Why do so many modern Christians formulate their doctrines about conversion by completely ignoring Jesus’ teachings on the subject? He said entering the Kingdom was “difficult”, we say “it’s easy”. He warned us to “count the cost,” we push, cajole and manipulate anyone with sweating palms or an increased pulse to “receive Christ,” and thereby inflate the value of the currency in the economy of heaven. He warned that it would cost us everything; and we act like it will cost us nothing. Is a five minute long, four step message, comprised of John 3:16 and a peppering of verses from Paul’s epistles really The Gospel?
Working in a nursing home, I regularly spend time with the dead and dying. I was thoroughly converted before I began working there, yet it has had a huge impact on the way I live my life day by day. Considering ones death, can give you wisdom in life. After all, how can you know which path to take, if you don’t even know where you’re going? Living like a demon does not make one a saint, any more than swimming through sewage teaches you to fly!
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, . . . Jesus Christ . . . gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Titus 2:11-14
In the above verses we are instructed that Christ’s end in dying for us was to make us a purified, good-work performing people; and Paul exhorted us to deny our ungodly lusts so that we can live self controlled, upright, and Godly lives. And we are told that God’s will for our justification, is not to live a sinful life in order to show how good grace is, rather, it is to live a godly life, in order to show the world what God is like! Do you get it? To the thinking Christian one thing should be obvious, by commanding us to live like this; we know it is possible for us, and expected of us. It has been said, and it bears repeating, “Gods commandments are his enablements.” 1
So where do we want to end up? Our lives don’t end at death, our bodies temporarily stop there, but our life goes on. Our time-line passes through death and turns one of two directions. Which destination do we wish to arrive at? I am frightened for many, by their continual purposeful indulgence in the flesh, followed by a proclamation of “It’s all grace bro.” I can see no honest way of untangling Christ’s extensive teachings on the requirements of discipleship from salvation. I could be wrong, maybe God wants us to live carnal lives in order to showcase his grace: But if I’m correct and Jesus’ commands are meant to be obeyed, many will say to him on that day, “let me in” only to hear “I never knew you, depart from me.” And like the sons of Korah they will see the dark maw of hell open underneath them and consume them into the fiery darkness and blackness forever!
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10
If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, then haughtiness or ambivalence towards Him is nothing less than the end of wisdom; a headlong dive into the blackened well of chaos and destruction. An attitude and lifestyle of ambivalence is to be expected in the world for sure, but it’s prevalence in “the church” today is disturbing. We have an abundance of adultery, idolatry, and carnality throughout the body of Christ; this is not completely new, Christians have always struggled with sin, but what is disturbing, is the acceptance and defense of it from within, when anyone points to the clear teaching of scripture on such matters they are ridiculed as a legalist, a Pharisee, or a hypocrite.
Many in “the Church” do not fear the Lord. God is imagined as some mild and tolerant Mr. Rogers-like deity, a milquetoast messiah. He just wants people to say a short prayer, so that they can start living their best life now. And he’s really bummed when people don’t love him back. The idea that we are called to walk a narrow difficult path, and obey the commands of Jesus as our master, seems strange and revolting to them.
The problem is this; many “Christians” have not grasped the fear of the Lord as a concept, let alone a lifestyle. This may be a symptom of unbelief, or the fruit of poor theology, either way it is a festering sore on the Body of Christ. No matter what has caused this terrible cancer, the cure is the same, Faith and Repentance. Faith: believing what Christ has declared and committing your life to him, and Repentance: turning from your sinful path and following Jesus Christ. The proper fear of the Lord will set much right in our own individual lives, and the church as a whole, but apathy and rebellion will only continue our downward spiral.
Situational ethics, modernism, and pluralism have infiltrated the mindsets of many who call themselves believers in Jesus Christ. These mentalities are massive roadblocks to true biblical discernment. If we approach the word of God predetermined to these mentalities, we will never pass through the gates of truth. Ever they will elude us, and ever we will meander down dank pathways.
One of these pathways is paved with the word, “Massive Multiplayer Online Gaming (MMOG.)” For years I had an addiction to this false reality, and for two years I have been praying about why it is that I am supposed to take a stand against it, and expose this darkness to the light of God’s word.
I was kept in darkness for years about this issue because I did not come to God’s word with an honest heart about it. I placed my hands over my ears and eyes by claiming that since the Bible does not explicitly talk about entertainment like MMOG’s that I was vindicated from biblical accountability. (As a word to the wise, you will never find any light or truth in the word of God about yourself and your circumstances if you have a prideful heart like I did.)
After fellowshipping with a dear brother in Christ today I knew it was time I finally get this off my chest and onto my hard drive. MMOG’s operate on probably the single most cunning principle, which keeps young men (and even increasingly young women) by the droves, coming back day after day, week after week, ad infinitum to an unreal world.
This singular principle governs probably every single MMOG on the market. I am sure I would be challenged to find even one that does not, whether it is Eve Online, World of Warcraft, or Guild Wars…or any number of others has, in the kernel of their design, a central hub of operation known as covetousness.
How is this so? Every single decision you make within these false realities is dictated by how it will benefit you or your “avatar,” or your brood/collective of avatar friends. Each one of these people shed whom they are in the flesh to take upon themselves a digital alter-ego, and run a nearly galactic rat race to get ahead of all competition through gaining 1.) unreal money which allows for the purchase of character modifications, and 2.) unreal character attribute upgrades. Both of these principles of covetousness are governed by two other principles, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Each upgrade or modification (mod) is more attractive to the eyes than the last was, and every attribute upgrade which applies to the avatar itself appeals to the pride of life, as the false character becomes increasingly more powerful.
So covetousness works through the lust of the eyes and the pride of life; however, these are just foundational concepts, not necessarily the fruit reaped. Rather, it is with raging frequency that one will find ensconced within the social structure of MMOG’s an endless trail of enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, (believe it or not you can actually get your avatar drunk in many games) sexual immorality, impurity and sensuality, and if it were possible, orgies, (often imitated through raucous gesticulating) and certainly last but particularly most common…sorceries. These happen to be listed in Galatians 5:20 as the “works of the flesh,” which Paul warns that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God. So the game itself subjects you to the principalities of the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life…and those two principles manifest themselves through each person’s avatar toward every other avatar as the lust of the flesh.
James 4:6 says that “He (God) giveth more grace, wherefore he saith, God resists the proud, but gives grace unto the humble.” Pride is the one element which grace cannot penetrate. One must become humble to see the application of this truth from the word of God. On bended knee admit your digital sin; confess that Christ Jesus the son came to deliver you from your sin, to set you free from your unreal captivity (Luke 4:18.) If we do not repent of this we may just find ourselves gaining an unreal world, yet losing a very real soul. Do not let the principality of pluralism tell you that these things are OK because it is a gray area in scripture, or that you have the “liberty.” Though on the outset MMORG’s may seem innocuous, I would remind you that the whole of creation was subjected to its current tyranny and slavery to sin through the fear of death, (Hebrews 2:15) by one simple bite of a seemingly innocuous piece of fruit…fruit that tasted like godhood!
