The Whole World

 

The Whole World

In my journey I have encountered many types of people, but rarely have I ever come across true Believers totally sold out and serving God with their whole heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Currently, I do not know anyone serving Him thus, and the ones I did know have fallen into one of the world’s superstitious religions.  It would be hypocritical for me to say that I have attained to the full measure of this goal, but it does drive me.  

What is this goal of my worship to God and how is it evidenced?  To answer that question, I had to establish a baseline, and that baseline had to begin with this:

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.  Joh 4:24.

To understand this succinctly, a goal of the gospel is to transform a man from a natural man into a spiritual one, thereby allowing him to serve God.  Any failure to make a total transformation means you are settling for a lie (temporarily or habitually).  You must understand this truth as part of truth in general.  Truth was established as a key component in my faith baseline.  However, truth may be subjective, but what it is not is wrong.  For instance, my faith is real evidence that God is, but no matter how much I know that, many will not accept my testimony of that truth which is certain to become self-evident to them at some point.

Knowing that truth was fundamental to my faith made it easier to determine what was a lie, especially when it comes to those who claim to be serving God but are really serving themselves, the world, or the Devil.  An example of that would be:

He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  1Jn 2:4.

And;

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.  1Jn 5:3.

So, whenever I come across those who are religious but walk in open sin to God’s commandments, I automatically discern that they neither know God (fully, or at all) and that they do not love God (the greatest of the moral commandments and all are obligatory).  For my baseline, this makes it easier to distinguish between the types of people identified below beginning with the first type:

1.     The Unregenerate/Unrepentant (the natural man)

a.      This is the largest category of people you will encounter, and they may exist in every category save the last one.

b.     It is probably easier to say this category includes everyone that does not believe in God (atheist, agnostics, and so on); however, it is not that simple.

c.      The main reason it is not simple is because there are many who still walk in the flesh, or in accordance with the rudiments of the world and the influence the world has on a natural man, but they may believe there is a God (and even that they are serving Him), but they are not serving Him in spirit and in truth.  This would also include false religions.

d.     Therefore, it is true that this category includes all those who do not believe in God, but it may also include those who are not serving God in spirit and in truth, i.e., they are walking according to the dictates of the natural man.

Before I get to the next two types of people you will encounter (because 99% of the world’s religious people are contained in these categories), I need to provide a survey of the type of people who did serve God from the Bible.  I have said this before, the Bible provides a complete testimony of the kind of life a true Believer can expect if he is serving God in truth.  The archetype of course is Christ.  It is His life that we are to emulate and conform to as our supreme example.

For the sake of brevity, one can (and should) use the life of Christ as the sole example of the type of life we are to follow, and as the example of the type of response we can expect from both the superstitious religious world and the natural world.  Every true Believer found in the Bible led a life like Christ, and most of them suffered the same outcome leading to their departure from the world.  The only difference (in the flesh) between Christ and the other Believers found in the Bible is that He was without sin.

Some may take exception to this oversimplified example saying not all were crucified, beheaded, stoned, stabbed, sawn asunder, or etc.  Yet, I challenge you to find one example of a true Believer found in the Bible that did not suffer at the hands of religion and/or the world for their faith.  Furthermore, we have the example of the New Testament church that forsook everything in the world in order to follow God perfectly, and they suffered greatly at the hands of established religion and the world. 

Additionally, the New Testament church had power through the Spirit which is a far cry from the superstitious secular religions we have today.  I shall provide two examples:

But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power.  1Co 4:19.

And;

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.  And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;  They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.  Mar 16:16-18.

It is having the factors of the type of life and the presence of the power of God in mind that I expanded my baseline; meaning, if these factors were not present or acknowledged as lacking and therefore sought, then I was dealing with that which is a lie.  To be clear, if I was dealing with one of the secular sects that dismissed the power of the Holy Ghost or explained away the austere example of the primitive church, then I knew I was dealing with some type of heresy.  That leads me to my second and third examples of the types of people you will encounter:

2.     The Deceived

a.      Fundamental to someone who is Deceived is their ability to lie to or deceive themselves.  Consider the factors mentioned above, and you will see that they fail to realize that their very lives are in contradiction to the type of life a true Believer will lead.

b.     Some will be Deceived by others willingly due to a predominate lust (usually present in all deceptions) which they wish to maintain.  This condition is more common than most.  We see this coming to a head today among homosexuals calling themselves Christian, but it has been gaining momentum since the 300’s AD when Augustine formally inaugurated it.  I would say the vast majority of Christian’s fall into this category because they are driven by the desire to please self more than mortify the deeds of the body (see Romans 8:13).  These are your secular Christians that hold themselves, their jobs, houses, families, excursions, entertainments, basically the rudiments of the world above their service to God in order to please self.  It also includes those living in open sin who call themselves Christian like the homosexuals, adulterers, fornicators, divorced remarried adulterers, those under flesh habits like porn, drugs, alcohol, and so on.  Jesus said:  …Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.  Joh 8:34.  So, I mean those who are serving sin.

c.      The Deceived is one of the hardest categories to deal with basically because there are so many false doctrines out there today for them to cloak their sin in.  There are also Hypocrites to encourage them in their apostasy, thereby causing the truth of the word to become choked in the deceitfulness of riches and the cares and pleasures of the world.

d.     This category, which includes nominal Christians, will break your heart the most as you watch them embrace falsehoods to the detriment of their soul while deceitfully believing they are right.  There is still hope for them, but it dwindles daily as they sink lower into a reprobate state.

3.     Hypocrites (standard type)

a.      WARNING – you must be careful with Hypocrites because they are ferocious. 

b.     For the most part, neither a Hypocrite, or someone who is Deceived, knows they are Hypocrites or Deceived.  Bear this in mind because the voracity of the Hypocrite is constructed on the belief that he is right though he is wrong.  Retain this – the standard Hypocrite is blind.

c.      Remember, they are that portion of the superstitious religious community that really does the killing of the true Believers in order to protect the stolen vineyard.  This killing can be physical or by character assassination, but for all intents and purposes, the Hypocrite believes he is doing what is right (on the outside) though inwardly he is full of sin.

d.     The Hypocrite’s base is built upon those who are Deceived and under their control from which they draw their agreement.  That is why falsehoods and lies in doctrine (their version of right which serves their purposes) are important to them, to keep the Deceived dead in sin and focused on self (or under their control).  There is no following for the Hypocrite if you are led by the Spirit – that is the point where they lose control and why they resist the Spirit.

e.      You may reason (or debate) someone who is Deceived and overtime you may even convince them of their error, but a Hypocrite cannot be reasoned with, and that is why the Lord just basically called them the Children of the Devil and told us to:  Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.  Mat 15:14.

f.      The hardest part about discerning a Hypocrite is that they have mingled themselves in with the Deceived.  While I have discerned a few ahead of time, most I encountered I learned were Hypocrites the hard way, that is, after they had already done their damage.  Here are a few warning signs that may help you discern whether you are dealing with a Hypocrite:

                                                    i.     They are usually at the top of the heap among the Deceived; meaning, they will oversee something (the ministry itself, Sunday school class, some type of officer, and so on).  This is not definitive; I have seen pastors who were Deceived having their chain pulled by a Hypocrite who was a fervent member or big contributor to their churches.  I have also seen Hypocrites recommend a fervent convert or Deceived person for higher positions in order to deceive or keep them Deceived (or under control and a false sense of religious growth).

                                                  ii.     Another telltale sign you are dealing with a Hypocrite is how adamant they are about holding to deceit or doctrinal error.  For instance, you may expose an error to someone who is Deceived, and they will listen, they may disagree, but if you are keen you can see you have caused a cognitive disruption in what they thought was true.  You will not see this with a Hypocrite, they will adamantly oppose you sometimes to the point of silencing the conversation, especially if others can hear.  Additionally, it is common for them to immediately go on the offensive by openly reinforcing their error in front of others or focusing on a different topic (usually a higher value topic, like, “God just wants us to love everyone, that’s more important”).  If your view was also an error, they will expose it; however, if your view was truth, they will probably not mention it.  The reason for this is God.  Deep inside of us we all know the truth when we hear it, the only thing that prevents us from accepting it is a predominate lust or cognitive dissonance (especially when the truth is at the other end of the spectrum from what someone has been taught or believes).  That means, the Hypocrite would have to defend the error contrasted with the truth; therefore, they will usually choose to just reinforce the error or change the topic as opposed to further revelation of the truth.

NOTE:  Cognitive dissonance is even more uncomfortable for someone Deceived because the Devil’s lies are usually at the other end of the spectrum from the truth.  The average societal brain washed person cannot bridge the gap between the popular lie and the unpopular truth having believed the lie for so long.

                                                iii.     While this is the last one I will mention, it is surely not the last sign that you are dealing with a Hypocrite as opposed to someone who is merely Deceived.  The Hypocrite will attack you behind your back to others and you will not understand why everyone suddenly treats you different or wants nothing to do with you.  You may even lose some position you held, with or without an explanation, or the explanation itself may be false and probably delivered by a puppet Deceived person instead of the Hypocrite (who just can’t stand you).  To be clear, most in the secular church gossip, but this backbiting will be for the intended purpose of silencing the truth you speak.

The next category is the Lost, and they can only be known to the Lord.  As far as my baseline, there is no way of knowing who they are other than observation, reception, and application of the gospel itself. 

4.     The Lost

a.      The Lost were the mission of Jesus to find.

b.     It is not our task to find the Lost but to preach the gospel to every creature.

c.      This group is currently among the first two groups mentioned, therefore making our witness and testimony even more vital in the Lord’s mission.

d.     Being that the Lord’s return is imminent, this category is no doubt dwindling more and more.

e.      Therefore, we have truly entered perilous times where the Lost and Believers are more than likely outnumbered 99 to 1, or 999 to 1.

I wrestled with sharing the next category because discerning them is controversial.  The reason for this is man’s fascination with hero worship or desire to have a leader other than God.  You need to understand this truth – there are no heroes among men.  We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  The fifth category of people you will encounter:

5.     The Children of the Devil

a.      This category is a standalone category because it may contain those from the first three categories as well, but there is also a uniqueness to some of them.

b.     There is another type of Hypocrite (Child of the Devil) that knows there is a God but chooses to worship the Devil (it is impractical to believe in one without the other).  It is not impossible to encounter this type of Hypocrite, but they are usually in offices of power in the world and by position above the common folk.

                                                    i.     They may feign worship to God in order to deceive the simple (a Pope, President, Famous Media Figure, TV Evangelist, etc.).

                                                  ii.     They exist at different levels of world power, knowing their power comes from Satan himself.  You may think this is ridiculous, but remember what the Devil tempted Christ with:  Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.  Mat 4:8-9.  In other words, it was the Devil’s to offer and Christ did not deny this fact.

                                                iii.     They wield the power given to them in service to Satan and his goals.  They are the ones that control the world on his behalf (some appear as ministers of light in the Church in order to deceive).  They are minions in Satan’s battle over creation, and they will promote any and all falsehoods to accomplish this goal.  Our spiritual battle is not directed at them per se, but at the spiritual wickedness they have willfully given themselves over to and propagate in order to deceive others.

                                                iv.     They control the money and the power (the glory of this world); therefore, you cannot trust the world’s apparatuses (governments, schools, media, churches under or in government control, etc.) because they are directing everything toward their desired outcome through the lies of the Devil.

                                                  v.     For a true Believer, the Children of the Devil will gladly use the apparatuses of the world to kill you when the time comes just like the religious Hypocrites used the Roman government to kill Jesus.

                                                vi.     Why call this sub-group Hypocrites when they are not blind to what they are doing?  It is because they fulfill this definition of hypocrisy: Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.  Mat 23:28.

c.      The Deceived Children of the Devil are different than the Deceived mentioned in category two, although both may be equally Children of the Devil. 

                                                    i.     The Deceived Children of the Devil are willfully Deceived by the Hypocrites at the top, that is, they know they are spreading lies but choose to be Deceived (or deceptive) in order to gain money, power, fame, or notoriety in this world which is offered to them by the Hypocrites at the top.

                                                  ii.     They too will feign worship to God in order to deceive the simple, or outright oppose religion in order to deceive.  Most (if not all) of the time, they are directed to do this as part of their image (as a type of idol).

                                                iii.     They also may exist at different echelons in the world power scheme (or control) apart from the top positions.  However, the ones that amass large followings or have exceptional appeal usually advance to higher offices or greater fame.

                                                iv.     It is very unlikely that this pool of Deceived can ever advance to the highest orders of world power.  The cap of power is usually reserved for those in bloodline relations to the previous Hypocrites; leaving the only gateway to join being marriage into their families.

                                                  v.     This sub-group of Deceived are responsible for carrying out the orders from the top, they are the deputies or agents and may or may not even know the grand schemes, or why they are asked to do some of the things they do.  Their initiation into their controlled but prosperous and pleasurable lives comes with the promise that it can all be taken away, even to the point of star whacking (death).

                                                vi.     You may ask why I labeled this sub-group as Deceived when they obviously know what they are doing.  Because of the threat that hangs over their head for accepting the deceptions of the riches and fame of this world.  Some of them come to a point where they no longer want to be a part, and for that some may lose riches or fame, and some may even be killed (a convenient suicide or ailment).  

d.     The Unregenerate/Unrepentant Children of the Devil

                                                    i.     As with category one, there is no simple way of defining this sub-group because it really includes all the categories except the Lost and last category.

                                                  ii.     It is a distinctive sub-group because it includes the simple or ignorant, or for this category of the Children of the Devil, those taken captive by those doing the deceiving, that is, the masses.

Ultimately, there is really on two kinds of people in the world.  Jesus showed this to be true:

The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;  Mat 13:38.

And;

In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.  1Jn 3:10.

Now no natural man (Unrepentant, Deceived, or Hypocrite) is going to believe they are the child of the Devil.  However, as they continue in apostasy under the influence of lies, they can be made into a child of the Devil:

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.  Mat 23:15.

The point is this, we are to preach and testify to every creature because somewhere among the Deceived and the Unregenerate/Unrepentant are the Lost.  When the Lost hear the truth and the conviction and voice of the Lord speaks to them, they will hear, obey, and follow.  When this occurs people will emerge from the thorns and the tares, and you get the last category of people you will encounter being Believers.

Believers are harmless.  However, the other groups (except for the Lost), will make you think Believers are the Deceived, hateful, and even violent people (aspects the other groups display).  Much of the false bellicose character of the true Believer comes from affectations of the Deceived and Hypocrites because the Deceived and Hypocrites’ primary motivation is self (their flesh) – From whence come wars and fightings… Jas 4:1a.

6.     Believers

a.      There are many names for these people in the Bible, but I feel Believers is most appropriate.  The main reason is because they have rightly repented and accepted the gospel; and on every point (when evident), by their words, but more importantly, by their lives they testify to the truth by example to the world, even unto death.

b.     The testimony of the Believer is proof to the world that the Believer’s hope is based on the real substance of their faith and witnesses to:

                                                    i.     The shame of sin and its wages of death, and the jeopardy of those who fail to repent.  The Believer, having experienced the mercy and grace of God in their own lives at their spiritual birth – the point where they believed, repented, and accepted the sacrifice of Christ for the remission of their own sins, has firsthand experience alone.  Only a true Believer can testify to the destructive nature of sin and of the danger for those who willfully continue to sin if they fail to repent and believe the gospel and apply it to their lives.  It is because true repentance is no longer occurring in the secular churches that the churches began excusing sin (to cloak their own transgressions).

                                                  ii.     The true Believer also testifies to the importance of the soul and living a life that places more significance on the soul than the flesh.  There are many that teach that the soul is immortal, but it is not:  And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.  Mat 10:28.

                                                iii.     The true Believer also testifies to Christ’s love for sinners.  It is a fact that God loves everyone, but that is not the issue when it comes to accepting the gospel, the issue is you must love God in return.  Most just present Christ’s love for a sinner in a way that leaves them in their sins.  Telling a sinner that Jesus loves them is just half the equation, they must love Him back:  If ye love me, keep my commandments.  Joh 14:15.  That God loves the sinner is a foregone conclusion, but it will do them little good when they die if they did not return His love in kind.

                                                iv.     The true Believer will testify to futility of living a carnal worldly life, and how that living after the rudiments of the world is unsatisfying to the soul.  The soul can be blessed in two ways, the first being by the flesh:  Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.  Psa 49:18.  The second is through the Spirit (via spirit):  But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me.  Psa 49:15.  The vanity of living after the world leads to death:  He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.  Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.  Psa 49:19-20.

                                                  v.     The Believer’s testimony of fact to the unfulfilling nature of all earthly things instinctively bears witness to his complete fulfillment found only in the gospel; and the world and the gospel cannot be mixed:  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.  1Jn 2:15-17.  They are not Believers who mix the gospel with living after the rudiments of the world.

                                                vi.     The true Believer shows by example the importance of denying self and living above the rudiments of the world; as well as the requirement of living a holy life unto God knowing without which, he shall not be saved:  Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:  Heb 12:14.

                                               vii.     The true Believer testifies to the reality of new birth and transformation of character from carnal to spiritual which becomes visible to all through the Spirit:  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.  And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.  Gal 5:22-25.  Without this transformation you will not enter heaven.  Many fake the fruits of the Spirit, but if you agitate their flesh, and the lie is soon exposed.

                                             viii.     The true Believer will testify to the veracity of hell, the sentence of the departed sinner.  Everyone who fails to make the transformation from a natural/carnal life to a spiritual life in Christ will enter hell.  Many teach that hell is a place of eternal punishment for the sinner, but that is not true.  At the end of the millennial reign of Christ, death and hell will be cast into the lake of fire (the second death) at which point the soul of the sinner shall be destroyed.

c.      The true Believer is always pressing toward the mark and does not count himself as having attained anything (see Philippians 3:11-14).  Most in the so-called Christian realm like to refer to themselves as saved.  However, this is an ignorant title.  The most glaring proof of this error is the fact that it is always in a future instant in the Bible, for example:  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.  Rom 10:13.  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.  Mar 13:13.  You have not been saved until you are saved, it is a gift of God and you cannot demand it, there is an endurance, an overcoming.

d.     Believers exist at different levels of maturity, but they are always striving to grow in spirit and in truth.  When growth stops and fails to progress, a Believer may backslide into another category.  This happens frequently, and backsliding can either become temporary or habitual.  The habitual backslider is warned, because once you start excusing your sin, you may fall back into one of the other categories permanently.  I have seen this happen to people, and had the Holy Ghost tell me that it was too late for that person.

There is much more to be said of true Believers, but basically their lives are radically different than the lives of those living after the flesh and in accordance with the rudiments of the world.  I say that as a warning concerning deception.  When the disciples asked Jesus about the end of the world, the first thing Jesus said was:

…Take heed that no man deceive you.  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.  Mat 24:4b-5.

The secular denominational churches as well as the other organized religions are so darkened with deception that those within their groups have become blind to the truths of the word of God.  You may be thinking that I do not mean your church, but I especially mean your church.  If your church is incorporated within the governmental system, then it is already under the Devil’s jurisdiction.  God did not intend for you to become a pew pod receiving your instruction about Him from a person ordained (i.e., brain washed) by schools operating under parliamentary consent.  You must mature to the place that you can discern the difference between what is the world (including those churches that look and act like the world) and what is God.  Consider these passages:

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.  Rev 12:9.

And;

We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.  And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.  1Jn 5:18-19.

The word of God is clear that the whole world is Deceived, more now than when these passages were written.  Do you hear what the Spirit is saying to you, and I do not mean your imagination, but His voice clearly and not in your mind?  If not, then you are not being honest with yourself.  If you look and act like the world and your life appears nothing like the lives of those who suffered for the word of God in the Bible, then you are still lying to yourself.  Finally, when faced with truth you instead find ways to excuse it for sin, then your lot will be among those who chose to do the same, God will not make a distinction just because you gave mental ascent to the truth of His existence but lacked spiritual transformation of life.  You will have your part with the rest of the world among whom you took pleasures.