|
THE CROWN OF LIFE
April 19, 2002
The indented
sentences are excerpts from the book, Perhaps
Today, by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
My mind rushes to the thousands of Christians
savagely killed and maimed by the lions in Roman amphitheaters long ago. Their
crime? They refused to bow down and worship Caesar. Doubtless some on that day
cowered before their oppressors and feigned a rejection of Christ. Like
those who were martyred, they will also be saved. But they will not receive
the martyr’s crown their Lord wanted them to have. [bold emphasis added]
Tim LaHaye Teaches Satan's Lie That
Christians May Deny the Lord Jesus Christ Before Men and Still
Inherit Eternal Life
The authors are teaching that if a
Christian outwardly rejects the Lord Jesus Christ, he will still be saved,
though he will forfeit the martyr's crown. They are teaching that the Christians
in the past who bowed down and "pretended" to worship Caesar (that is
what feigning a rejection of Christ would be in that context!) would still be
counted among the faithful. They would not receive the martyr's crown, but would
remain saved even
after denying the Lord Jesus Christ before men.
It does not surprise me to see them promote the
deny-the-Lord-Jesus-Christ-and-still-be-saved theme in their
nonfiction book, Perhaps Today, because they also promoted this apostate
doctrine in the Left Behind Series. In fact, the "denying the Lord Jesus Christ" theme is a
recurring one in the Left Behind series. Reject this false, antichrist
doctrine.
The
Lord Jesus Christ plainly taught his disciples:
"Whosoever therefore shall confess me
before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But
whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which
is in heaven." Matthew 10:32, 33
Luke also quoted Jesus speaking about this
subject:
"Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him
shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: But he that
denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God." Luke 12:
8,9
"Pretending" to deny the Lord Jesus Christ
in order to save your life IS denying him before men. The person who does this
will lose his soul:
"For whosoever will save his life
shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's,
the same shall save it." Mark 8:35
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it:
and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." Matthew 16:25
"Every man and woman on earth that take
themselves for true Christians, and do not deny themselves for life and all, for
the sake of Christ and the hope of everlasting glory, are mere self-deceivers,
and no true Christians at all."--William C. Nichols (The Gospel and
Martyrdom)
Pretending That
Someone Else is the Christ IS Denying the Lord Jesus Christ
The authors are reassuring Christians that even
if you outwardly deny the Lord Jesus Christ and pretend to worship
a false Christ, you will still be saved. Yes, this "speaking lies in
hypocrisy" doctrine was also taught in the Left
Behind series as well.
Who is against the Lord Jesus Christ? Whoever
denies the Father and the Son:
"Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the
Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son." 1 John 2:22
Pretending that someone else besides Jesus is
the Christ, IS denying that Jesus is the Christ! This is antichrist
behavior. This is a denial of the Father and the Son.
"Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath
not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also." 1 John
2:23
You must not ever even pretend to deny that
Jesus Christ is the Lord. Whoever does this (even if only feigning
apostasy so as to
save his own life in this world) is antichrist. To do so is to guarantee
that you will be denied by the Lord Jesus before his Father in heaven.
What
About Peter's Thrice-Denial of the Lord Jesus?
Jerry B. Jenkins and
Tim LaHaye did not mention or imply repentance in their
deny-Christ-and-still-be-saved Perhaps Today devotional.
But the "what about Peter" question has arisen so
frequently that it is necessary to address it here.
A Christian who
denies the Lord Jesus Christ and goes to his death without
repenting of this sin [whether it was committed in sincerity or
hypocrisy] will reap the consequences:
The Lord Jesus
Christ will deny him before His Father which is in Heaven. (See
Matt. 10:33)
What about Peter?
Peter was forgiven because he repented of his denial of the
Lord Jesus Christ:
Mat
26:75 And Peter
remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the
cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept
bitterly.
The Bible
distinguishes between godly
sorrow and worldly sorrow. Godly sorrow works repentance to
salvation, but worldly sorrow leads to death:
2Cr 7:10 For godly
sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but
the sorrow of the world worketh death.
Peter's sorrow was
not merely a tearful remorse with no change of actions—the sorrow of
the world. Peter was filled with godly sorrow. His repentance
to salvation was evidenced by his subsequent, lifelong obedience to
the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you have ever
denied the Lord Jesus Christ, repent now with godly sorrow. Please
do not purpose to sin in this manner and assume you will have time
to repent later. God is not mocked.
Premeditated sin is willful sin:
For if we sin
wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth,
there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, Heb. 10:26
Perhaps
Today Devotional Critiques
|