Our Life and Times : Biblical Reasoning for a Modern Age
BLOGGER · THEOLOGIAN · APOLOGIST
Norman Harold Patterson Jr.
Time for a Real Change
How would you like your life to be different, not just today, but forever?
“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. Galatians 6:7”
You may not like this verse. You may not believe it. You may ignore it. Truth is truth and doesn't change just because the majority of people think it is not so.
I have seen the truth of this verse in my life. I thought I could do sinful things and that I was "covered" from the consequences because I would confess my sin and because I was already saved.
But God has built His character into the universe, especially in the realm of humanity.
We were created by God, as was all of creation. Because we were created by God, His Law permeates all of creation.
The Bible is not talking about "god" in some generic way. When the Bible speaks about God, it is testifying to the One God who exists in three Persons; Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. Revelation 4:8”
And He is Holy. Not only is He holy, but He is also praised as being holy three times, which means He is the Ultimate Holy One.
And as the Holy One, He stands forever against sin.
Are you mocking God by living or doing things that He says are wrong? To do so is to make fun of God. It says that you know better than He does. You can think that all you want, but that won't change who God is and what He requires us.
The Bible defines sin as "the transgression of God's Law." ( 1 John 3:4). Whether you want to talk about the summary of the Law as loving God or loving your neighbor or you want to talk about the revelation of His Law in the 10 Commandments or if you wish to speak about the application of that Law all throughout the Scriptures, the Law is the Law from the beginning to the end and all the ways it is expressed in the Bible.
The truth is we all have broken God's Law, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)
And God says, "the wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23) Death in this context means separation from God. The ultimate death, we are told, is eternal separation from God.
As it says in Isaiah 59:2, "your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God."
What's to be done? The good news of the Bible is that God has made a Way for sinners to be made right with Him. This Way is Jesus Christ. God the Father gave Jesus His Son to die in your place as a substitute. The wages of sin are indeed, death. The question is, who will die this death?
Jesus Christ has already died as God's substitutionary sacrifice. In whose place did He die? He died for all who trust in Him for salvation. Is that you? That is up to you. You have the responsibility to turn from your sin and trust in Jesus.
What does that mean? It means to stop living in denial about the seriousness of your sin. Don't let others tell you that your sin is not sin. Don't let society deceive you into believing that you are a "good person." Don't let the media lull you into complacency. Don't let your lifestyle's comfort and convenience stop you from running from your sin into the arms of Jesus Christ.
Leaving your sin can and will be difficult. But what does that matter when you are given the promise of eternal life in Christ?
To come to Christ means to leave your sin. It means to put your sinful heart into His hands and to leave your sinful life. It means to trust that His substitutionary sacrifice is all that you need to have your sins forgiven.
And when you have faith in Christ, God promises that He will forgive you, not only of your sinful heart, but all sin that you have committed in thought, word, and deed.
God also promises that He will fill you with the Holy Spirit. This means that God will empower your heart, soul, mind, and body. He will dwell in and through you to help you do the things He requires of you. The Spirit of God will continue to cleanse you from all sin on a daily bases. In Jesus Christ, you are made right with God, and through the Spirit of Christ, you are made holy in God's eyes.
Will it be difficult to stop living the sinful lifestyle you are living now? Of course, it will be. But God promises blessing on all who walk in His ways. (Psalm 1) This does not mean that God will make you wealthy or famous or prosper you according to the world's standard. It does mean that He will give you a new heart, a new outlook on life, a new purpose, and a new mission.
If you don't turn away from your sin, the original verse I started with will hold true, "God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap." It may not happen today. It may not happen next week or next year. In fact, you may think you are living your best life, but someday it will all come crashing down. And when it does, I hope my words will come to your mind. I pray you will see the destruction of your life, peace, comfort, and blessing of God.
It will be a blessing because God loves you so much that He would strip you naked in this life to clothe you with His best garments for all of eternity.
Why wait for everything to come crashing down? Leave your sin and turn to Christ today. You know what is in your life that He is not pleased with. He is pressing you at this moment on that very thing. Shut out every other voice but God's voice and listen, and after listening, do what He says.
First, acknowledge your sinfulness. Next, trust in Jesus Christ. By faith, hold on to the truth that God, in Christ, completely forgives you. Last, be filled with the Holy Spirit and make whatever changes you need to make in your life to get right with Him.
I am here if you want or need someone to help you walk through this process. Otherwise, heed these words. However you respond, it will make all the difference in your life.
Amen
We find the Dominion Mandate for Bible-believing Christians in Genesis 1:26-28:
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
For Christians, this means that God has given us the responsibility to take dominion over the entire world. We have God's approval and authority to "fill the earth and subdue it." Add to this Christ's call in Matthew 28:19+20 to:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
And 2 Corinthians 10:3-6:
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
While God called Christians to be separate from the world in holiness, He doesn't give us the option to isolate ourselves from the world physically. As Jesus said:
I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. John 17:14-15
Because of false piety and a lack of understanding of these and other Dominion affirming Biblical texts, Christians far too often vacate the world, leaving an "influence vacuum." As the old saying goes, "nature abhors a vacuum." Because of this, instead of taking Dominion over the arts, sciences, court systems, political offices, universities, and so on, Christians withdraw into isolated communities only to leave the world unoccupied.
As a result, anti-Christ people and philosophies have readily taken over virtually every facet of life. The greatest antithesis to Biblical Christianity has understood and intentionally implemented the Dominion Mandate for their own sinister ends.
The most dangerous of all are those espousing Cultural Marxism. Briefly, Cultural Marxism is an expansion of Classical Marxism, which focuses primarily on the economic philosophy of Karl Marx. Cultural Marxism is much more all-encompassing than Classical Marxism.
Ultimately, Cultural Marxism is about liberating humanity from the moral constraints of Biblical Christianity. The Bible prohibits same-sex intimacy, adultery in all forms, polygamy, bigamy, bestiality, pedophilia, and so on. God created man and woman in His image and commanded them to be fruitful and multiply; the Dominion Mandate!
The method Cultural Marxism employs to propagate its insidious agenda is through applying the Biblical Mandate. The plan has been and continues to be for those who oppose Biblical Christianity to infiltrate and dominate every known sphere of influence. As Voddie Bachem pointed out, their strategy is to take over the "robes" of society; professors, pastors, and judges, for example.
R.J. Rushdoony and the Christian Reconstructionists proposed the same tactic, taking over the "robes" of society. However, instead of a great "Amen" from the rest of the Church, Christian Reconstructionism has been vilified as patriarchal, extreme, and misguided.
In the meantime, Cultural Marxism is dominating the universities, media, churches, courts, arts, etc. They are putting Christians and Christianity to shame by their ardent intentionality to dominate the world for Self.
As the degeneration of our culture continues, so will the hostility toward Biblical Christianity. And just as Marxism tried to destroy Biblical Christianity through the reign of terror in anti-Christ regimes like the Soviet Union and Communist China, modern Marxists will not rest until Biblical Christianity is destroyed.
The good news, however, is the promise of Jesus Christ. He said that the "gates of hell" will not prevail against the Church. (Matthew 16:18) The image Christ was giving was not a Church that was cowering in the corner, battening down the hatches until the storm of hell subsided. Just the opposite. Hell is under attack, and its filthy gates are no match for the power and glory of the Risen Christ and His Bride.
Christians can no longer cower in corners. It is time for us to take up the battle cry and assault Cultural Marxism and any other "high place" (2 Corinthians 10:3-6) that dares to raise itself against the knowledge of God. Our weapons are not of the flesh (Ephesians 6), but they are weapons nonetheless and are worthless if left unused.
It is time for Christians to take back our country, our world for Christ. We must do it according to the means and methods of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom, which means we must take Dominion and occupy all walks of life for the glory of the crown rights of Jesus Christ.
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