Easy Believism

God has been leading me in the direction of talking about a topic that will be very hard for me because I feel so ill equipped but I know that He is faithful. The Holy Spirit will as always show me what to say. There is a big problem that we have here in America that just isn't seen as much in other countries. There are so many countries where being a Christian means that you will be persecuted for your faith. Many can be jailed or killed for just being found with a portion of the bible. They can just simply claim to be Christ followers and their very lives are at stake. Christians in other countries watch their families being tortured and killed simply because they refuse to renounce the name of Jesus Christ. We don't know much about that here in America. If you live in a country where your house could be burned down just by claiming to walk with Jesus, you don't say you're a Christian and risk your very life if you don't really have a personal relationship with the Lord. And in those countries you don't, once you come to Christ, start looking for all the prosperity blessing to begin falling in your lap. It would be more likely that you would be waiting for the persecution to soon follow your claim of salvation. Christianity is not taken lightly in other parts of the world like it is here in America. Here in our country so many think that being a Christian means that you go to church or that at some point in your life you went to church. Some think that if they came from a good family that it makes them Christians. Other people think that they will get to heaven from the merits of themselves or of a family member. If you ask some people about their salvation they will tell you about their dad who was a great preacher or maybe was a deacon in the church. But God has no grandchildren, only children. You don't go to heaven just because your family has always gone to church or because you tithe every week. I know that when I was younger I said that God would never send me to hell because I really wasn't all that bad of a person. Some people think that God will look at the good things they did and He will weigh them against the bad things and if the scales tip in their favor then they will go to heaven. God makes it very clear in His word that we are saved by grace through faith. Read Ephesians 2:8-9. Read Romans 3:10 where God says that there is not one righteous person. There's no such thing as being able to earn your way into heaven, no matter how many good works you do. In Isaiah 64:6 God tells us that our righteousness is as filthy rags. Yet we think that we can somehow please God enough with the things we do to earn a spot in heaven. There are prosperity gospel preachers who are heretics and will tell you that getting saved means that your life will be filled with health, wealth and happiness. They call it God's "favor". They tell you that it is your right and priveledge as a "christian". They promise things about health and wealth that the bible never, ever promises. In fact, Jesus says that if you belong to Him, you better be willing to give up everything to follow Him. Read Matthew 16:24-25. It is said again in Luke 9:23-26. Jesus makes it very clear. There's no promise of health and wealth in the gospels. Your salvation may cost you your life or cost you your family, and you have to be willing to loose even those whom you love if you want to follow Jesus. Read Matthew 10:37-39 and Luke 14:26. Do you think that following Jesus will mean that He will bless you with a bigger house? Read Luke 9:58. Jesus said: "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head". Are you better than Jesus, the Lord of life and glory? He created the whole world yet owned little to nothing more than the clothes on His back while here on this earth to suffer and die for our sins. But for the most part that is not the message that people in America are hearing. There are so many false teachers in America who preach a foreign gospel and convince the masses that if you are a Christian, God will shower you with the easy, prosperous life. So people decide to give this Jesus a try and see if their life becomes better. They put on Jesus for a while but find in a short time that they can't sustain that kind of lifestyle of just hoping for all the prosperity to fall in their laps. And when their lives don't become storybook perfect, they leave their so called faith and in most cases never turn to the true gospel. They end up hating Christianity even more than they would have had they never "tried it". They become hostile to the true gospel message because they believed the lie. They hate everything the true gospel stands for and they hate Jesus and anyone associated with Him. The sad thing is that these prosperity gospel preachers are getting RICH off all those foolish, pitiful people who are so desperate for the "good life". There is a very famous preacher here in America who has around 43,500 people attend his church every weekend. THOUSANDS being led astray by this blasphemer. His name is Joel Osteen. He wrote a book entitled "Your Best Life Now". Well guess what; if you believe the "christianity" that he is selling, this life really will be your best life because unless you come to the true cross of Jesus Christ you will spend eternity in hell. Everything he and the rest of the false preachers and teachers peddle is a lie straight from the pit. Sadly, it's not just men who are leading the masses astray. One example is Joyce Meyer. She is a very famous woman who is on TV, written many books, and tours the country. She is just as much of a prosperity gospel teacher as these men. Read 2 Timothy 4:3-5. It explains how and why millions of Americans can believe and follow this preacher and others just like him who sell these lies. That is why you will hear so many who claim the name of Christ but who really aren't saved, complain so much at the lightest of afflictions in their lives. Some will even feel as if they have to act like everything is perfect because they think that's what being a Christian looks like. Hey, it's what these heretics claim, so people want to perpetuate the lie and try to look like these liars. So many have believed the lie that life was going to be easy once they "allowed Jesus to make their lives better". Many so called Christians completely dismiss the idea of suffering for Christ. So many demand their rights and forget the fact that if you are a true child of God, YOU HAVE NO RIGHTS!! Read 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. If you are a follower of Jesus, you belong to Him. He bought you and paid such a dear price to redeem you. Who are you to demand ANYTHING from Him? You have no right, if you belong to Him, to expect a bed of roses in this life when He so willingly chose nails for Himself to purchase you! He never said to come follow Him and He will give you everything nice and rosy and rich and easy! It is only in America that we grieve our holy God so badly by expecting a life of luxury and then complain when things are a little hard. Oh how it must break the heart of Jesus. God forgive us!
There is so much more to write and God willing I'll add to this another day. It's a hard topic. Satan would love for it just to be left alone. But God is so grieved and wants us here in America to wake up. If you're wondering what and who to believe, me or the false preachers and teachers, don't just take my word for it. Read your bible. It's all in there. Then, ask God. Seek His face about your life and your walk with Christ. He is faithful and He will show you this truth, His truth.