spiritual kingdom. There they attempt to reach back into the shadowland for worldly dainties without being caught. They dwell in supposed obscurity, avoiding all eye contact with the Lord. Their ears are becoming deaf by increments as the pretend not to hear His still small voice calling them to the path of transformation.

Once they turn to see and hear, they will be filled with dread at what they realize is ahead of them. They realize that they must journey from the edge, come out from among the baggage and stuff of life, and enter His searing and searching light. There they will further realize that just saying "I do," to God in the beginning was not enough. They must now say, "I will," to His will.

Entering the path to full surrender will set off a chain reaction of circumstance. First, all that we have been leaning on and trusting in will crumble and be swept away. This activity will plunge us into a deep and dark despair. All that can be shaken will be shaken until only what is of Him will remain. We will have to begin trusting Him as we should have been long before. The longer one puts off this part of full surrender, the more difficult it will become.

I have known and still know wealthy Christians that are miserable because they trust in their wealth. They have been to the edge of full surrender, realized that their trust in wealth would have to go, and turned and walked away. Their greatest fear is that full surrender might require them to give up all their wealth. I do not say that will be the case. However, if wealth is keeping one from trusting completely in God, to yield it up completely is a worthless sacrifice compared to the benefit of knowing Him intimately.

There are seasons that we go through in life. The changing from one season to another involves transitional problems that we often do not understand. This is especially evident when a child enters adolescence. Spiritual seasons also have a set of transitional issues that can tax the faith of Christians. For example, when Hitler took control of Germany, German Christians faced a difficult period dominated by diabolical forces. Many Christians acquired to the Nazi government rather than face persecution. Other ones, such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, were martyred rather than capitulate to Hitler's demands. When China accepted Communism, Watchman Nee died in prison rather than to deny Christ as his Lord and Savior.

In my opinion, the world is entering into its final season before the coming of Christ. This time has been prophesied about in the Scriptures many times. We were forewarned to be in the proper spiritual frame when this period arrives. It will not be a wonderful time for most people who profess Christianity.

First, the lawless one is coming. His arrival is according to the working of Satan, meaning the Satan has prepared his way. He will demonstrate with "all satanic power, signs, and lying wonders, and all unrighteous deception" (2 Thess. 2:9-10). It will not be a nice atmosphere to be a Christian in. The deception alone will be very clever, almost impossible to detect. Consider Matthew 24:24.

"For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect." (Matthew 24:24 NKJV)

These false christs and prophets may be precursors to the Antichrist, or followers who are manifested after he is in power. In either case, the deception will be very powerful because it will be extremely believable. Even now, there are people in the world that appear to be kind, decent, gregarious, benevolent, but they can turn into a completely different individual instantly. I recently saw this happen. Psychologists call this a personality disorder, but the entire population of the world system has some type of disordered mind.

God is a God of order, but Satan takes advantage of all disorder, and in fact causes it. Therefore, when Satan gets control of an individual with a split-personality, that individual can cause great harm to a child of God. Most professing Christians have not developed their spiritual senses, and people of the world system do not have any such defense. Thus, deception can rage without check unless God strikes it down.

Second, we are going to be taxed spiritually beyond any limit we've ever known before. We all understand how difficult it would be to live in a war-torn country. Life would not be the same. Everyday there would be the potential for death or serious injury. Food might be scarce, comforts few, and we would find it difficult to smile or feel secure.

Likewise, we feel the effects of the season of deception that has settled over the world. It is not that we are empty, but we feel empty. We may be much stronger spiritually than we were ten years ago, and yet feel so weak and useless that we are sure that our spiritual energy is nearly gone. In addition, we may fight great battles to pray, to study the Word of God, and to be a witness. Sometimes we cannot put our finger on how we feel. It is something akin to a state of doldrums, but we do not know why.

What we are feeling is the press of evil as it encroaches on territory that it previously could not enter. More professing Christians are giving up their posts as watchmen and standard bearers. Few professing Christians pray, and fewer will study the Word of God. Most of them feast on television and other distractions almost obsessively. It falls on the rest of us to take up the slack. That makes it even more difficult to feel powerful and blessed.

Every true Christian needs to learn how to walk by faith and not sight or feelings. We have to sharpen what we know about God and wield that sword against the enemy. Some days, I am under such an attack that I print out some verses that I read during my morning prayer meeting and devotion. I carry those scriptures around all day, reading and trying to memorize them. Every time I begin to doubt, fear, or dwell on my problems, I read those scriptures. Sometimes, if I am where not one can hear me, I shout out loud praises to God. A loud hallelujah feels good leaving the chamber.

We have to be determined to face down the enemy, not give in no matter how we feel, and no matter what we see. We may feel stressed out of shape, or we may see a snake in human clothing trying to ruin our reputation. However, those are elements of the temporal realm. Our mind must be set on eternal things. Consider this Word from God.

Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. (Colossians 3:2 NKJV)

Put that together with this passage.

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, {5} casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, {6} and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. (2 Corinthians 10:4-6 NKJV)

The way to defeat Satan is not with a feeling, or with sight, e.g., a material answer to prayer, but with God's Word. Pray like you know how to pray, plant the Word of God in your mind, root out frivolous knowledge and activities, and the power will come. I do not have to feel Satan is defeated if I can but just know he is. When I watch his plans unravel, his emissaries become exposed, and I'm still standing after a fierce trial, it is what I know, not what I feel.

Walking by faith during this difficult season will force you to rise up to a different level of commitment, but that's not a bad thing. You will have periods where God will let you taste the power He is building in you. Keep your eyes forward, your hand on the plow, and the best that demons can do will not move you from the true path.

We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; {9} persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; {10} always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. (2 Corinthians 4:8-10 NKJV)

The Lord Jesus never said that it would be easy to follow Him, but in fact often implied otherwise. How easy can a cross be? If we take up our cross and follow Him, it will certainly not be a journey of pleasure and comfort. He said, "In this world you will have tribulation." Our encouragement is that He has overcome the world. That's His victory, and we must appropriate it. Appropriating the victory of Christ leads us through the same hard places that He traveled. Of course, I do not mean that we have to visit the land of Israel and walk the Dolorosa path. However, "we must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God." (Acts 14:22 NKJV)

The way to appropriating the victory of Christ is also the path to complete surrender. Nothing must be held back. What ever is held back will most certainly become our nemesis, affecting everything we do and infecting our spirits with the works of the flesh. It is not easy to complete the act of full surrender. That path is the most difficult that anyone will travel. The reason is simple, i.e., what we are, is what we wish to be. We have followed the path of least resistance in forming our nature. If it was easier to be angry than to be peaceful, then we developed a hot temper. If it was easier to be irrational than rational, then we became unreasonable people. Every flawed or disordered person that you meet is they way they are because that is what they wished to be.

Professing Christians may protest that they cannot help being a certain way and would change if they could. God gives us the power and means to change, and yet we fail to change. Now either God's help is not powerful enough, or we do not wish to change. We all know that the first part of that last statement is not the case. The truth is that change is very difficult because it goes against our natural grain. If an individual is a controller, he or she will have a natural proclivity to control. The Holy Spirit tells them to surrender that proclivity, to be humble, to trust other people, and allow other people to think for themselves. However, the controller fights a great battle to control every little thing about everyone and everything. If he or she is going to change, they must enter a hard path where every step poses a temptation to control, and harsh consequences for surrendering to that temptation.

For that reason, most people give up after a few skirmishes and declare, "I just have to be me." The Word of God tells us to put off the old person and put on Jesus Christ, to make no provisions for the flesh to fulfill its lusts. In other words, you must be as Christ, not as your old self, if you want true victory and the subsequent fruit. It does not seem natural to change from your old nature to the new. Jealous people do not instantly drop their jealousy into the abyss. Lustful people fight tremendous battles with lust. Contentious people will fight very difficult battles to avoid being contentious. Attention-seekers will have very difficult times being humble, letting other people shine, and giving honor where honor is due.

The hardness of the path to change is within and because of us—the old nature. Its hardness is because of the inner struggles with the old nature brought on by the indwelling of the Divine Nature, the Holy Spirit. A person develops pride because it feels good, provides self-esteem, and makes him or her feel strong, confident, and self-sufficient. The Divine Nature says, "Be humble," but their old nature screams for vainglory. Pride puffs their face with conceit. A smile of arrogance pulls at the corners of their mouths. Their brain swims with giddy self-exaltation.

In the midst of such an orgy of fleshly work, one has to get tough, stand down the flesh, and become ashamed at the attempt to rob God. Then submission to the Holy Spirit is the next step. The Holy Spirit will put that individual through several circumstances—the amount depends on how well one accepts the work—where his or her pride is severely battered. Removing pride is not some ethereal event with angels fluttering all about. Pride must be broken in a bloody spiritual battle that takes no prisoners.

This hard path is the path of every great woman and man of God. Anyone who has accomplished anything worthwhile in the Kingdom of God has had to go down this path. Refusal to enter and finish this journey is a death sentence to spirituality and all productivity. Vain works might be achieved, but that will only inflame the flesh, sustain it, and strengthen it. I have known many ministers who were so swelled up with their accomplishments that their heads could barely fit through the "eye of the needle," much less their entire bodies. Some of them would actually brag on their preaching while in the pulpit, literally patting themselves on the back. If it was revolting to me, imagine how repulsive it must be to God. Such preaching is fit only to instruct preachers how not to behave when handling the precious Word of God.

If one is to seek an encounter with the greatness of God, one must realize that He seldom gives more than a modicum of responsibility to people who have not been completely changed through full surrender. That little jewel of responsibility may seem like a lot to many people, but it is the smallest in God's kingdom. It is what one "seems to have", and it can be taken away. True possession of power and spiritual gifts is achieved only by people who bow under His Lordship in humble awe. Such people consider themselves as nothing that He may be everything. They must decrease that He must increase. They know that the way to performing His perfect will is through perfect obedience, full surrender, and they will settle for nothing less. Are you willing to walk this hard path?

Passing through the Fire

If you do not pass through the fire, you don't get the gold—that's and unbending rule.  Nowadays, many professing Christians want gold without fire, but they have settled for much less.  They have made a profession of faith in Christ, and that's the ore.  Ore is practically useless as long as it remains ore.  Once it has been purged of its earthiness, its rocks and other contaminates, the value emerges.  Refined gold is spread throughout the earth.  Ore unrefined remains piled up in one place, unspendable, inactive, and unusable.  

We must be refined.  God has saved us for a purpose.  Salvation is not an end in itself.  We are not saved so that we can remain our own, follow our will, and determine our goals and purpose.  People spend much time and energy running from His call and protecting themselves from His refining fire.  They inform God when, where, if, how, and how much they will serve.  

When you pass through the fire, all of those earthly elements are consumed and the heat remains.  Whom the Lord loves He chastens.  His love remains a purging ember that is again set ablaze by anything foreign to His nature that enters or that has been marked by the Holy Spirit for destruction or purification.   

Some people have enough fire to become lukewarm.  These lukewarm souls may have warmed at the fire of someone else.  Peter warmed at the fire of worldlings, and then denied Christ.  In addition, he identified himself with the world by cursing.  

Fire from without may warm us, but we will always back away or run when it gets too hot.  We cannot run from fire taken within.  When it has done its work, it will reveal the gold more precious than earthly treasure.  Therefore, we must not fear the Refiner's fire, but willingly submit to its necessary work.  God will not destroy us in a refining process.  He never burns the cake in the oven.  When He is satisfied with the results, He will pull us out.  He will never be satisfied until He can see all the gold.  

What's the alternative to gold?  It is settling for the mediocre and mundane—for fool's gold.  There will be no rejoicing in heaven for such settlers, but only for pilgrims and strangers in this world.

The Affliction of Progression  

The reason some pastors are forced out of their positions, rejected by people, disfellowshipped by their fellows, scorned and even hated, is not always because they committed some great wrong or had a spiritual failure.  In fact, only a few pastors are excommunicated presently because of spiritual failure or else most pulpits would likely be empty next Sunday morning.  No, the real reason for the turmoil that has marred church life in recent times is because most professing Christians have been in spiritual declension while the man of God was progressing.

A man of God in spiritual progression is a man of sorrow and victory.  He is a man of sorrow because it is a lonely and trial-infested path that one must walk to reach spiritual maturity.  The agony is bound to come out in each sermon.  Such a man will implore a congregation to walk the same path with him.  Most nominal Christians will refuse and reject both the man and the message.  However, he is a man of victory because he knows that the suffering is worth the gain.  He can say with the apostle Paul, "these light afflictions are only for a moment."

A great transition has been occurring in the past several decades.  Due to the popularity and allure of the so-called word of faith message, also known as positive confession, name-it-and-claim-it, and the health, wealth, and comfort message, a great number of evangelicals have been stripped of their pilgrim nature.  No longer do most professing Christians even consider taking up their crosses and following Christ.  Suffering is considered a consequence of faithlessness, an unnecessary attack from Satan, or a curse from God for some secret sin or lack.  One famous propagator of this false and useless doctrine claimed that if the Apostle Paul had known what he (the false teacher) knew, Paul would not have had to suffer.  Indeed, if Paul had accepted such false doctrine he would not have suffered in the flesh, but he also would not have written one jot in the Scriptures.  As it was, Paul suffered and he wrote over two thirds of the New Testament.  The aforementioned false teacher wrote nothing but false doctrine in pamphlets, books, and audio/video that he hawks over television and radio programs.

As a result of the ease and comfort gospel, there are few places anywhere for a true man of God who has entered the path of full surrender to God, who has taken up his cross, who fellowships with Christ's sufferings, and whose words are filled with power.  Such a man as this is an outcast today.  He is branded as an ignorant misfit who has no positive words, who is judgmental, critical, and imposes too hard demands on the people. 

I personally know people who have rejected such men, and declared their ministry as "too hard to live for God under."  However, these same folks have either fallen into deep sin, or have settled into a pathetic life of lethargy, apathy, and complacency.  These men with hearts on fire and souls welded to the will of God are not judged by great people, but by selfish and lazy professing Christians who despise change.  These same nominal Christians have altered Christianity, morphing it into a system that is little more than a social club meeting once each week.

C.T. Studd wrote in the following poem how stark the contrast exists between the nominal and true Christian.

"Some people want to live within the sound of church and chapel bell.

I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell."

It is the Holy Spirit that effects the work of our cross. David Wilkerson once wrote something to the effect, "We cannot crucify ourselves. We could nail one hand, but then there would be no way to nail the other one. The Holy Spirit must crucify us."

Every bout with temptation or error produces a lesson from the Holy Spirit. Step by step, increment by increment, He changes our minds in a process, the speed of which is only regulated by our willingness to permit and accept His input. Much can be written on this subject, but I must limit my remarks to the issues at hand so that I can stay close to the original topic. I will expound on the work of the Holy Spirit in another article.

The problem with the American Church is that the Holy Spirit has been limited to a positive emotional experience, a feel-good feeling, and therefore He is misidentified. Every time excitement, joy, or laughter or some other intense emotion is felt in a church service, people identify them as moves of the Holy Spirit. That's the Charismatic/Pentecostal side of the issue. On the liturgical side, the Holy Spirit is thought to be in the ritual, tradition or even the practice of attending the church service.

Few professing Christians really know who the Holy Spirit is, what His purpose is, or how He is manifested to us. The Charismatic/Pentecostals have become too cavalier with Him and the liturgical denominations limit Him to a doctrine that is believed without being experienced, or a ritual. To know Him personally and sense His continual presence, they know not. They miss the essence of spirituality and the key to being a member of Christ's body and of each other.

More than rules and regulations, more than rituals and doctrines, more than emotions and other activities, He is a real entity that must be accepted, loved and respected. Because He is not known, neither is God known. Because He is not respected, neither is God respected. Because He is not loved, neither is God loved. Because He is not in the heart, the mind and soul, He is not able to reform the human nature. The Holy Spirit is not able to inspire and insinuate a sense of God's presence that is vital to defend ourselves against temptation and Satan's influence that works though the world system.

The carnal mind is the natural mind. Here is the word carnal used in a text and the Geek definition.

(Rom 8:7 NKJV) Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.

Carnal: Greek; sarx (sarx); the body (as opposed to the soul [or spirit], or as the symbol of what is external, or as the means of kindred), or (by implication) human nature (with its frailties [physically or morally] and passions), or (specifically) a human being (as such):

What causes the old nature to resurface, to reassert itself, to reestablish the carnal character, and reassume travelling the course of the world system? We know that the carnal nature was caused by the original sin that Adam committed. Or was it? If the sin that Adam committed cause the carnal nature, what nature did Adam have before he sinned? If it was the spiritual nature, then why did he sin? The propensity to sin is intrinsic in the human nature, but that doesn't make us sinners. Obeying the sinful desires causes us to be sinful. The carnal condition is the natural state of a person and the state of Adam before and after the fall. After the fall, Adam in was in a carnal condition and a sinful state developed from that condition. It is possible to have a carnal condition and be a Christian, but it is not possible to have a sinful state and be one.

The sinful state of humanity is the result of the original sin that Adam committed. Sin is intrinsic in the human nature and obeying it causes the sinful condition. Jesus' blood washes away the sins and He recreates us as a new creature in Him. However, we still retain the propensity to sin. Adam was a sinless man, but he sinned. This means that we can be restored to the condition before the fall and still commit a sin.

But I don't want to sin and neither should any Christian. I find myself in a struggle such as Paul explained in Romans seven. It is a struggle, a battle with the old nature that I thought was dead. Is it revived? How did it come to life if I died and my life is hidden with Christ in God? The old nature did not come back to life, but the carnal nature still remains after the salvation. Let me explain.

The fact is that a new, recreated, cleansed, and made whole human nature is still a human nature. Being changed into the sate of the human nature before the fall has indeed delivered us from our sinful condition, but we still have a human nature. There must be an answer to the question; "Who shall deliver me from this body of death?" In other words, salvation did not free me from my natural nature (carnal means natural). Therefore, it did not free me from temptation and the proclivity to sin. I still feel sinful desire rising up in me that must be cast down. I still recognize lust in me and still contemplate disobeying God. I still feel the dictates of the flesh even though I know I'm not the rebellious sinner that I was before He saved me.

What will God give me or do to me that I can be free from the intrinsic characteristics of sin in my nature? Will asceticism free me? It will suppress sin, but not free me from its touch. Can I bind myself tightly with cords of rules and laws until I constrict the life of sin from my flesh? Will I destroy the desires and lusts of the natural mind by surrendering to the law of sin and death again? The answer is, no.

We will destroy flesh with legalism all right, but the acceptable qualities of the human nature will die also. We will lose our compassion, our love, our mercy, and we will scowl our way through life fearing His judgement, but not knowing His presence.

Paul answers the question of how to be free from the sin in our nature in Romans eight. "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death."

People tend to view chapter markers as walls and fences. One cannot stop at the end of chapter seven without becoming either a legalist or an apostate. Unless one enters the answer, the question will be answered falsely.

What is the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus? We must turn to Hebrews ten for the answer.

16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,"

Heb 10:16-17NKJV

This is the new covenant that the prophet Jeremiah prophesied about in Jeremiah 31. The Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is the Holy Spirit and that is without a doubt. That is the Spirit that quickened His mortal body, caused Him to rise from the dead, and that lives in every true Christian. The Spirit's law is the nature of God that is written in our minds by His law. Paul said in Romans 7 that there is a law of God in his mind as well.

Therefore, the law of the Spirit of life is the same law that was written into the Ten Commandments. Oh boy! Now we've really done it! We've put people back under the law! Not so!

The Ten Commandments is not the Mosaic Law, but the law of God. The Mosaic Law was the schoolmaster that forced the people to obey the law of God. We are not under the schoolmaster, the Mosaic Law, but we will never get out from under the law of God. To teach that we have been set free from the law of God is to teach lawlessness.

Lawlessness is apostasy and condemnable to eternal death. We cannot declare ourselves from the law of God without entering a state of licentiousness and apostasy that impugns the body and blood of Christ Jesus. The law of God, as expressed in the Ten Commandments, is the general expression of the Divine Nature of God.

With this final point I believe that I will get to the heart of the problem with the American church. Of course there are problems with Christianity elsewhere in the world, but I expect the pastors in those countries to deal with the issues there. I am called to America.

God's law is the Holy Spirit's law. Therefore, the law of the Spirit of life is a composition of the elements of God's Divine Nature. We can see this clearly by reading Galatians 5: 22-23 and 2 Peter 1:3-10. The Holy Spirit comes into to us to teach the recreated human nature how to think as Christ. His mission is to teach and train our minds until our minds are transformed into replicas of the mind of Christ. Therefore, He will work on every section of the proclivity to sin that is resident in our human nature. He will erase by His instruction every sinful flaw. He does this by constantly giving us knowledge and wisdom throughout our conscious moments. When we accept the information and apply it through our actions, we are allowing and participating in the change of our human nature.

Eternity in Suffering

(2 Cor 4:16-18 NKJV) Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. {17} For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, {18} while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

(2 Cor 5:1-7 NKJV) For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. {2} For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, {3} if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. {4} For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. {5} Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. {6} So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. {7} For we walk by faith, not by sight.

1) I’m not certain that most Christians understand the truth about suffering. For this reason there are many people who are taking advantage of them, selling them books, tapes, videos and even miracle products to prevent, ease, or do away with suffering altogether. I saw a woman on religious television the other day selling miracle health products. The two regulars on the show did not even attempt to question her audacious claims and statements. Instead, one of the hosts remarked that her products were a deal because she had a special secret ingredient, the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

The purpose of the products was to eliminate sickness. The woman told the audience with tears and sympathetic words that they did not have to be sick. The implication was that they only had to purchase some of her products and the Holy Spirit would use them to make the consumers healthy. After a few minutes of watching the Tammy Faye look-alike and hearing her false words of compassion for the downtrodden, I turned it off.

Christianity is assailed today with the message of constant and perpetual health and prosperity. However, the New Testament is filled with references to the suffering of Christians and it does not predict and end to it until Jesus comes. Here are but a few of those scriptures.

(Rom 8:16-17 NKJV) The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, {17} and if children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

(Phil 1:29-30 NKJV) For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, {30} having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me.

(1 Th 3:4 NKJV) For, in fact, we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation, just as it happened, and you know.

(2 Th 1:3-5 NKJV) We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, {4} so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, {5} which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer;

(2 Tim 2:8-9 NKJV) Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, {9} for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained.

(2 Tim 3:12 NKJV) Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

(1 Pet 4:19 NKJV) Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.

(Rev 2:10 NKJV) "Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

2) We do often wonder why we suffer. Here are the reasons that I have come up with.

a) Out of natural order.

b) Against natural order.

c) Out of spiritual order.

d) Against spiritual order.

It is easier to understand the reason for suffering when we realize that it is a clash with either natural or spiritual order. Let me explain.

Most of us have had the unpleasant experience of having something break down. Whether a tire goes flat, an engine starts making an unusual sound and quits, or one of our appliances goes bad, it means trouble. We have also known the pain of an accident and the feeling of shock and confusion that comes with it. What we may not have considered is that all of these things occurred because something got out of natural order.

Everything in the temporal realm is ordered and when any substance or we break with that natural order it causes problems. This natural order is like a system of highways where everything must run in its track or trouble occurs. Tires are made to run with air in them and that is natural order. When the air is gone, we have trouble. Our vehicle engine has to perform in a certain way or it will break down. Our appliances have to operate according to how they were designed or they will also malfunction. We know that the same is true for our bodies. Therefore we experience some measure of suffering because we or something we possess get out of natural order.

We humans are designed for this world, but we are called to obey the laws of a different world. Everyone who responds to that call finds himself or herself against natural order. This is because a Christian does not live according to the world system or the temporal realm and its order. Instead, we live according to the order of God and the order of the spiritual realm.

Most of our suffering that comes as a result of being against natural order is because the world system always defends itself against the invasion of the reality of God. The reality of God exposes the temporalness of natural order and also the fact that mankind’s part in it is wrong most of the time. Peter made reference to this in the following scripture:

(1 Pet 4:3-4 NKJV) For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles; when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. {4} In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.

We may also find ourselves suffering when we get out of spiritual order. Spiritual order is the will of God. When we disobey His will or for some reason fail to accept or follow it, we will always find ourselves in trouble. Trouble means suffering in most cases even if it is suffering confusion or stress. The entire world is on a different path and following a different order. We cannot help but make the mistake of entering the deviate order of the World System from time to time and we suffer as a result. We instinctively know that we are out of order and we do what ever it takes to get back in God’s will.

Then there is the suffering of being against spiritual order. This is called rebellion in God’s word. Most of the world is in rebellion, but there are people in the world that are simply out of spiritual order. They are not necessarily in rebellion against God. They simply do not know where they are because they have not been made aware of the knowledge of God. But for the most part, the world system is against God’s order and in fact refuses to acknowledge or accept it. This rebellion against the order of God causes much of the incredible suffering that is in the world. We are affected by that suffering because we are in this world although we are not of it.

In our text verses, Paul informs us that we are going to suffer as a Christian and we have to get the right perspective. If we do not, then we can expect the master of darkness to dump a load of deep discouragement on us. I read somewhere a story of a man who came upon the devil who had a barn full of seeds. These seeds were seeds of discouragement. The man asked him was there any place where he could not sow his seeds. The devil replied, "I cannot sow them in a grateful heart."

We may suffer, but we do not have to be ungrateful. If we get the proper perspective, we will not be ungrateful. I thank God daily for the painful experiences in my life for they have taught me more than the blessings.