“Woe to you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on
the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and
all uncleanness. "So you, too,
outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and
lawlessness.” Jesus Christ, Matthew 23:27-28, NASU
With the
watered-down gospel preached in many churches these days, Jesus (Yeshua) will
never be quoted saying what He said when He walked the land in Israel in 30
A.D. In fact, much of that being taught, if you want to call it that, from the
pulpits in the churches where many don’t read the Bible for themselves, Jesus
is portrayed as an “all-loving”, “don’t rock the boat” type of nice man. And
thus, you can do what you want, when you want, how you want, and He will always
love you no matter what.
Truth can
easily be lost when you mix it with deception and lies. Those who don’t teach
the full truth are as deceived as those who stay and listen to it.
How do I
know? During the COVID months years ago, how many, after being “locked out of their churches for those months”
(some with no fight or push back at all against government control) have
returned to fellowship and solid teaching? You know the lost numbers too as
well as I do.
Many
Christians will fall away during these times, in these last days, because they
have not been taught Who Yeshua (Jesus) actually is. They have been fed a “love
me for who I am” gospel, which is not THE Gospel.
And thus, we
have “wokeness” abounding even in so many American churches. Tickle the ears of
the people, and when reality hits home, they will lose what faith they had and
fall away. Their hearts have been made cold because men and women have chosen
to water down what Jesus truthfully said and did when He came the first time.
He previously
asked if He would still find faith when He returns the second time. He was
right.
“Jesus told
them a story showing that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and
never quit. He said, "There was once a judge in some city who never gave
God a thought and cared nothing for people. A widow in that city kept after
him: 'My rights are being violated. Protect me!'
"He
never gave her the time of day. But after this went on and on he said to
himself, 'I care nothing what God thinks, even less what people think. But
because this widow won't quit badgering me, I'd better do something and see
that she gets justice — otherwise I'm going to end up beaten black and blue by
her pounding.'"
Then the
Master said, "Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying? So
what makes you think God won't step in and work justice for his chosen people,
who continue to cry out for help? Won't he stick up for them? I assure you, he
will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith
will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?" Luke 18:1-8, THE
MESSAGE
“Persistent
faith”, or as it is simply stated in the NASU version in Luke 18:8, “However,
when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" will not be
found in as many Christians as we would hope. These have been quietly,
routinely, regularly been fed too much pablum, baby food, and no meat to chew
on, and thus will not have the faith to stand when the heat gets turned up. As
it is certainly these days.
They looked
for the “worship experience” rather than the One Who is to be worshipped.
Preachers and
teachers who do not give out the truth are whitewashed, having a “clean
looking” appearance on the outside but nothing worth keeping on the inside.
Wokeness will
eventually kill what faith you have if you are not founded on the truth of the
Bible, and the faith that comes from reading it.
Cold hearts
will not be able to pump out faith when the time is most needed. No solid
foundation produces weak and soon fallen buildings.
Be not
whitewashed nor woked. Have faith. In Yeshua (Jesus) and His Word only.
Ahava
and shalom,
Steve
Martin, Love For His People founder
