Category: Purgation

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” – Lord Acton

When Christians take power into their own hands, terrible things are done in the name of God. Shameful deeds of persecution, torture and killing. History has demonstrated that nothing is as dangerous as the joining of church and state.

The Evangelicals rail against the Catholic Church for the abuses of the Middle Ages. They would never do what they did. And yet, what do you think Christian Nationalism is?

Dangers of Christian Nationalism

Jesus said:

“My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here” (John 18:36).

When Church and State join forces, you know that bad things are about to happen. This is not theory, this is history. When the Roman Empire made Catholic Christianity the religion of the state, soon after the persecutions followed.

Power is Poison

When Jesus was offered by the devil “all the Kingdoms of the world,” he refused (Matt 4:8-9). Now the Church in the United States is being made the same offer. Unfortunately, it is bowing the knee to glory and power to a kingdom that belongs to this world.

Jesus said, “My kingdom does not belong to this world.” Then why do some Christian want to create a kingdom on earth? This is against the wishes of Christ. And so we now have Christians who are willing to “fight” and kill for God.

The Ruler of this World

The sad part is that as they pursue Christian Nationalism, they fail to realize that they are joining up with the “ruler of this world.” And do you know who that is? The devil (John 16:11; 12:31; 14:30; 2 Cor 4:4). That is why 1 John 5:19 says that “the whole world lies under the power of the evil one.”

The most dangerous people in Jesus’ day were the religious leaders. Not much has changed in 2,000 years. What starts out as a good intention ends up becoming s a hideous catastrophe. Only pride blinds us to this temptation.

“Therefore come out from them, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch nothing unclean; then I will welcome you” (2 Cor. 6:17).

Who is Paul the Apostle talking when he says “their midst”? It is the society of unbelievers, those who are lawless and walk in darkness. We are supposed to “come out from among them” (2 Cor. 6:17 NKJV).

Physical Separation

This coming “out” can be physical and spiritual. We can “be separate” from society physically, by staying away from “fellowship” or hanging out with them. This would include moving our place of residence. This is what the desert fathers and mothers did.

Spiritual Separation

But this is usually interpreted spiritually. We are to be separate from “agreement” with society. Meaning, we are to reject the values and behaviors of the unbelieving community. “Do not touch what is unclean” means to not participate in activities that are not pleasing to God and are against His commandments.

Hermits are separate from the unbelieving world in mind and body. They withdrew from society and its influence. For they know that “Bad company ruins good morals” (1 Cor. 15:33).

Unclean Influences

But hermits also separate from the influence of society that comes through the entertainment industry. TV, radio, books, and now the Internet bombard us with the values and false ideas of sick and fallen society.

A true hermit will “come out” and “be separate” from all the unclean influences of the world, the flesh, and the devil. These are cleaver enemies of God and His ways, and we need to be watchful. Guarding the gates of our eyes, ears, and minds.

“And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold” (Matt. 24:12).

Danger of Neglect

We must be very careful about the cooling of neglect. If we neglect prayer, fasting, Bible reading, and worship, slowly our hearts will cool. Slowly our devotion to God will die.

This does not happen all at once. It is a process, a slow process that, the devil hopes, will go undetected. We don’t discern the devil’s work when he uses our own laziness against us.

The Enemy Within

The devil works best when he works undetected. Straight on assaults don’t work on seasoned warriors. They can defend against the enemy outside, it is the enemy within they must watch for.

The enemy within is the flesh. It is our fallen nature that seeks after the things of the self instead of the rings of God. It is forgetful, lazy, and comfort seeking. It hates discipline, fasting, and sacrifice for others

“Wake up and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God” (Rev. 3:2).

“Therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers” (1 Pet. 4:7).

“It is if it’s going to be, it’s up to me.” – William H. Johnsen

In order to help me fulfill my aim to “never complain, never explain,” I use another saying, “It is if it’s going to be, it’s up to me.” For too often we would rather complain about what someone is not doing rather than just do it ourselves

Let me get personal for a moment. My wife is not big on cleaning the house. We both work full time, so I understand. Yet the chores are no split equally. I usually do most of the cleaning.

I am going to be honest, at first this bugged me. I should have given it to the Lord. But I didn’t. It made me upset. She doesn’t cook my meals or clean my house.

But finally, I realized that I was the only one I was hurting by me being upset. It was my peace I was forfeiting. And so I remembered an old slogan I heard from Dr. Robert Schuller, “If it’s going to be, it’s up to me.” I believe he got it from William H. Johnsen.

Now if something bothers me, I just do it. I soon discovered that God helps those who help themselves. It is better to just do it than to complain about it, even if it’s just complaining in your own thinking.

Here is a saying to remember, “Never complain, never explain.”

Complaining does not accomplish anything. It only makes us dwell on the problem. It makes the problem bigger, and our feelings sadder. Complaining only drains out strength, it does not solve anything,

Likewise, explaining is useless. If you have to explain yourself it is because someone doesn’t understand. If they know the situation, it’s because they don’t want to understand. Everybody comes at reality from a different perspective. It is usually not worth trying to bridge perspectives in something like explaining yourself.

This goes back to the idea of letting your yes be yes, and your no be no. Just do what’s right, and don’t bother explaining why. People will either get it or they won’t. Don’t waste your time with words. Waste your time in love. For deeds. Speak louder than words.