Loyalty
to Christ: The Foundation of Christian Character
Combating Information Warfare
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
God has chosen you for a specific purpose and with the intention of giving you everything you need, especially His mercy on judgment day! Therefore we need to keep ourselves holy (different) from the rest of the world that walks around us. It is how we will make a difference for the rest of the world! Our desires for the world war against our very soul! How can we wage this war and be triumphant?
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
It is through our knowledge of Jesus that we will escape the corruption of the world. Satan uses our very own desires to take us captive as spiritual POW’s. However, we have God’s divine power to help us. Since Satan knows that this knowledge will help us, he wages an information war to corrupt that knowledge in our minds.
The acceptance and practice of this knowledge will produce true Christian character:
Character: distinctive qualities; notable or conspicuous traits; moral excellence and firmness.
Christian Character: Christ-likeness
We need to speak like Jesus, think and act and desire like Jesus. We are like Jesus in His weakness, so let’s be like Him in Spirit, since it is He who dwells in us through the Holy Spirit! This is how we can prevent the corruption of that knowledge, and therefore our own spiritual demise.
2Ti 1:14 Guard the good deposit (The Gospel) that was entrusted to you-- guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
The Bible encourages to guard (protect) the good deposit – the information concerning the Gospel! The Holy Spirit helps us protect this information, by helping us in the transformation (renewing) process.
1Jo 3:24 Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.
11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
You need to understand that you are of a dual nature. Your flesh does not want to submit to God’s will, but the Lord gave you a spirit that wants to submit, because it knows that is life! (Hebrews 12:9) It is in the Spirit that we are triumphant, even though our flesh is destined to perish! God even gave us spiritual weapons to wage this spiritual information war. The weapons are very effective!
5 We demolish arguments and every pretension (claim, allegation, excuse or pretext) that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Everything that can come against
what you know about God you are to reject and take those thoughts captive to
make them obedient to what you know is true in Christ. There’s the
beginning, the thoughts! That’s the front line of this war! Don’t
let your thoughts wander! (
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who
is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (What you are is not clearly known yet, but
it is good and precious, and it is certainly NOT the flesh!) 1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God,
and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he
appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.
8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices
10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. (Don’t discriminate!)
12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
This whole passage relates to Christian living and character. It is about putting to death our sinful nature and being loyal to Jesus. We must follow Him regardless of the consequences (Mark 8:38). Don’t be ashamed, but be confident! If anything, be ashamed of the fleshly desires and openly confess them that you may not need to be ashamed on the last day!
Loyalty: unswerving in allegiance; being faithful to whom fidelity is due.
Thus to be swerved in any way is to be unfaithful. Serving will begin in your mind, and will be followed by your heart. Your mind is the anchor that will prevent your heart from swaying away from the truth in Jesus.
Phil 4:6-9
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (not complaining but with thankfulness)
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (fretting and anxiety is a way Satan attempts to infiltrate your mind)
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-- think about such things.
9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
The Lord and His peace will be upon you when your mind is focused in the right place. This will prevent your heart from being troubled and make you alert to your desires and your self-control.
Psalm 37
1 Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the
noonday sun.
7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in
their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret-- it leads only to evil.
9 For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will
not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.
Peace can only come in your live when you have successfully removed anxiety or frustration. Live every day as if it were new, for this is to trust in God! Unfortunately, the heart and your desires may cause you to hold onto feelings and validate them as reality, when reality is in Christ alone.
For that reason it is imperative that the church holds of to sound doctrine, since the very core of the fight is deceitful teaching and the swaying of the carnal mind.
Romans 8:6-8
6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;
7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.
8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
This is why the church receives strong instruction from God’s word to keep the doctrine sound:
1 Tim. 1:18,19
18 Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight,
19 holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith.
To abandon the pursuit of Christian character is to lose your faithfulness, becoming unloyal to Christ. The world will try to opaque those holy goals Jesus wants you to have, but you must master the temptations in order to be worthy of the crown. I tell you that many won’t make it, the majority won’t make it. It is when we look to the majority, or to the popular, that we abandon the pursuit of holiness and Christ-likeness.
1 John 2:19, 20
19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.
Similarly, to abandon the pattern of New Testament Christianity is to abandon the calling God has for those who remain faithful to His words. Some become unloyal by adding to their faith philosophy and worldly ways of thinking that slowly erode at the moral character of the disciple. Those who allow themselves to be corrupted have failed to understand the anointing they have received, the calling to be holy. They become very stubborn:
Jeremiah 6:16
16 This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it.'
But the encouragement for the remnant is to remain strong and committed to the Word of God, forsaking everything you have ever learned from the world, for these will sway you:
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
Eph 4:14
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.
1 Tim 6:20
20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge…
These hollow philosophies and godless chatter can
deceive even the elect, so be careful!
Mat 24:24
24 For false Christ’s and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect-- if that were possible.
Most of these ideologies are advocated under the pretense of balance, moderation and tolerance, but they actually represent extremes in points of view. Their subtlety is one of their most dangerous aspects as to why most of us have already adopted some of them without even knowing the extremisms they represent. Some of these are very general in their scope while others are more specific.
1- Transcendentalism - A
literary and philosophical movement, associated with Ralph Waldo Emerson and
Margaret Fuller, asserting the existence of an ideal spiritual reality that
transcends the empirical and scientific and is knowable through intuition. Transcendentalism claims to have a true
knowledge of all things, material and immaterial, human and divine, so far as
the mind is capable of knowing them. And in this sense the word
transcendentalism is now most used. It is also sometimes used for that which is
vague and illusive in philosophy.
It is also used to describe ambitious and imaginative vagueness in
thought, imagery, or diction.
2- Pantheism - A doctrine
identifying the Deity with the universe and its phenomena. Belief in and worship of all gods. The
doctrine that the universe, taken or conceived of as a whole, is God; the
doctrine that there is no God but the combined force and laws which are
manifested in the existing universe; cosmotheism. These are the people that say God is a tree
and a rock, ect.
3- Ecumenism – All
churches are part of the body of Christ, regardless what they teach about the
Gospel. A movement promoting worldwide unity among religions through greater
cooperation and improved understanding. The
4- Liberalism - A 19th-century
Protestant movement that favored free intellectual inquiry, stressed the
ethical and humanitarian content of Christianity, and de-emphasized dogmatic
theology. A political theory
founded on the natural goodness of humans and the autonomy of the individual
and favoring civil and political liberties, government by law with the consent
of the governed, and protection from arbitrary authority. These are those who say everybody is
essentially good and since we all make mistakes we can’t judge anyone.
Meanwhile, anything that stands against intolerance, pacifism and any other
ideology they advocate, the meet it with harsh criticism, judgment and
intolerance!
5- Conservativism - Favoring
traditional views and values; tending to oppose change. Traditional or restrained in style;
adhering to tradition à can lead to Legalism.
6- Elitism - The belief that
certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored
treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social
status, or financial resources.
7- Humanism - The doctrine
emphasizing a person's capacity for self-realization through reason; rejects
religion and the supernatural. A
system of thought that centers on humans and their values, capacities, and
worth.
8- Relativism – No absolute truth. Conceptions of truth and moral values are not absolute but are relative to the persons or groups holding them. A philosophical doctrine that all criteria of judgment are relative to the individuals and situations involved.
9- Pluralism –
Everything is OK with moderation.
These are the people that advocate tolerance as the only right way to
live. The belief that such a
condition is desirable or socially beneficial. The belief that no single explanatory
system or view of reality can account for all the phenomena of life.
10- Secularism - Religious
skepticism or indifference. The
view that religious considerations should be excluded from civil affairs or
public education.
11- Denominationalism –
There are different ways to get to Heaven.
Same as Sectarianism: Advocacy of separation into
religious denominations. The opposite is Elitism.
12- Spiritualism (Espiritismo
in Spanish) – What entertains and motivates me to be spiritual. The
practice of attributing spiritual motives and reasons to everyday things; to
trivialize the sublime nature and providence of God. Can lead to superstition
(Idolatry).
13- Machismo - A strong or
exaggerated sense of masculinity stressing attributes such as physical courage,
virility, domination of women, and aggressiveness.
14- Feminism –
”Belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the
sexes.” Yeah right! More like the belief that women excel and are
superior in intellect morality and strength to men.
15- Existentialism - A
philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual
experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as
unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the
consequences of one's acts. Views
truth as subjective. Results in Materialism.
16- Gnosticism – Special
revelation or knowledge of truth apart from the Bible. A religious orientation advocating
gnosis as the way to release a person's spiritual element.
17- Modernism - Sympathy
with or conformity to modern ideas, practices, or standards. The deliberate
departure from tradition and the use of innovative forms. The attempt to
examine traditional belief according to contemporary philosophy, criticism, and
historiography.
18- Multiculturalism - Of or relating to a social or educational theory
that encourages interest in many cultures within a society rather than in only
a mainstream culture. The attempt is to introduce tolerance, but often results
in a pluralistic mindset that refuses to tolerate traditional cultural values.
19- Scientism - The belief that the investigative methods of the
physical sciences are applicable or justifiable in all fields of inquiry.
Belittles any line of inquiry that does not conform to that of the scientific
method.
20- Unity - The due subordination and reference of every part to the
development of the leading idea or the establishment of the main proposition.
Individualism is discounted and overlooked. All must conform for the good of
the whole.
21- Skepticism - A doubting or questioning attitude or state of mind; dubiety.
The ancient
22- Rationalism - Reliance on reason as the best guide for belief and
action. The theory that the
exercise of reason, rather than experience, authority, or spiritual revelation,
provides the primary basis for knowledge.
23- Empiricism - The view that experience, especially of the senses, is
the only source of knowledge.
Disregards scientific theory and relies solely on practical experience.
24- Postmodernism – The
resulting amalgamation of philosophies in this 21st century, which
seeks to deny absolute truths and morals, totally embracing a subjectivist view
of objective foundational beliefs. It disguises itself under the tenant of tolerance, but is quite intolerant of
any beliefs that challenge the subjective approach to morality and truth.
Postmodernism is not about truth but about power. Postmodernism permeates by a succession
and adoption of other ideologies, namely: à secularization, privatization, pluralization and relativization. All these have given birth to:
political correctness – professes
tolerance and kindness, but bullies any opposition.
theological correctness –
disapproves of condemning any other group that may believe differently, judging
anybody who does so as arrogant and offensive. However, this group is the most
judgmental and arrogant of all!
Progressive
Inclusivism – believes the church should fellowship with all
denominational churches. They believe God gives grace and forgiveness anyone as
long as they profess belief in Him. You don’t have to understand the
Bible nor what baptism is. As long as you love Jesus you’re OK. If
someone is pious and loves a holy life, they must be saved.
25- Progressivism – The
belief that one doesn’t need to hold to the tried and true. You may go
beyond the teachings of Scripture and the New Testament Pattern. Evidence (form) overrules Function. The
evidence of good ness in someone overrules their need to subject themselves to
God’s teachings. They dismiss God’s plain instruction when it
conflicts with what they perceive is morally good and spiritually pious. In the
progressivist mindset, truth
is what prevails with popular religion of the times.
26- Inclusivism – The idea that those who have never heard the Gospel
cannot be held accountable for its content. If
a tree falls down in the forest does it make a sound if no one is there to hear
it? Inclusivist theology was
originally developed by the Catholic theologian Karl Rahner who taught not that
we are born out of relationship with God (Exclusivism) but in relationship
with God. The grace of God, (which is required for salvation), is already
present within us as a divine gift (‘supernatural existential’).
Thus, when people hear the gospel and accept it they are not turning from
darkness to light but are confirming that which they already know. This is why
there is religion outside of Christianity. People know there is a God they are
in a relationship with. They are seeking their creator. If these people do not
hear the gospel they will still be saved. However, this is not by their
religion, but because of their religion.
27- Exclusivism – The practice of excluding, or being exclusive
(form of elitism).
Exclusiveness. Only a definitive
set of criteria allows inclusion. Ex: Salvation is found ONLY in Jesus.
28- Materialism – When
the acquisition and collection of property become the goal of life. Luke 12:15 is a good warning: Watch out! Be on your guard against all
kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his
possessions. We must stop
spending money we do not have to buy things we do not need to impress people we
do not even know. The sin of greed (covetousness) is at the heart of this
ideology. Give you a false sense of security, makes you waver in your morality,
and destroys family life, health and the work of the
29- Subjectivism - The doctrine that all
knowledge is restricted to the conscious self and its sensory states. Any of various theories holding that the
only valid standard of judgment is that of the individual. For example, ethical
subjectivism holds that individual conscience is the only appropriate standard
for moral judgment. Leads to egoism. Interpreting situations according to how
you feel about them.
30- Objectivism - One of several doctrines
holding that all reality is objective and external to the mind and that
knowledge is reliably based on observed objects and events. An emphasis on objects rather than
feelings.
31- Atheism – Lack of belief in the
existence of God. Everything is an occurrence of randomness and chance in the
universe.
32- Evolution - Change in the genetic
composition of a population during successive generations, as a result of
natural selection acting on the genetic variation among individuals, and
resulting in the development of new species. A gradual process in which something
changes into a different and usually more complex or better form. Holds to the uniformitarianist view of
the universe, in which gradual changes over a long period of time cause things
to change from one form to another. Contrary to the catastrophic view which
believes sudden drastic changes over a short period of time have caused the
massive changes we see in our universe.
33- Hedonism – Pleasure is the principal
good and should be the aim of action. We have a moral obligations to maximize
pleasure and minimize pain in our life. Everything in the world today is
oriented towards the minimization or absence of pain and suffering.
“Feeling good” is the rule by which we will judge every action and
word spoken.
34- Universalism – All people
eventually will be saved. Lead to
the formation of the Unitarians. They even accept people into their fellowship
who deny the existence of God. They deny the fires of Gehenna and the
punishment of disobedient souls. Universalism is one of the results of Postmodernism.
35- Calvinism – System of theology
championed by John Calvin which purports five cardinal doctrines under the
acronym of TULIP:
Total Depravity: No one is capable of pleasing God since all generations
have been cursed by Adam’s sin.
This means that no person can serve God on their own free choice. This
leads to the belief of infant damnation and infant baptism.
Unconditional Election: God predestined the salvation or damnation of
every person, regardless of good or evil on their part.
Limited Atonement: In conjunction with predestination, it denies the
universal love of God and limits the power of the blood of Jesus. Only some are
atoned, since some are elected, and therefore Christ didn’t really die
for all men.
Irresistible Grace: Explains how conversion is possible, though man is
depraved and cannot choose to follow God, which is why God predestined some;
then the Holy Spirit directly operates and changes the heart of a person,
without control or will of the recipient. This dictates that it takes a direct
and miraculous intervention of the Spirit to produce faith and repentance. What
is the purpose of preaching, evangelism and missionary work? Your guess is as
good as mine!
We must be convinced of:
1. Jesus’ resurrection – Romans 1:4
2. He is the Only Way – John 14:6
3. He is coming back – John 14:28
Romans 1:4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:28 "You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
To battle these ideologies and remain steadfast you need:
1. Conviction: You need to firmly believe the Gospel and your role in God's Kingdom.
1Thess 1:5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.
2. Courage: Because you are at war! Eph. 6:10 (The Armor of God)
Rev 21:8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars-- their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
3. Commitment: to the cause of Christ despite sufferings that may come. Phil 4:3 Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow,° help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. We cannot say we are loyal to Christ and be loyal to the church, since the church is His body, and He gave Himself up for the church!
1 John 3:10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
Phil 2:5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
1 Peter 2:21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
Loyalty to Him is expressed in how we treat each other:
Mat. 25:35-36 'For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
1 John 4:19, 20 We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
Pedro Gelabert