Members wretched Posted February 9, 2016 Members Share Posted February 9, 2016 New thread continued from Brothers and Sisters in Christ: Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. Not the answer you were looking for I am guessing but there it is. The love of the world precludes doing the will of God and precludes abiding forever. The love of the world is in direct contradiction to the will of God and is evidentiary of never being regenerated. This precludes the vast majority of "faithful" 3x10% IFB church members and pretty much every other "Christian" group. There are remnants however in all these churches. It also rules out most of the pastoral staffs in these churches. Let me illustrate: The typical "worldly" list for most IFB churches In descending order from most egregious to least offensive (illegal activities not included): sex sins including porn, alcohol, rock n roll, Hollywood, divorce, remarriage, smoking. The typical do list for most IFB churches in descending order from most important: Tithing, attending 3 times a week, doing a job of some sort in the church, scheduled short Bible reading and prayer (generally treated as optional if you tithe and attend). What I mean by this is: most IFBs can go weeks without any real Bible Time or prayer but if they miss a wed night Bible study, that is the only time they feel "guilty". BTW: If you check all boxes for do's and don't this also qualifies the men for church offices. So, what is done with the rest of our time and money? Answer: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. I demonstrate with the below "OK to do and still be right with God" list that is common among most IFBs (of course you will find no examples of things similar to these being done by the apostles, other disciples and believers in general in the Bible): Sports watching and sports playing of all kinds, sport fishing and hunting, shopping for possessions we don't need, sport shooting, the Disney, family and Discovery Channels, wholesome movies, Gospel country, country and bluegrass music, collecting "things" of any kind, secular higher education, occupational ambition, vacations, amusement parks, daytrips, Disney world, etcetera...the list goes on and on encompassing the world. The typical IFB church would not consider any of this "of the world", it is harmless to the lost so we consider it fine by God. But they delude themselves because ALL OF IT IS OF THE WORLD and the world passeth away and the lusts thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. Bible Christianity is not a list of do's and don'ts, nor is it a list of foods and drinks and days of the week. Bible Christianity is losing your life in this world to find it. The reality of Bible Christianity eludes most faithful members of our churches. Most "faithful" IFBs are very religious but not regenerated and therefore understand not the deep things of God. They understand with their heads the simplicity of milk and a set of bylaws to live by but what they are following is people just as any faithful member of the Moose Lodge does. They don't pick up the cross and follow Jesus. Salvation by Grace through faith is free but it is far from cheap. Lukewarm redefined makes it both free and cheap. And lukewarm, God will spew out of His mouth God knows we have to work jobs to live. He isn't talking about that, He wants your entertainment time for HIM not the world, this proves you are born again. The real question everyone should ask themselves before worrying over others is: should they refer to me as "brother or sister"? Does not walking with God and giving up all in the world 24/7 gnaw at you? or are you comfortable as a 3x10? Does truly living for God (forgetting the world) mean anything to you or do you simply fit IFB religious ritual into your worldly life at the appointed times of the week? If not perhaps you should make double sure you are in the faith. Those of you who do not understand this post, baulk at it and make excuses, may already have your answer and time is a wasting. So don't fight me over it, fight your own souls. There definitely are 3 Gospels in our churches: The so-called "soulwinners" Gospel on the street and door to door, a quick head belief prayer after a few verses never to be seen or heard from again. The typical IFB 3x10% Gospel that most live by but have much of their bodies, minds and time in the world without conviction (but the preachers see me so I must be saved) And the real Gospel in the Bible that regenerates and makes a person want to give up the entire world and its value system and follow Jesus. Does it mean you will do it all or most of the time, not necessarily. BUT YOU WILL KNOW THROUGH THE SPIRIT THAT YOU SHOULD BE and you will not have peace when you are not. That is Bible evidence of regeneration and the Bible Gospel. so ask your soul right now: Which of these Gospels did I get "saved" by? Follow Jesus by walking in the Spirit and giving up the world and your doctrine will be true Bible doctrine. Live more for the world and who knows what doctrine you are following. Ronda 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ukulelemike Posted February 9, 2016 Moderators Share Posted February 9, 2016 A post worthy of some rumination. I think you may be painting with a bit too much of a broad brush, but understand that's not meant as a criticism, as its so easy to do. But I would agree that much of these are the case with what many see as the typical "IFB", or maybe the mega-IFB's. But for every one of those there are many small, 'insignificant' IFB churches doing the work of God faithfully, preachers who will never be invited to preach someone's conference because, even though they've faithfully served in their area for 10, 20, 30 years or more, staying in one place, bringing souls to Christ and discipling their small congregations, they aren't of note enough in the numbers game to really matter. swathdiver, Alan and John Young 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wretched Posted February 9, 2016 Author Members Share Posted February 9, 2016 23 minutes ago, Ukulelemike said: A post worthy of some rumination. I think you may be painting with a bit too much of a broad brush, but understand that's not meant as a criticism, as its so easy to do. But I would agree that much of these are the case with what many see as the typical "IFB", or maybe the mega-IFB's. But for every one of those there are many small, 'insignificant' IFB churches doing the work of God faithfully, preachers who will never be invited to preach someone's conference because, even though they've faithfully served in their area for 10, 20, 30 years or more, staying in one place, bringing souls to Christ and discipling their small congregations, they aren't of note enough in the numbers game to really matter. Very good points Mike and I agree on all of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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