Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of Scripture, but before we do that I wanted to tell you a little story.
Our home is situated in an area where there is not very much activity, especially in the winter time. It’s pretty secluded and quiet from all of the hustle and bustle of the outside world. But whenever we go outside to cut some firewood, we can always find evidence that we are not alone out here, because God’s creatures who live in the woods behind us will leave their tiny little footprints all over the freshly fallen snow. Many of them all tend to congregate on one main trail, staying on the same path that was forged by others before them.
This reminds me of the Christian Life
We must contend for the original faith, and stay on the trail that was originally forged by Christ and His Apostles. If we want to inherit eternal life, we will need to follow in their footprints.
“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” Jude 1:3
A lot has changed in this world, and many times I feel like a man born in the wrong century. Like an avalanche that is ready to slide down a mountainside, this world is on a precipice of destruction, falling deeper each day into the abyss of sin. Over the years the original faith that was given to the saints has become corrupted by false prophets, who profess that they are of God, but completely deny the truth. They are deceivers and blind guides, leading people away from obedience to God, into rebellion and heresy.
2 Corinthians 11 ¹³ For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. ¹⁵ Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
We must contend for the true faith, and there is only one.
“One Lord, one faith, one baptism,”
— Ephesians 4:5
But in the day and age that we live in, there are many different versions of liberal and worldly Christianity which have become perverted by false teachings and open rebellion against the truth. They have gotten so far away from biblical teachings, that when you tell them the truth they will call you a liar, and even cast your name out as evil. They bear the responsibility of leading others into err, and causing the little ones to offend, but their wickedness will be exposed to all men and just like Hananiah, they shall be cursed forever.
Jeremiah 28 ¹⁵ Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The LORD hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie. ¹⁶ Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the LORD.
¹⁷ So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.
Many people don’t want to fully submit to the teachings of the Gospel, so they alter and change the things that they don’t want to do. They will complain that it’s too restrictive or too conservative, or needs to be updated according to the times we live in. Some of them will go as far as leading people away from the conservative beliefs that they have been raised in, and try to convince them that the things that they have been taught are not really required. People who do such things are worthy of damnation, and will reap what they sow.
That’s one of the reasons why you have so many per-versions of the scriptures. In many of them, they are so far away from the original translation that it’s no wonder that they are walking in their sins, but they will bear the punishment for altering the teachings of God’s Word. They have even put out ones that are gender- neutral, which is a complete abomination to God.
Galatians 1 ⁷ ……..but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. ⁸ 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. ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ 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.
Christ Jesus and the original Apostles left their footprints for us to follow. They have already blazed the trail of our faith, and all we need to do is keep on the path. But we are in a period of time where there is a rapid decline of genuine Christianity, and rather than following the original teachings of Christ, people have turned their ears away from the truth unto fables. The Apostle warned this was going to come to pass, and it is going on as we speak.
2 Timothy 4 ³ For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; ⁴ And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
We must contend for the true faith, and not allow ourselves to be deceived by the numerous forms of false Christianity that have become so prevalent in the world today. Things that were condemned just a few hundred years ago, are openly accepted today. That’s not progress, that’s rebellion. It’s not hermeneutics, it’s heresy. Many of these places completely reject the original teachings of the Apostles, men who were chosen by Christ to preach and teach the things that He had taught them. It was they who walked in His presence and listened to Him preach. They saw His miracles and understood His will. We must strive for the same faith that they originally handed down to the church 2000 years ago.
So rather than being seduced by all the lies in the world, you must go back to the source of Truth, found in the doctrines of Christ and His Apostles. We must keep on the narrow path, because there is only one way to get home, and it’s found in the original things that they taught. We are going to have to contend for the faith that was once given to the saints by taking a step back in time, and following their divine…..
….. Footprints
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious goups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️
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Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 