What The Average Politician And False Teachers Have In Common
Common Sense Evaluation wrote a piece describing what they
believe to be the character and nature of the average politician and what I
have found is that what they describe as being the character and nature of the
average politician is not entire unique to just politicians, but scam artists,
cult leaders, false teachers, and heretics also possess similar traits in their
character and not even just them, but also anyone claiming to seek a personal
and intimate relationship with someone for their own gain and self-serving
interests.
Contender’s Edge decided to do a
breakdown of what they described as being the average politician and what is
described as being the average politician has in common with the false teachers
and heretics that have entered into the body of Christ and of whom Jesus and His
Apostles had warned about in their day and against which the Apostles had fought
so very hard against in order to preserve doctrinal purity and the purity of the
Gospel message within the body of Christ.
Common Sense Evaluation begins with
this:
There’s an uncomfortable truth about
politicians that few people want to acknowledge: they’re built differently. It’s not just their access to power, wealth,
or resources---it’s how they operate on a fundamental level. Their psychological makeup allows them to manipulate,
deceive, and maneuver without a shred of remorse [1]
A lot of people might actually agree
with this when it comes to politicians, but few would ever consider this to be
a possibility with teachers and professors within academia, or within the Church,
many preachers and seminarians at the pulpit and podium, or even the Sunday
school teacher in the Sunday school room because more tend to trust clergy,
teachers, professors, influencers, and so-called experts in various fields than
they do politicians and fail to apply the same level of scrutiny to the
academics, what is preached from the pulpits, what they hear from the media,
and what is depicted in our entertainment than to a political candidate and
even in the realm of politics, we tend to apply our scrutiny in a manner that
is biased and unfair for when scrutiny is applied, we tend to apply our scrutiny
more to a political figure of a political party to which we are opposed than to
the figures of the political party and platform and as a consequence, we fail
to detect the enemies from within our own ranks and when they say something that
goes against the platform that they profess to champion or do something wrong,
we tend to make excuses for them that we would not make for the opposing side
and try to rationalize their actions in a way we would not afford the opposing
side as we are by nature given to bias and even prejudice and as a consequence,
end up blinding ourselves to the clear and present dangers within our midst. Overt enemies are easy to recognize and
therefore can be more easily dealt with but it is the enemy from within who is harder
to detect because the enemies from within appear to be one of us, act like one
of us, and can play the part so very well so as to make you think that they are
one of us without suspecting a thing as they rely on subtlety instead of a
head-on attack and often times, the damage done from within by an infiltrator is
far greater and more difficult to undo than an attack from without.
What most people fail to recognize is
that lies, deception, and manipulation do not begin in the political arena. It is carried into it from the lower levels
of academia, the entertainment industry, media, the private and corporate
sectors, and even from figures from within the Church itself.
We may question the positions and
even actions of any given political figure, but we seldom have ever questioned
what is being reported in the media, taught in our academic institutions, and
even preached from our pulpits never considering that politicians are just as
much of a product of the influences of society and culture as we are and blind
to the fact that the politician is the end result and reflection of what we as
a people, our society, and our culture are.
Common Sense Evaluation continues:
Lying comes naturally to many
politicians…This isn’t an accident---it’s the result of psychological conditioning
and personality traits that thrive in the political arena.
For starters, many politicians
exhibit traits of psychopathy. This
doesn’t mean they’re all dangerous criminals, but they do tend to have certain
characteristics: A lack of empathy, a willingness to manipulate, and an ability
to charm their way out of trouble. This
combination allows them to lie convincingly, often with a smile. [2]
That isn’t much different from the
false teachers and heretics who have both infiltrated the Church throughout the
centuries and who have risen up from amongst the ranks of the saints to make a
name for themselves; both of which were warned of by the Apostle Paul:
For I know that after my departing
shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise,
speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. (Acts 20:29-30)
The grievous wolves of whom Paul
warned about were those who would infiltrate the Church and attempt to corrupt
and destroy it from within with false doctrine, heresy, and even sabotage. These infiltrators would know exactly what
they were doing which was to destroy from within what they could not destroy
from without.
And those false teachers and heretics
who were not infiltrators were simply those who had initially given themselves
over to Christ but became consumed with making a name for themselves that they
decided to invent doctrines of their own in order to gain a following; both do
a tremendous amount of damage in their own way.
The second epistle of Peter, the second epistle of John and the epistle
of Jude all give a severe warning against false teachers, false doctrine, and
heresy, and deliver scathing condemnations against all who preach false
doctrine and heresy, describing them as unrepentant, remorseless, and without
pity; very much like the politicians described by Common Sense Evaluation and
like the false teachers and heretics of which Paul warned, the politicians not
serving the best interests of our nation are either infiltrators serving
interests contrary and hostile to those of the nation or those who are consumed
with self-serving ambition and both are dangerous in their own way.
And what the politician that Common
Sense Evaluation warns about and the false teachers and heretics that Christ
and His Apostles have also warned about share in common is their ability to
manipulate, play upon our emotions, their lack of empathy or remorse, deceive
and lie and think nothing of it, and the ability to make merchandise out of
their supporters and followers.
Common Sense Evaluation goes on to
state further:
Politicians are masters at controlling
the narrative. They know that perception
matters more than reality, and they’re experts at shaping how people see them
and their actions. One of their favorite
tools is ambiguity. When they speak,
they often use vague language designed to appeal to as many people as possible
while committing to nothing concrete.
This gives them room to maneuver later, no matter how their promises pan
out.
They’re also skilled at using
emotions to override logic. Fear, hope,
and anger are their favorite levers and they pull them with precision…The
manipulation isn’t random---It’s calculated [3]
It is no different with cult leaders
and false prophets. For those of you who
are of the faith, whenever a self-proclaimed prophet issues a prophecy that
never comes to pass, ever notice how they try to explain away the failed
prophecy, especially when it comes to a doomsday date they proclaim that comes
and goes without incident? They will say
something such as their calculations were off or that they misunderstood or
misinterpreted what the Lord allegedly was telling them and multitudes will
continue to believe them.
Cult leaders and false teachers, like
deceptive politicians, will also use vague and obscure language to appeal to as
many people as possible and will attempt to appeal to their emotions and
manipulate the values and beliefs that they hold to in order to take their minds
and hearts captive.
They will even use terminologies to
make it sound as if they believe in the very things the people whom they are
attempting to deceive believe in and once they have gained the trust of their
audience, will begin to sow seeds of doubt into them in the very things that they
had held to be true until they have eroded the confidence and the faith that
the people they are leading astray had once held to and have now persuaded them
to embrace the respective doctrine and creed that they have introduced.
Next, Common Sense Evaluation goes on
to talk about the confidence game and the art of deflection in politics:
People tend to trust those who appear
certain, even if the evidence doesn’t back them up. Politicians know this, and they exploit it by
speaking with authority on topics they barely understand. If they don’t know the answer, they’ll pivot
or obfuscate, but they’ll never admit ignorance.
This confidence often comes from an
inflated sense of self. Many politicians
are deeply narcissistic, driven by a belief that they are uniquely qualified to
lead. This makes them resistant to
criticism and unlikely to admit mistakes.
After all, in their minds, admitting fault could shatter the carefully
curated image they’ve built.
When cornered, politicians rarely
confront problems head-on. Instead, they
deflect. Deflection can take many forms. Sometimes it’s as simple as blaming others…Other
times, it’s about changing the subject entirely…They distance themselves from
controversy and shift the conversation away from their own failings. [4]
Religious leaders within the Church
and the teachers and professors within academia, and even celebrities within
the entertainment and athletic industries use the same tactics to gain the
trust and confidence of their respective audiences but when confronted with a
challenge or a failing on their part, rather than admit their faults, they will
become defensive and even hostile when attempts to deflect to an unrelated
subject fail. Like politicians, anyone
holding a position of authority and influence is going to work hard to maintain
the image that they want the people they wield influence over to see because if
they are forced to admit their faults, they fear it could damage the image that
they have built beyond repair and as a consequence, lose the confidence of those
who had once trusted in them.
Common Sense Evaluation continues on
to examine why politicians seem to have no remorse for the lies that they tell
and for not keeping promises that were made on the campaign trail and the reason
for that is this: Detachment. Common
Sense Evaluation explains:
Over time, many politicians develop a
psychological separation between themselves and the people they represent. This detachment allows them to view their
actions through a cold strategic lens rather than a moral one…When you believe
you’re above the rules, remorse becomes an inconvenience rather than a guiding
principle. [5]
And just like politicians, teachers
and professors within academia, and religious leaders within the Church whether
it be the mega church Pastor at the pulpit, the influencer on the web, the
celebrity singer up on the stage, or the actor/actress on the movie set can
also develop this detachment from the audience they are supposed to serve and
in the process end up setting themselves above their audiences, students, and
congregants, and even above the very principles that they are supposed to be
representing even becoming no different than the unbelieving celebrities in
that regards who are routinely detached from their fans who love and support
them for their talents. We are then told
that politicians, not all of them, but many of them by the way are performers [6] which means that not every politician, be
they campaigning from the right or the left side, necessarily believes in the platform
that they appear to be a champion of and the same goes for even people of
authority and influence within the Church; they are performers who may act the
part and play it very well, but are not really there to serve the interests of
the Kingdom of Heaven but their own interests or the interests of forces and
powers hostile to the Kingdom of God, seeking to undermine the faith of those professing
to follow Christ and lead them into everlasting hellfire by luring them into
those things that are sinful and evil in the eyes of God and into embracing
soul-damning doctrines and heresies contrary to the pure doctrine contained in
the inspired Word of God. (2 Tim. 3:16)
Whether in the political arena, the
Church, or in any potential sphere of influence, we do not performers. Who we want influencing us and leading us are
figures who actually believe in the causes and values they purport to champion
and represent and those figures of authority and influence who actually believe
in what they profess to champion and represent are not going to be detached
from their followers and supporters.
They are not going to be afraid to interact with them. And they will be the same people off the
screen and off the stage and away from the podium or pulpit and outside of the
classrooms and seminary halls as they are on the screen and on the stage, at
the pulpit or podium, and in the classroom or seminary halls.
Will they always do everything right
and proper and will we always agree with everything that comes out of their
mouths? No, because even the best of them will still have faults, flaws, and
shortcomings just as the rest of us do, but they will not purposely lead us
astray, nor will they seek to be a negative influence on us, or will they
intentionally bring us to harm but they will show themselves to be sincere believers
and champions of the values, principles, and causes they claim to believe in
and with enough discretion and discernment, we will be able to tell the
authentic believers of a certain cause from the pretenders and those driven by
selfish ambition. And finally, Common
Sense Evaluation gives some advice and counsel as to what measures can be taken
to prevent ourselves from being manipulated, deceived, and led astray to our
own demise and destruction by corrupt dishonest and deceitful politicians:
If you want to protect yourself from
manipulation, the first step is awareness.
Recognize the tactics politicians use and question their motives. When someone promises you the world, ask yourself
what they stand to gain. Dig deeper. Read between the lines of their statements
and actions. Look for inconsistencies
and pay attention to what they are not saying.
Most importantly, do not let them control
your emotions. Politicians thrive on
your anger, fear, and hope because these feelings make you easier to
influence. Stay calm, stay critical, and
stay informed. Remember: The more you understand
their game, the less power they have over you. [7]
The same counsel applies not just to
politicians, but to anyone of influence in any given sphere of influence and to
a certain extent, it can even apply to choosing a prospective spouse or
business partner, making investments, or buying a certain product.
As Common Sense Evaluation points out,
it isn’t always what someone says is wrong, but it is also what they are omitting
and refusing to say and this is especially applicable, not just in the political
arena, but also the media, academia, and even in the Church as we who desire
truth and for truth to prevail must contend not just with the error, deception,
and lies that are propagated, but also with what is not being preached that
must be preached.
It isn’t just the falsehoods and lies
that we hear that are problem, but it is also what is not being said that is
not being said that is the problem. When
we sit at the classroom desk, in the church pew, listen to a news broadcast, or
listen to a political speech, there may not always be anything wrong or
inaccurate about what is being said, but it is what is not being said that
needs to be said.
This is especially true within the
body of Christ: Even when false doctrine
is not being preached to us, there is still the matter of what needs to be preached
that is not being preached.
We often hear about the love and
mercy of God, but not enough about the fear of God and what it is to fear Him
and neither do we hear as much about righteousness and godly living as we ought
to, nor do we hear enough about sin and its consequences and what sinful living
does to our relationship with God and what consequences persistent sin has for
our eternity.
We often hear about what a wonderful
plan and purpose that God has for our lives, but we never hear enough about
repentance and the need for repentance.
We often hear about Heaven but almost
nothing about Hell.
We are often given sermons that would
have us place our hopes in the things of this world and building a good life
for ourselves in this present world, but never enough about the new and better
world that is to come and why we need to be placing more of our hopes in that new
and better world to come than this present one which is destined to pass away along
with all of the death, suffering, evil, and misery that is in it.
We are often told how much fulfilling
and easier life will be when we turn ourselves over to God and while that may
be true in some respects, what we are not often told or prepared for is that the
path that we walk with Christ on is not always going to be an easy one to walk
and that there will be difficulties ahead as we are not promised a life of ease
and comfort, but rather according to scripture, that is anything but guaranteed
and yet so few ever hear that message and when difficult times do come, they
can often become discouraged, disillusioned, and fall away, when if they had
been prepared to expect that difficulties, opposition, and hardship in their
efforts to serve the Lord God Almighty, they might have continued in the faith
and in their service to Him.
Furthermore, most preachers are well
versed at explaining to us what is in the scripture, but they do poorly in
expounding as to how what they are preaching applies to us today. They refrain from preaching on issues deemed controversial,
including social issues so as to avoid offending their congregants and causing
division because they measure the success of their respective church or ministry
on how filled up the pews are rather than on the salvation of souls and the discipleship
of new followers of Christ, and when faced with arguments and challenging
questions that they are not prepared to answer, they would rather simply avoid
the philosophical, theological, and intellectual challenges rather than ready
themselves to give an answer for the faith and the hope that lies within them
as we are admonished to do (1 Pet. 3:15) and to earnestly contend for the faith
in as often as is required of them, (Jude 3) leaving the arguments and questions
unanswered in a satisfactory way and without answers, doubt seeps into the
minds of congregants who begin to question their faith and in the case of some,
faith is overthrown because their respective clergypersons and teachers have
not taken the time to make themselves ready to provide, in as often as is necessary,
as reasoned and sound of a defense for the faith as they ought to.
Instead of confronting that which is
sin, a false doctrine or heresy, many religious leaders will simply avoid those
matters altogether and worse yet, tolerate, and even celebrate those things
that are evil in the sight of God. Just
because they can pack a church from one end of the sanctuary to the other, that
does not mean that all within that congregation has come to a saving faith in
Christ Jesus but instead, it could be a congregation filled with unrepentant
and unconverted souls because they have not heard the message of repentance
that they should have heard; far better to have a congregation with five or ten
saved souls who are devoted to following and serving Christ Jesus than a
congregation with a multitude of unsaved, unrepentant, and unconverted souls.
When the day comes for all of us to
stand before Almighty God, the preachers, teachers, seminarians, professors,
and other influencers among us will not be judged and held to account just for
what they have taught and preached but also for what they have not taught and
preached but should have and they will either receive the greatest rewards and
honors to be received from Heaven or they will face the most harshest of
judgments as warned by the Apostle James (Jas. 3:1) and we ourselves will also
be held accountable before God for what influences and teachings we allow into
our midst as God created the body of Christ with checks and balances.
Leaders within the body of Christ are
expected to maintain order, deliver instruction that is sound and pure in its
doctrine, and to be defenders of the faith and the authority of scripture, but
at the same time, we who are under them are expected to test all things (1 Thess.
5:21) and to examine all that they preach and teach against the scriptures to
determine if the instruction and doctrine that they preach to us is consistent
with the doctrine and Gospel delivered to us in the divinely inspired scripture
(2 Tim. 3:16) but in order to hold accountable the leadership as well as one
another, we must commit ourselves to reading and studying the scriptures for
ourselves (2 Tim. 2:15) because unless we know well the scriptures for ourselves,
we will find ourselves at the mercy of the whims of a ruling class who will,
instead of teaching the Word of God, will be teaching their own traditions and
doctrines and those of the unbelieving world, removing us far from the doctrine
and dictates of our faith that was delivered to us through the scriptures
written by men from various walks of life under the direction of God Almighty and
into embracing another Gospel foreign to the one that was preached by Christ
Jesus and His Apostles after Him and which, instead of leading men into Heaven,
will lead them right into the darkness and everlasting torments of Hell.
It is not just the leadership who is
charged with the upholding of truth and of sound doctrine within the body of
Christ, nor is it them alone who are charged with holding accountable those who
persist in sinful living and preaching false doctrines and heresies within the
body of Christ, but we all bear that responsibility (Mt.
18:15-17, 1 Cor. 5:1-8, 11, 13, Titus 2:10, 13, Mt. 7:15-20, Acts 20:28-31, 2
Cor. 11:3-4, 12-15, Gal. 1:6-9, 1 Tim. 1:19-20, 4:1-3, 7, 5:22, 6:3-5, 20-21, 2
Tim. 2:16-18, 23, Titus 1:10-16, 2:11, 2 Pet. 2, 3:15-16, 1 Jn. 4:1-3, Jude)
so as to prevent as much as possible corruption and disgrace from within our
ranks that we might show ourselves to be the best representatives of Christ
that we can be on the earth as we are called the light of the world (Mt.
5:14-16) because it is His light that is supposed to shine through us by Him
who lives in us, but how can we be a light to the world, if we act, live, and
think no differently than the world itself but this has been the goal of the
enemy of God and the enemy of our souls all along; to corrupt and destroy from
within that which he cannot destroy from without and he does this through
infiltration and through those within the Church who are driven by selfish
ambition rather than a love for God and in the process damages our credibility
in the eyes of those who might otherwise come to repentance and what he cannot
accomplish through persecution, he will try to accomplish by way of
complacency, cowardice, and apathy and it is when we become complacent that the
enemy creeps in among us and then with subtle deception begins to corrupt our
minds and our hearts turning us away from the pure truth of the Gospel message,
even causing us to doubt and forsake the very doctrines delivered to us by the divinely
inspired and inerrant scriptures and it is through a laziness and complacency
that we neglect to study for ourselves the scriptures by which the Gospel
message of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is delivered and by which we do not
take the time to test what we hear and are taught against those very scriptures
in which we ought to be well-versed but instead, we, in our blind trust, rely
on the preacher for our doctrine, build our education upon the instruction of
the teacher and professor, assume that what is reported to us by the media to
be truth, and place our faith in the political system to look out for our best
interests, never considering that what is being preached to us from the pulpit,
what is taught in the classroom, what is broadcasted by the media, and what is
being propagated by our political leaders may be a lie.
And if there is one thing that the
politician, the academic, and the clergyman, and the news broadcaster have in
common is that in order to retain power over your mind and heart, they must
have unquestioning trust but the more discerning and discretionary we are, the
less power and influence they will have over us, but the only thing that is
worthy of having our unquestioning trust, it is not those of authority and
influence who are themselves subject to error and corruption just as we are,
but it is an incorruptible God who has given us an incorruptible truth that we have
miserably neglected to take the time to know well because we have allowed
ourselves to be carried away by the distractions of the things of this world
and to be consumed by the cares of this present life and if we do not know well
the Bible, how then can we hold accountable the leadership and influential figures
within the body of Christ?
If we do not take the time to test
all things (1 Thess. 5:21) as scripture admonishes us to do, then how do we
hold accountable the media and the academic for the lies they tell us? We won’t know that we are being lied to, but
instead will be blindly taking for truth that which is a lie and that which is
truth for a lie.
And if we do not take the time to
study our own Constitution and learn well our own history, how then will we be
able to hold accountable our own government for violating the rights that our
Constitution was designed to protect and uphold? We won’t even know that there are rights being
violated but will just be blindly assuming that the powers that be are only
looking out for the best interests of all when in reality, they may only be
looking out for interests that are not our own but at the expense of our welfare.
But if we are to prevent ourselves
from being subject to both a spiritual, social, economic, and civic tyranny, we
need to be discerning and to use discretion and that begins by not allowing our
emotions to be controlled nor allowing ourselves to be led by our emotions but
instead, when it comes to what is preached within the body of Christ, we search
the scriptures daily to see if what we are hearing is so (Acts 17:11)
When it comes to what is being depicted
within our entertainment industry, taught in our schools and universities, reported
by our media, and proclaimed by our political leaders, we test all things (1
Thess. 5:21) to see whether or not what is being taught by our teachers and
professors, depicted within our entertainment industry, reported by our media,
and proclaimed and propagated by our political leaders is founded in truth and fact
and that requires doing our own independent research which may take time and
yet must be done if we are to protect ourselves from deception and manipulation
by the politician, the news broadcaster, entertainment celebrities, the teacher
and professor, and even the clergyperson.
Jesus instructed His followers to be
as “wise as serpents” (Mt. 10:16) meaning that we should always approach all
things with a reasonable degree of skepticism instead of placing a blind unquestioning
trust in anything or anyone because this present world is, to a certain extent,
under the influence and lordship of an invisible deceiver who does all in his
power to take and keep hearts, minds, and souls captive in order to lure them
into an everlasting darkness filled with nothing more than an unrelenting
torment and he works his lies and deception through anyone that he can, even
through the most seemingly innocent of figures and it is through figures of
authority and influence that he poisons and corrupts us with his lies and it is
through lies that he builds his power and influence and it is through suppressing
anything that might discredit his lies that he is able to keep hearts, minds,
and souls captive, and it is by appealing to the inwardly corrupt nature of men
that he is able to lure men into everlasting darkness.
Before battles are fought with physical
weapons, they are first fought for hearts, minds, and souls and it is for the
hearts, minds, and souls that an age-long war has been fought between God by
whom all things are made and Satan who, in his enmity towards his Creator,
seeks to corrupt and ultimately destroy that which God has made and the reason
for why this age-long war between God and Satan began is because Satan, also
called Lucifer, who had once served as a covering Cherub at the throne of God,
became lifted up in his pride and thought to make himself equal to God and
claim for himself glory that belonged to God alone which caused him and all who
sided with him to be cast from their places in Heaven (Is. 14:11-21, Ezek.
28:12-19) and after Lucifer and those angels who had sided with him were cast
from Heaven, God then created a world in which there was no evil but only
goodness, no darkness but only light, no death but only life, no sorrow but
only happiness, peace and contentment and in which existed a perfect and unhindered
and uninterrupted harmony between God, man, and nature and there was nothing
withheld from man except for one thing and that was a fruit from a certain tree
called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil having been warned that in
the day that they were to eat thereof, they would surely die (Gen. 2:16-17, 3:3)
but Satan, in the form of a serpent, crept into that newly created world and led
the first man Adam and the first woman Eve to eat of that forbidden fruit,
leading them to believe that the eating of that fruit would not bring death to
them, but that it would make them more enlightened and even divine (Gen. 3:4-5)
but after having eaten of that forbidden fruit, the only thing they became
enlightened to was a shame that came upon their nakedness (Gen. 3:7) and instead
of being raised to a status superior than the one in which they were created,
they were reduced to a status inferior and instead of being spared the sentence
of death of which they had been warned, the sentence of death, to which they
both eventually succumbed, was pronounced upon them (Gen. 3:19) for it was when
Adam and Eve had eaten of that forbidden fruit that sin had entered into them
and when sin had entered into them, they became subjugated to death because it
is in sin that death has its power, but the sentence of death did not stop with
Adam and Eve but the sin that entered into them when they ate of that forbidden
fruit was then passed down to the rest of mankind (Rom. 5:12) for since we are
all descended from Adam and Eve, we have also inherited from them the sin that
entered into them and the sin that we have inherited from them and are born
into is not defined by just our outward acts nor even the words that we speak,
but it is described as the corrupted condition of our very nature that has
turned us into what God never intended for us to be and causes us to do those
things that God never intended for us to do which is why it is written that we
are not defiled by that which is from without but by that which is from within
(Mt. 15:11, 17-20) and it is the defilement from within that influences not
just what we say and do, but also our very thoughts, motives, and attitudes of
the heart and it is that inward defilement that brings death to us because, as
it is written, the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23) and because we all sin, we
all die, but the effects of sin and the eating of that forbidden fruit still is
not confined to mankind, but because of sin, creation itself is subjected to a
curse and because of the curse brought upon it by way of man’s sin, the
creation groans and travails in pain to this day (Rom. 8:19-22) which is why
this world is filled with death, decay, suffering, evil, grief, sorrow, misery,
and hardships of all kinds and varying degrees and severities but it gets even
worse as the disobedience of Adam and Eve gave Satan justification to claim
lordship over the earth (Mt. 4:8-9, Lk. 4:6-7) which is why he is called the
prince of this world (Jn. 12:31, 16:11) thereby diminishing the dominion that
was once given to man (Gen. 1:26) and the worst consequence of all that came
from that one fateful act of disobedience is that the sin into which we are
born causes us to be estranged from our Creator with whom we would otherwise
have an unhindered relationship and fellowship because that which is without
sin cannot allow into His direct presence that which is in sin nor can He allow
into His Kingdom which is undefiled by sin that which is sinful lest Heaven
should become defiled as the earth has become defiled.
No matter what we do or where we go,
our inherently corrupt nature is with us everywhere we go and we bring it in to
everything that we do and all people give into that nature to a certain extent;
it is just that some give into that nature to greater extents than do others
but sin, no matter how seemingly insignificant, is enough to prevent us entry
into Heaven and since we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God
(Rom. 3:23) we cannot by our own merit enter into Heaven because no matter what
we attempt to do to earn our way into Heaven, it cannot be done because of sin
ever present within us but God is not willing that any should perish but that
all come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9) because our Creator is a God of love and
mercy, not taking pleasure in judgment or punishment but in bestowing His
goodness upon all who are willing to receive and in His goodness, love, and
mercy, the Almighty has provided redemption on our behalf in a man called Jesus
Christ who is not only a man, but God in the flesh (Jn. 1:14) in the form of a
man who, being God, was without sin (2 Cor. 5:21, Heb. 4:15) and in being
without sin, was that perfect sacrifice needed to take away the sins of the
world (Heb. 7:26-27) which He did by the shedding of His blood on the cross
upon which He was crucified and, after having by His death purchased redemption
on our behalf, was raised again from the dead for our justification (Rom. 4:25)
so that we, by our faith in Him for the forgiveness of sins and the redemption
of our souls, may be justified in Him if we will but call upon His name for
salvation (Rom. 10:13) in sincere faith and repentance and it is by calling
upon the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins that we are
reconciled to our Creator (2 Cor. 5:18) and with the cleansing of our souls
from sin and reconciliation to our Creator comes an inward transformation (2
Cor. 5:17) and it is this inward cleansing of the soul and this regeneration
which cause all who are willing to call upon Christ for it, submit to it, and embrace
it to no longer desire to follow after selfish and worldly pursuits but after
those things that pertain to the Kingdom of Heaven, (Mt. 6:33)
to no longer take pleasure in those
things that are evil and displeasing in the sight of the Lord, but in that
which is good, right, and pleasing in His sight,
to no longer desire to walk in the
lies of this present world, but only in the truth that comes from Christ
Almighty, (Jn. 14:6) no longer placing our hopes in the things of this present
world, but looking forward to that new and better world to come, (Rev. 21-22)
to no longer rely on worldly
resources, men, or even our own power, abilities, skills, and wisdom for our
needs and provision but upon God who is able to meet all of our needs, (Mt.
6:25-33) recognizing that the resources of this world and even the people He
brings into our lives are but instruments and vessels through which God meets
our needs and that the skills, power, knowledge, and wisdom by which we might
acquire our provision are provided and instilled in us by God,
to no longer fear what men can do to
us, but rather fearing the God before whom we will have to one day give an
account for how we lived our lives, (Mt. 10:28)
to no longer look to corruptible
institutions within our society for direction and order in our lives but to God
who, by His written Word has given us laws and precepts to be applied to our
lives and which serve to produce and maintain an ordered life, and who, by His
Holy Spirit which comes to dwell within us upon repentance, establishes in our
lives a course and direction in our lives to pursue for His glory,
to no longer seek our own glory but
the glory of God,
to no longer rally behind corruptible
men, but instead behind the incorruptible God in Heaven bearing in mind that
those men and women God raises up for our edification are but instruments and
servants of His for that respective purpose to which He has called them,
to no longer seek to align ourselves
with the things of darkness but only with the things of the light,
to no longer trust in the wisdom of
the world but only on the wisdom and knowledge that comes from above, nor
depend on corruptible earthly authorities to swiftly administer justice, but
only in the power of God to deliver us from evil.
And it is that very transformation
that changes the way that households are run, how people treat one another, how
education is taught, how the private sector is operated, how news and
information are reported, the nature of the entertainment that is produced, and
finally how our politics are conducted and the kind of government to which we
are subject.
And we look forward to the day that,
just as our souls have been redeemed and delivered from eternal damnation, when
we shall also be delivered from bodily death when that which is sinful is made
sinless and that which is corruptible is transformed into that which is
incorruptible (1 Cor. 15:51-55, 1 Thess. 4:13-18) for wherein dwells no sin
there is no death and finally, creation itself will also be liberated from the
curse that has come upon it because of sin, when Satan who is the adversary of
our souls and is that thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy (Jn. 10:10)
is given his final sentence and cast into eternal damnation along with all who
have sided with him (Rev. 20:10-15) and after that, the creation will then be
made anew, and it will be a creation in which there will dwell no death, no
decay, no evil, no darkness, no grief, no sorrow, and no misery, and no
hardship, but only light, life, happiness, peace, contentment, and joy before
the Lord God Almighty for all eternity. (Rev. 21-22)
If you have not done so already and
want something that you can place your full confidence in, then I urge you
reader to call upon the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of sins. Though man can and
will fail you at times, Jesus will not fail you. He doesn’t promise that life will always be easy
or spare you from every difficulty and hardship, but He does promise to help us
through those difficult times. It is
just a simple sincere prayer of repentance away:
"Lord Jesus I need you.
I realize that I am a sinner
who has fallen short of the glory of
God
and that my goodness falls short
of your standard of Moral perfection.
Please forgive me of all of my sins.
Come into my heart and into my life
to be the Savior and Lord of my life.
Make me into the servant and follower
that you want me to be.
In your name Lord Jesus, I pray.
Amen."
Know that God is not concerned with
the words that you use to call upon Him forgiveness, but with the attitude of
your heart and if you have, with all sincerity, have asked Christ to forgive
you of your sins, placing your trust in Him only for your salvation and in
nothing else, then your sins are forgiven and your place in Heaven is certain.
End notes:
1.
Common Sense Evaluation, “Your Average Politician,”
Common Sense Evaluation, November 26,
2024
https://commonsenseevaluation.com/2024/11/26/your-average-politician/
2. Ibid
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
Scripture
references:
1. Acts 20:29-30
2. 1 Peter 3:15
3. Jude 3
4. James 3:1
5. 2 Timothy 3:16
6. 2 Timothy 2:15
7. 1 Thessalonians 5:21
8. Matthew
18:15-17
9. 1 Corinthians 5:1-8, 11, 13
10. Titus 2:10, 13
11. Matthew 7:15-20
12. 2 Corinthians 11:3-4, 12-15
13. Galatians 1:6-9
14. 1 Timothy 1:19-20, 4:1-3, 7, 5:22, 6:3-5,
20-21
15. 2 Timothy 2:16-18, 23
16. Titus 1:10-16, 2:11
17. 2 Peter 2, 3:15-16
18. 1 John 4:1-3
19. Jude
20. Matthew 5:14-16
21. Acts 17:11
22. Matthew 10:16
23. Isaiah 14:11-21
24. Ezekiel 28:12-19
25. Genesis 2:16-17, 3:3
26. Genesis 3:4-5
27. Genesis 3:7
28. Genesis 3:19
29. Romans 5:12
30. Matthew 15:11, 17-20
31. Romans 6:23
32. Romans 8:19-22
33. Matthew 4:8-9, Luke 4:6-7
34. Genesis 1:26
35. 2 Peter 3:9
36. John 1:14
37. 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15
38. Hebrews 7:26-27
39. Romans 4:25
40. Romans 10:13
41. John 14:6
42. 2 Corinthians 5:17
43. Matthew 6:33
44. Revelation 21-22
45. Matthew 6:25-33
46. Matthew 10:28
47. 1 Corinthians 15:51-55, 1 Thessalonians
4:13-18
48. John 10:10
49. Revelation 20:10-15
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