Recently during a pastor
and pastor’s wife retreat, my husband and I enjoyed a wonderful and much needed
get away filled with refreshing, relaxation, respite, instruction,
encouragement, laughter and very delicious food! During one evening
session, there was entertainment…a master illusionist (MI for short), who was
skilled in the art of deceiving others for show. Normally I do not care
for this type of entertainment, I would prefer the opera like gatherings such
as Handel’s Messiah or some other form of art such as a ballet, music concert,
etc.
But as I begin to watch
him, I became intrigued. Not so much at what he was doing but HOW he did
it. Not so much why he did a trick but WHERE the precise timing of his
hands where and WHEN he timed distractions throughout each illusion .
As a spectator, my new
assignment along with other members in the audience quickly shifted from
sitting back and being entertained to how we can discern and catch the sleight
of hands in the process.
One thing that fascinated
me about this MI was that it was so incredibly easy for him to deceive us…over
and over and over again with the same simple set of rules he was very skilled
in: human manipulation, reading of body language and studying of human behavior.
Even though we all knew we were being deceived…no one could quite figure out
how it was done.
Christ, the greatest Gift
At the end of this
entertainment the MI, received a standing ovation, filled with applause, awe,
wonderment and puzzlement…I walked away with this thought… Spiritually
speaking, this is what is happening currently all over the world. Satan the
great MI, works overtime to deceive others in refusing the greatest gift given
to mankind…
Christ and his bloody
death on the cross for the remission of sins. Others are deceived by
thinking Christ has not risen, denying He is currently sitting on the right
hand side of God and still others are fooled by not having faith in Christ and
Him alone as key in their salvation process, but tricked into thinking that
they must do additional works, deed, and rules, falsely accepting that we as
humans can add to God’s already perfect equation of faith in Christ alone.
Thank God for the Five Solae of the Protestant
Reformation. Thank God for a group of godly men
who could see that foul, evil, sneaky, sleight of hand of satan and put a halt
to those lies, leading to utter destruction and instead bringing the holy
truth of God through the Bible and in clear Christian theological
doctrine, bring not only clarity, but the good news of salvation by faith in
Christ alone.
Recap and Review:
The past couple of months, I invited you to
join me in a series of “Solo’s”. In July we looked at Sola Scriptura which is
Latin for Scripture alone. I shared how this term
arose out of history during the great reformation of the sixteenth century and
birthed out of the hearts of God’s people for the purpose of drawing them to
the holy scriptures of God and nothing but. This term was defined and
created by the Westminster Divines, during the Protestant Reformation after
heresy and false teachings begin to sneak into the church and believer’s hearts
began corrupting the sacred teachings of the Bible and the holiness of Christ,
turning others from God’s holy truth.
In August, we will be looking at Soli Deo
Gloria which means For the Glory of God Alone but also translated as Glory to
God alone. The application of this term has been used by great composers such
as George Frideric Handel who wrote the wonderful Handel’s Messiah to which
people around the world join in praise to God every year, since its
inauguration, during the Christmas season. Handel made sure the purpose,
clarification and understanding of his musical work was produced solely for the
purpose of praising God and NOTHING else.
This month we will look
at Sola
Fide…by faith alone…sometimes called the material cause or principle, became
the central doctrinal issue for many reformers. Excluding the false
teaching that good works is necessary for salvation, Sola Fide confirms that
justification is received by faith only without any need, deeds or acts of good
works. Martin Luther, the great reformers, often called Sola Fide the
“doctrine by which the church stands or falls.”
The Core Root Of Christianity
Faith in Christ alone is based completely and
only on the finished work of Christ. It is a divine work God instituted
and promised to His people and all who believe many centuries ago as prophesied
in the Old Testament. This is a clear distinct separation of every other
religion. All other religions are based on human effort and achievement,
deceiving people into believing that in somehow, in some way, they can add to
the perfect work ordained by God…and much like the MI, find themselves
spiraling down in a preoccupation of a sinner’s effort to be holy on based on
their own efforts.
It is justification by faith alone in Christ
that clearly leads the way in Christianity.
Jesus taught justification by faith alone
Apostle Paul had the same tasks as the Reformers…
Looking through his epistles, Paul and the
other authors of books in the New Testament, where dealing with the same error
found in every false cult and false religion. Pleading in their writings for
the audience not to be deceived by these MI who come in with the purpose of
deceiving Christians from their faith in Christ.
My greatest concern is even now as I write
this article, that Christians are being so deceived and poisoned by the lies
and deception and twisting of scripture.
My friend DO NOT be deceived by the MI of
this world. CLING to Christ alone, through faith alone to the glory of
God alone and no other.
Jesus himself says “He who believes [ in
me as the Son of God] and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not
believe will be condemned.
If you would like to learn more, contact me
via my facebook page
Calendar:
Bible Study: The Gospel of Mark -
Tuesdays 9:00am to 11:00am Check website for more info. www.churchonrandallplace.org
Bible Study: The Chaplaincy of Christ: The Gospel of Luke
Audio Teachings on prayer and various speaking: http://deeprootsinchrist.sermon.net
© Copyright 2014 Simone Lake. All Rights
Reserved.
© Copyright 2014 Deep Roots in Christ
Ministries. All Rights Reserved
About the author:
Simone Lake is a Christ follower, bride of
Pastor Dr. John Lake, Bible teacher and a passionate pray-er. Visit her: www.deeprootsin christ.com, www.simonelake.com, facebook Twitter and
LinkedIn.
