Fire In My Bones - Charisma Magazine


Fire In My Bones

by | Feb 13, 2009 | Purpose & Identity

J. Lee GradyDon’t Get Brainwashed!

In January I spent four days preaching at Emmanuel College, a Christian liberal arts school in Georgia. I love speaking to college students because they are spiritually hungry, they love passionate worship, and I can preach in jeans without offending anyone.

On the third night (after a young man got saved and delivered from drug addiction—yeah God!) I told the kids I needed to get brutally honest. They gave me permission to shoot straight. Because I genuinely care about them, I warned them about four lies they must confront.

Every Christian in this country must learn to dissect these lies using the Word of God. The devil is working overtime today to gain control of our nation’s soul. This is not a time for Christians to be squishy in their faith or spineless in their convictions. We must plant our feet on the bedrock principles of the Bible and oppose each of these lies:

1. Hell does not exist. Jesus preached about hell more than anyone in the Bible. His words dripped with love, but He didn’t soft-pedal when addressing the eternal consequences of sin. The true gospel is a double-edged sword that offers both the “goodness and severity of God” (Rom. 11:22, emphasis added). That’s why hell is one four-letter word we should use more often—not to condemn people but to warn them that mercy has a time limit.

The world rejects the concept of hell because it’s too exclusive. Our Oprah-ized culture insists that everyone deserves a warm and fuzzy life free of consequences. But if we truly love people we will explain that hell is not a metaphor—it is a real place of dreadful separation from God that sinners choose when they reject Him.


2. God didn’t create the world. 2009 is the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species, so you can be sure the scientific community will bombard us this year with more “proof” of this sketchy theory. The mainstream media and academia insist that evolution is pure fact. Anyone who dares to challenge it is considered a religious idiot.

The world does not want to believe in a Creator because if He is real, then He has ultimate authority over His creation. On the flip side, man has no moral responsibility if he crawled out of a primordial soup, grew fins, then legs, and then became a talking ape. Evolution is not really about science at all—it is about rebellion against God’s rule over us.

3. All religions lead to God. This isn’t a new lie, but it is enjoying a revival today. The doctrine of universalism—which states that all people will ultimately gain salvation and enjoy heaven—has become the religion of the masses.

Even some charismatic and Pentecostal preachers such as Carlton Pearson of Oklahoma and D.E. Paulk of Atlanta have abandoned biblical orthodoxy to embrace this heresy. They are now on a crusade to rewrite Christian theology—and they have allies in some mainline denominations (such as the Episcopal Church) where the authority of Scripture is denied.

Christians who embrace universalism are like the neutered prophets of Baal in Jezebel’s court. They preach a powerless message that can’t change anyone. We must arise in the spirit of Elijah to prove to the world that the one true God answers by fire.

4. Man can redefine morality. Leaders in media, politics, education and entertainment are plotting the overthrow of conventional morals. They want a hedonistic world with no rules and no guilt. This was most obvious when Newsweek published a recent cover story brazenly claiming that the Bible approves of same-sex marriage.

A lying spirit has invaded many mainline churches and is convincing weak Christians to change their views about homosexuality, abortion and fornication. Evil is called good while those who stand for the biblical values of purity and traditional marriage are labeled bigots. If we ignore these lies they will engulf us.

We cannot be silent on the issues the devil is attacking. If you are wavering in your faith on any of these four fundamentals, get honest about your doubts, repent of your lukewarmness and get your mind renewed. Don’t become a brainwash victim.


J. Lee Grady is the editor of Charisma. You can read his previous online columns, as well as comments from readers, here.

CHARISMA NEWSLETTERS

Stay up-to-date with current issues, Christian teachings, entertainment news, videos & more.

The latest breaking Christian news you need to know about as soon as it happens.

Prophetic messages from respected leaders & news of how God is moving throughout the world. 


MORE FROM CHARISMA

We Are Not Proud

We Are Not Proud

The LGBTQ community will march through our biggest streets and party endlessly across the nation throughout June as a their memorial of the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City. They will raise the colors of their rainbow in symbolism of pride declaring their...

Don’t Let Satan’s Mind Games Discourage You

Don’t Let Satan’s Mind Games Discourage You

Many of my friends are walking through tough circumstances right now. One man’s business has failed. Another man is experiencing chronic pain, and doctors can’t find a medical solution. Another is battling an addiction. One married couple I know is struggling with...

The Call for Christians to Mirror the Sacrificial Mindset of D-Day

The Call for Christians to Mirror the Sacrificial Mindset of D-Day

The Allied invasion of Normandy, code-named "Operation Overlord," was the largest seaborne invasion in the history, landing on a 50-mile wide stretch of coast divided into five sections, Gold, Juno, Sword, Utah and Omaha beaches, on the shores of Nazi-occupied France....

Overcoming the 3 Reasons You Are not Prospering

Overcoming the 3 Reasons You Are not Prospering

Finances are often a touchy subject for people. The topic itself conjures images of preachers putting money before God and using their congregations to enrich only themselves. While the Bible warns against the love of money many times, throughout the Old and New...

RECENT ARTICLES

Morning Rundown: What Was the Real Jesus Like?

Here's a quick rundown of the top stories on charismamag.com: What Was the Real Jesus Like? There are many inaccurate portrayals of Jesus in the world today, especially among false religions and...
No, Cell Phones Are Not the Problem

No, Cell Phones Are Not the Problem

Recently, while at a conference, I listened to a discussion about the spiritual crisis that cell phones were causing, especially among our youth. I listened as a group of people, mostly parents, sincerely spoke about the vast amount of problems that hand held devices,...

God Brings Your Miracle in the Tensions

God Brings Your Miracle in the Tensions

We are in a tense time right now, it’s obvious. Finances, war activities, racism, politics, Christian intolerance, medical issues, and yet when we allow God to use times of tension in our lives, we see miracles that would have never been possible if it was a season of...

Christian Media Accused As Path to White Supremacy

Christian Media Accused As Path to White Supremacy

The Media Research Center recently released a bombshell report on findings that the Biden administration has revamped the anti-terrorist program "Targeted Violence & Terrorism Prevention Grant Program" and how it is actively used to fund anti-Christian activists...

Holiness and the Power of Conviction

Holiness and the Power of Conviction

The conviction and conversion experience is the work of the Holy Spirit, sometimes experienced as dramatic and sometimes gentler in nature. In every case, an encounter with the Holy Spirit arouses an emotional response. And such encounters are not reserved for an...

Christian Media Accused As Path to White Supremacy

Christian Media Accused As Path to White Supremacy

The Media Research Center recently released a bombshell report on findings that the Biden administration has revamped the anti-terrorist program "Targeted Violence & Terrorism Prevention Grant Program" and how it is actively used to fund anti-Christian activists...

Holiness and the Power of Conviction

Holiness and the Power of Conviction

The conviction and conversion experience is the work of the Holy Spirit, sometimes experienced as dramatic and sometimes gentler in nature. In every case, an encounter with the Holy Spirit arouses an emotional response. And such encounters are not reserved for an...

Pin It on Pinterest