Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. James 1:21
Really pay attention to this verse, because it says it all. We must first come to know we are evil, wicked, bad in nature. And no one will understand it until the Lord shows us who we are. And the Lord is trying to, but men in their wickedness hide themselves from the light and surround themselves with people who tell them what they want to hear instead of truth. So they think they are good and a shoe in for heaven, but they are not.
Then the verse says “and receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls. The implanted word James speaks of is the inner whisper into your ear you either hear and obey and pay attention to, or you ignore it in favor of doing it your own way. It is a fight to choose the will of God and do things his way because you hear his truth to choose his way instead of making up your own decisions. The imparted word is Yeshua and or the Holy Spirit speaking with you directly. Not through a church system or a bible or any other form. If you are not hearing him and obeying what he says, then you have nothing with God.
Let me repeat this clearly. Because this is the only message you need to know. The Lord will take care of the rest and perfect you, as long as you diligently seek his voice, and do not harden your heart like in the rebellion. He will speak to you if you seek him, if you do not seek him you won’t.
This morning when meditating the Lord reminded me of two things and tied them together. First was a friend of mine from back when I was a hell raiser. He always said he is a “good guy” and made it clear he thinks he is going to heaven no matter what. Many people have said that over the years to me. I remember one time my mom said it to me and my sister, and I responded no one is good, not even you. She got all haughty about it but did not respond.
Now the second thing is I keep coming across these videos of how the bible was changed, added to, subtracted from. Men choosing which books should be in it and which should not… Many times over the years this has happened. And last night I saw a video about 7 writings which were not added to the bible for different reasons. The biggest one is Enoch, which is actually amazing to me as he was the only man to be taken directly to heaven without dying. And his writings speak in detail of the giants and how the angels slept with the women and created them. But that story is for a different day. For this teaching from the Lord he showed me the Apocalypse of Peter. So I listened to the guys take on it and then went online to pull up the writings and read it.
It is different from revelations according to John in that it does not spend much time on end of time signs. But what it does do is speak to the eternal punishment to those who do not repent, and a little about those who do repent and the Glory and amazing life they will have in heaven.
In this writing Peter speaks of how your torture will be based on your life sins. And it started listing off almost everything. Including things my friend (and me in my old days) did and he still does as far as I know. Sexual sin is a HUGE one with God and the torture is extreme. I would have to go back and re read it but basically the torture is you will have a fire burning day and night on your sexual parts. For eternity, which means for ever and ever, never stops.
When I read these writings, I was extremely grateful the Lord came to me and started to show me truth and lead me into all righteousness. And glad I obeyed. My focus is on this, being the man after God’s own heart, doing nothing but his perfect will. Because I know if I do his perfect will everyone wins. Many people will hate the message which comes from doing his will, and many will hate me because of it. It takes away from the ones who selfishly keep as much as possible for themselves. It also points out how to walk in righteousness so when it speaks to those who do not, it condemns and they do not like it either. But it is OK, I would rather have my family, friends, business associates… Hate me and hopefully repent, than to love me because I am politically correct and tell them what they want to hear and let hem remain in their sin and have the kind of torture for ever that Peter wrote about.
There is even specific mention of gossipers and what happens to them, which these days represents a lot of people.
That one I seek some clarity on, because I have no problem speaking about people to their face or behind them if it is regarding the fruit they bear. So the Lord spoke and said we are always to look at the fruit we and others are bearing, it is the way they can correct themselves and see if they are living righteous lives or not. The writings Peter wrote could be considered gossip or judgemental in nature, but they are not. It is a strong warning to those who practice those things while thinking they are “good people” and do not repent. It is a fine line to walk at times, between judging a person and gossiping or looking at the fruit the person bears and point out the sin and dysfunction it is causing.
Another example that came to mind was from our meeting a few weeks back with a couple who is seeking the LOrd, they know a lot of things about him. But then watching the man get really drunk (and not the first time, basically everytime I have been around him he does it). So my wife and I talked about it the next day, not in a demeaning way, but we both realized the fruit it is bearing. This couple is to get married in a few months, but the question is should they?
If I am the soon to be wife, I would need to really be seeking the will of God about it? If I did not know God and saw it I would say don’t do it. But then sometimes God has a purpose in it and we are to do it. That purpose would not be to have a drunk husband for life, but something to change and repent from the sin. Only God knows the answer to that. But it is up to us as true followers to make it clear that it is not right and if it persists you will have big problems.
Again this is a fine line between judging and telling someone of the oncoming judgment and destruction if the sin is not dealt with and allowed to continue in your life. And the eternal ramification for it.
So back to the main point, which is your eternity and where you will spend it. One huge point to make, no religion will save you, not one. Only repenting and listening to the inner voice or word and then obeying can. Religion will never make you Holy, nor will the bible or any friend or family member. Only God can, but even he cannot if you choose to ignore (quench the Spirit). You must hear him and obey him in every point, no matter the cost to you or others. Because there will be costs. But keep in mind the price to pay for disobedience, it is much larger, no comparison.
Now according to the guy who did the video on Peter’s writing, he said the reason it was removed was because it is gruesome in detail of what will happen and scares the hell out of me, literally. And it does, it impacted me a lot, and I do not even do those things anymore. Reading it made me extremely grateful for the Lord doing in me what he has, and my obedience to him to work it out. Work out my salvation with fear and trembling. They took it out because it went against the message they wanted to portray, an easier way to the Father than what Yeshua expects, and a son of God named Jesus who acts like a lawyer on your behalf instead of a judge of your righteousness or unrighteousness. God never allows unrighteousness in his Kingdom, NEVER! He does not fight against the Father to give in and let you in with your sinful ways, NEVER! But if they allowed Peter’s writings to be in the bible and people actually read them, then the story of grace or confession does not work. And you find you do not need a religion to pay money to to support a preacher to make it to heaven. You only need the Lord. The purpose of the gathering of the church is to edify each other, or build each other up in the Spirit and ways of God. Not gather to tell everyone “it’s OK to sin, we all do and God died for your sins so it is all good, you will be in heaven.” That is a BIG LIE! Don’t believe, instead seek God, hear him and obey him.