The Church did not do anyone any favors, if they failed to define what Love (according to God) actually is. I was talking to a friend the other day, who said the great falling away seems to be happening. In just a moments’ time it hit me, the false teachings about love have a great deal to do with this.
Years ago, God was showing me (as I studied and prayed) that love according to him is “Not a Hallmark Card.” Every time I was facing a liar, a person who did not care what God thought, or a person who was in anarchy, defying the very words of God, I was told by church people that love was the answer. But you see, an in-depth study of the bible, showed me that most of the love scriptures we hear (Love one another, love your neighbor as yourself) are talking about how we should love the brethren. That is, the people of God.
I noticed the revelation came to me over a period of time, and continued to talk to people about how God did not tell them to take abuse and show love to ridiculously ungodly people, but in some cases, we need to rebuke them, tell the devil to flee from them, and yes, even avoid certain persons. As I would quote the book of Jude and talk about such things, many people pulled back from me, believing I was off in my thinking. But now, as I see how the enemy is using Love AGAINST God’s people (not his kind of Love, but the Hallmark Kind) I can really see how he’s using this to try to take down the church.
Tolerance is not love. If someone is sinning and loves to sin, and does not wish to hear about Jesus, they have a right to walk away from you. Honestly, if they are not seeking him, chasing them down like a gazelle and trying to “rope them” into salvation is not a wise idea.
But when something infiltrates your church, you are responsible to chase it out. And I am talking about doctrines that say it’s okay to be in sin, to be sexually immoral, same sex relationships, bi-sexual relationships, and the list goes on. The Grace we apply for someone to grow into a full-grown Christian happens WHEN That person has given their lives to Jesus. And if they have done so, they are not going to be arguing about what is sin and what isn’t. Yes, people are supposed to be “under law” until they surrender and give their lives to Jesus. God’s laws are there to convict them. Please don’t take that away by making excuses for sin.
Therefore, I understand you want to be kind to people. I understand they don’t THINK they can help how they are. I once thought I was an alcoholic, could not stop drinking, that I could not stop being co-dependent, could not control my temper because it was right there (being a thing I both learned and inherited) BUT God calls us to overcome and BECOME all he ever desired for us to be. We start making excuses, we take away the power of the gospel, and become the people described in 2 Timothy 3. Lovers of selves, haughty, Proud of how much they love, proud of how strong they are standing up against the likes of us, blasphemous, unholy, and denying the power of God to change us.
Is anyone out there listening to me? What did the early disciples do? (After they became Apostles and Prophets and such?) They went around saying “REPENT!” They cast out devils. They did not endorse ANYONE staying the way they were. People flocking to salvation had nothing to do with being accepted HOW YOU ARE it was about BECOMING what God said you can be (IN HIM!)
We don’t need to do a rain dance all night and cast out a list of 20 devils to stop the great falling away. All we have to do is preach the TRUTH because God’s love envelopes truth and does not deny the truth of the gospel. IF we Allow anyone to alter what the bible says, it will become ineffective, USELESS with no power to change anyone’s lives and be redeemed from their sin. Now, someone was praying not to be deceived. And this is exactly what you needed to hear. -Laura Grace
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