Dear Christia n A Letter of Admonition and Exhortation Don Arnold “ Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly , nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the sco rnful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord ; and in his law doth he meditate day and night ” Psalm 1:1 - 2 Dear Christian, It is with a humble and contrite heart that I offer this letter to who mever may receive it. My sincere hope and prayer is that through self - examination and the Holy Spirit ’s leading , you will be prepared for the perilous days ahead. There are many false doctrines in the church today , and as strange as it may seem, m any do not know the truth of God’s word and the way in which they should walk and conduct their live s I write this with my own salvation in mind as much as any other. I am merely being obedient to the will of God in presenting th is, always learning and striving to draw closer to the Lord. “ But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty .” 1 Corinthians 1:27 I grew up going to church , baptized as a teenager , and lived most of my life backslidden, a Christian in name only About 4 years ago while going through a rather challenging time in my life , the Lord spoke to me and asked me whom will I serve. The fact is that although I said I was a Christian, I did not follow Christ. The definition of a Christian is someone whose behavior and heart reflects Jesus Christ. A true Christian lives to serve the Lord and put Him first, daily growing stronger in faith and maturity , with a newness of life having been born - again in the Holy Spirit. This did not describe my life at all, quite the opposite. I had all these aspirations of what I was going to do to get back to where I thought I should be after having my life crumble around me. I had to make decision, I could continue on navigating my own way which to this point was more miss than hit, or I could surrender to God and allow Him to lead my life. Considering also where I would spend eternity , which was always on my mind , and scared me due to my present condition I chose Jesus, rededicated and surrendered my life to Him and have never looked back. The Holy Spirit has transformed my life , literally pulling my soul and spirit out of my bo dy and making me a new creation. I now live totally sold out to Christ and walk every day by faith to do His will . It is to this end that I write, inspired by the Holy Spirit to get this letter to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. I would be doing readers a disservice in any attempt to sugar coat or water down th is message It seems the church today is full of compromise and passivity with division and misunderstanding in what the word of God says about how we are to live , act, and conduct ourselves. We have head knowledge but lack heart conviction. Religion without relationship with Jesus , mouth professors but not heart possessors. Most Christians can't even describe their experience of being born again. They don’t know that they don’t know. Leonard Ravenhill stated that he believed less than 5% of professing Christians in America are born again. Sadly, I believe this to be true. The problem is that we are not seeking God. We have allowed the god of this world to deceive us into focussing on foolish things that pass away. The Bible is clear, but the truth is that most Christians do not read their Bibles. I believe that the majority of self - professing Christians do not read their Bible. I know because I was the worst offender therefore , I am uniquely qualified on this subject. Sure, I called myself a Christian and claimed to love Jesus, but I didn’t live for Him. I didn’t read His word, I only prayed when I needed help or was in trouble. I was hypocritical , wrong , and headed to hell This is an epidemic in far too many churches and Christians today. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge : but fools despise wisdom and instruction .” Proverbs 1:7 The Bible itself tells us that if we will not cultivate a sincere , fear ful reverence for God we are fools. Reading and studying our Bibles is one of the most important things we as Christians can do. It is a major way God speaks to us and the Holy Spirit teaches and guides us. As I stated, I believe that mo st people who call themselves Christians do not read their Bibles. Being a Christian without reading God’s word is like trying to survive without oxygen. God’s word commands that we put Him first. We say we love Jesus but he ’s not even in the top 10 of our li ves. We navigate our own course and God is just kind of a safety net i f we need help Instead of finding out the truth that is in God’s word we have blindly followed feel good prosperity messages and over produced ‘worship’ music both of which blur the line between what is worldly and what is holy. The time is short, the kingdom of God is at hand. Unless you make a decision to serve and obey Jesus Christ alone, you stand zero chance of the upcoming onslaught from the enemy. I make no apologies for being blunt , your very soul depend s on knowing these truths. Jesus was blunt and they crucified him because he challenged the status quo religion of the day. But don’t take my word for it, the following are scriptures from the King James Version of the Holy Bible . The infallible and inherent Word of God. “ But seek ye first the kingdom of God , and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you .” Matthew 6:33 Jesus ’ command is for you , Christian, to seek Him first! Above all else God is to be first in your life The truth is that a lot of you do not know the scriptures well enough to know the requirements of God because you don’t read the Bible God does have standards in His word that you are commanded to follow and if you do not, then you will not inherit His kingdom. You say that you want to go to heaven but if you don’t like living for God now, what makes you think dying is going to change it? Theres a verse in the Lord’s prayer : “ Thy kingdom come , Thy will be done , in earth as it is in heaven .” Matthew 6:10. Meaning the ultimate goal is for God’s kingdom to come to earth. The biggest issue with this is, if you won ’t give your heart and life to Jesus here, now, you won’t have the chance to do it after you die. Your entire existence here is to prepare you for eternity, not to build an empire for your own success and pleasure It is easy for you to be blinded by the lusts of this world if you are not seeking God first and if you are more worried about the worlds definition of what achievement looks like. “ Lay up not for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt , and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven , where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through or steal: For where your treasure is , there will your heart be also. ” Matthew 6:19 - 21 The purpose of this letter is for all who follow Jesus Christ to examine y our selves to ensure you are walking out y our calling according to scripture You cannot just blindly assume that saying the sinner’s prayer or being baptized in water is sufficient. Additionally, if you are not seeking out the truth in the Word of God for y oursel f , how can you be sure you are not being deceived ? “ Enter ye in at the straight gate: for wide is the gate and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat : Because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing , but inwardly they are ravening wolves ” Matthew 7:1 3 - 15 Ive heard it said there is a reason why there is a highway to hell but only a stairway to heaven. Few people, much less Christians , will make it to heaven and the reason is they are not born - again and have not laid their lives down to be servants of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The s ad truth is that most people do not know the word of God nor have they made Jesus the Lord of their lives. Jesus gives clear command here you are to be watchful of who and what you listen to. There are more voices out there today than you can count, but they are not all leading you in the path that you should go. Unless you are familiar with the Bible, it is easy to be deceived by something that sounds good. This is the problem we have today with all of th is over produced ‘church ’ , with praise and worship music that looks more like a rock concert. Prosperity preachers on TV and social media, spewing false doctrine and unbiblical fallacies which they use to promote themselves to make more money. All the while , hearts are not changed and God is not exalted. They will be held to account if they do not repent, and if you don’t understand the Word of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit, then they will drag you to hell with them. “And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the Lord ; Thus saith the Lord God ; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the desert s. Ye have not gone up into the gaps , neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord . They have seen vanity and lying divination , saying, the Lord saith: and the Lord hath not sent them : and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word.” Ezekiel 13:1 - 6 The Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes 1:9 that there is nothing new under the sun. There have always been false prophets parading themselves as beacons of truth and seeking their own glory, but they speak from their own wicked hearts. These will be dealt with harshly and severely by God. A nother misconception among us is that we think we are to get along so as not be divisive and make peace in spite of what is going on around us. This is just not scriptural , look at what Jesus says about this issue: “ Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother - in - law . And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his own cross, and follow eth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it : and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it ” Matthew 10 : 34 - 39 Jesus is clear that change brings conflict and that there is a distinct contrast between the gospel and the world . His teaching here is that if you put anything at all, up to and including relationships in front of your relationship with Him you will not inherit eternal life with Him. “ Buy the trut h, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. ” Proverbs 23: 23 Mere hypoc ritical talking will not suffice. God is tired of lip service and clouds without water. Jesus is coming back for a church without spot or wrinkle. You cannot have one foot in the world and one foot in Jesus. Light has no fellowship with darkness. “ And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent .” Acts 17:30 Anyone leading people down the wrong path shall be dealt with harshly according to Jesus himself: “ But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea . Woe unto the world because of offenses! For it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh !” Matthew 18:6 - 7 False teachers and prophets are deceiving millions every day If you have any kind of platform such as social medi a , even as a mentor to others, you had better heed Jesus’ warning here and be sure of what information you are putting out. This is no small matter. “ And these are they sown among thorns; such as hear the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches , and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word and it becometh unfruitful. ” Mark 4:18 - 19 Here, Jesus explains a portion of the parable of the sower, Mark 4: 1 - 9 The sower soweth the word This illustrates that the word is choked by the lusts and riches of the world and of the flesh. The pride of life and the deception of the world cause one to not be fruitful for the kingdom of God. “ He answered and said unto them, Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites , as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips , but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men .” Mark 7: 6 - 7 Man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart. Jesus is warning against spiritual blindness and following after useless manmade rules. It is hypocritical to draw near to God with your lips if your heart is far from Him. Today we are convinced by these charlatans that the Holy Spirit is a feel - good emotion and if we are excited and happy then we are living in his fullness. This is a deception from hell. These deceivers tickle your ears and tell you w hat makes you feel good so you will give money and keep coming. It's all a show to put butts in the seats and glo rify themselves. This is what is often referred to as ‘seeker sensitive’. They claim Jesus with their mouth but have never given Him their heart and life. They don’t have a real relationship with Him and their banking on the fact that you don’t know the difference. Unfortunately, most people don’t because they are convinced this is the truth since they don’t read their Bibles. “ And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man , if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ?” Mark 8: 34 - 36 Notice here that Jesus uses the word ‘shall’. This means it is not in question. If you do not lay down everything and forsake all else and follow Jesus, you may gain riches and fame in this life, but you will lose your soul. In what are referred to as the beatitudes, Jesus says the following: “.... Blessed be ye poor : for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you , and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy : for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. But woe unto you that are rich for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full for you shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! For ye shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! For so did their fathers to the false prophets. ” Luke 6:20 - 26 You may be poor, hungry, and hated in this life, but you will be rewarded for the persecution you endure for Jesus’ sake. The unrighteousness rich, greedy, pleasure seekers, and man pleasers will be punished with eternal separation from God. “ Labor not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom . Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven. ” Proverbs 23:4 - 5 Stop leaning on your own understanding and using your own wisdom, there is nothing in this life worth selling your soul to get. If you could realize how short this life actually is and that you are only here to prepare for eternity, perhaps it would change your perception. “ Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased ; for when he dieth he shall carry nothing away : his glory shall not descend after him. Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself. He shall go to the generation of his fathers : they shall never see light. Man that is in hon our, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.” Psalm 49: 16 - 20 Pay no attention to men who chase after the wealth and pleasure of this world. The Bible says they have received their reward but will be swallowed up in death for all eternity. Keep your eyes focused on Jesus and being obedient to His word whereby the lusts of the flesh will not entice if you are walk ing in the spirit. “ And why call ye me Lord, Lord , and do not the things which I say? ” Luke 6:46 Why do you say Jesus is your Lord but you don’t keep His commandments ? It is useless and futile to call Jesus your Lord and Savior if you don’t obey the word of God and follow His precepts Too many Christians call Jesus their savior but not their Lord and will end up with Him being neither. It doesn’t matter if you go to church, give to the poor, or you’re a nice person. If you are not born - again and follow Jesus completely, you will be lost. And make no mistake or be surprised, the word of God is clear. “ They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy .” Jonah 2:8 “ For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed ; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops .” Luke 12: 2 - 3 There is nothing in this life that we do or say that is not recorded in heaven. The only way to be free of past mistakes is to confess your sins, repent, be born - again, and live for Jesus “ No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon And the Pharisees also, who were covet ous, heard all these things: and they derided him . And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God .” Luke 16:13 - 15 Jesus tells us that it is impossible to serve two masters. You cannot love money , stuff , and anything else and also love God. It is impossible ! A lot of people who say they are Christians serve sin, the lusts of the flesh, the pride of life, and the things of this world. Choose today whom you will serve. “ My sheep hear my voice , and I know them, and they follow me. ” John 10:27 If you have not died to this present world and live complete in the service of Jesus, then you are trying to serve two masters and you deceive y ourse lf. “ Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone : but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit . He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be : if any man serve me, him will my Father honor. ” John 12:24 - 26 Here Jesus compares our lives to a corn of wheat , or seed. If that seed doesn’t go into the ground and die it will never produce the desired crop. In the same way, if we refuse to die to ourselves and this world, we will never pr oduce the fruit which true followers of Christ produce. This is also why Jesus says we must be born - again If we are to be born - again in the newness of Christ we first must die to the old flesh and to the world. The definition of the word ‘ follow ’ , Strongs Dictionary # G 190 is : “ properly, to be in the same way with, i.e. to accompany (specially as a disciple) , follow, reach. To follow close up or side by side , hence to accompany, conform to, follow intending to practice ” “ If you love me, keep my commandments .” John 14:15 “ He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him .” John 14:21 “ He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me ” John 14:24 Jesus makes it crystal clear in the above verses from John 14. If you love Jesus and w ant to serve Him, you will be obedient and keep the commandments of His word. Many people offer God lip service but their hearts and actions are far from Him. All talk and no walk. These people only deceive themselves in their vain imaginations and love of this world. Anything less than a full surrender to the lordship of Jesus Christ will not do. “ If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you . If ye were of the world, the world would love his own : but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world , therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you ; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also .” John 15:18 - 20 Here Jesus tells us not to be surprised if we are hated in this world for being true followers of Him. It also bears reminding that He states we, servants, are not above Him , Master, and if He was persecuted we should also expect persecution in this life. The preaching from many pulpits is that you should be living your best life now, naming and claiming wealth and prosperity and the like. This is deception based on Satan infiltrating and deceiving the masses and goes directly against Jesus’ own words. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.” Psalm 34:19 You are to be born - again and have the Holy Spirit abiding in you , therefore you are no longer like the world, you are to strive to be more and more like Jesus every day. If you get along in the world and you are no different than the world, you’re doing it wrong . Every prosperity gospel spewer that tells you to live for the moment and to ‘do you’ has deceived you and gone against the written word of God! If someone is telling you that the Christian walk is just steak and cake and the struggles are over, you need to run! This is totally contrary to what Jesus teaches. “ What shall we say then ? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid . How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death : that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. ” Romans 6:1 - 4 The Apostle Paul here reiterates what Jesus has also told us. If you are born - again through Jesus, and the Holy Spirit dwells within you , walk in a new life . The life you once knew and the sins of the world that you used to take part in are no longer desire d . If your life as a Christian looks the same as it did before you accepted Jesus and you are good with it , there is a very high probability that you have yet to be born - again or you speak deceitfully. There will be a definitive change in your thinking and behavior, you will no longer desire the things of the world as you once did. You will hunger and thirst for righteousness through seeking God in His word and prayer. “ Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed , that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin . Now i f we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him . For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God . Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord . Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body , that you should obey it in the lusts thereof. ” Romans 6: 6 - 12 Again, you see if you are born - again with the witness of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ, you are dead to the old man and the old ways of y our former li fe You will no longer desire to sin and live like the world. Yes, you will have trials and temptations as long as you are in a physical body , but y our focus will be on Christ and doing the will of the Father. “ Know ye not , that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey , his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death , or of obedience unto righteousness? ” Romans 6: 16 We all have free will to choose who we will serve. If you serve sin and the world , it leads to death. If you serve God through obedience to Jesus, it leads to life eternal with Him forever. “ For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God , neither in deed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh , but in the spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ , he is none of his .” Romans 8: 5 - 9 Again, the Apostle Paul tells us that if we are walking in the flesh we will naturally serve the flesh and the sin that is in the world. It is impossible to please God with or through the flesh. If you are born - again in Christ, the Holy Spirit dwells within you and you no longer serve the things of this world. We all have free will and the ability to choose who we will serve . God has a set of standards that we must meet so thinking you can do both is just deceivi ng yourself. “ For as many are led by the Spirit of God , they are the sons of God .” Romans 8:14 This means that the spirit of a born - again believer will be led by the Holy Spirit of God who lives in you and that you will earnestly seek and desire Christ more and more in every area of y our li fe “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world : but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind , that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable , and perfect, will of God. ” Romans 12:1 - 2 It is our reasonable service as followers of Christ to live and present ourselves to God as leading a holy life and striving to always please Him. You are not to compromise and cower to the world and what men say you should do. You are not to look like the world and still be going along to get along. If you are truly born - again with the Holy Spirit dwelling within you , y our desires will not even be the same as they were before you were born - again. “ Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness , not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ , and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof. ” Romans 13:13 - 14 The Apostle Paul exhorts us here to not walk as the sinners of the world but to walk in right relationship with Jesus and not falling to the temptations of the world. The word used here ‘chambering’ refers to lying down , resting, sleeping, adul tery , cohabitation and lawful or unlawful sexual intercourse. ‘Wanton ness’ refers to unbridled lust, excess, licentiousness. The idea in this verse is to not fulfill the lusts and desires of the flesh but walk upright in the Lord as followers of Christ. “ Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idol aters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate , nor abusers of themselves with mankind , nor thieves, no r covet ous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God .” 1 Corinthians 6:9 - 10 The scripture here lays out vividly a list of sins that are to the death and if a person commits these habitually will not be saved and live eternally with God in heaven. As Christians we sometimes stumble and sin, and if we confess our sins, repent, and turn from those sins , God is faithful to forgive us. However, if these sins are constant in your life and you indulge in the flesh, you will have eternal damnation. The word ‘effeminate’ refers to homosexuality ‘Abusers of themselves with mankind’ refers to sodomy Homosexuality is a sin. Fornication is sex outside o f marriage and is sin. Any and all sexual practice outside of marriage is sin. If you are ‘shacked up’ with your significant other , outside of marriage, you are living i n sin. This is a real problem with those who do not understand the scriptures. The Bible says we are to abstain from all appearance of evil. Give no place to the devil. Be ye holy as God is holy. “ What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s .” 1 Corinthians 6:19 - 20 The apostle reminds us here that as Christians who have been purchased by the blood of Jesus shed on the cross, we are no longer our own and it is now Christ who lives through us. “ Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he ?” 1 Corinthians 10: 21 - 22 You cannot put anything before God, idolatry of any kind is sin. If you choose to serve Jesus and walk in the spirit, you must deny all else . God has standards and conditions He has requirements that you must meet if you desire to achieve the blessings He has for you, both in this life and the eternal one to come. “ Be not deceived : evil communications corrupt good manners. Awake to righteousness , and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God : I speak this to your shame .” 1 Corinthians 15: 33 - 34 The definition of the word ‘ communications ’ is associations, (homilia , Strongs G3657). So then we are cautioned against having evil association s with those who are not walking out their faith in Jesus as their Lord and who do not keep his commandments Light has no fellowship with darkness and if you hang around people who compromise the truth of God’s word then your walk will be corrupted. As a Christia n, you must turn from sin and return to righteousness in view of the price that Jesus Christ has paid for you You are to seek God daily and continually sanctify yourself in order to be more like Christ. “ Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righte ousness with unrighteousness? And what communication hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them , and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you , and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord almighty. ” 2 Corinthians 6:14 - 18 We are commanded to have no fellowship with unbelievers and to be separate from the world. This is not a suggestion It is one thing to go into the world and spread the gospel to the lost, which is our mandate from God (Mark 16:15), but the Bible is clear we are not to have fellowship with those who are not following scripture. There are way too many self - professing Christians that think they can live however they please and be out smack - dab in the middle of the world while at the same time serving God This is biblically wrong and in error, hence the main focus of this letter. “ Examine yourselves , whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves . Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates ?” 2 Corinthians 13:5 Paul says here we are to examine, prove, scrutinize, put ourselves to the tes t to see if we be in the faith. Are you all in for God and dead to the flesh and the cares of this world? If you are trying to play both sides of the fence, you must ask yourself am I born - again? Do I have head knowledge without heart conviction? Can you tell of your experience when you were born - again? Jesus said unless you be born - again you will not see the kingdom of God (John 3:3) “ I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel : which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men or God ? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. ” Galatians 1: 6 - 10 If you are hearing, listening, seeing , or preaching any other gospel than what is written in the inspired word of God , you need to repent and turn from it lest you be accursed. The devil has corrupted this world to include some translations of the Bible. You should test everything you hear against the true word of God and if it doesn’t line up then you know that it’s corrupted. If you’re not sure, then you should seek guidance and coun sel A major way the enemy is fighting the battle against God is from the inside. Those churches and ministries who are not preaching sound doctrine from the Bible a re catching young believers and converts to the faith unaware. It is a huge area that demands more of our focus , there is no substitute for being grounded on the rock that is Jesus Christ. Im not an expert on biblical history but I now know enough to realize that all Bible translations are not the same. The enemy started corrupting the word of God back in the first century right after Jesus’ resurrection and you need to ensure that you are not reading and studying a corrupted text. All scripture used here is the King James Authorized Version. “ I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God , who loved me, and gave himself for me .” Galatians 2:20 The Apostle Paul tells us here that he has given his life to Christ and lives no longer by the lusts of the flesh and the way the world lives. You aren’t just to come to the cross, you are to get on it and crucify yourself for Jesus as He first did for you You are to crucify y our feelings, emotions, opinions, and reason and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in every way of life. You are to give y our free will over to Jesus and surrender to His lordship in y our li fe . He is the Master; we are His servants. Without total surrender it is impossible to be in right relationship with God. “ This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh . For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would . But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest , which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revillings, and such like : of the which I tell you before , as I have also told you in time past , that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. ” Galatians 5: 16 - 21 We are given precise instruction that the sins above lead to death and if you practice these you will not go to heaven. This could not be a clearer example of God showing us what not to do yet there are millions of people who think that they can live however they want and still make it. This thinking goes against all scripture and I just have to think that people either don’t know the word of God or they just don’t care. It really comes down to these two answers. There is one particular sin listed above I want to expand upon because I know countless people who think participation in such events is just no big deal. That is the sin of revelling. ‘Revelling’ is defined in the Strong’s G 2970 as rioting, feasting, carousing or merrymaking after supper, the guests often moving out into the streets and going through the city with torches, music, and songs, in honor of Bacchus , etc. (false gods). Giddiness caused by overindulgence in wine, excess of wine, a drinking bout or banquet. This is describing our modern - day music concerts and live music down at the local establishment to include karaoke. A lot of christians participate in these events, either as spectators or members of the band. I know people who are in a secular band s that also are a part of the worship team at church. I know of pastors that allow this and sit idly by and say or do nothing and it is sinful and