Monday, October 15, 2007

It Has No Eternal Value because It's Fallen

This is an excerpt from my newly released book Magnify The Lord: Ten Reasons to Discover, Declare, and Defend why Christ Came, (Xulon Press ; ISBN 9781602669314)
*UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF SATAN
The world system we now live in is under the legal authority
of Satan. Why is it under his influence? When Adam yielded his
authority to Satan in the garden, he gave dominion to the enemy
of God. God, through the apostle Paul, describes all the children
of men in this world as being children of wrath. We were all born
as children of wrath, or as “products of the fall of humanity.”
As a result of this inheritance and the dominion of Satan over us, we lived
all our lives prior to being born again in disobedience. The spirit
that now influences and controls the lives of those who are still in
their sin is none other than the prince of the power of the air, Satan himself.
And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses
and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the
course of this world, according to the prince of the power of
the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Among whom also we all had our conversation in
times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of
the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of
wrath, even as others.
(Ephesians 2:1-3)
God describes us as being under the influence of the course of
this world. Yes, we all live this way and will unless we are interrupted
by the Lord and made a new creature in Christ Jesus. Our
lifestyles are real and tangible, but they are actually lies. They are
real lives being lived out every day, and no one can deny this fact!
Our lives are so real that Jesus Christ gave His life on behalf of us.
No matter how real they may be, they are still lifestyles of deception
and delusion. Unless they are born again of God and given the
ability to hear the voice of Jesus calling on them to follow Him, they
cannot know the truth.

IT IS GOOD FOR NOTHING
Jesus understood He was born and sent into this world to reveal
the truth to His sheep and expose the works of this world as being evil. (John 7:7)
The world system functions, but it is important to remember it is
fallen. The system is broken because it is no longer in its original
design; therefore, it has no eternal value. When a drinking glass is
shattered on a tile floor, it is discarded because it is no longer useful
for its intended purpose. It is thrown away because it is no longer
usable and is now good for nothing.

IT IS DECEPTIVE
The New Testament explains on numerous occasions about the
devastating effects of any system of learning that is not rooted in and
sanctified by God. If it's not to glorify God the Father and to place
Christ Jesus at the center of all Spirit-filled living, being sanctified by
the Word of God and prayer, it should be avoided: “Beware lest any
man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition
of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ

(Colossians 2:8). Paul warned the church at Colosse not to be robbed
by the emptiness and vanity of pursuing this world’s wisdom. Being
fond of the basic principles of the world system is deceitful and
deadly. James even shared with his audience that having a fondness
with the world is enmity with God. (James 4:4-7)

IN THE NAME OF KNOWLEDGE
Today, many have fallen captive to this satanic scheme. Paul also
warned Timothy of this covert effort by the enemy to entice the intellectual
seeker who has a weakness for a “well shaped intellect”:
"O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust,
avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of
science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred
concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen."
(1 Timothy 6:20-21)
We can often find our minds so focused on defending the faith
against apostate teachers in the church that we miss the fact this
also applies to our modern system of education. We may not like
this much, but it is a reality. Do our schools and the curriculum used
teach our kids to exalt and magnify the Lord Jesus Christ and His
gospel? How about our science books? What or who is the core of
their authority? Do they heavily promote the God of creation or the
theory of evolution? Do they teach the biblical role for us as parents
in educating and equipping our children to be champions of God’s
truth on the earth?

IT’S HAPPENING
Timothy was told to guard the precious truth and the lives that
were entrusted to him by not letting empty knowledge cloud his
vision of God’s glory and truth. The church must be cautious of this
travesty happening today. She must sound the alarm. The enemy
has infiltrated her strongholds. Statistics show how young adults are
fleeing from church houses to the many outhouses of this world.
Why wouldn’t they go the first chance they have to be on their own?
Their sinful natures and appetites have been fed all their lives by a
watered-down theology that fits a secular society. We have let our
culture shape and conform what they know about an unbiblical god.
Why have pastors allowed this to happen? They have done this to be
politically correct so they can maintain their jobs in the church and
keep their pulpit. Why has this happened? We, as the people of God,
have not stood against this great spoiling of the minds of our youth
and nation. The church will give an account for not bearing witness
to the truth.
*Taken from Magnify the Lord: Ten Reasons to Discover, Declare, and Defend why Christ Came, chapter 2(He's Come to Define: 1. What Is Truth?), pages 43-45.

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