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         If one’s enemies are not the enemies of the Lord Jesus, then one is by default an enemy of the Lord Jesus.

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         The enemies of the Lord are narcissists at heart. They love themselves more than the Lord. They love the idea of taking life by the horns, and by engaging in their own pursuits. Because they have never surrendered their lives to God, their hearts remain uncircumcised and thus incapable of doing the good the Lord requires. And because of that little problem, they find it no problem to break God’s laws whenever they must to advance their own program.

         Many of the most popular and successful people in the world are thus hellbound. They will have their success in the here and now come hell or high water. They will not be stopped. They will lie, cheat, and steal if need be, and give the appearance of forthrightness. These surfacely successful people are the most contemptuous people on the planet and will get their due when the life and health they take for granted fails.

         At that point they’ll join that rich guy that treated Lazarus so bad. They will have traded the possibility of eternal life for the eventual fires of hell. Perhaps if they had been taught this at whatever school or church they attended things could have been different. But in the end they will know. They will know without question that they fouled up big time but simply refused to repent.

         One wonders why the drive for success in this world is so bewitching. One wonders why some people drive themselves toward success to the point of damning their soul forever. What is it that is so great about the pleasures of this life? Why can’t people see that life is short? Why can’t they see that pursuing the pleasures of this world improperly—the desires of the eyes, the desires of human appetites, and most of all, the desire to make a name for oneself and live by personal pride—results in merely temporary happiness?

         For example, consider the great politicians of this country who make it to places of great power. And consider how they had to either cheat to get there or must cheat to remain there. Everyone knows that successful politicians are successful liars, except for very rare exceptions. To politick is to lie. Politics is such that battle is constant, a war of words is always brewing, and people at the top fight like rabid dogs to get their piece of bone. They do it all with a smile and flair, however. It is one of the great wonders of the world.

         But perhaps the greatest wonder is how they continue to do it and get away with it year after decade after century, and the public remains seemingly as stupid and gullible as ever.

         The strange phenomenon makes perfect sense, though, when one discovers that the voters have their own ulterior motives and agendas. Some refuse to vote their conscience because they don’t want to be thought a fool. This is the biggest kind of fool. Some vote for idiots simply because they themselves are idiots. And some know exactly what they’re doing. The evil people with big smiles they vote into office are exactly like themselves. They are both evil, according to the Lord’s definition of the word, because both have an evil agenda.

         Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.

         For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. [Philippians 3:17-21]

         For the unseeing unbelievers, passages of Scripture like the preceding are the stupidest thing they ever heard. In their minds, the obvious crazies are those who risk everything on some invisible pie-in-the-sky nonsense that has no bearing whatsoever on reality. And as long as they remain on an upward track of gaining more, whether it be money or power or fame, they will inevitably remain on that track chasing what appears obvious as a visible, tangible carrot that has yet to fail them thus far.

         Like a gambler on a winning streak with no sense to stop, who knows it can’t last, such people continue on in their sold-out state anyway, regardless of warnings, essentially because they are fully invested in their chosen path. The bewitching nature of success presents itself by the lack of any meaningful failures. In other words, probably the best cure for gambling is very early repeated failure.

         Which brings up a strange idea. Because the kingdom of God appears upside down and backward, the reality is that this world and its way of conduct is upside down and backward. Which means great success in this life most often means eternity in hell. Which means one is blessed by not having success until one is safely in the kingdom of God, and one’s success is orchestrated by Him.

         I mean, the Lord was always talking about some unseen treasure that did not involve the usual counterfeits most people fall for. If one were to follow this extrapolation trail, one would then understand why the Lord lived the kind of life He lived, and taught the kind of discipleship He taught.

         But one obviously cannot build big church buildings and great denominations on such discipleship, which means the real gamblers of this world are not the blatant sinners, but pseudo Christians.

         The following passage contains more evidence of lying unreal Christians than most can fathom, but it’s all right there. It can all be applied to what I term unreal Christianity, which continually pokes its skinny finger in God’s eye and continues in ongoing, perverse disobedience, regardless of warning. Such passages are disavowed, put aside, neglected, and rejected, and whoever brings them up gets some form of what the Lord got for bringing them up:

         “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.

         “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.

         “But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. But the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

         “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” [Matthew 23:2-13]

         Now, surely we do not think the Lord was limiting His teaching here to just the Pharisees of the first century, do we? The shoe fits just as much if not much more on the big foot of fake Christianity, because the very things He said not to do is being done by the majority every Sunday morning. If you don’t believe me, read it again. And again. And keep reading until the deception starts to fall away. It’s all there. And He taught it all for a reason, and it’s a reason we better pay attention to.

         Otherwise, we will go into eternity having been convinced we are God’s friends when the opposite is true. Consider the possibility.

         By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen. [Hebrews 11:23-27]

         Had Moses embraced Egypt he would have become God’s enemy. But he made the decision, like Abraham before him, to leave all and be a friend of God.

         “You are My friends if you do what I command you.

         “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.” [John 15:14-15] [1]

         This is truly an astounding statement!

         The Lord defines His friends as those who

(1) Do everything He commands, and

(2) Know everything He knows.

         Wow. This explains a few things.

         © 2014 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.