I have been reading an old book on ancient history of the church, the disciples, the early Christians and so forth. God has really been blessing me with knowledge as I read this book, and I look in astonishment at the world today compared to it back then.
I remember at 12 years of age, I decided that I wanted to give my life to Christ and become baptized. That I did and recieved the certificate to prove it. But as I have been reading and thinking lately... did I really realize what I was doing at that time. I don't have a fantastically clear memory of what led up to me wanting to do that... or what my life was like shortly there after. I do remember telling all my friends and family that I had gotten saved and I remember making a conscientious effort not to sin... Still was I REALLY aware of what my new life implicated and demanded?
Though I can't remember that period of my life very well, I do know that my desire to serve Christ that time in my life was short-lived. Why? Well, my grandparents raised me and my grandmother was sick. She had taught me about Jesus and praying and all the blessed things when I was really small but at this time she wasn't able to continue. I am so thankful for the things that she did teach me, however, because I have that strong faith and desire for the gospel today, because of her. My grandfather took me to church every Sunday morning, but we didn't have bible study in our home or pray together. When I was 14 my grandfather died and my grandmother and I moved in with my aunt. One year later my grandmother died. While living with my aunt and cousins for the time of 6 years we hardly attended church and never read the bible together or prayed together. At Christmas, I do remember that my cousin had an advent wreath and he would read the bible and we would have some kind of candle lighting ceremony. (I know now that was a pagan practice.) Anyway, my life after the time that I was saved was almost completely void of God in anyway and I fell very short from the Way of Grace. It wasn't until 2 years ago, after I reached 35 that I realized what God was about and what He wants from us and that shouldn't have been. I shouldn't have had to recover my life back to Christ. I should have buried myself in Him back at the age of 12. But I didn't and, unfortunately, neither do most other modern converts.
Back to the book, it reads that in the first three centuries of Christianity anyone who wanted to be baptized had to first go through strict instructions and then be tested on their knowledge of the gospel and Christ.
If it were that way today do you think we would have many backsliders? If one had to be fluent in the gospel by reading the bible and studying it for some time before being baptized don't you think that they would know the bible so well that they wouldn't want to stray from it.. or at least it would be very unlikely.
After all, Paul tells us that the bible is part of our armor against the devil. In Ephesians 6 we read 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
What we learn from those verses is that if we are well acquainted with the Scripture and apply it to our lives daily, then how can we fall by the temptations of Satan? The Spirit within us can be quenched, but that's from lack of prayer and reading God's Word. It is something that has to be done everyday or we lose touch with God and lose the desire to have God in our lives as well.
Now, if a person had a deep knowledge of the bible today before they were baptized don't you think they would be more apt to grow? Remember the parable of Sowing seeds. Satan has easy access to some, and that is because they are ignorant of God's word. If they were well bible literate and were prepared to divert his fiery darts, Satan would have a much harder time of gaining people's souls.
The same stood for me when I was 12. I knew that I loved Jesus, and I wanted to live for Him, but I wasn't well educated in the bible other than a few stories I had learned in Sunday School, - milk I believe Paul called it, when I should have been proficient in it as meat and matured even more in the Word from there. I would have done better than to be saved in ignorance and then fallen to have waited and become saved when I was prepared to be a real servant to the Lord. What if I would have died and went to hell during that time you ask... Well, my response is that God knows all things and He knows who in their life will become true Christians. God is patient and merciful and for those He would wait.
As far as church relations went during the first 300 years of Christianity... all the churches that the apostles and early evangelists had planted kept in close contact with each other through letters and other means. When a false doctrine was tried to be introduced into one if the churches, they consulted with each other as to whether it was something that our blessed Savior had taught, and upon deciding that it was outside of His examples and preaching they were able to detect it immediately, identify it and expel it from the church. Today there are so many false doctrines that are circulating around the church. Ecumenism is one. That is really a scheme of the antichrist to develop the one world religion predicted in the Scriptures. The false doctines of celebrating Christmas and Easter have arisen in the church with mainstream religions displaying the abominable pagan symbols right in the church sanctuary. Communion is suppose to be practiced but once a year at Passover, remembering that at Jesus's death, He became our Passover, but Christians today do it more... some weekly. Our worship day, once the same as the Judaic sabbath, is now held on the day the pagans worshipped the sun. There are many many more inconsistancies in the church today that I could name, but for the sake of this testimony I will stop here.
Why have we as Christians allowed these heresies and apostate teachings in our churches? Why have we passively accepted new and false doctrines to fall into the hands of our pastors and leaders who we trust most? Why are we standing on the wayside and letting the devil move himself into our churches and our homes? Why have we accepted the new version of the bibles which show no power or authority and omit prayer and fasting and the rebuke of homosexuality?
It's because we are the lukewarm Christians that Jesus spoke of in Revelations!! Today people have so many conveniences that they forget about God until they need something. God has been so good to bless Christians with good jobs, nice cars, designer clothing, swimming pools and so forth. How do we return the favor to Him? We become buried in the glory of all our blessings and worship them more. We become to busy to go to church because we have to go to work and make more mammon. We are to busy to read the bible because we are too busy watching the demonic television set, which takes us even farther from God because when we are involved in worldly things it causes a drift between us and Him. We have become too busy to sing hymns because we now have our Luciferian designed hip-hop and ourrock music which the devil inspired.
Christians today will go to church and then go home and turn the NASCAR race on. They will stand up and yell for their favorite driver and jump up and down to show their happiness for the glory of his win. Why don't we get excited for Jesus? When we get home from church why don't we turn Christian television on and yell for Jesus and for His glory? Why as soon as church is out, do Christians go out to eat and forget about God until next Sunday? It's because in prophecy we are what is called the Church of Laodicea.
The city of Laodicea received its water from the hot mineral springs in the area of Heirapolis, some six miles to the north. By the time the water reached the city, it was neither hot nor cold, and possessed a nauseating quality that made it good only for an emetic. According to Warren Wiersbe, there are three spiritual temperatures: a burning heart, on fire for God (Luke 24:32); a cold heart (Matt. 24:12), and a lukewarm heart (Rev. 3:16). In this day of complacency and indifference, let us strive to have the burning zeal of Phinehas (See Num. 25:10-18) for Gods glory and service."
When I think about the early Christians and even some Christians in other countries today I shudder and am amazed at how they were at such ease during the time of their martyrdom and torment. I often wonder if I were placed in that circumstance how could I endure such pain and persecution. Being beheaded would be a fast and fairly easy way to die, although the thought of it terrifies me, but not only were these people beheaded, but they were first scourged and beaten or placed upon a rack and stretched. Some were crucified, even upside down as Peter asked to be, and some were burnt alive. One should read Foxe's Book of Martyrs for more details and stories of how early Christians died for the Gospel of Christ. Would we have the strength to go through that today? What if you were walking out of church and a servant of the devil grabbed you and took you away and told you to denounce Christ or to be burnt at the stake? Would you be strong enough to endure it for the Lord? Would He give us as lukewarm Christians the strength to gracefully die singing praises in His Name?
Jesus tells us in Revelation 3, that the lukewarm Christians will be spit out, so I think the answer to the above question is no; we would be on our own. If you are not strong in Christ and well-fitted in the armor that Paul speaks about, then I believe as in Revelation 3 states, the Sunday morning church-goers who barely know where to find the 23rd Psalm would end up denouncing their Savior for lack of faith and knowledge in battling Satan.
The book I have been reading tells of how the pagans were amazed at how the Christian martyrs withstood such torments with such supernatural patience and strength singing hymns and reciting the bible in their painful last moments. They (the pagans) began seraching the history and doctrine of the marvelous One who these martyrs had suffered so for. The more they searched, the more they were convinced of His Name and glory and they too suffered martyrdom or were ready to as they turned to Christianity.
The early Christians gave up their entire lives and died as Paul states. They were born again anew each day in the Spirit and spent the remainder of their lives, after their conversion, preparing for the start of their new life, never knowing when they would be called to go thereto. They forgot the world and lived each day searching the Scriptures and talking about the glorious One. They became so indulged in their new life, they were exceptionally kind and generous and it is remarked that they early Christians were as a new species of people. That is how God wants us to be today. The world is in need of a revival full of fire and eagerness to worship the Lord. If we don't have that soon we will be spit out just as Korah and his men were swallowed up.
We live in a day and time that we know the antichrist is about ready to rear up his ugly head. As John stated in the bible, his works have been evident even since the Gospel was written and before. If we are not strong as the early Christians were, then we will be the ones that God speaks about in 2 Thessalonians 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Think you won't fall? Look at David and how he was such a man after God's own heart. He fell over and over again. Be sober and prepared as we continue in these treacherous times. Don't be a sleepy Christian or you are going to be stomped by the worker of iniquity himself. Wake up and join the revival that has to come.
Daniel tells us in Chapter 11 that: 32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. 33 And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. 34 Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. 35 And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed. And he says in Chapter 12: 10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
That tells me that we are going to be tested and purified. In other words, He is preparing during this time to seperate the wheat from the tares.
Don't fall for the antichrist's flatteries, but know your God and be strong. Feed your soul with meat and not milk and let your wheat grow for the Lord so as not to be confused with the tares.
To Know the Truth of God
