BEFORE GOD DESTROYS, HE FOREWARNS (PART III)

“You Must Examine Yourself”

By Akin Ojumu

By their doctrines and their deeds, we shall know them. The authenticity of a man’s Christianity is determined not only by how behaves but also by what he believes. The true test of who is a Christian and who isn’t is ascertained by the person’s theological and doctrinal beliefs. Whether or not someone is a true Christian can be determined by how that person conducts himself.

1 John 2:3-6

“And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”

There’s a pervasive reality that exists in our world. And that’s the fact that Satan is a deceiver. He wants to convince people that all is well with them spiritually when in actual fact all is not well at all. The whole idea of satanic deception is to blur the reality of salvation and one’s spiritual condition. If Satan can convince someone that the wrong religion is the right religion, he has succeeded in that deception. If Satan can convince someone that a wrong understanding of the right religion is acceptable, then he has also succeeded in capturing that soul in deception (Source: John MacArthur).

Contrary to what you may have been led to believe, Satan is not an atheist, and neither are his cohort of demons. These ancient adversaries have been around long enough to know that God is real. In fact, the very knowledge of the existence of God sends cold shivers down the spine of demons.

James 2:19

“You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe – and shudder!”

Not only does Satan knows about God, he knows God on a personal level, having had a relationship with God. The Bible describes Lucifer, Satan’s name before he rebelled against God, as the anointed Cherub, which is the highest-ranking angel.

Ezekiel 28:12-15

 “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you.”

It's indeed the case that there are many atheists (those who believe there’s no God) and agnostics (those who asserts that the existence or non-existence of God is unknown or unknowable) in our world. These are people whose minds Satan has blinded so that they deny the existence of God or reject the idea that God can be known. 

Romans 1:21-23

“For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.”

That being said, neither atheism nor agnosticism is Satan’s primary strategy for turning people away from God. For the most part, Satan doesn’t want you not to believe in God. No, not at all. He wants you to believe in God, but just that it must be a wrong god. 

Creating false gods for people to worship is, perhaps, Satan’s most effective strategy. He deceives people by making them worship a god of their own making which they confuse with the God of the Bible. This self-fashioned golden calf is an idol that guarantees health, promises wealth, assures success, and vows abundance to those who crafted it.

Because these are man-made gods, their worshipers are able to make them say whatever it is they wish. To the makers of these idols, prayer is a religious technique they use to get their own way. They set their sights on what they want, then they spend the sweet hour of prayer talking their gods into working it out for them. 

Since they made these idols with their own hands, it’s natural for these people to command them to do their bidding. So, when they pray, you hear them say, “I decree! I declare!! I command!!!” And of course, they expect their idols to answer.

Sadly, this is the spiritual state of the vast majority of churchgoers. They fervently believe they are worshiping the Almighty God without realizing that what they worship is the god of their own making. As part of his frontal assault on the true Gospel, Satan has caused these people to believe in what’s not true, and he has made them to feel secure in their error.

Sunday after Sunday, the so-called churches are parked to the rafters with people who come with hands held out ready to receive their miracles. Hundreds of thousands of souls troop to the crusade grounds and Holy Ghost conventions on regular basis in pursuit of their heart desires.

Knowing the usual response to these things I’m saying here, I can already imagine the frown of skepticism getting etched on the brows of many of you who are reading this. Swirling in your minds are myriads of thoughts, questions, and, perhaps, indignation. Well, I’m going to pre-empt some of those questions by pointing you back to the Bible and what the Lord Jesus Christ Himself prophesied about what I have, hitherto, described.

INDIGNATION 1

Many of these denominations you are pooh-poohing have millions of god-fearing members. These are folks who, by their involvement and engagement in religious activities, show they love the Lord. How dare you say they are all deceived?” 

RESPONSE 1

Matthew 7:13-14

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

INDIGNATION 2

But these people preach from the Bible. Not only that, they call on the name of God, they pray in the name of Christ and operate by the power of the Holy Spirit. Who are you to say they are lost and deceived?

RESPONSE 2

Matthew 7:21

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

INDIGNATION 3

You are just being overtly critical and judgmental. These people are performing signs and wonders. They are demonstrating power and are even giving accurate prophesies. Word is cheap. What have you done?

RESPONSE 3

Matthew 7:22-23

“On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

Matthew 24:24

“For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.”

You all must understand that I have no pleasure in questioning or condemning the faith of anyone. Nevertheless, if I claim to love you, I will not hesitate to let you know that both the preacher and consumer of an aberrant Gospel are damned in equal measure.

Galatians 1:8

“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.”

If I truly care about the eternal destiny of your soul, I won’t be shy in reminding you that it’s only those who abide in the Word of God, i.e., sound doctrine, who truly belong to God.

1 John 2:5-6

“But whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”

This, then, calls for a self-examination and a spiritual checkup on your part. 

2 Corinthians 13:5

“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”

If your beliefs do not fully and totally align with the written Word of God, you ought to know that you don’t belong to God. Regardless of your outward piety, and your overt religiosity notwithstanding, if you don’t belong to God, you are an enemy of God. You really don’t need me to remind you of the fate of anyone who is an enemy of God.

Stay tuned till next time when we, hopefully, examine what typically comes next in the chain of events that culminate in the outpouring of the wrath of God.