At The Battle Front - becoming victorious overcomers

PREPARING FOR THE UNDERGROUND CHURCH – BY RICHARD WURMBRAND; EDITED BY MARC WHITE [AT THE BATTLE FRONT 153]

September 7, 2021 by jesusislord Leave a Comment

Richard Wurmbrand in prison

Some believers in the world today do not need to prepare to go underground. They are underground already and live in constant vigilance against the severe persecution that dogs them daily.

Other modern religious cultures like the West have no real clue about the struggles of underground believers other than an occasional brochure, video presentation, or maybe a visit now and then. It’s something akin to a media commercial break. In this age of worldwide COVID hysteria and fear, many of us know something enormous is afoot. Nothing in our history has ever transpired to this level.

So we all do need to prepare for those times Jesus spoke about: the end times closely linked to His actual return after The Great Tribulation. Perhaps we indeed do live in those times. Just perhaps.

Brother Richard Wurmbrand and his dear wife Sabrina lived the bulk of their life in Romania in central Europe. They saw the darkening cloud of communism descend and swallow their country whole. The persecution was overwhelming at times and always intense. After eighteen long years in prison, the Wurmbrand’s were able to escape and immigrate to America and founded the Voice of The Martyrs.

This document is in PDF format at the end. Also, we have links to a few of brother Richard’s books.

Let us all get and be prepared spiritually, emotionally, and physically before the time.

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1 Prepare for suffering

1.1 One day persecution – Great persecution can begin with a one day clamp down.

1.2 No one observes – Soviets employed quiet methods so no one could observe an arrest.

1.3 No panic – A true Christian does not panic if put in prison.

1.4 Prison witness – Prison is a new place to witness for Christ.

1.5 Morse code – Morse code used through adjoining cells to bring people to Christ.

1.6 No watches – All watches are taken away.

1.7 Preparation mentally, physically, and spiritually – Prepare beforehand for all eventualities, and all suffering.

2 Truth about reality

2.1 Any church person can be a traitor – Gifted preachers and writers become traitors. The best hymn writer in Romania became best Communist hymn writer.

2.2 Crucified Christians in prison – Christians were tied to crosses for four days, put on the floor, and other prisoners tortured to force them to fulfill bodily necessities upon faces and bodies of the crucified.

2.3 The Lord, not the Bible – No bible verse was of any help. It’s the Lord who strengthens you, not a Psalm. You must have the One about whom the Psalm speaks.

2.4 Evil has no power over God – If you’re united with the Reality, the Lord Almighty, evil loses its power over you. Evil cannot break the Lord Almighty.

3 Spiritual exercises

3.1 The Zoo, Lions, & Suffering – Take children to the zoo, and show them a cage of lions. “Your forefathers in faith were thrown before such wild beasts for their faith. Know you too will suffer. You’ll not be thrown to lions but have to suffer at the hands of men much worse than lions. Decide here and now if you wish to pledge allegiance to Christ.”

3.2 Nothing in prison – In prison you lose everything. You’re undressed and given a prisoners suit. No furniture, carpets, or curtains. You have no wife or children anymore. You do not have a library, and you never see a flower. Nothing of what makes life pleasant remains.

3.3 Renounce the pleasures of the world now – Nobody resists who has not renounced the pleasures of life beforehand…a giving up of the joys of the earth. The Christian who prepares himself for this now will not suffer the loss of them while in prison. You have to use the things of the world without allowing an emotional attachment.

3.4 The supermarket and doing without – Go to a supermarket. Look at everything and say, “I can go without this thing and that.” Do not spend a dollar. You have the joy of seeing many beautiful things and the second joy to know you can do without.

4 Doubts make traitors

4.1 Resist doubts of God – To every one of us doubts come, but do not allow doubts about essential doctrine of the Bible like the existence of God, the resurrection of Christ, or the existence of eternal life. Do not allow them to make a nest in your mind.

4.2 All doubts have solutions – The solution to doubts: don’t live with doubts, but seek their solution.

5 Test of Torture

5.1 Torture can strengthen you – Torture can be very painful, either red hot irons or even simple beatings. Many can be very refined tortures. This can work both ways. It can harden you and strengthen your decision to not tell the police anything.

5.2 Mind altering rays – Electromagnetic rays, which disturb the mind, can be passed through a cell. A loudspeaker can be repeated day and night, “Is your name Joseph or not Joseph?”

5.3 God is more mighty than evil torture – This is God that they fight, Christ within you. The devil is not all mighty and all wise like God. He makes mistakes. Evil torture is an excess which can be used very well spiritually.

6 Moment of Crisis

6.1 One moment of crisis – Torture has a moment of explosion and the torturer waits for this critical moment. Learn to conquer doubt and to think thoroughly. There’s always one moment of crisis where you are ready to say or write the name of an accomplice or place in the underground. You’ve been tortured so much nothing counts anymore.

6.2 Christ is with you in the pain at that one moment – The fact that I should not have pain does also not count. Draw this last conclusion at the stage you’ve arrived and you’ll overcome this one moment of crisis. It gives you an intense inner joy! You feel that Christ has been with you in that decisive moment. If they cannot get anything from you in that moment, then they abandon the torture for to continue is useless.

6.3 Read books about martyrs to your children – Read Foxes Book of Martyrs, or Jesus Freaks to your children. Show them how martyrs overcame the moment of crisis.

6.4 We can bear pain at this present moment – You’re not asked to bear the pain all at once. Take no thought for tomorrow. Anyone can bear an hour of pain, perhaps passing through untold anguish. You’re not meant to bear pain more than this one present minute.

6.5 Today’s moment of pain is for today only – Pain is amplified by the memory of past beatings and torture. But I may not be alive tomorrow nor they.

6.6 Breathe right for whole body resistance – Right breathing is one of the means of resisting torture. You cannot quarrel with someone and shout at them when breathing rightly. Breathe as a traitor cannot breathe. Breathe rhythmically, quietly – very deep to the heel. The oxygenation gives a resistance to the whole body, which balances your reactions and gives you a poised attitude.

6.7 Our body is in Christ as He is flogged, mocked, and spat upon – An underground worker for Christ knows he belongs to a body that has been flogged for over 2000 years. When we converted we become consciously a part of that body that is a flogged body, a mocked body, a body spat upon, and one crowed with thorns, with nails driven into hands and feet. The sufferings of Jesus in His mystical body must become a reality to me.

7 Love supreme

7.1 Loving Christ more than your family – The Bible teaches some words very hard to take: whoever doesn’t hate his father, etc. These words mean almost nothing in a free country. Thousands of children have been taken from their parents for teaching them Christ. You must love Christ more than your children. A court and its judge may say you will never see your children again unless you deny Christ. Your heart may break, but your answer should be, “I love God.”

7.2 Your children will see your true faith and keep theirs – Nadia Sloboda left her house singing for 4 years in prison. Her children told their singing mother, “Don’t worry about us. Wherever they put us, we will not give up the faith.” They did not.

7.3 Dying for Christ or being a traitor – You have to choose between dying for Christ or becoming a traitor. What is it worth of continuing to live when you will be ashamed to look in the mirror, knowing the mirror will show the face of a traitor?

8 Learn to be silent

8.1 Be careful what you say – Most leaders are speakers, but one cannot speak well who doesn’t listen well. People have so many burdens on their heart, and few have patience to listen. So be careful what you say, because every superfluous word can put someone in prison…or to death.

8.2 Learn silence before they control you – You must learn silence before your country is taken over. Solzhenitsyn, the Nobel Prize winner, said his former wife was his greatest persecutor. He told her all the secrets of his heart. Even his secretary was persecuted by his former wife, and the secretary ended her own life as a result.

8.3 Simple prayer can be enough – If you’re drugged and beaten, you may forget some, or all, of your theology. You can pray to our Father to send the Spirit to remind you. For a time, your prayers may only be, “Jesus, I love You.” Even then, it may be difficult to say anything. The highest form of prayer I know is the beating of a heart which loves Him.

8.4 Most speech is really useless – When you’re able to speak again, you’ll see just how much speech is useless. So, be careful what you say. Practice being silent for the tough times. In tough times, keep your mouth shut. Learn to do this now…not later.

9 Permissible strategies

9.1 Say what they want to hear – You cannot do underground work without using strategies. For instance, when one is stopped suspected of attending underground meetings, they may ask, “Do you still gather at meetings?” Your answer might be, “Comrade Captain, prayer meetings are forbidden now.” He might say, “It is good you conform.” You never said that. You might still attend, but they are forbidden.

9.2 Be wise as a serpent – We are to be as wise as a serpent, and harmless as a dove. They may try to say that as a Christian you must tell them the truth. No, even Jesus lied to his brothers, and the Hebrew midwives lied to Pharaoh to save the male babies like Moses.

9.3 Never inform for we can die any day – You do not inform on your brethren. Ever. The worst thing that might happen is that you die under torture. But to die is the most natural thing in the world. Your mortality is obvious. Take it as your view of life in general. If God wishes me to die today He does not need a torturer. I can die of a heart attack without a torturer. I die when I am called by God.

10 Treacherous quarrelling

10.1 Quarrels cause arrests – Not the slightest quarrel is permitted in the underground church. Every quarrel in the underground church means arrests, beatings, and perhaps death. Our adversaries watch and listen. They have informers in the underground church. Whenever there is a quarrel, there are reciprocal accusations. They bring up names and facts. Both sides may be arrested.

10.2 Keep your secrets – One young man gave up his first girlfriend for another but had told that first girl secrets. The girl informed the secret police. He got life-long prison, and went mad there.

10.3 Preach but do not quarrel – Remember that preparation for underground work is basic to preparation for a normal Christian worker. Quarrels happen everywhere with different leaders, but in an oppressive country it means imprisonment and perhaps death. Preach the truth but do not quarrel.

11 Resisting brainwashing

11.1 Brainwashing is torture – One of the greatest methods of torture is not only physical: it is brainwashing. Nobody advertises, “Drink water, drink water.” They advertise, “Drink Coca-Cola.”

11.2 Brainwashing can be worse that physical torture – In my Romanian prison, we had to sit for 17 hours on a bench that gave no possibility to lean, and not allowed to close your eyes. For 17 hours a day we had to hear, “Communism is good. Communism is good. Christianity is dead. Christianity is dead.” You were bored after one minute, but you had to hear it for weeks, months, years even without any interruption. I can assure you this is not easy, and is the worst torture, much worse that than physical torture.

11.3 Heartwashing – But Christ invented the opposite of brainwashing: heartwashing. He has said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” When the Communists said, “Christianity is dead,” we said in the same rhythm, “Christ also has been dead.” But we knew He rose from the dead!

11.4 Black or white but never gray – We have to arrive at the certainty of faith. In Hebrew, there are no words for “to doubt.” In the New Testament, there is no word for “gray.” A thing is true or untrue, it is right or it is wrong. It is white or it is black.

11.5 If necessary, live in the past – Remember that Elizabeth told Mary that “Blessed is the one that believed.” It is the past tense. If you have believed in the past, you are blessed. Live on this blessedness. Sometimes living on past memories can be a blessing in you pass through a dark night of the soul.

11.6 Real truth helps resist to the extreme – The certainty of truth and a love like the disciples enable you to resist brainwashing. Resist to the extreme.

12 Overcoming solitude

12.1 Know how to fill solitude – One of the greatest problems for an underground fighter is to know how to fill up his solitude. We had absolutely no books, no Bible, no scrap of paper, and no pencil. We heard no noise, and nothing to distract your attention. Just looking at the walls. Read books now about prison life to prepare.

12.2 Never sleep at night – This is how I avoided becoming mad, but you still have to be prepared by a life of spiritual exercise beforehand. We never slept during the night, but the whole night we were awake. All great sins and crimes are committed during the night. The demonic forces are forces of the night and therefore it is important to oppose then at night. We had prayer vigils at night before prison.

12.3 Traveling the globe nightly – We filled our time with a heavy program. We started with a prayer of traveling through the whole world. We prayed for each country, the towns, the men of God, pilots, men on the sea, and those in prison. It would take an hour or two to come back. We rejoiced with those who rejoice that they gathered with their families and children.

12.4 Compose and deliver messages nightly – After having traveled through the whole world, I read the Bible from memory. It is very important for the underground worker to memorize the Bible. Next I would think of the Bible and meditate upon it. Every night I composed a message beginning with “Dear brethren” and finishing with “Amen!” After I composed it, I delivered it. I have memorized three hundred and fifty of them. There were messages I just uttered to God and His angels.

12.5 Family and chess – I thought about my wife and children. Out of bread I made chessmen, some white and some gray. I played with myself and never lost a game!

12.6 Alert with an exercised mind – Never allow your mind to become distressed because then the enemy has you entirely in their hands. Your mind must be continually exercised. It must be alert, and it must think. You must compose different things according to your abilities.

13 True identity

The underground church is nothing new. You will see the New Testament with new eyes. This is our true identity, not the world or its ways. The government can do good and bad things, but we are to obey Christ in everything.

14 Comments by Marc White

14.1 Prepare ahead of time – Brother Richard makes it clear that preparing for the underground church is done ahead of time: the time to fix the roof is before it rains. That time is now. Do not delay…

14.2 You must “be” the Bible, not just read it – Reading a Bible is not enough…you must walk with the God who Is. You must memorize large portions so that it becomes the biggest part of you. The Bible is not God, but reveals the heart of God and His commands. Read the same Bible and take mental snapshots of where a passage lies on the page and in what Book. For instance, I know that the passage to not layup treasures in Matthew 6 begins on the top right page and ends at the bottom of the page with verse 34. I can see the passage on the page so I can then remember and recite most of it even now with the Spirit’s help.

14.3 Cherished history of our brethren – We’re blessed enormously by having a deep and wide history of our brethren who have traveled this road before us. Thank the Lord God for the fact of this cherished history.

14.4 A better resurrection – Most folks living in the modern west have little to no idea about the eternal treasures of heaven…or God for that matter. The book of Hebrews talks plainly of those saints who are martyred for their faith. Part of their reward? A better resurrection (Heb. 11.35). The souls under the altar of God in Revelation 6 who were martyred during the Great Tribulation are crying out for revenge. What a location to spend our eternal days! We may be among that number. Let us please God in all things (Col. 1.10).

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The PDF of this document is here. Richard’s book Tortured for Christ is here. And his book With God in Solitary Confinement is here.

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Please comment on this post right below. Feel free to write and proclaim your leadings in the Spirit in an honorable fashion.

Your friend and brother in fighting the good fight,

Marc

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Saints, we’re one day closer to Home, and Him! Love Him wholeheartedly!

Marc and Walk Worthy are supported in part by the body of Jesus Christ. Please consider donating on a regular basis:

www.WalkWorthy.org/donate

You may view our Archives here: AT THE BATTLE FRONT – ARCHIVES; Complete Archives. May our Father richly bless you with His grace, through Jesus Christ our Lord, in order to walk worthy of His name.

Please comment on this post right below. Feel free to write and proclaim your leadings in the Spirit in an honorable fashion.

Marc White, Director, Walk Worthy Ministries, www.WalkWorthy.org

COUNTING THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP – BY STEVE KILGORE [AT THE BATTLE FRONT 152]

December 15, 2018 by jesusislord Leave a Comment

Saints,

In this age of cheap grace and anything goes Christianity, counting the cost of discipleship is a rare doctrine and practice. But those saints who truly love God must count this cost frequently…and carefully.

The “free” and gracious gift of God is not free at all as western Christians count free. These people mean no strings attached. God means all strings are attached. The doctrine of grace in the Word of God is the doctrine of patronage.

He is the ultimate Patron and we are His obedient servant clients. Inherent in that reality is that we are at His beck and call at all times 24-7 to do His bidding, His will. Anything He demands with no questions asked. This is love, my friends.

Do not believe the heretical leaders and teachers who proclaim Father God is an old softie, a permissive grandfather, or conversely Rambo Father when you need your enemies killed who threaten your money. And, of course, many truly believe His Son is the baby manger Jesus.

Our friend Steve Kilgore has counted the cost of discipleship here in the west, so he is uniquely gifted to write this excellent piece.

Brother Steve is the type of man that you can trust with your life. This life of a little Christ, a “Christian,” is not for the faint of heart.

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Counting The Cost Of Discipleship – By Steve Kilgore

Introduction

There is a popular misconception taught these days that because Salvation is the free gift of God there is nothing for us to do but accept it and go on with our lives as we wish. This, willingly or not, forgets God’s command to go and make disciples of the nations.

But before we can go and make disciples, not just converts or professors, we must be sure we are disciples ourselves.

We are not commanded to do anything except believe to receive the gift of Salvation. Using John 3:16 as one of many examples, for God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Therefore, believing in Jesus Christ can be done anywhere, by anyone, (whosoever) who comes under the convicting Spirit of God. It is not a thing you can decide to do whenever you want, but because it is the gift of God, (Eph. 2:8 For by grace are you are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.) You must receive it when God calls you.

But while nothing is required for Salvation there are many things commanded after we are converted.

These are the costs of Discipleship that Jesus exhorts us to count before we commit to following him.

Baptism is your public confession that you believe in Jesus and you acknowledge him as the Lord of your Life and have committed your life to Him. Even so how do you know you are following Him and are not deceived through lack of knowledge or false teachers? Examine your life and prove to yourselves that you are truly following the Word of God.

There are many Scriptures to direct our actions and thoughts; I will only touch on a few to point the direction for you to start your study to determine whether you are walking with God, according to His Word; or not, because of ignorance of the Word or error.

2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

2 Corinthians 13:5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?

This is the most important question we can ask ourselves, because our Salvation depends on it.

Are you living by faith in Jesus Christ or have you been deceived?

Deception these days is running rampant. In the world today almost everything is misleading or an outright lie. In organized religion it is not much better with a multitude of the servants of Mammon posing as Ministers of the Word of God. They love the world so much they willingly lead many astray to accumulate the world’s treasures for themselves. This is one reason why you must study the Word for yourselves.

1 – Did Jesus do it all?

We know absolutely that Jesus accomplished on Calvary everything necessary for our salvation and his resurrection proves it was acceptable to God.(John 19:30)

When Jesus Christ finished His work, dying for the sins of all men, (Rom. 5:18) it was to enable each of us individually, through faith, to begin our own works of righteousness in serving God, yet not ours, but the Spirit of God working in us to will and to do. (Phil. 2:13)

However, there are many who think that repentance is all that’s necessary for a normal Christian life; that since Jesus has done it all nothing remains for man to do but repent, and their lives reflect a character no different than the unsaved around them. And if they bear no spiritual fruit it is because there is no spiritual seed in them. It is written, by their fruit shall you know them (Luke 6:44), and not by their profession.

John 15:8 “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples…”

So there is no such thing as an inactive Christian life as we are told here.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

So you see that first comes faith in Jesus Christ and afterwards come good works which show the obedience of faith and the possession of faith. Without these works (acts of obedience to the Word of God) you have only an intellectual understanding of faith based on what you have heard, proven by the fact it has no impact on how you live your life. You may hear of Jesus and believe the things you hear, but until you yield your heart to Him in obedience it is a vain belief, no different than what the demons believe. (James 2:19)

2 – Love God, deny self

Being born again is just the first step of our walk by faith. We are instructed to do many things once we have received the Spirit of God through the new birth.

The first is to love God with all your heart (Matt. 22:37-39) and love your neighbor as yourself. If this love is the guiding principle you use to determine all your thoughts and actions you will fulfill all the law and commandments to the good pleasure of God our Father.

Without this love your profession and faith are worthless (1 Cor. 13) and all your works are of no account regardless of how good they appear to you or the world.

Secondly, Jesus said, if anyone will come after me let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. (Luke 9:23) This is the normal daily life of a Disciple of Jesus. This obedience from the heart is the outward expression of the love we have within. You can say you love a million times but it is what you do that makes the difference. (Matt. 7:21)

And even what you do can be corrupted if it is done with the wrong motive in your heart.

Let me ask you a simple question, if Jesus sent an angel to you right this minute who said the wedding feast is ready let us go now, would you rise and go or would you have an excuse why you could not, as did those the King bid to the feast in Matt. 22?

Many of you will say you are ready but you want to do this or that first, then go. You believe you have a good reason not to go now and sincerely believe you will go later, but based on your timing instead of God’s. All your reasons are the desires of self and you have placed the things of this world ahead of following Christ. You have put Jesus Christ second in your life behind whatever you desire to do before you are ready to go to Him.

That is the same idolatry as that of an unsaved person who deceives himself saying, I will get saved later after I have enjoyed life awhile. You are in effect saying, I have something of this world to take care of first but I will come later.

For many there is no “later”, none of us know when our appointed time to die will arrive.

Whatever it is, however important in your eyes it seems, you have set it between yourself and God.

Those who think they can get saved later overlook the Word of God in Ephesians.

Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Denying yourself is yielding your will and desires to God’s will, thus living according to His Word. Bearing your cross means more than believing the Gospel; it requires yielding yourself and your complete life in total commitment to Jesus, as he yielded his life for you. (1 Cor.6:20; Heb. 10:12) Your body and all you have belongs to God, you are merely a steward of it for him. The idea that bearing your cross means suffering the pains, sorrows, and afflictions of this life are missing the point. The godly and ungodly alike suffer such things because of sins effect on the world, although we also sometimes suffer such things as chastisement.

3 – Bearing your cross, forsaking the world

Our cross bearing begins by putting the good of others above our own desires and continues with suffering the ridicule of others, persecution, unjust treatment, including the loss of all things if necessary for Jesus’ sake and in service to Him. It is putting the service to Jesus ahead of all our interests, forsaking self-seeking, reputation, and ambition to be something in this world. It is humbling ourselves to do his will in every situation in our life. Once you take up your cross you can never lay it down again, it must be borne unto the complete death of self. Anything less and you cannot be a Disciple of Jesus. Meditate on the following again.

Luke 9:23-25 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?

The whole world and ten thousand more cannot be compared to the promises of God to those who love him.

Luke 14:33 “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.

Forsaking everything does not necessarily mean giving up all your material possessions; it could require that, as it did the rich young ruler Jesus told us about. But even if not, you will find you no longer have any interest in the things of this world, and your attraction to whatever remains in your possession will decrease over time as being unnecessary and willingly given to better use. Anything we have has no value beyond being instruments you can use to help others and glorify God in so doing.

But more than this it means forsaking everything we have a natural affection for that would hinder us loving Jesus most of all. And especially it means forsaking our self-esteem, our ego, our pride, and self-love. We must not allow persecution or tribulation to affect our holy character or cause us to exhibit a carnal attitude toward the cause. We must be full of forgiveness for every offense against us.

Matthew 6:14-15 “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

And never allow a grudge or spirit of bitterness to develop because your pride was wounded by someone’s actions or comments. Any time you say, but they did this, or they said that, it is only your flesh becoming offended. Everything is just between you and God and concerns no one else. They are simply the instruments whereby God is revealing to you what you really are so you can repent and grow in love, holiness, and faith.

Your responses are the working out of your own sanctification and are what you will stand in Judgment for before the throne of God. All others will answer for themselves.

Forsaking everything means we and all we have are the possessions of Jesus and we are but stewards over whatever we have received from him, to be used for the Gospel and Kingdom’s sake. Anything that interferes with the doing of the works God has ordained for us must be forsaken or mortified. (Eph.2:10)

4 – Which group are you?

Every congregation can be divided into five different groups that look and act pretty much alike. 2 Cor. 13:5 tells us to prove to ourselves whether Jesus Christ dwells in us or not. So prove to yourself which of these groups you are in.

Group 1 – The first group are those who are unsaved. They have come, some seeking God, others for various reasons, but none are born again. These must hear the Gospel preached until they believe and repent. Some of these know they are not saved and fear, while others pretend sincerity but are simply interested in what benefits they can get.

Group 2 – The second group are those who know about Jesus Christ through knowledge they have received from hearing the Word of God preached. Many believe they are saved by this knowledge but it has no effect on how they live their lives. They know about Jesus but do not acknowledge Him as Lord. This deception is the root of all the vain and empty professions in the Church today. They are on the broad way but think they are Christian. They still love themselves, the world, and its pleasures and believe bringing the world into the church through a social gospel makes them spiritual. Being of a natural mind they cannot understand spiritual things. (1 Cor. 2:14) Believing they are serving God they corrupt the church. Their allegiance is given to many different things but not to Jesus Christ.

Group 3 -The third group are those who profess to believe and do many religious works as those in Matt. 7 but Jesus does not know them. These are the Laodicean’s we read about in Rev. Many of today’s church goers appear to be in this category. They are comfortable in their sins and do not yield to conviction by the holy Spirit, equating godliness and gain.

Thus their hearts are held captive by their love for the things of the world. (1 Tim. 6:5) Again, a lack of spiritual discernment leads to religious errors and deception because of natural reason and understanding. (John 3:3)

These first three groups comprise over 95% of today’s church goers in my opinion.

Group 4 – The fourth group are those who are babes in Christ and looking for spiritual leadership and fellowship. These need godly examples and encouragement from the faithful of the congregation, along with daily practical instruction from the Word of God, through Bible study and prayer.

Group 5 – The last group is those who are born again, walk by faith, and are being transformed into the image of Jesus by the obedience of faith.

These desire Spiritual meat and not worldly entertainment. For such the pleasures of this world are pointless and have no attraction to them. They hunger for spiritual things.

As you read this and examine yourself can you discern which of the five groups you fall into?

Our flesh does not like to hear about God’s requirements for Salvation and Discipleship because it involves the death of self and allowing Jesus Christ to reign as King in our heart.

In order to follow Jesus you must first pass through the strait gate and submit your life to his direction and rule by repentance and baptism. (Matt. 7:13-14)

You must desire to follow Jesus with your whole heart, unreservedly. You cannot follow him through a sense of obligation or duty; it must be willingly and joyfully that you yield your all to Jesus as Lord, because you love Him.

5 – Free from sin

Following Jesus on the narrow way will lead to unexpected events and happenings in your life.

God will show you the sinfulness of sin and the blackness of your natural self. He will show you what a wretched helpless creature you really are. He will crush your pride until you acknowledge you can do nothing and Christ working through the Holy Spirit in you does everything.

God will direct your paths but not in the way you think or expect he will. God will answer your prayers but not in the way you think or expect him to.

God’s wisdom is so far above us that we cannot even comprehend it. He is Sovereign in all things and controls all things in Heaven and Earth.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

Those who say their body (life) is their own and they will decide what to do with it belong to one of the first three groups mentioned before. If Jesus Christ is not the Lord of your life, then you are not Christ’s and your profession is vain. There are no halfway measures, either he is Lord or not.

Following Christ is not a sometimes thing, or an off one day and on the next relationship; It is all or none, forever.

Philippians 2:13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Is God working his will in you or do you demand your own will be done? Doing things your way instead of God’s way is immediate proof you belong to one of the first three groups of unsaved religious people.

By the new birth and receiving the Holy Spirit into your heart you become a completely new creature in Christ with new desires, thoughts, and affections. Now you can discern spiritual things which the natural man cannot. (1 Cor.2:14)

Your spiritual eyes have been opened and the Bible takes on new meaning for you, it is no longer a dull book. Now you can hear from God through His Word and converse with him through prayer, and witness His working in your life.

Baptism is your public confession that you have died to obeying sin and now live in obedience to Jesus. This means self-denial because sin no longer rules your thoughts and affections, but it will try its utmost to do so with temptation and persuasion. But now grace gives you the ability to overcome all temptations just as Jesus did by applying the Word of God to your own life in obedience.

Romans 6:14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

What an exceedingly great blessing this is, that we are no longer the slaves of sin, to do its bidding and reap its miserable fruit. We are now free from sin so we can serve God by faith.

Until now we have lived our lives as captives of the powers of the air, ruled by sin and totally opposed to God because we knew nothing of spiritual things.

But now, by Grace we have received faith and our eyes now see things we never did before. Now, by the righteousness of Jesus imputed to us, we can enter into fellowship with God and all His family.

Obedience, like sin, is a word missing from the vocabulary of many professing Christians today in America. A disobedient and rebellious spirit hates these words and desires to live only according their understanding of the Law or their own fleshly lusts. They selectively apply verses from the Bible out of context to make them appear to justify their evil behavior, to fulfill their lusts, and obey whatever evil influences they serve; thus we have a multitude of Denominations all claiming to follow Jesus Christ. They want to have their life in this world without giving up its pleasures and still claim to be Christian so they can go to Heaven, but Jesus said they are condemned already in spite of outward religious appearances. (John 3:18)

6 – Ready to begin

Now we are born again, we have received the Holy Spirit and Grace to deny our self-life and its evil desires; we are willing to take up our cross to fight against sin on our flesh and wherever we find it. Having done this we have entered through the Strait Gate and now are ready to follow Jesus on the narrow way. We confess Jesus as our Lord and King and follow wherever he leads.

However, this is not the end of our Salvation as many believe but is only the beginning of our pilgrimage through this world and life.

At this point we have been Justified but still possess a body that must be sanctified. This sanctification comes from following Jesus on the narrow way. Though we are internally sanctified by Jesus Christ, our external sanctification consists of acquiring personal holiness by the mortification of the flesh to conform our life to his. This is done through the Holy Spirit that dwells in us as a result of the new birth,

The born again child of God desires to do the will of God in spite of the pull of their flesh away from him and everyone must take up his own cross to follow Jesus. This cross is a painful burden to the flesh, but that burden is regulated by Jesus so we are never required to carry a burden that is too much for us. Jesus has already borne all our sin so he knows exactly what we need to make us into holy and righteous children of God. This cross bearing is a part of the everyday life of a Christian and will be until the Resurrection.

Our cross is appointed to us by a loving Father who is earnestly desirous to see us transformed into the image of His Son Jesus, for his own glory. As we are changed day by day and step by step into the image of Jesus, by the working of the Holy Spirit in us, our obedience glorifies God and honors the sacrifice of Jesus.

What an exceedingly great and wonderful promise God gives us in Rom 8:29.

Romans 8:29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren..

Romans 8:14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

In these verses God tells us it is He who had determined our future and it is He who shall fulfill His Word. We have this promise that we will be raised up to sit with Jesus and that we will be made just like him in all things as part of his body.

7 – Separated lives

Godlessness shall reign in the Last Days.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.

2 Corinthians 6:17 “Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord. “AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you.

All these things just listed above are the things we, as children of God, must separate ourselves from.

All these negative attributes are used to describe religious people in the last days, and if the professing church fits this description, what is the state of those who know not God? It requires little discernment to determine what you should be removing from your life and who you should be fellowshipping with or avoiding.

I Tim. 6:11 tells us to flee certain things found in verses 1-10 and let our life exhibit the things that glorify God; righteousness, godliness, faith, love, peace, patience, meekness, and such like.

These things (vs 1-10 above) describe what you expect to see in the life of a natural man, ignorant of the things of God. It should be a warning to us that such things are found not only in the world but in the congregation around us.

But they should not be found in the followers of Jesus.

However, we all still have the evil impulses of this body we carry around even though they are not in our heart nor rule us any longer.

Whenever God allows events that catch us off guard and cause us to do or say something we shouldn’t, we are dumbfounded that such evil still exists within us, and we immediately repent in tears and anguish on our faces before God because we have sinned against such love as He has shown to us and against His Holiness. The child of God hates sin and it grieves us to no end when it is revealed in our own lives because we know that it caused Christ to suffer because of us.

8 – Our Advocate

But, praise God, we have an Advocate (1 John 2:1) And what does our Advocate do for us? This is a wonderful thing to understand and will fill you with joy unspeakable.

I will quote from the Commentary of John Gill an excellent description of our Advocate.

Christ is not an advocate for sin, though for sinners; he does not vindicate the commission of sin, or plead for the performance of it; he is no patron of iniquity; nor does he deny that his clients have sinned. Or affirm that their actions are not sins; he allows in court all their sins, with all their aggravated circumstances; nor does he go about to excuse or extenuate them; but he is an advocate for the non-imputation of them, and for the application of pardon to them: he pleads in their favor, that these sins have been laid upon him, and he has borne them; that his blood has been shed for the remission of them, and that he has made full satisfaction for them; and therefore in justice they ought not to be laid to their charge; but that the forgiveness of them should be applied unto them, for the relief and comfort of their burdened and distressed consciences; and for this he is an advocate for his poor sinning people ”with the Father”…

We must separate our lives from the pleasures and desires of the flesh (Luke 16:15) because what the world loves is an abomination to God. In spite of the multitude of preachers claiming gain is godliness and lusting for wealth we must seek heavenly riches instead of worldly prosperity. (Matt. 6:19-20) We must forsake all the world offers in entertainment that distracts us from seeking first the Kingdom of God. (Matt. 6:33)

9 – Guides for daily living

We see, as an example, the lives of professing Christians are indistinguishable from the world around them. Instead of separating from the world, they bring it right into the Sanctuary and this has diluted and dishonored the worship of God with carnal filth and vanity.

Some assembly halls (I hesitate to even call them churches) are no different than rock concerts with the loud music, lights, smoke, etc.

All the while these people believe they are worshipping God and praising Him.

Did Jesus die on the cross to bring such works of iniquity into the midst of the congregation? Do you believe he receives praise and honor from such carnal minded activities?

How did this happen? Because those who teach such things are seeking praise and honor for themselves instead of God; and they are proud of their own self- righteousness.

They preach to satisfy the greed and love of money of their followers, not the Word of God. This is nothing more than pride and arrogance ruling a carnally minded vain professor of faith.

Some guidelines for separation we have all heard before;

* Do not go where you would not take Jesus with you.

* Do not associate with folks who draw you away from Jesus. (2 Cor. 6:14)

* Do nothing Jesus would not approve of

* Do not listen to those who would lead you away from the Truth.

* Do not allow the cares of this world to interfere with coming together for worship.

*Do not allow the cares of this world to interfere with your prayer life.

* Do not allow the cares of this world to interfere with your Bible Study- not mere reading.

* Seek to do the will of God in all you think, say, or do.

* Render none evil for evil… (1 Thess. 5:15)

John Wesley has these rules for living:

Do all the good you can,

By all the means you can,

In all the ways you can,

In all the places you can,

To all the people you can,

As long as you can…

If such things as these are not your daily guides then you are on the wrong path.

10 – Expect suffering and tribulation

As we begin our walk down the narrow path following Jesus we will find God’s ways are much different than we expected. We will find our cross involves surprising and unexpected suffering as the Holy Spirit reveals to our discernment things we did not know were in our life. We will be chastised because God loves us. (Heb. 12:5-8)

Through much tribulation we enter the Kingdom of God. (Acts 14:22)

Thus it is clear we cannot follow Jesus without suffering in the flesh and in the world of our daily life. But it is all appointed by a loving God for our benefit even though we many times do not see what God’s purpose is. (2 Cor. 4:15)

Our path may be dark and rough, a narrow restricted path. And a hard way for the flesh because the flesh opposes the Spirit constantly and must be subdued by faith and Grace.

Our path may be lonely at times, even family and friends will oppose and desert us for following Jesus because the cross is foolishness to them. (1 Cor. 1:18)

We who belong to Jesus Christ must walk by faith and not by sight. We must follow Jesus’ example by striving to do God’s will in all things; and it will require striving and effort to subdue the desires of the flesh seeking its own will.

We must follow Christ boldly, there is no place for cowards.

We must not be ashamed to own Christ in the presence of others, even when ridiculed and mocked.

We must be an example of Jesus that others will want to follow.

We must follow Christ rejoicing in our hope of eternal glory. (Col. 1:27)

Can you grasp the greatness of this fact- Christ in you? Compare this hope to the worthless pleasures and entertainment of the world and realize how pitiful the soul is who loves the world.

All the foregoing are only a part of the cost to follow Jesus but the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, as the result of our new birth, will empower us to both desire and to do them for the glory of God.

11 – The cost of not following Jesus and the Judgment

Many declare they will come to Christ in the future after they have enjoyed the pleasures of life first. They do not realize they may not have a future- none know the appointed day of their death, we just assume it will be a long time until then.

Being blinded by the god of this world, Satan, they value the pleasures of the flesh more than an Eternal home with Jesus and fellowship with God, which they do not value at all. They love that golden cup of deception and iniquity; it’s fleeting pleasures blind them to spiritual things to their eternal loss.

Revelation 17:4 tell us about this cup of abominations (Pulpit Commentary- abominations are all things that displease God)

Matthew Mead in 1667 said of these:

The world, so fair, so fascinating! How shall it be given up? How shall the fingers be unclasped from that bright cup which seems so full of happiness?

Says the worldling, surely the sacrifice need not be made yet! The world and its pleasures need not yet be exchanged for the cross of self-denial and sacrifice! Not yet! Not yet!

The world looks so attractive and delightful to the carnal man. It pleases the lust of his eyes, the lust of his flesh, and satisfies his pride. He cannot see it leads to destruction.

Carnal men, after hearing the Gospel, believe it is up to them to decide when they will come to Christ, and they claim they will after they enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. But they cannot come and they will not come.”

They have heard the gospel and its calling but they reject it because they love their own life more than they love God. Thus they cannot and will not follow Jesus. They fail to remember that today they may enter Hell for eternity. (Matt. 16:26)

A sad thing is that many sit in the midst of the congregation with this same love for the world not understanding they are deceived; they are on the path of destruction even while believing they are saved by Jesus. Multitudes are seeking any way they can find to receive forgiveness without obedience. Unfortunately there are many wolves in the flock who teach this very thing making merchandise of the Gospel; such will receive the greater judgment.

Everyone must ask themselves these questions:

* Knowing we are all appointed a time to die we must ask ourselves, what then?

* What will be the worth of worldly treasures and pleasures then?

* What good will fame and fortune do us then?

* What will be our condition after death?

Scripture tells us that judgment waits. (2 Cor. 5:10)

12 – Which way will you choose?

How indescribable will be the condition of those who loved the world and made themselves the enemy of God. Then their self-deception will be revealed in their conscience. It is impossible to imagine what it will feel like to hear Jesus say, depart from me ye workers of iniquity. The greatest regret, the greatest remorse, the greatest sorrow and mourning accompanied with tears and wailing shall avail nothing as you are carried away by the holy angels and cast into the lake of fire forever.

Brother Steve Kilgore

The great fallacy affecting all worldly religions including many professing Christians, that an unconverted person can have works acceptable to God. When you compare the living faith with the dead faith James speaks about you see a dead faith has only dead works. Much than men do in their unconverted state is considered good by the standards of men. We cannot fault pity or compassion and such like, but in the unconverted man they are done with the wrong motive of heart and not for the glory of God, nor can they be. (Rom. 8:7)

Now you are aware of the cost of following Jesus and not following Jesus. God will never force you in any way, what you decide to do is entirely up to you and your destiny will be determined by that choice.

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Please comment on this post right below. Feel free to write and proclaim your leadings in the Spirit in an honorable fashion.

Your friend and brother in fighting the good fight,

Marc

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Saints, we’re one day closer to Home, and Him! Love Him wholeheartedly!

Marc and Walk Worthy are supported in part by the body of Jesus Christ. Please consider donating on a regular basis:

www.WalkWorthy.org/donate

Please comment on this post right below. Feel free to write and proclaim your leadings in the Spirit in an honorable fashion.

Marc White, Director, Walk Worthy Ministries, www.WalkWorthy.org

THE TRUTH ABOUT CHRISTMAS – “OH, IT’S RIGHT TO CELEBRATE BABY JESUS EACH YEAR” (OR IS IT?) [AT THE BATTLE FRONT 149]

December 1, 2018 by jesusislord 6 Comments

Why do people celebrate Christmas? Is it mostly family gatherings and the exchange of gifts? Is it decorating one’s house and putting up a tree?

Is there also a spiritual reason to do so? A tradition handed down in the Word of God? Why is December 25^th the date? And why do folks call it “Christmas” in the first place?

We know from decades of experience that the western type of celebration has a religious component for millions. But what is the true history of this renowned holiday? Does it have any off-color elements, or even any hidden sinister purpose?

The Satanic occultic calendar

To understand the world in which we live and people’s motivations a basic knowledge of pagan holidays is needed. Why? Through the eons of time crop and animal fertility to peasant farmers and their rich landlords was of the utmost importance both for food and children to help with the family work. Thus, we have a yearly calendar that seeks to appease the base sinful instincts of these deluded folks.

You may observe here that Samhaim, or Halloween, is the high holy day of the year featuring human sacrifice. Yule is the next major holiday as the year progresses. Notice the satanic pentagram at the center of the calendar.

The beginnings of Christmas

Ancient folks thousands of years ago sought to make sense of the world in which they lived. Many were filled with fears and superstitions due to the sufferings they experienced, and were at the mercy of their corrupt leaders. Consequently, pagan legends were developed and embellished often pointing to the spirit world and the “gods” they thought controlled the world, the harvest, and their lives.

Food for basic survival was based on the planting-harvest cycle of spring, summer, fall, and winter. This was an obvious integral and vital part of daily life. The approaching winter season was frightening whenever the year’s harvest was substandard to poor. Famine was a constant fear, and a serious threat when it frequently appeared.

These superstitious pagans observed the sun gradually moving south in the heavens and the days growing shorter. They actually believed the “sun god” had died and the sun itself was departing never to return. They knew this was a yearly tradition, and they needed to act. These folks in their daily lives sought to appease the “gods” and “goddesses” for favor, and to reduce their unpredictable anger and capricious nature.

The people knew the sun and its “god” was probably the most important key for a fruitful harvest and to avoid famine and death. So, to encourage the sun’s return north, the sun god was worshiped with elaborate rituals and ceremonies in order to strengthen this winter sun god and bring him back to “life.” These included the building of great bonfires (“bone-fires” like Halloween), and decorating with large evergreen plants such as ivy, holly, and even mistletoe.

The longer the sunshine in a day the better they reasoned. The winter solstice is the day of the year when daylight is the shortest, the night the longest, and occurs around December 21-22. On those dates, the sun seemed to stand still in the southern sky, as if “dead.”

The date of December 25^th

Although this trend toward darkness and the “death” of the sun frightened them, they hoped as mentioned the sun god would be “born again” if properly worshiped. These ancients believed that the sun god rose from the dead three days later as the new-born sun. So, when the pagans observed the slowdown in the sun’s southward movement, and then its stop, they believed that their petitions to the sun god had been answered.

In their thankfulness, a time of unrestrained rejoicing broke out, with revelry, drinking and drunkenness, and gluttonous feasts. Moreover, the people developed and engaged in terrible sexual fertility perversions they thought helped their appreciation of the sun god and was welcomed by him.

Then, when the heathen saw the sun moving northward again consistently, and within a week later were able to determine that the days were growing longer, a new year was proclaimed. This was their ancient religion, being the deeds they faithfully trusted and practiced. December 25th then was the “Victory of the Sun-God” Festival in the pagan Babylonian world. But December 25th was celebrated as a major holiday for centuries upon centuries long before Jesus was ever born.

Most of the ancient pagan religions can be traced back to ancient Babylon, or modern day Iraq in the middle east. Although their “gods” and “goddesses” came to be worshiped under dozens of different names, they all can be traced back to basically the same origin. Baal worship spread throughout the known world and can be considered a good basis for most all other pagan religions. The following are just some of the pagan gods that had “birthdays,” along with very dark occult festivals, on December 25^th: Mithras, Horus, Attis, Dionysus the son of Zeus, Tammuz, Hercules, Osiris, Perseus, Helios, Bacchus, Apollo, Jupiter, and Sol Invictus (The “Unconquered Sun”).

Rome chimes in too with Saturnalia

Saturnalia was celebrated in the pagan temples and typically characterized by gift-giving, gluttony, raucous singing, drunkenness, and lots and lots of debauchery, sexual and otherwise. The sacred priests of Saturn, called dendrophori, would carry wreaths of evergreen boughs in procession.

The date of December 25th in Rome was a celebration of the Italic god, Saturn, and the rebirth of their sun god. Again, this was done way before the birth of Jesus. Leading up to December 25th in ancient Rome, a festival known as Saturnalia was one of the biggest celebrations of the year. This pagan holiday began on the 17th of December and lasted all week until December 23^rd.

But…there were still too many “birthdates” for the all the empire’s other religious sun gods. So, the pragmatic and savvy Romans began holding a new consolidated “birthday festival” called Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, which means “birthday of the unconquered sun.” Guess what day the leaders chose? You guessed it: December 25^th. Problem solved: one “born again” sun god holiday throughout the whole empire.

The Roman church makes it painless

The Roman Empire through Emperor Constantine “legalized” Christianity in the early 300’s, and created the Roman Catholic Church. They desperately wanted pagans to turn into “Christians.” Why? Always follow the money, dear one. One scheme was infant baptism, a sly and clever way for the authorities to record the births of the newborns for tax reasons and other financial schemes. Sort of like the modern day US Social Security number.

Another scheme was to adopt the pagan holidays. Around 350 A.D. the Pope at the time, Julius I, just up and proclaimed that the birth of Jesus would be celebrated on December 25th from that year forward. There you go: painless compromise and conversion to Catholicism by pagan Romans. They simply “adopted” a pagan holiday and kept most of the same pagan traditions. What a great growth strategy. It would even make the modern mega church proud.

Obviously, the word “Christmas” doesn’t appear in the Bible. And it didn’t appear until a thousand years after Christ, as declared by the Catholic Encyclopedia: “The word for Christmas in late Old English is Cristes Maesse, the Mass of Christ, was first found in 1038.”

The “Mother & Child”

Ancient art across the world depicts a “goddess” holding a child and spawns from multiple legends using the same basic story. Nimrod (or Osiris, etc.) impregnates Semiramis (or Isis, etc.) who gives birth to Tammuz (or Horus, etc.) which is Nimrod (or Osiris, etc.) “reborn.” How many times have you seen Madonna holding the Christ child in Catholic art with Joseph nowhere to be found? Now you know where this originates.

The tree, wreath, holly, mistletoe, and modern nation-states

The modern Christmas tree originates in ancient occultic Egypt and Babylonian as a part of their perverted sexual fertility worship, and has been passed down to this day. The tree (or pole), balls, and tinsel represent male reproduction: penis (phallus), testicles (testes), and semen. The wreath is always fashioned in a circle to represent female reproduction: the vagina. Holly, in some cultures, was offered to fairy people of the forests as refuge from the winter. Mistletoe, which is poisonous, has white sticky liquid thought to be the semen of the gods, was thought could ward off evil spirits, and eventually morphed into kissing under a tree loosely based on ancient Norse ideas of peace.

Today, unbelievably, the Satanic rulers of the world hide these sexual perversions in plain sight. The three independent nation-states that rule the world are Washington DC (military), the Vatican (religion), and the two acre City of London inside London (finance). They all sport the Egyptian obelisk (phallic penis), with DC and the Vatican also showing off the dome close by (vagina).

Even Martin Luther weighs in

Martin Luther was a converted Roman Catholic priest who only “reformed” a little bit of theology. He kept the priesthood, now known as the unbiblical “pastor.” He stayed up too late Saturday night getting drunk and couldn’t sober up to meet until Sunday until 11:00. He called the book of James an “epistle of straw.” Oh, he also wrote “On The Jews and Their Lies” which included such phrases as “full of feces” and Christians being “at fault for not slaying them.” Hitler used this in part to justify the Jewish Holocaust.

Luther, in his failed attempts to reject all Catholic influence, did forbid the observation of St. Nicholas (Santa Claus) to his followers. But they invented their own flamboyant Christmas symbol, Kristkindl, as Luther looked the other way it seems. It was described as a “blond, radiant veiled child figure with golden wings, wearing a flowing white robe and a sparkling jeweled crown, and carrying a small Christmas tree or wand.” Can anyone say Kris Kringle, please?

Yuletide anybody?

Today’s Yule tradition comes to us in part from Scandinavia, where the pagan sex-and-fertility god, Jule, was honored in a twelve-day celebration in December just like the modern “12 days of Christmas.” A log was kept in the fire for twelve days, and each day for twelve days a different sacrifice was offered. In essence, only the names have changed.

Effortless adaptation but some refused

Let’s ask the vital question: why did all these obvious pagan occultic Satanic customs effortlessly find their way into contemporary Christianity? In a word…compromise. Jesus Christ taught a lot about the traditions of man vs. the traditions of God. We can’t observe both, but either sin or holy living. Real Christians, “little Christs,” are to avoid every appearance of evil (1 Thess. 5.22), and walk worthy to please God in every respect (Col. 1.10).

Some serious Christian folks saw right through it and acted accordingly. As far back as the 3rd century, Tertullian, the renowned early church father wrote, “On your day of gladness, we [Christians] neither cover our doorposts with wreaths, nor intrude upon the day with lamps. At the call of public festivity, you consider it a proper thing to decorate your house like some new brothel. We are accused of a lower sacrilege because we do not celebrate along with you the holidays …”

The Puritans in England, and later in Massachusetts Colony in the US in 1659, outlawed this holiday as witchcraft. The English Parliament abolished Christmas in 1647. Charles Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, rightly noted in 1871, “We have no superstitious regard for times and seasons. Certainly we do not believe in the present ecclesiastical arrangement called Christmas: first, because we do not believe in the mass at all, but abhor it, whether it be said or sung in Latin or in English; and, secondly, because we find no Scriptural warrant whatever for observing any day as the birthday of the Saviour; and, consequently, its observance is a superstition, because not of divine authority.”

Spurgeon went on to declare, “Where is the method in the madness of the superstitious? Probably the fact is that the holy days were arranged to fit in with heathen festivals. We venture to assert, that if there be any day in the year, of which we may be pretty sure that it was not the day on which the Saviour was born, it is the twenty-fifth of December.”

Objections answered

Many object that God can use Christmas for His purposes. Yes, He can, but in a severely restricted way. And He also works in Asian whore houses everyday too but we shouldn’t frequent them! This objection smacks of the logical fallacy of the Appeal to Normality. Christmas is not Biblically normal.

You notice we mentioned nothing earlier about the fat man in red…Santa Claus. No need to do so. If you or I can’t obviously see Satan’s feeble but effective attempt to replace Christ with this demonic impostor (“he sees you…he knows you…”), then we have little if any discernment in the truth.

Moreover, many are caused to stumble away from Christ during the Christmas season. How? With all its sinfully gross humanistic materialism, tumultuous family problems, and worshipping a false baby manger Jesus vs. the risen and triumphant King of Kings and Lion of Judah who will slay all His enemies by the breath of His mouth at His Second Coming (2 Thess. 2.8).

Why not just do what Jesus commands and give our money and gifts to those He directly specifies, not ourselves who need virtually nothing? Who is that, you ask? The poor, blind, lame, widows, orphans, the prisoners…you know, the hurting multitudes of disenfranchised in the world.

In addition, the only two celebrations of tradition in the Bible are the eternally perpetual Feast of Tabernacles (Zechariah 14.16) and the full meal Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11), the love feast (Jude 1.12), to “remind” Jesus to come back for His children and celebrate His resurrection, never His birth.

If you’re still dead set on this pagan holiday, why not celebrate June 15^th? Or February 3^rd? You do so because of the powerful tradition of man for December 25^th. Why not just meet with other Christian believers once a year since the Word of God only states “when you meet together (1 Cor. 11)?” You do so because of the powerful tradition handed down by Paul in the Bible (1 Cor. 11.2) based on the first day of the week to take up a collection (1 Cor. 16.2). We’re to avoid being taken captive by “empty deception” through the traditions of men (Col. 2.8).

As an aside, there’s an excellent argument by a noted Christian author and Hebrew scholar than Jesus was born on September 3^rd. Besides, the shepherds never would have been in the frigid winter fields of Palestine during December evenings.

Those who refuse to obey

God proclaimed a conditional, not unconditional, message of peaceful love at the birth of Jesus Christ. The King James mistranslates that main verse by omitting the condition of God’s pleasure. Here is the accurate translation in Luke: “And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

The apostle Paul sternly warns in 2 Thessalonians 1 the fate of those at the Second Coming of Christ who refuse to obey: “…the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.”

Let us all help and not hinder the Lord’s eternal purpose, building the Kingdom of God, by walking in holiness as the apostle Peter declared: “…but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”

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You may read about other holidays here.

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Please comment on this post right below. Feel free to write and proclaim your leadings in the Spirit in an honorable fashion.

Your friend and brother in fighting the good fight,

Marc

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Saints, we’re one day closer to Home, and Him! Love Him wholeheartedly!

Marc and Walk Worthy are supported in part by the body of Jesus Christ. Please consider donating on a regular basis:

www.WalkWorthy.org/donate

Please comment on this post right below. Feel free to write and proclaim your leadings in the Spirit in an honorable fashion.

Marc White, Director, Walk Worthy Ministries, www.WalkWorthy.org