A question was asked "What is a Christian?
Now when you look at the word Christian what do you see first off. For me I see the word Christ. Now to me a Christian means, “a follower of Christ" but when you look into it further and get to the meat of it, it goes deep. To be a Christian means you must walk the walk that Christ did and talk the talk that He did.
He came to this earth to die for us, to free us from sin and in order to do that He was born into the human race as a baby, was raised with good Jewish values and teachings, yes, don't forget Jesus was Jewish. We are the ones that claim him to be Christian, those of us who have lost sight of who He really was. He OBSERVED THE SABBATH OF HIS FATHER WHICH WAS THE SEVENTH DAY; HE DID NOT CHANGE IT TO SUNDAY. REMEMBER THAT. He did the will of His Father, He spread the Written Word of His Father in the Ten Commandments, and He did away with the burden of animal sacrifices and rites and ceremonies and feasts. He was and is all those things rolled into one. We have no need to observe them anymore. The only laws that we are to observe are the original TEN WRITTEN IN STONE BY THE FINGER OF GOD OUR FATHER.
To be a Christian means to obey God, follow His Son Jesus, and learn His teachings and put them into action. Do not just READ THE BIBLE, "LIVE THE BIBLE.” That is what Jesus did, and that is what His disciples and apostles did. So why are we any different? What makes us above them? In one word NOTHING. We are not above them and in all honesty we do not know a thing about being TRUE CHRISTIANS.
It all goes back to this "YOU HAVE TO WALK THE WALK AND TALK THE TALK TO BE A TRUE CHRISTIAN. And to Follow Jesus you have to live as He did, act like He did, love like He did, be compassionate like He did, be merciful like He did, and were are NOT TO JUDGE ANYONE, THAT'S HIS JOB.
We have to go back to the basics people, get back to the written word of the Bible and really understand and take to heart what is written there. The Bible is our way to live, it is our guidebook, and it should run through the veins of every Christian who calls themselves Followers of Christ.
Many people have lost their lives because they refused to betray the love of Christ and refused to submit to the will of man. Very soon we all are going to have to make a very important decision that decision will decide if we live with Christ or die with Satan.
I want to live for Christ and I want to speak His words, and not mine. I listen for that still small voice of the Holy Spirit to guide me and help me make the right choices in life. Moreover, I do struggle to obey, to be the child He wants me to be. This world is so corrupt and full of mans opinions that we have forgotten about God's Word and His Word is above all others.
So my suggestion is: sit down with your Heavenly Father and have a heart to heart talk with Him, and re examine your walk with Him and re examine your words and opinions and see how many are His and how many are mans. In addition I will safely say that the average Christian is controlled by the opinions of man and have shoved God in the back of the closet.
It's time to give God back His rightful place in your heart, right up front. He is worthy of it, He is deserving of it and He is to be praised.
Think about where you want to be after death has taken you, and when Christ comes to awaken you, and you stand before Him, what are you going to say to Him? “Please forgive me for listening to man's opinion?” It will be too late then. You made your choice, and once you stand before Christ and God the Father, there is no second chance if you made the wrong choice.
I pray God blesses you with what you need to stand strong and side with Him in the Spiritual Battle we all now face.
May God Bless you and hold you in the palm of His hand.
Sister Donna
Fanaticism is Excessive Irrational Zeal
Fanatical is Possessed with or motivated by excessive, irrational zeal.
Fanatic is A person marked or motivated by an extreme unreasoning, enthusiasm as for a cause.
Fanaticize is To make fanatical, to behave as a fanatic.
These are Dictionary explanations of the different forms of the word Fanatic.
To me it is someone that goes too far over the line of reason. And a fanatic is a person you can't reason with.
It's his way or no way. And from such people as this, I walk away from them.
I
refuse to stand and listen to some one push his thoughts and ideas down
my throat, especially when they do it in such a way as to turn you off.
There has been much Fanaticism in our worlds' history. For example:
The
Inquisition which was brought about by the Vatican in Rome, and the
Roman Catholic Church who were against those they persecuted and
claimed where heretics.
The Salem Witch Hunts, where innocent women died, brought about by jealous children.
The Crusades brought about by the
The
Holocaust brought about by Adolf Hitler who created the Nazi Party, who
being the good little catholic that followed the Popes orders.
Therefore the Nazis tried to bring about the destruction of
There
is a pattern here, the destruction of peoples that do not go along with
others in how to worship, who go against a religion. Fanaticism and
Fanatics, what do you do with people like this? They destroy the very
harmony that Christ tried to bring to the people. No matter what your
religious beliefs are, you can not try to push them down the throats of
others, just because they don't agree with your beliefs.
On
several occasions I have had run ins with other belief systems, the
Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Baptists, Catholics, Seventh Day
Adventists, etc, the list goes on. Each one is trying to tell the other
that theirs is the best belief system, and the one God approves of. Ok
, let me say this, God only approves of those belief systems that
follow and obey His Commandments, especially the Fourth Commandment, to
Remember and keep Holy the Sabbath of the Lord.
That
is the Seventh day, and only those groups that are Seventh Day Sabbath
keepers and do not have an organized name follow that commandment. The
Seventh Day Adventists do have an organized name, and are fast
following after the Church of Rome. So I do not recognize those
religions and I walk away when they try to sell me on their beliefs.
Now
we know what all the different versions of the word Fanatic mean. What
does the Bible say about Fanatics and Fanaticism? Now I have looked and
the Bible does not use the word itself, but the attitude is there.
Matthew
6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for
they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the
streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have
their reward.
Matthew
6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou
hast shut thy door, pray to the Father which is in secret; and thy
Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
So what does this verse say: Praying, like giving, is to be done to the Lord, not to man. Jesus said that people love to pray standing in the synagogues.
Both a time and place for prayer were customary in the ancient Jewish
synagogue. Therefore, Jesus is not condemning the practice of public
prayer, but rather the misuse of it. Because of the statement enter into thy closet;
some have suggested that all public prayer is wrong. This would be
contrary to the rest of New Testament statements about prayer,
commandments, and restrictions regarding prayer, and examples of prayer
meetings. The principle here is that the believer should not make a
show of his prayer nor of the answers he receives to prayer in such a
way as to call unnecessary attention to himself.
Fanatics
bring attention to themselves when they impose their positions on
others. They rant and rave how you are wrong for your way of thinking
and must follow their lead. We are to follow God's lead, not mans.
Here
is another example in Matthew 9:11-13 And when the Pharisees saw it,
they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and
sinners? 12: But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be
whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. 13: But go ye and
learn what that meaneth, I WILL HAVE MERCY, AND NOT SACRIFICE: For I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
So
what does this verse say: The Pharisees were angry that Jesus would go
to such people as sinners, Harlots, Tax Collectors, and the like, they
believed that Jesus should have gone to them, they were so
self-righteous, that they were doing everything that God asked of them,
and yet they were doing everything against what God wanted. They were
fanatical in everything they did, in the sacrifices, and rites, down to
the littlest detail, that if some one was doing something different,
they were considered a heretic and blasphemous.
James
A
Fanatic does not know how to bridle his tongue, he believes that his
way is the right way, but he deceives himself, his religion is vain,
and his attempts to turn the hearts of the ones faithful for Christ is
also in vain. They seem religious these fanatics, but they are not.
When
a person reads the Bible and sees the guidelines put forth by God as
to, how to dress, what to wear, what to eat, how to worship etc. and
follows those guidelines to the best of his abilities that should be
enough. However, the Fanatic takes it one-step further and crosses the
line.
Here
are some examples, as to the Sabbath. No work is to be done, no
physical labor, no cooking, or cleaning etc. This is understood, but a
Fanatic will tell you, you can't wash your face on the Sabbath, or
brush your teeth or comb your hair. You can't flip a light switch, you
can't leave the house. I say, “if you are going out to church services,
you must leave the house to get to church and if you are going to be
among other people and strangers, do you want to have a smelly mouth
and dirty face when you meet them?” I think not. In addition, I don't
think God would want you to either.
There
are many examples of this kind of fanaticism and I dare say, I don't
listen to them. Listen to that still small voice in your heart, the
voice of God, the voice of the Holy Spirit that guides you, we listen
to God not man. There have been debates on dress codes, and clean and
unclean foods, these things have to be between you and God. Don't
debate with these people, you can't reason with them. Continue to stay
in God's Word and walk closely with him and you will be ok.
In
addition, one more point, A Fanatic, won't see himself as a fanatic, he
knows it all, and if he really understood how little he knows, that
would be a blessing. Things must be done NOW with him. I don't make a
move unless I talk it over with the Lord. I can attest to the many woes
in my life when I went ahead of the Lord and did not wait for Him to
tell me what to do, I was impatient and head strong, and learned a hard
lesson, and might I add, am still learning hard lessons.
So listen to no man, turn your heart to God and leave your life in His hands.
Have
you noticed as you watch TV or go to the movies an overwhelming influx
of programs that have demons or angels or people who speak with the
dead? Have you wondered at all why especially now these types of
programs are escalating at such a rate?
It
is because the time is coming and coming soon when the Anti-Christ will
make his appearance and Satan is using these ploys and devices to
prepare you for his coming. Satan wants you to walk away from God our
Father in heaven and walk with him instead. Therefore in order to do
that he needs to fill your head with the worldly and spiritualism.
Spiritualism as the Bible states is “Divination by an alleged assistance of evil spirits.”
Leviticus
Leviticus 20:6
And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and
after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face
against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.
People who consult with the dead and speak with them are called Necromancers and are forbidden in the Bible to do so.
Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy
A medium is a spiritist, one who consults with the dead.
Isaiah
Isaiah
Isaiah 8:21 And
they shall pass through it, hard pressed and hungry: and it shall come
to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves,
and curse their king and their God, and look upward.
Isaiah
A
witch or one who practices witchcraft is one who is in league with evil
spirits who performs sorceries and divination and is condemn by
Biblical law. Witchcraft is detestable to God and is to be destroyed.
Exodus
Micah
2Kings 23:24 Moreover the workers with
familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and
all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in
Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform the words of the
law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the
house of the Lord.
King
Saul even had the witches put away from the land, but later in life he
strayed from God, lost his faith, and turned to the witch of Endor to
bring the spirit of Samuel to him and seek his advice. By doing
this God brought destruction upon Saul and took his life.
The
practice of Divination is foreseeing or foretelling future events or
discovering hidden knowledge which is forbidden in the Bible. Various
means were used and are still used, reading omens, dreams, the use of
the tarot cards, astrology, necromancy etc.
Act 16:16 And
it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with
a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by
soothsaying:
(This
young woman was being used by her masters for profit to foresee and
foretell the future. When Paul helped her and cast out the evil spirit
within her this caused her masters to become angry for now they lost
their source of income.)
You
cannot serve two masters. Either you are for God or for Satan; you
cannot claim to be a true Christian and then go off and seek out
psychics and mediums to speak with the dead or to know your future.
Ellen G. White wrote of spiritualism so let us see what she has to say on the subject.
The
doctrine of natural immortality has prepared the way for modern
Spiritualism. If the dead are admitted to the presence of God and holy
angels, and privileged with knowledge far exceeding what they before
possessed, why should they not return to the earth to enlighten and
instruct the living? How can those who believe in man's consciousness
in death reject what comes to them as divine light communicated by
glorified spirits? Here is a channel regarded as sacred, through which
Satan works for the accomplishment of his purposes. The fallen angels
who do his bidding appear as messengers from the spirit world. While
professing to bring the living into communication with the dead, Satan
exercises his bewitching influence upon their minds.
He
has power even to bring before men the appearance of their departed
friends. The counterfeit is perfect; the familiar looks, the words, the
tone, are reproduced with marvelous distinctness. Many are comforted
with the assurance that their loved ones are enjoying the bliss of
Heaven; and without suspicion of danger, they give ear to seducing
spirits and doctrines of devils.
When
they have been led to believe that the dead actually return to
communicate with them, Satan causes those to appear who went into the
grave unprepared. They claim to be happy in Heaven and even to occupy
exalted positions there; and thus the error is widely taught, that no
difference is made between the righteous and the wicked. The pretended
visitants from the world of spirits sometimes utter cautions and
warnings which prove to be correct. Then, as confidence is gained, they
present doctrines which directly undermine faith in the Scriptures.
With an appearance of deep interest in the well-being of their friends
on earth, they insinuate the most dangerous errors. The fact that they
state some truths, and are able at times to foretell future events,
gives to their statements an appearance of reliability; and their false
teachings are accepted by the multitudes as readily, and believed as
implicitly, as if they were the most sacred truths of the Bible. The
law of God is set aside, the Spirit of grace despised, the blood of the
covenant counted an unholy thing. The spirits deny the divinity of
Christ, and place even the Creator on a level with themselves. Thus
under a new disguise the great rebel still carries forward his warfare
against God, begun in Heaven, and for nearly six thousand years
continued upon the earth.
Many
endeavor to account for spiritual manifestations by attributing them
wholly to fraud and sleight of hand on the part of the medium. But
while it is true that the results of trickery have often been palmed
off as genuine manifestations, there have been, also, marked
exhibitions of supernatural power. The mysterious rapping with which
modern Spiritualism began was not the result of human trickery or
cunning, but the direct work of evil angels, who thus introduced one of
the most successful of soul-destroying delusions. Many will be ensnared
through the belief that Spiritualism is a merely human imposture; when
brought face to face with manifestations which they cannot but regard
as supernatural, they will be deceived, and will be led to accept them
as the great power of God.
These
persons overlook the testimony of the Scriptures concerning the wonders
wrought by Satan and his agents. It was by satanic aid that Pharaoh's
magicians were enabled to counterfeit the work of God. The apostle
John, describing the miracle-working power that will be manifested in
the last days, declares: "He doeth great wonders, so that he maketh
fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and
deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles
which he had power to do." [REV. 13:13, 14.] No mere impostures are
here brought to view. Men are deceived by the miracles which Satan's
agents have power to do, not which they pretend to do.
The
very name of witchcraft is now held in contempt. The claim that men can
hold intercourse with evil spirits is regarded as a fable of the Dark
Ages. But Spiritualism, which numbers its converts by hundreds of
thousands, yea, by millions, which has made its way into scientific
circles, which has invaded churches, and has found favor in legislative
bodies, and even in the courts of kings--this mammoth deception is but
a revival in a new disguise of the witchcraft condemned and prohibited
of old.
Satan beguiles men now, as he beguiled Eve in
The
prince of darkness has a masterly mind, and he skillfully adapts his
temptations to men of every variety of condition and culture. He works
"with all deceivableness of unrighteousness" to gain control of the
children of men; but he can accomplish his object only as they
voluntarily yield to his temptations. Those who place themselves in his
power by indulging their evil traits of character, little realize where
their course will end. The tempter accomplishes their ruin, and then
employs them to ruin others.
To
those who regard themselves as educated and refined, Satan addresses
himself by exciting the imagination to lofty flights in forbidden
fields, leading them to take so great pride in their superior wisdom
that in their hearts they despise the Eternal One. To this class the
great deceiver presents Spiritualism in its more refined and
intellectual aspects, and he thus succeeds in drawing many into his
snare. He who could appear clothed with the brightness of the heavenly
seraphs before Christ in the wilderness of temptation, comes to men in
the most attractive manner, as an angel of light. He appeals to the
reason by the presentation of elevating themes, he delights the fancy
with enrapturing scenes, and he enlists the affections by his eloquent
portrayals of love and charity. That mighty being who could take the
world's Redeemer to an exceedingly high mountain, and bring before him
all the kingdoms of the earth and the glory of them, will present his
temptations to men in a manner to pervert the senses of all who are not
shielded by divine power.
To
the self-indulgent, the pleasure loving, the sensual, the grosser forms
of Spiritualism are adapted; and multitudes eagerly accept teachings
that leave them at liberty to follow the inclinations of the carnal
heart. Satan studies every indication of the frailty of human nature,
he marks the sins which each individual is inclined to commit, and then
he takes care that opportunities shall not be wanting to gratify the
tendency to evil. He tempts men to excess in that which is in itself
lawful, causing them through intemperance to weaken physical, mental,
and moral power. He has destroyed and is destroying thousands through
the indulgence of the passions, thus brutalizing the entire nature of
man. When the people are led to believe that desire is the highest law,
that liberty is license, and that man is accountable only to himself,
who can wonder that corruption and depravity teem on every hand? The
reins of self-control are laid upon the neck of lust, the powers of
mind and soul are made subject to the animal propensities, and Satan
exultingly sweeps into his net thousands who profess to be followers of
Christ.
But
none need be deceived by the lying claims of Spiritualism. God has
given the world sufficient light to enable them to discover the snare.
If there were no other evidence, it should be enough for the Christian
that the spirits make no difference between righteousness and sin,
between the noblest and purest of the apostles of Christ and the most
corrupt of the servants of Satan. By representing the basest of men as
in Heaven, and highly exalted there, Satan virtually declares to the
world, No matter how wicked you are; no matter whether you believe or
disbelieve God and the Bible. Live as you please; Heaven is your home.
Moreover,
the apostles, as personated by these lying spirits, are made to
contradict what they wrote at the dictation of the Holy Spirit when on
earth. They deny the divine origin of the Bible, and thus tear away the
foundation of the Christian's hope, and put out the light that reveals
the way to Heaven.
Satan
is making the world believe that the Bible is a mere fiction, or at
least a book suited to the infancy of the race, but now to be lightly
regarded, or cast aside as obsolete. And to take the place of the word
of God he holds out spiritual manifestations. Here is a channel wholly
under his control; by this means he can make the world believe what he
will. The book that is to judge him and his followers he puts into the
shade, just where he wants it; the Saviour of the world he makes to be
no more than a common man. And as the Romish guard that watched the
tomb of Jesus spread the lying report which the priests and elders put
into their mouths to disprove his resurrection, so do the believers in
spiritual manifestations try to make it appear that there is nothing
miraculous in the circumstances of our Saviour's life. After thus
seeking to put Jesus in the background, they call attention to their
own miracles, declaring that these far exceed the works of Christ.
Says
the prophet Isaiah: "When they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that
have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and that mutter:
should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To
the law and to the testimony. If they speak not according to this word,
it is because there is no light in them." [ISA. 8:19, 20.] If men had
been willing to receive the truth so plainly stated in the Scriptures,
that the dead know not anything, they would see in the claims and
manifestations of Spiritualism the working of Satan with power and
signs and lying wonders. But rather than yield the liberty so agreeable
to the carnal heart, and renounce the sins which they love, the
multitudes close their eyes to the light, and walk straight on,
regardless of warnings, while Satan weaves his snares about them, and
they become his prey. "Because they received not the love of the truth,
that they might be saved," therefore "God shall send them strong
delusion, that they should believe a lie." [2 THESS. 2:10, 11.]
Those
who oppose the teachings of Spiritualism are assailing, not men alone,
but Satan and his angels. They have entered upon a contest against
principalities and powers and wicked spirits in high places. Satan will
not yield one inch of ground except as he is driven back by the power
of heavenly messengers. The people of God should be able to meet him,
as did our Saviour, with the words, "It is written." Satan can quote
Scripture now as in the days of Christ, and he will pervert its
teachings to sustain his delusions. But the plain statements of the
Bible will furnish weapons powerful in every conflict.
Those
who would stand in this time of peril must understand the testimony of
the Scriptures concerning the nature of man and the state of the dead;
for in the near future many will be confronted by the spirits of devils
personating beloved relatives or friends, and declaring the most
dangerous heresies. These visitants will appeal to our tenderest
sympathies, and will work miracles to sustain their pretensions. We
must be prepared to withstand them with the Bible truth that the dead
know not anything, and that they who thus appear are the spirits of
devils.
Just
before us is the "hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the
world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." [REV. 3:10.] All whose
faith is not firmly established upon the word of God will be deceived
and overcome. But to those who earnestly seek a knowledge of the truth,
thus doing what they can to prepare for the conflict, the God of truth
will be a sure defense. "Because thou hast kept the word of my
patience, I also will keep thee," is the Saviour's promise. He would
sooner send every angel out of Heaven to protect his people, than leave
one soul that trusts in him to be overcome by Satan.
The
prophet Isaiah brings to view the fearful deception which will come
upon the wicked, causing them to count themselves secure from the
judgments of God: "We have made a covenant with death, and with hell
are we at agreement. When the overflowing scourge shall pass through,
it shall not come unto us; for we have made lies our refuge, and under
falsehood have we hid ourselves." [ISAIAH. 28:15.] In the class here
described are included those who in their stubborn impenitence comfort
themselves with the assurance that there is to be no punishment for the
sinner; that all mankind, it matters not how corrupt, are to be exalted
to Heaven to become as the angels of God. But still more emphatically
are those making a covenant with death and an agreement with hell, who
renounce the truths which Heaven has provided as a defense for the
righteous in the day of trouble, and accept the refuge of lies offered
by Satan in its stead, --the delusive pretensions of Spiritualism.
Marvelous
beyond expression is the blindness of the people of this generation.
Thousands reject the word of God as unworthy of belief, and with eager
confidence receive the deceptions of Satan. Skeptics and scoffers with
great clamor denounce the bigotry of those who contend for the faith of
prophets and apostles, and they divert themselves by holding up to
ridicule the solemn declarations of the Scriptures concerning Christ
and the plan of salvation, and the retribution to be visited upon the
rejecters of the truth. They affect great pity for minds so narrow,
weak, and superstitious as to acknowledge the claims of God, and obey
the requirements of his law. They manifest as much assurance as if,
indeed, they had made a covenant with death and an agreement with
hell,--as if they had erected an impassable, impenetrable barrier
between themselves and the vengeance of God. Nothing can arouse their
fears. So fully have they yielded to the tempter, so closely are they
united with him, and so thoroughly imbued with his spirit, that they
have no power and no inclination to break away from his snare.
Long
has Satan been preparing for his final effort to deceive the world. The
foundation of his work was laid by the assurance given to Eve in
Saith
the Lord God: "Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness
to the plummet; and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and
the waters shall overflow the hiding-place. And your covenant with
death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not
stand. When the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall
be trodden down by it." [ISAIAH. 28:17, 18.]