Feigned

 If someone is in direct opposition to the teachings of Christ, they are, by virtue of their rebellion, not under His authority. If they are not under His authority, then His authority cannot be flowing through them. If His authority is not flowing through them, whatever they say, no matter how fanciful, eloquent, and well put together, is dead and withered and lifeless.

Without Him, we can do nothing, and anyone who believes otherwise is lying to themselves. They are wells without water and clouds carried by a tempest. What is a well without water but a hole in the ground? There is no life, and those who thirst remain so even after they’ve put empty cups to their parched lips.

A cloud carried by a tempest is just as bad. Wherever the cultural breeze blows are where they go because they are not anchored in the Word, and the truth is not their foundation. Just because the world is becoming more permissive of sin and debauchery, it doesn’t mean the children of God should. The wind may blow, the storm may howl, and the rains may batter, but we remain steadfast in Christ, for He is life and the giver of life.

The illusion works for a while. It’s like when one person stands for no apparent reason, then another stands behind him, and soon enough, there’s a line that’s formed even though nobody knows why they’re there. They sit in a stadium, next to a bunch of strangers, being told for thirty-odd minutes that they’re blessed even though they don’t feel it, that they’re brave even though they know themselves to be cowards, that they’re sanctified by virtue of their presence, even though they are heavy laden with sin and vice. Since everyone around them is looking refreshed and rejuvenated, they pretend they are, too, because they don’t want to be the odd man out.

Nobody wants to be the first to point out that the emperor has no clothes, that there was no substance to the oration, no power to the delivery, and no direction for the soul. It was just hot air, but since everyone was so enthused by the inanities being put forth as gospel truth, perhaps they’re the problem. Everyone was clapping when the grinning guy said every day was a Friday; maybe I’m not seeing the profundity of it. I mean, today’s not Friday, and every other day but one out of seven isn’t, but perhaps he’s just plumbing the depths.

We’re trying to make sense of it, not realizing that the truth is simple and staring us in the face. They are long-dead corpses trying to convince other corpses that they are alive. An animated corpse is not a living child of God. A Christless Gospel is no gospel at all.

To belong to Jesus in name only is nothing more than a coping mechanism for those who have chosen to prioritize the love of sin over the love of God. Because their desire is not to please God but to continue in their sin, the only thing they’re looking to do is silence their conscience by being guaranteed fire insurance by some individual, reputable or otherwise.

When people tell you what you want to hear as opposed to what you need to hear, you tend to overlook a lot of warning signs and ignore a lot of alarm bells. It’s human nature to give the benefit of the doubt to those who are complimentary toward you and make you feel special. If someone challenges us, one hair out of place, and the Ichabod choir kicks in. If we used the same metric for picking our doctors as we do for picking our pastors, there would be a lot more dead people.

Such individuals can feign love, they can feign compassion, and they can affect devotion, but what they cannot feign is being sanctified and set apart. You can’t fake a relationship with someone you never truly knew. If you attempt it, the person you never met that you claim to be in love with will confront you, denounce you, and declare that they never knew you.

When we are renewed of mind, we receive the mind of Christ. Once we receive the mind of Christ, we pursue the will of God with the same single-minded devotion as Christ did.

John 6:38, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent me.”

I understand how difficult a thing it is to wrap our minds around the reality that it’s not all about us, especially in this present generation, but it’s not all about us. It’s about perfecting His will in us; for that to occur, we must die to self. You crucify your flesh not because you want to but because you must. Why? Because it is the will of God, and His will must be preeminent in your life. It is impossible to serve two masters, especially when their purposes are diametrically opposed. One wants to save you, the other to destroy you. One wants to kill you; the other wants to give you life. One wants to give you hope; the other wants to cast you into the outer reaches of despair.

Pick a master, but before you do, know two absolute truths: First, everybody serves somebody. Second, if you serve one master, you cannot entertain the other. To be removed from the vine is to be a dead branch. Dead branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire to be burned, or at least that’s the way it should work. Sadly, some among us have discovered that it’s more profitable to let the dead branches think they’re alive rather than gather them up. Fruitless though they may be, they still serve a purpose, although the purpose has nothing to do with their spiritual man.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.