Simple Christianity

Sometimes I get confused. I get confused concerning different denominations, different theologies, new things in Christianity such as modern music, "relevant" Christianity and church services, watching movies, why Christians don't observe the Saturday Sabbath when it is a commandment of God, and other issues. I don't want to make you thing that I am confused because of lack of study. The reason I am so confused is because I have studied myself into confusion. I won't get into details right now. I am not writing tonight to elaborate on the causes for my confusion. I have been earnestly praying to God to help me and to give me clarity. I think He has done that.

I opened up my Bible tonight and it fell open to Galatians chapter 3, where St. Paul says,

"O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— just as Abraham "believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"?

"Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed." So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith."

As far as I know, I am a Gentile. How then am I justified? I am justified by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have faith that He who began a good work in me will see it through to the day of completion. I love Jesus Christ, and I place my trust totally in Him.

So, this for me settles many issues. Being justified by faith in the Son of God, will I be perfected then by my flesh? According to St. Paul, no. So if I worship God on Sunday because the Church at some time in history changed the date to make a distinction between them and the Jews, I am not guilty of breaking any law, because I am not under the law, nor will I be made perfect by the law. The purpose of God's Law is to lead us to Christ. All who would live by the law must live exactly and perfectly by the law, which no man or woman has ever been able to do. So the law serves as a moral guide, and the law also continually points us to Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ points us to the law, showing that we are continually in the need of His mercy.

Concerning music, TV, movies, etc, this is easy now. I believe it is wrong to become so opposed or so scared of these things that it becomes superstitious. One must ask himself questions before he watches/listens to something, such as, "will this help me love God more? Would this be offensive to God? Am I going to walk away from this being edified or will I walk away with perverse thoughts?" There are other questions one could ask oneself, but I think you get the point. It is put well in Philippians 4:7-9, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."

As a Christian we must simply believe in Jesus Christ as God's Son who died to take away our sins and live grateful lives unto Him, serving Him all the days of our life in happiness and love towards others. Jesus told us what the greatest commandments are. Here is his reply to a man who asked Him what the great commandment is, "And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."

Jesus said that ALL the Law and the Prophets depend on those two commandments. Why did God give us these commandments? For our own good. Those who love God with their whole being will also love their neighbor, for how can a man love God who he has not seen when he does not love his brother? Love does no wrong to those who love is shown. This is Jesus' highest law: Love. That is the end of all His will for us. So I pray, that with God's help, I will have a heart filled with love for God and for all around me. Bitterness kills, and I am tired of being bitter. This doesn't mean that I have decided to be naive, or that I decided to stop noticing wrongs and pointing them out. True love is much different that the love that the world knows.

1 John 1

1 John 1

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

--- This is one of my favorite books of the Bible. This is actually only the first chapter. Read 1st John if you get a chance; actually, make a chance. There's no reason why you can't take time to read it. It is a life changing book. It's towards the end of the New Testament. It will bring you through a series of small tests, to find out whether or not you are in the faith. I know some of you don't need to find out whether or not you're in the faith, because you know already that you are not in the faith. In that case, if you read this book, you will find a life giving message that will show you what it means to walk as a disciple of Jesus Christ. The Bible is full of amazement, and it never gets old. It is a fresh and living book, full of wisdom, full of the life giving message of Jesus Christ. Read it, obey it, believe it, conform your life to it, and examine yourself. James 4:14, "For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away." Make sure you know where you're going when you go!

"Perfect in the original manuscripts"

Search the internet for churches, preferably conservative churches who call themselves evangelical, and read their statement of faith. Concerning the Bible it will say something like this one from Campus Crusades for Christ, "The sole basis of our beliefs is the Bible, God's infallible written Word, the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. We believe that it was uniquely, verbally and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit and that it was written without error (inerrant) in the original manuscripts. It is the supreme and final authority in all matters on which it speaks.


Can I ask you, does ANYONE have a copy of the ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPTS? NO! So what good does that statement do? If we don't have the exact word of God, copied exactly from the original manuscripts, then we don't have the Holy Scriptures. How is it that the so called intellectuals that write these statements of faith not see the stupidity in their statement concerning the Scriptures? So what if you believe that the original manuscripts were perfect, we don't have them now! Accuracy in translation doesn't mean inerrancy or infallibility, because translators, being human, or having evil intentions, can make small changes to the Scriptures and change the meanings of entire passages.

So these same people that will hold up a Bible and proclaim it to be "THE INFALLIBLE WORD OF GOD" are saying under their breath, "but not really, because we don't have the original manuscripts".

One has to trust that manuscripts that have been carefully copied are also infallible and inerrant. I believe that there were texts that were carefully transcribed and kept perfect, and I believe this only because God promised that He would preserve His word all generations.

The modern translations such as the NIV, ESV, RSV, NASB, among others, use a Greek text that was extremely modified by Westcott and Hort in the late 1800's. The text of the NIV has 64,000 less words than the King James Version. And ministers can stand in a pulpit and say it doesn't really matter that much which Bible version one uses. This is satanic. The more I study it, and the more I think about this issue, the more I am convinced that this is confusion sent from the devil himself.

God promised that He would preserve His word for all generations, and I believe Him. The 5,000 most ancient manuscripts of the Bible that we have match up with the Textus Receptus some 99%. I am still studying this issue, because I am certainly not an expert, and a man or woman may gain information for salvation from any decent translation of the Scriptures; I did. However, this is a confusing mess in the world of Christianity. I am sticking with the Authorized Version (King James).

Be Reconciled To God (Get Right)

As a result of the first sin of Adam and Eve, disobedience to a direct command from God, sin entered into the world, and death through sin. Many people have argued that only Adam and Eve were punished for their specific sin against God, however, this is not true. Every succeeding generation has a natural inclination to sin against the Laws and perfect will of God. This is sufficient enough evidence to see that all have sinned in Adam and Eve, because every human being born after Adam and Eve have sinned, and will sin, because they have a gnawing desire inside that presses them to sin against God and man, some more than others, but all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one (Romans 3:10). Nobody is righteous; nobody can attain the righteousness that God requires while he or she is in this flesh, and that will keep everyone out of heaven. This sounds discouraging, and it should. It may make you think that God is unfair or unkind. Think of it this way; God is perfect; not like man’s standard of perfection, He is “Perfection”. He meant for us to be perfect, as the Bible says in Matthew 5:48, “Be ye therefore perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” In order to be perfect, we must be reconciled to God, we must have a removal of all of our past sins. Without holiness no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). How do we have our past sins removed? How do we become perfect? How do we become holy so we can see the Lord? --Reconciliation through Jesus Christ!! He must be our redeemer and mediator between God and us. He must, first, remove our sins by taking the punishment for our sins on the cross, and then, by His ascension into heaven, He sits at the right hand of God making intercession for us always. This is the only way, as it is written in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me.” This excludes every other false way of getting saved and making it to heaven. You have two choices; believe what Jesus said, that He is the only way, or reject what Jesus said, call Him a liar, and wind up in hell. Romans 5:8-11 puts it very well, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” He will save us by His death, if we believe in Him, and we shall be saved by His life, because He is still alive and makes intercession for us. Make Him your savior, AND Lord, today. Don’t put it off. Amen.

Once again, what matters?

What is the ultimate goal of being a Christian? Is it so we can "fill a void in our hearts"? Is is so we can "have our best life now"? No. Neither. The ultimate goal is spending eternity with our Father in Heaven. Jesus Christ made this possible by taking our place of eternal punishment, nailing it to a cross, dying, raising from the dead, ascending to heaven and ruling as Lord and King. The Lord is not willing that any should perish and go off to everlating hell. Not just separation from God, as most modern evangelists put it; ever-lasting-hell. Because of your sin you will be shut out of heaven and cast into hell, unless you repent and put your trust in Jesus. It's not about wearing nice clothes to church, having a blessed life on earth, having emotionally healthy spirituality or all that garbage; it's about being saved from wrath! It's about loving God with all your heart for being so loving as to give you a way to escape hell. Turn to Him today, surrender your life and follow Jesus. Read your Bible and pray every day.

Five Solemn Facts

THERE are five solemn facts with which I want to deal -- facts of such vital importance, that to ignore them is to wilfully reject the warning and entreaty of God's infallible Word, and deliberately disregard the danger signals of divine truth.

First: All Will Not Be Saved

There is no such thing as universal salvation; some will be saved, others-lost. Make no mistake, let no one deceive you. A day of separation is surely coming, a separation of the wheat from the tares, the good from the bad, the sheep from the goats. On one side or the other, every man and woman will be arraigned. Such is the solemn declaration of Scripture over and over again; and the question is, will you be among the saved or the lost?

Second: Multitudes Will Be Lost

"Wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat." Many does not mean few. Many means many. "Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Few does not mean many. Few means few. There will be many on the broad way and few on the narrow (Matthew 7:13-14).

Third: Many Will Perish Who Expect To Be Saved

This is the saddest fact of all. Multitudes who confidently expect to be in heaven, will awaken when it is too late, to find that they have never been born again. All their lifetime they have been deceived. Satan has kept the scales on their eyes to the very last, and, finally, when it is too late, the scales fall off and they realize that they have never been saved. Oh, awful thought! - to be on a false foundation, unsaved, self-deceived, and lost eternally. Profession without possession, and the door of mercy closed.

Oh, my friend, can it be possible that this will be your fatal doom? Has Satan blinded your eyes; are you deceived? You who have listened to the Gospel all your life; you who have been an active member of the church-tell me, are you resting on a false foundation; and will you discover when it is too late that you were never saved at all?

Fourth: There Is No Salvation After Death

We read in God's word of a great gulf. We are told two things about this gulf. First, it is fixed. That means it can never be moved. It is permanent. Second, it is impassible. No one can cross from one side to the other.

This means that there is no second chance, in spite of what Jehovah's Witnesses have to say about it. If you, my friend, die unsaved, you will remain unsaved. The Bible does not offer a glimmer of hope to anyone who rejects Christ in this life. There is no hope beyond the grave, no second chance.

Fifth: This May Be Someone's Last Opportunity

"Yes, I would like to be a Christian, and intend to sometime," said a man to his friend one day, "but I want to enjoy the pleasures of the world first."

"Well, that's all right,' responded his friend. "Go on and enjoy the world! You can become a Christian afterwards."

"But just when should I become a Christian?" inquired the other, in a somewhat serious tone of voice.

"Oh, five minutes before you die will be time enough," replied his friend.

"But I don't know when I'm going to die," he exclaimed, "I may not have another five minutes."

"In that case," remarked his friend, "the time to become a Christian is now."

"Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth" (Prov. 27:1). You may have another opportunity, but remember there is a time coming when you will not, when you will have to make the final choice. And this, my unsaved friend, may be that time. A sure as God lives, the hour will strike when you will attend your last meeting, hear your last sermon, and make your last choice. There is no "tomorrow" with God. "Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2).

Oh, then be warned before it is forever too late, or you will be lost and lost eternally; for remember, God says "My Spirit shall not always strive with man" (Gen 6:3). These are the solemn words of God Himself and you dare not ignore them. If you are going to be saved, now is the time. Will you then take the Lord Jesus Christ as your own personal Saviour? Will you turn from your life of sin to the only Saviour of sinners? If you do not, have you considered the destiny that awaits you?

In Matthew 25, the Lord Jesus Christ describes the multitudes of lost souls going away from the Last Judgment. Going away from the fair scenes of home and country for ever -- away from all the beauty of this world.

-- Away from friends and home and loved ones -- Away from songs of praise to God-Away from the appeals of faithful preachers -- Away from the prayers and tears of Christian friends. Away from Christ. Away from the Bible with its heavenly truths, and the Gospel invitations-Away from peace and purity and hope -- Away from God forever. Christ said, "These shall go away into everlasting punishment" (Matt. 25:46).

Then you must flee to Christ. You must turn away from every other hope of heaven-your church, your baptism, your prayers, your tears, your good works. None of these can remove your sin. O, delay no longer. Time is fleeting. Eternity looms before you. Seek the Saviour for pardon now. He will save you.

The above tract is from the Free Presbyterian Church's website and copies can be purchased from the address below.

Five Solemn Facts
Lifeline Publications
1600 Neilson Road, Scarborough,
Ontario Canada M1X 1S3
From the Free Presbyterian Tract Society

What I Believe

I will be writing for a little while on what I believe. Tonight, I post the Nicene Creed, an ancient Christian creed summarizing the essentials of Christian belief. This is usually used by liturgical churches before Holy Communion is distributed as a statement of faith. If you cannot say this creed and mean it from your heart then you should not be receiving the Body and Blood of our Lord.

The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made.

Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life; who proceedeth from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.

And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.

Amen

Getting Right With God

I had an awakening today. It happened as I was driving my car to the courthouse to license our new car. I won't get into details, but I had a fear come over me, maybe more of an anxiousness, that lingered for a long time. Today is the Jewish Holiday Rosh Hashanah, what is known as the Jewish New Year. At sunset trumpets are blown on this day. It reminded me of a Bible verse that says that at the last trumpet Christ will return. 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." I was listening to the radio and heard that Russia has just tested the largest bomb the world has ever know, and that Vladamir Putin has dissolved his cabinet. Palestine and Israel are having peace talks again which will include sharing the site of the old Jewish Temple. These are big things. As I pondered them it freshly reminded me that Jesus could return at any moment, and if He doesn't return right away you still do not know how long your life is. The Bible warns that in the last times things like these would happen, and these things are happening abundantly. It both frightened and excited me. What was frightening was that there are many people who I have failed to fully expound Jesus to, and their necessity for repenting and turning to Him for forgiveness. I also had joy, knowing that, because I love God and Jesus Christ that He first loved me. There is no way that I could love God if He did not first love me. The Bible says, "We love him, because he first loved us." (I John 4:19). God will not cast anyone He loves into the lake of fire. I have the promise that is written in the book of Revelation, "...Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."

I am washed in Christ's blood, my sins are gone, because He loves me, and no other reason. He didn't see that I was a good person and then decide to save me, for the Bible says, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." This is from Romans 5:8. While I was living in my sins, Jesus died for me, He loved me, He saved me from everlasting hell. Oh Jesus, why have I not loved you back like I should? I have not been living like I should and knowing what I know I have not told people about you. I will from this time forward walk in the light of your Holy Spirit, by Your mercy and grace. Thank you for having mercy on me.

If you are living in sin, stop before it is too late. If you have taken the Lord's name in vain; if you have put anything before God; if you have not gone to church to worship God as you are commanded for ONE HOUR OUT OF AN ENTIRE WEEK; if you have not respected and honored your father and mother; if you have committed or are committing sexual sin; if you have committed murder or hate someone without cause; if you have lied, stolen, desired your neighbors wife or material goods, today is the day of salvation; today is the day to know that if you do not repent and ask Jesus for mercy that you may not have another day to do so. Jesus died to take away your sins; SO WHY DON'T YOU LET HIM!? Get right with God today, please.

Christianity is a Kingdom

Hello blogger friends. I just felt like writing about a thought I had recently. Christianity is not a democracy, it is a kingdom. Jesus Christ states that His second coming will be to establish His Kingdom, and that the current establishment on earth is a kingdom (the Church), and that the kingdom of God is within us. The Church is not to be run by people, although people are the Church of God. People should not vote on what is truth, what kind of worship should be offered to God, what kind of social actions should be taken by the people of God, etc... These issues are not a matter of man’s personal opinion. We don't have a right to "vote" on what we agree is the truth. We must humbly present our requests for truth before the King and wait for His answer. However, He did give us His holy word, the Bible, His will for living each day of our life with every answer to all of life's questions. One must be guided by the Holy Spirit in order to correctly interpret and understand the Holy Scriptures or there is a possibility of falling into error, which so many have done. We must also spread the word to all creation that their rightful King is returning to establish His kingdom and He will be judging the living and the dead. Submission to the King is not an option. He is, however, a good and loving King. Amen.

The Way of Life

The goal of the Christian is to be a slave of Christ. That is what the very word Christian means. A Christian or a disciple is one who lives under a certain discipline; a way of life. The Lord Jesus Christ told us what this way of life is in His sermon on the mount found in the Gospel according to Matthew, chapters 5-7. After all of the religious practices, all devotional practices, all striving to meet a certain way, the goal is our way of life summed up in these three most beautiful chapters of the Bible. It is the best sermon ever written. It is amazing to me how to the point and clear the Lord Jesus is in His teaching. It is amazing how simple and how deep His teaching is. It also amazes me how much He cares for us and how much He wants us to care for our fellow man. If you are in the covenant with God, then fill your heart with love and gratitude for God, let it overflow and consume you. The riches found in God are so above our imagination and so deep we cannot comprehend them. When I consider the mercy that He has granted me in my life I am terribly grateful. In the sermon on the mount the Lord Jesus teaches us to be thankful for our daily blessings and to be content with what we have. He also teaches us to Love the Lord God above all things. I have heard many people say that Christianity is not about a way of life. I beg to differ. It is very much a way of life, and if anyone cares to mature as a Christian they should begin now to practice this way of life found in Christ's sermon on the mount. I write this to myself as well as others, because the Lord knows my heart and I know that I need to grow to maturity in Christ.

Truth is Truth Even if You Refuse to Believe It

Jesus Christ is God in the flesh; that is truth. He really lived and walked on this earth; that is truth which is even documented outside the Bible. He was really crucified; that is truth. He really rose from the dead and ascended into heaven; that is truth. He really is coming again to judge the living and the dead; that is truth. Are you prepared to face the truth? Do you know that even the Scripture says that the demons believe in God, and tremble with fear? The demons have seen God, they know who He is and what power He holds. Yet the demons are still condemned for their disobedience to God. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me." What did He just say? The only way to the heavenly Father is through Christ. You have two options; accept this truth and live by it or reject this truth and be condemned. You can pretend these truths don't exist, but guess what? It doesn't make the truth go away. It is still there, and it is up to you what you do with this truth. Jesus Christ is king! He is a loving and merciful king. He wants you to be a part of His Kingdom. His Father is perfect and Holy, and we can't stand before perfection and holiness, but Christ can make us clean and make us inheritors of eternal life and make us a home in heaven. Praise be to the King of kings, our Lord Jesus Christ!!

Modern Contemporary Consumer-oriented Christianity: I'm Tired of It

Contemporary Christian music is most definitely more focused on the performer than on God or Christ. The performers are glorified on the covers and the inlay cards, and they most usually look just like secular rock performers. There is no separation from the world. The lyrics are usually so ambiguous that the song could either be about their girlfriend or God; that way they get maximum radio play and make more money. This isn't to say that all modern Christian music is wrong or bad, or that all contemporary Christian musicians are in it for the wrong reason, because there are some (a few) genuine and sincere artists. But usually this music leads Christian kids away from godliness and true Christianity and into a worldly form of life. Churches now appeal to people’s lusts and desires and it is based on what is hot in contemporary American culture. This is a far cry from what the church should be. Friendship with the world is enmity with God. 1 John 2:15 reads, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." Don't you think that imitation of the ways of the world is exactly what the above verse is talking about? I don't care how much you argue around the fact that the church needs to be "relevant", the relevancy the modern churches speak of is simply love of the world. What is John speaking of in the verse above? What are the things of the world? Well, what does the music of the world sound like? What does contemporary Christian music sound like? Is it not a mimicking of the music of the world? How do the heathen youth of the world dress? How do the youth in contemporary Christian churches dress? Is it not also a mirror image of the world? These people who advocate "relevant" Christianity defend their reasons for dressing like the world, speaking like the world, listening to the music of the world, etc.; however, they have no defense coming from the Scriptures. It is blatantly obvious that the Bible OVER AND OVER AGAIN calls for our separation from the world and worldly things. I cannot see how imitating the world can do any good for God, but I can see how it is a complete disregarding of what the Scriptures teach. Love of one's own sins is what allows them to enter into a church and worship God they way THEY want and to do things the Lord hates. I have spoken with non-Christians who have said that they think it is stupid when Christians try to mimic the world, try to be "cool", try to be "relevant". The heathen LAUGH at modern versions of Scripture that include modern "relevant" language and they mock the weakness and whiney sound of contemporary Christian "rock". I know this because I am in the U.S. Navy and I speak with non-believers and God rejecters every day. This movement does not bring the world to Christ but brings the people of Christ to the world and causes mass confusion. I believe it will be a contributor to the decline of Christianity in the U.S.; Christianity could soon become a tiny flickering light in a very dark land, a smoldering wick near extinction; but Christ will not leave His Church in this state because He has said He will never leave us or forsake us. However, if we continue to be disobedient to His word and choose to love the world and the things therein, the church will remain only a remnant of true believers and can receive no blessing.