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How do political and moral agendas creep into our cherished sporting events, and what does it mean for our Christian values and family-friendly viewing? Tune in to the Jamie Luce Podcast as we dissect the controversial elements of the recent Olympics opening ceremonies that starkly clashed with Christian values. We also address the unsettling trend of athletes prioritizing religious and political differences over sportsmanship, stressing the importance of protecting our children from inappropriate content and advocating for mutual respect and decency in sports.
Inspired by the Apostle Paul’s teachings, we delve into his fervent warnings against false gospels and self-serving preachers. Discover Paul’s unwavering commitment to the true gospel of Jesus Christ and how his humility contrasts sharply with those seeking personal gain. Be moved by a powerful testimony from a former country music star whose life was transformed by genuine faith. This segment reminds us of the necessity to adhere to the core biblical teachings and avoid modern distortions that dilute the true message of the gospel.
Finally, we tackle Paul’s stern warnings against deceitful apostles who masquerade as servants of righteousness. Explore the importance of discernment and vigilance in upholding the true teachings of Christ amidst cultural pressures and false doctrines. Reflect on the experiences of Christians worldwide facing persecution for their faith and the call to live authentically for Christ, prioritizing His kingdom above all else. This episode is a heartfelt plea to stand firm in the truth and righteousness of God’s Word, even when society challenges our beliefs.
Where to dive in:
(0:00:00) – Controversy Surrounding Sporting Events (15 Minutes)
This chapter tackles the increasing infusion of political and moral agendas into sporting events, specifically focusing on the recent Olympics and the controversies surrounding its opening ceremonies. I express concern over the display of elements contrary to Christian values and general decency, emphasizing the importance of protecting children from such content. Additionally, I address an incident involving an athlete’s refusal to shake a competitor’s hand due to religious differences, underscoring the need for mutual respect and sportsmanship. I reflect on the moral decay observed in various societal sectors and advocate for standing up against evil and protecting the innocent, reiterating that true morality is rooted in God’s standards.
(0:15:30) – Warning Against False Gospels (10 Minutes)
This chapter explores Paul’s heartfelt concern for the Corinthians as he warns them against being led astray by false teachings and a different gospel. Emphasizing the authenticity of his message, Paul underscores his selfless efforts in preaching the true gospel of Jesus Christ without seeking personal gain. We discuss how modern alterations to biblical texts and agendas can distort the original message, highlighting the importance of staying true to the core teachings. Paul’s humility and dedication are contrasted with those who seek fame and financial gain from preaching, emphasizing the sincerity required in true ministry. The discussion concludes with a reflection on a powerful testimony of transformation from a former country music star, illustrating the profound impact of genuine faith.
(0:25:13) – Defending the Everlasting Word (6 Minutes)
This chapter emphasizes the importance of discerning the true gospel from false teachings and the responsibility of individuals to study and understand the Word of God for themselves. We explore the dangers of false apostles and the cultural shifts that have led to a dilution of biblical truths. The necessity of being vigilant and adhering to the original gospel, as preserved meticulously over centuries, is highlighted. Additionally, I stress the value of personal investigation and critical thinking, encouraging listeners to be like the Bereans who diligently examined the scriptures. The chapter concludes with a reflection on the unwavering truth and timeless relevance of God’s Word, reinforced by a reading from Paul’s letters, underscoring his dedication and love for the church.
(0:31:22) – Paul Warns Against Deceitful False Apostles (11 Minutes)
This chapter focuses on Paul’s strong warning against false apostles and deceitful teachers who disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, much like Satan masquerades as an angel of light. We explore the deceptive nature of such individuals and the importance of recognizing and rejecting false gospels that deviate from the true teachings of Christ. I discuss how modern society often falls for these deceptions under the guise of love and acceptance, which contradicts the true character of God. Additionally, we reflect on the dangers of boasting and pride, drawing parallels between the Corinthian church’s admiration for boastful figures and today’s culture that glorifies arrogance and divisiveness.
(0:42:05) – Standing for Truth and Righteousness (8 Minutes)
This chapter addresses the critical issue of standing firm in the true teachings of Jesus Christ amidst a world filled with false doctrines and cultural pressures. We explore the reality faced by Christians globally who suffer persecution for their faith, emphasizing that true Christianity goes beyond mere attendance at church or reading the Bible—it demands a surrendered life to Jesus. Drawing from scripture, particularly from the book of Corinthians, I discuss the importance of self-examination to ensure that one’s faith is genuine and not swayed by the deceptive messages prevalent in society today. We are called to uphold the truth of God’s word, live according to His righteousness, and seek to hear His commendation as faithful servants. This chapter is a heartfelt call to examine our motives, live authentically for Christ, and prioritize His kingdom above all else.
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Full Transcript
This transcript is auto-generated and not perfect. We hope it blesses you.
0:00:00 – Jaime Luce
I mean, long gone are the days when you actually could just go to a sporting event and all that you cared about while you were there from the managers and the owners down to the players was playing the sport. There was no agenda of a government being forced through the sport. It has nothing to do with the sport. Welcome to the Jamie Luce Podcast. It’s my pleasure to be with you today. Thank you for taking some time to spend it with me. I know your time is valuable and I want to get right into things. Today I am stirred in my spirit because we have recently had the Olympics. Well, they’ve begun, but we had their ceremony to begin forgetting what that’s called the torch lighting ceremony and opening ceremonies, and there is a ton of controversy. There is a ton of controversy over the fact that it was riddled I mean riddled with every kind of debauchery that stands against the Christian faith and against the Word of God, as well as mockery of things that depict the divinity and the essence of who God is. And it’s not only disturbing for the church, because you have seen people coming out saying that, even though they are not necessarily these, you know on fire for God Christians. They see that this has no place in the venue that it was in, even if you take Christ out of it. There used to be a day when the Olympics represented first of all, you would kind of showcase your country, because if you were hosting, you were the host country and you would you would do things that represented the country that it was in, as well as things that that welcomed into the sports arena all of the other nations. A depiction of where we come together instead of at war. We come together to have a a fun and yet very competitive sport, nation against nation, and it’s done in a spirit of unity, that we can come together. And we’ve already seen not only this display of sheer debauchery to open the games having nothing to do with sports, nothing to do with the athleticism and athletes, the reason that we’ve even gone to do these events, but there was also already a controversial thing where you had someone who refused to shake the hand of their competitor because they were Jewish, and subsequently that person had used the term Allah Akbar and wouldn’t shake their hand, and then he subsequently. Well, I should say that both of those things the opening events and that particular athlete’s events were what seemed to be judged right away. The power went out in Paris the day following um these events and then when this man treated this Jewish man this way or woman, I don’t, I didn’t see the sport, I I’m not watching because of all this nonsense, but I did see the report and because of this, this man was then injured.
And people are saying you know, you can call it karma, you can call it what? Say what goes around, comes, goes around, comes around or comes around, goes around. You can label it whatever you want, um, but the truth is you do reap what you sow. Um, that is biblical. Now, these events are not christian events, so I’m not going to over spiritualize something. The, the Olympics have nothing to do with God.
So, whether God judged them or not, I don’t know whether people are reacting and whether this is just and we’re gonna get to this today whether this is just malice and division and anger. I want to take us to the word because we need to know how to respond and we actually should be offended in the right way. Now, as Christians, we don’t want to take up an offense, but what I mean by offended is we should discern what is right and wrong and we should not be afraid to voice what’s right and wrong, and we can do so without forcing anybody. We’re not saying you have to be a Christian, you need to be a Christian, but there are certain things that are done that stand up in the face of. We have to protect our children. Families were not warned what was going to be on, and families sit together who love sports and they watch, and they’re all excited to see these ceremonies begin and this is what is put in front of their children’s eyes.
We have, we have been forced, forced, fed, forced to watch, forced to listen, forced to engage, whether we wanted it or not, in our schools, on our televisions, in in social media, in commercials it’s from every aspect that we can think of in government places and places of authority. We are being forced a gospel that says what is this is morally right and this is morally wrong, and they are contrary and complete opposites to what God’s word says and what God’s gospel says. If we do not stand against the tide, no matter what that tide is, you as a person in your community should stand up against evil. You should stand up against crime committed against innocent people. You should stand up and in protection of the innocent and protection of those who are vulnerable. That’s just the, the morality of the nature that god has instilled in all of creation. And god is the standard. I’ve said this before god is the one who created everything. He’s the one who sets the moral standard.
Without God, there is no morality. You can’t claim to say I’m a moral person and then say you want nothing to do with God because you can’t have a morality outside of God. It came from every idea that we have born in us. To know good from evil was put in us by God. If you say that it’s not, then you trace it to where it comes from. Because if all we are is matter, if all we are is particles, if all we are is is um cells that make no sense and we are here by happenstance and there is no meaning, then it matters not how you treat one another. It doesn’t matter if a dictator rises up and controls people. It doesn’t matter that in China they right now are literally.
You could say here in America or in any country that lets you travel to China, and you could say I need a heart transplant. I just read this morning a horrific story of this man who was explaining to a doctor yes, I need a heart, so I’ve scheduled and I’m going to receive a new heart in two weeks in China In order to do that. You can’t schedule that. You can’t schedule the natural death of somebody, the natural death, and know that a heart is a match for you and that they could give you that heart. Waiting lists for organs is usually at least two years long minimum. It’s not possible.
And the horrific harvesting that is happening, literally people who stand against what the government says and folks here in the United States. If we do not get our act together, we will be in the exact same position and it will be you and I, as Christians, who are going to be the ones that they’re going to say these people don’t deserve to live and they’re going to be killing us and taking our organs to think that this won’t happen here. Then you have literally dug a hole in the sand and stuck your head in it and you are paying no attention and you will have no recourse. The society that they have told everybody. We are a victim, you keep up with this and if we don’t do something about it, you’re darn right we are. You’re darn right we are, we’re going to be victims on every side, but it will be our own fault, it will be our own doing for allowing these things to happen. We have got to do something about this and stop this. So for that man to go schedule and the way that they do it over there, they have a law that says you can’t, uh the person cannot, die. They have to have. It has to be one week before the person, uh the organ is given. So they literally pick somebody who’s done nothing wrong, who has no criminal record other than they don’t agree with the state. They’ve been chosen, or they’ve been chosen as unworthy and they are prisoners. They take them as prisoners and they have no choice and they literally kill them to take their body parts, to make money off of them.
It’s horrific what’s happening in our world, from the non-morality, the absence of morality in sporting events. I mean, long gone are the days when you actually could just go to a sporting event and all that you cared about while you were there from the managers and the owners down to the players was playing the sport. There was no agenda of a government being forced through the sport. It has nothing to do with the sport. The same way, it has nothing to do with whether you kneel at to hear the national anthem. We have destroyed our own.
You know, it’s amazing that we have huge groups of people, in the sake of and for the sake of wanting to preserve heritage, being proud of their heritage. You could be from Ireland and want to be proud that you are from Ireland. You can be African and be proud that you are from Africa. You can be from Mexico and you can be proud that you are from Mexico. And we label all of these with the color of the skin. We give it a race and then we say we’re proud of that race.
Well, to do that, to be proud of the race, means that you actually care what happens to that race and as a country, we care about our country. So that means that we should be all thrilled to say the pledge of allegiance. We should care that we have a border that protects its citizens. We should care about these things. Does that mean that we don’t care for those who are underprivileged? Does that mean that we don’t care for those who might need and truly be seeking asylum from persecution in their country? No, absolutely not. We still address those things, but we do it legally and in a way that does not diminish the safety of those who are already legal citizens of this country. There is a right way to handle the needs, but we need to do it in such a way that we don’t kill ourselves in the process.
And by destroying and burning our flags and taking down monuments and desecrating them and showing no honor for this country, then why are you here other than to tear it down? Other than to tear it down and I need to get into the word of this because I’m on my little rant but Paul was addressing some of these same types of issues and he’s saying you have allowed a false doctrine, you are accepting something that is not what I have given you, and so what I want to hone in today is in the mix, in the midst of all this chaos and demoralization of an entire world and nations, and the subverting of Christianity and all that it stands for, I want us to go to the word and say what? What did they do? How do they deal with this? What should be our stance in this? So go with me to 2nd Corinthians. We’re gonna start in chapter 11. I’m going to read to you just start with me chapter 11, verse 1. I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness.
Now Paul is talking to the Corinthian church. He’s calling this foolishness because he’s about to defend himself and brag on himself to prove who he is, and he thinks bragging is foolishness. He counts everything that he has done, you know, under the as dung. Anything he has suffered, nothing that he has accomplished, it’s just dung. Everything he lives for now is just to simply preach the truth of the gospel and to to, as he calls it, um, to betroth a this virgin bride of the church, to one one savior, jesus Christ. Okay, so he’s about to descend into what he thinks is foolishness and he’s asking them to bear with him while he goes through this, to defend himself. And he has to defend himself because false teachers, false apostles, have come in with a different gospel.
Okay, and we’re seeing this in churches all over. We are seeing churches that have accepted a new gospel, a different Jesus. There are mainstream ministers who are well-known, who are accepting this whole new ideology that is contrary, this whole LGBTQ thing. They are accepting it and they are now tearing apart and saying you don’t need this part of the Bible and they are not holding the word of God as the inerrant word of God. They no longer hold it as sacred, they are pulling it apart. And these people call themselves Christians, have large churches, they are on television and radio. They are. They are pushing this agenda out into the, into the church world, so that this exact thing that Paul’s dealing with, that’s how Satan tricks, that’s how he pulls away.
If you’re going to say I’m going to church and I’m not going to stop and I’m going to stay in the word and I’m going to go hear the word of God and I’m all about that, then he’s got to find a way into the church to manipulate the words that are being spoken and change the gospel in order to pull you away from truth. It is the only thing that will matter, it’s the only thing that will protect us, it’s the only thing that will keep us. It’s loving the truth of God’s word. And if we can be pulled away, then it won’t matter. If you call yourself a Christian, you really aren’t. And if we can be pulled away, then it won’t matter. If you call yourself a Christian, you really aren’t. Uh, and we’ll get to that. But let’s finish reading.
Do bear with me, for I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. Indeed, I consider I am not in the least inferior to these super apostles. I’m putting my little finger quotes up. Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge. Indeed, in every way, we have made this plain to you in all things. I’m going to stop there for a moment. Plain to you in all things. I’m going to stop there for a moment.
Paul is saying I gave you the clearest and the best teaching, and it comes straight from the source. It comes from Jesus Christ. Paul himself says he was a man at a time. God chose him as an apostle, even though he is the least of these of the apostles, and he’s talking about the real apostles, jesus’s disciples. And he says that because of this, being born out of time, he actually heard the gospel from Jesus himself. Now, if you finish reading this, you’ll see what he talks about, but I want you to understand his concern. He’s saying I gave you the real gospel. This Bible, folks, is the real gospel. It is the real gospel. There is not another gospel.
There might be new quote unquote Bibles put out and paraphrases put out and people have new ways of saying this is what they think the Bible says. Folks, those are not interpretations. An interpretation is something that is done from its, the original form, into another language. So they are interpreting what the person said. They are not paraphrasing. And there are different kinds of interpretations. You can have word for word interpretations. You can have basically thought for thought interpretations. But we we’re now having quote unquote bibles now being put out where they take out pronouns, they take out things that seem offensive to the new agenda. It’s a new gospel, it’s a different Jesus and they’ll call it Jesus and they’ll use scripture.
I’ve heard people who have the most vile mouths, who come against everything that this word stands for and they will turn around and quote a scripture out of that bible. That does not make them a christian. It does not make them an authority. It does not make them, um, truth lovers. It does not make them even, um, they don’t even have enough knowledge of the bible to know what that scripture even means that they’re using it. They’re just picking something and reading something that matches what they’re wanting to say and trying to own it for the purpose of whatever the agenda is that they’re speaking. You know you’re standing in a correct agenda when you have to stand against the whole of the culture because the culture wave says no, we no longer want that. We want something new. Longer want that, we want something new. This is what Paul is dealing with.
And now, the majority of the people that were coming in there, they were teaching, um, most of them were more like Judaizers. They were coming in trying to tell them they had to adhere to the law, that they were not free. That was happening a lot in the churches. They would people with these. These Jews would go behind Paul, who was a Jew, but they’d go behind him and they would try to undo and change and manipulate what he taught. And these same people would come in and they would charge them. They would, they would make them, give them offerings. They were. They would make them give them offerings. They were. They were making money off of this agenda. In fact, let’s keep reading because you’re going to see this.
But he says um, he made it plain to you in all things, verse seven, or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted? Meaning that he gave of himself and lowered himself and and suffered for them to help give them what they need, to build them up and to encourage them. Because I preached God’s gospel to you free of charge. I robbed other churches. Now, he doesn’t mean robbed, he means he took off the. He accepted an offering from them. I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. So he would take offerings that were meant for him and he would turn around and give them to the church, the church at Corinth. Instead of taking from them, he was giving to them. This is part of his proof of the?
Um, of the honesty and the truth of the gospel he brought them, that he got nothing in return, that he wasn’t doing this for him, for his own self, um, uh, boasting and and to say that he’s, you know, some super apostle and that he deserves recognition and his name should be famous, that none of that was him. In fact, it was paul who kept saying you, you are doing a disservice and a wrong and causing division by saying I’m of paul, I’m of apollos, I’m of the cephas, I’m. He was saying it’s not about personalities, my job is to show you jesus christ in him alone, him alone. This is not about me puffing myself up. This is not about me becoming a big so-and-so okay and people who want to be famous. There’s a problem there. That’s a problem if you go into the gospel because you want to be famous. You got to wonder if you’re under the, the, the title of false pro apostle, false teacher. You got to wonder it. What’s your motivation here?
Because I just heard the most beautiful testimony while watching another podcast, and this man used to be as as early as last year it’s only 10 months old was a country music star and he realized that he was going after fame and that it was bringing. He felt the sin of what he was doing. He felt it and realized that, though he had always, you know, he was faithful to church and he was faithful to to tell, actually, the gospel and say things about God at his concerts. He realized his motive and the reason he was doing what he was doing was because he liked the fame and the accolades. And he said he realized it was sin, that that was sin that he couldn’t excuse by saying, well, I told them about God, because he wasn’t doing it for God, he was doing it for himself.
And he said he walked away from it. He walked away from the fame, he walked away from the record deals, he walked away from the hit singles, he walked away from all the things that he was gaining from that public position and said, no, I’m all about wanting to be a real Christian. And he realized that means I have to be in my Bible every day, not just go on Sunday and hear it preached to me. I have to actually go and and get in the word, because Jesus said that you love me If you do what I command you and if you remain in my word. And he realized I don’t know your word. How can I remain in your? And he realized I don’t know your word. How can I remain in your word? If I don’t know your word, then that means I’m called to get in this word and know this word, so I can stay in his word, so I can be assured that I belong to him. He under he got the revelation, he got the understanding that up until this point he was sort of chasing a false gospel.
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Even though the gospel itself was right, his manner and his motives were wrong. It was a beautiful testimony and here he’s trying to show them. There are people out there doing this to the church and they’re trying to undermine you, the church at Corinth, and I’m coming here to tell you what I gave you was the real gospel and anything that they have come in and tried to change and twist or manipulate and take advantage of you. They are false apostles for doing this and it is a false gospel and it is a different Jesus. It is not the Jesus who sacrificed his life and resurrected from the dead. That is not the same Jesus and we have got to be people who, when we hear, no matter who we hear it from, no matter what television station you’re listening to, no matter what preacher you’re listening to, just because they call themselves a preacher even me, don’t listen to me. I’m just a podcaster.
Don’t you go to the word yourself. You read this for yourself. You do your own homework. Be a Berean, get in the word and find out what God said, and don’t let what others say and don’t let what the culture says turn you away from this gospel or water it down and say it doesn’t matter because you have to wrestle this out yourself with God, you will stand before the Lord one day and you are going to have to give an answer for what you did with his son and what you did with this word. And if you stand there and say, well, I was told that that really didn’t matter, that the word didn’t matter, that that was only for them back then, cause it’s, it’s not relevant anymore, that was thousands of years ago.
So you know, we, we just tried to change with the times and we wanted to love everybody, and so we wanted to allow everybody to express their love. Even though you’re damaging so many children and young people that it’s unheard of the numbers right now that are committing suicide and in deep depression and on every kind of medication, not to mention what it does to those who are already adults, and they turn themselves over to just a living, a debauchery of life. And we knew this a hundred years ago. We knew this. Fifty years ago, we knew this. It’s in the last fifty years that we have all of a sudden started softening up on all of this and making changes and giving words new meanings and new definitions and changing what is truth, changing what we knew was true. For thousands of years, this has been true and now, all of a sudden, that’s not true. Now, all of a sudden, this new thing is what’s right.
It’s amazing what we’re willing to throw away, what we have learned. Even if you look at medicine, the world survived. Now, granted, there are technological advances and amazing things that have happened in science and in medicine that people used to die and now they don’t die. But there are so many things that we take pills for that it is unnecessary. And there are natural things. Eat, right, eat certain herbs, take certain things when you’re sick and you never need to take a pharmaceutical pill and you will be healthier for it, and you won’t have a laundry list after you’re, after taking that pill, of every kind of side effect. But we just think if it’s new it’s better. We just want to throw out anything that’s old for the just think if it’s new it’s better. We just want to throw out anything that’s old for the sake of something that’s new. We have itching ears and every new thing that said we want what’s that, what’s that, what’s that about? And we want to run to the new thing.
Folks, this Bible is tried and true. It has stood the test of time. God has in. I wish I had a better way to say this, but he has bent over backwards to make sure that we have this word to this day, that it has been saved and preserved.
There are so many more manuscripts of original text of the new Testament it’s mind boggling how many we have. The, the next classic books and things that are considered books of antiquity don’t even compare. They don’t even come close to comparing what we have of having actual word for word. We know exactly what it said and they love to come and attack the word and say that we don’t have the originals and we don’t know what they said. Yes, we absolutely do. It’s nonsense to say that we don’t.
The dead sea scrolls alone proved all the older documents that we had. They proved that what was even older was accurate. If you even did a tiny study to know the process that scribes went through in order to take a manuscript and to copy it, you couldn’t have a mistake. If you had a mistake, it had to be burned and you had to start all over. It was scrutinized to the smallest Folks. That’s why the Bible uses the term. You don’t change one dot or one tittle. Those were little marks, almost like saying punctuation in the, in the word. You couldn’t get that wrong. It matters. God has his everlasting word. That is true still today. And it is it, it’s, it will never change. His word will never change. It will never change. It’s everlasting.
All right, let’s get back to reading. I’m going to repeat verse 8. I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you, and when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way, as the truth of Christ is in me. This boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia, and why? Because I do not love you. God knows I do. And what am I doing? I will continue to do in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission, they work on the same terms as we do.
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen distinguishing themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. Wow. Paul is making sure they understand. Not only are they false apostles, false teachers, they are deceitful. They disguise themselves as apostles of christ, but that’s because they are like their father, satan, who also disguises himself as a angel of light. How many times have we seen this?
The guise of doing and accepting all of this stuff that we’re being force fed is to say well, that’s love. And you are being judgmental and you are condemning and you’re the one who’s got evil and anger in your heart towards them and you are not accepting and you do not include those who who need to be accepted. All of that is verbiage. That is a disguise of light, but it is full of deceitful darkness. It is not the word of God. It is not the truth of love. God is love. He is the one who determines what love is. It’s very definition is determined by his character. God is love. So his character, what he says is good and right, all of those things, how he responds is good and right, all of those things how he responds, that is love. Even if God responds in anger towards something, it is not outside of the love of his character, because his character is love.
It’s not this, what we’ve turned it into. The world has turned it into this mushy gushy. Let everything be and and don’t confront anything and don’t stand for anything and don’t, don’t, um, don’t tell anybody that what they’re doing is wrong. We cannot call ourselves Christians and think that that’s okay. Paul is adamantly saying.
Adamantly saying this is deceitful and these people are manipulative, and it is. It is the work of Satan himself. That’s why he said earlier I’m afraid you’re going to be deceived, like Eve, by his cunning. He’s cunning, he’s smart, he’s divisive, though, and he knows how to get in there and divide and cut off people. For how? If you’ve ever watched the nature movies I’ve talked, I’ve mentioned this before nature programs in and you see the, the predator, coming after his prey and he’ll be chasing an entire herd. But his goal is not the whole herd, his goal is to cut one off so that he can devour the one. Do you know?
That’s how all these false christian religions have come to be, that mormonism came because, all of a sudden, joseph smith starts saying you know what the bible’s wrong about this? That’s not right. And then, not too long after that, all of a sudden, he’s saying he had visions of an angel that came and told him what the gospel really is, and an entire church, the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints. Well, it’s a different jesus. It’s a different jesus, folks, and he’s he’s claiming that to be his. He’s got the answer, saying the bible’s wrong. A whole new sect is born from that. That’s how the um. That’s same thing. They got one or two people pulled off and those two people ended up starting the um uh, the Jehovah’s Witnesses. And then you had another sect who kind of they were sort of like the Judaizers, and they come in.
And then now, all of a sudden, we’ve got a group called the Seventh-day Adventists, and it’s not that, it’s not that what they’re saying is so contrary to scripture, but they’ve added a lot of law back inside, and so it’s a different gospel, because the gospel frees us from the law. Now, it doesn’t mean that we live contrary to the law, but it frees us from the law. We are not saved by the works of the law and you have to adhere to those laws. That’s how your salvation is worked out in that church. So it’s wrong, it’s deceptive, it’s got a little. It’s got a little um, a changing of what Paul is teaching.
Now, I’m not coming against all these people. I’m coming against a gospel that is different than this gospel. I’m coming against a gospel that is different than this gospel that we have learned. And Paul says if you are hearing another gospel, other than what I brought you, or the men that I have sent you that give you this exact same gospel, then you are listening to a wrong gospel. It is a false gospel and it is not Jesus. It is a false Jesus. If you go down to verse, well, I’ll just continue reading 16.
I repeat let no one think me foolish. But even if you do accept me as a fool so that I too may boast a little, so he’s going to go on boasting here. What am I saying with this boastful confidence? I say, not as the Lord would, but as a fool. Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast.
So again, it’s foolishness to boast. He’s about to do it, but he’s doing it because the church at Corinth seems to love when they hear people boast about themselves. And don’t we see that in our culture today? We watch people get up with grandiose words and they’re full of pride and arrogance and they boast about their opinions and their thoughts and what they think is right, and they sneer and devour their guests on their shows who have a different idea. And we eat it up. As a culture, we take that in as our diet. That feeds us. We’re hungry for that. We’re hungry for that boasting. And that’s what Paul is confronting. He’s saying you like this, you like this boasting? Okay, then I’ll boast, just for the sake of showing how foolish this is. It’s foolishness.
Okay, I’m getting so carried away. I’m sorry. If you need to turn the volume down, turn the volume down. Anyway, I’m on my soapbox, verse 19,.
For you gladly bear with fools. Being wise yourself, meaning you think that you’re wise and that you are choosing what is good, listening to these false people and that’s where the error lies, because that’s arrogant too. You think in your wisdom that you know and you’re not using any spiritual discernment. For you, bear it If someone makes slaves of you. Okay, I’m about to read this scripture, and this one blew my mind because this is our government right now. I know it’s happening in other countries as well, but open your ears up If you want to hear some relevant words about what our government is trying to do right now in the United States. For you, bear it If someone makes slaves of you or devours you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or strikes you in the face.
To my shame, I must say we were too weak for that. He was saying I, I wouldn’t have done that to you. And if you think that’s weak, well then, to my shame, I was weak. That was my weakness that I didn’t manipulate and strong-arm you and force you, make you a slave to something, to devour you and to take your money, instead of giving offerings to you. All of these things. He’s what our government does this to us. They’re doing this right now and they want to strip all of your rights and make you follow their rules. And yet they themselves are the ones living high on the hog. They’re the ones not abiding by any of these rules. It’s uh, you know, no for you and yes for me. It’s awful what’s being done and we’re allowing this. Folks, our votes are what we stand up for, what we support with our money. We, we just partner with this. And Paul is saying this is shameful. This is shameful.
But whatever anyone else dares to boast of, I am speaking as a fool. I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they the servants of Christ? I am a better one and I am talking like a madman, with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings and often near death.
Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the 40 lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwreck. Once I was stoned Three times I was shipwrecked A night and a day as I was adrift at sea on frequent journeys in danger from rivers, dangers from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger in the sea, danger from false brothers in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all of the churches. Who is weak? And I am not weak. Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant. If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and father of the Lord Jesus, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.
At Damascus. The governor under King Aretas I’m not saying his name right was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands. He goes on. He talks about more boasting. He’s saying I have proven this. And, folks, if we don’t have the proof of the lives that the original disciples lived, they never once changed their story. They knew the truth of who Jesus Christ was and they died for it.
There are people all over this world right now dying for the truth of the word. They have zero freedoms in their country and they are, you know, raided. Their homes are raided and their churches are shut down. Their homes are burnt down, churches are burnt down. We’re seeing people imprisoned. This is happening all over the globe right now because they stand for truth. That’s the truth, not this false gospel that’s going around making everybody live in this little, false, cloudy understanding of who Jesus is. It’s a false doctrine and it is a deceitful doctrine and it will take us to hell. It will not give you everlasting life. You are fooling yourselves.
I listened to a TV personality the other day actually quote a scripture and say I’m a Christian girl. I was raised a Catholic and I’m a Christian girl and she is the furthest thing from a Christian girl. I don’t care what school you intended going to. You are not a Christian just because you went to a Catholic school. You’re not a Christian just because right now you go to church. You’re not a Christian just because you went to a catholic school. You’re not a christian just because right now you go to church. You’re not a christian just because you read your bible. That does not make you a christian.
Evangelist tiff shuttlesworth just posted a thing he said that doesn’t make you any more of a christian. Then going to an italian restaurant makes you an italian. It’s the life you live, the surrendered heart given over to jesus in your stead. You die to you. I die to the flesh day. I have to die to me so that I can live to Christ. If I am not dying, if I am thriving in this culture, if I’m thriving with this culture, if I have accepted what this culture’s message is, I have deceived myself. I have deceived myself. I am not saved by that. I am not a Christian by that standard.
Folks, we have got to pay close attention. Okay, let’s go to verse I want to jump down. Let’s go to we’re in chapter 12 now and I want us to go down to um verse 20 that he’s speaking to the church itself, he’s speaking to Corinth and he has just gone on this rant of of exposing the false teachers and saying who he is, and he has authority to do so. And he says in verse 20, for I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish and that you may find me not as you wish, that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit and disorder. I fear that when I come again, my God may humble me before you and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, the sexual immorality and the sensuality that they have practiced.
This is the culture we live in and that same twisted gospel is trying to make its way into the church and the bride of Jesus Christ, and it has been successful in pulling off the Episcopal church. There are many denominations that, even though the denomination itself says we stand against this, the individual churches are saying we welcome this, and there are factions of churches all over, all over the place, that have embraced this, this life of sexual immorality, and every possible way. And folks, we have to be those who say it doesn’t matter what it costs me, it doesn’t matter how I’m humbled, I’m standing for truth, because if I don’t, there will be nothing left to stand for and we will be the ones completely swallowed up. Completely swallowed up. We need to stand in the strength of Jesus Christ and his word. His word never fails, it’s never wrong and it will never go away. It has been preserved this far and he will preserve his word. It is everlasting.
I want to finish by reading in chapter 13. Paul is finishing up his letter and he gives this admonition in verse 5. Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves or do you not realize this about yourselves that jesus christ is in you. Are we living a life that I I, if jesus was standing here in the flesh, that I would say go with me everywhere I go and I would not be ashamed. Hear everything I say.
Folks. He knows your thoughts. There’s nothing you are doing that is hidden from his sight, and we have got to be those who say Jesus is right here. If I claim him as my savior and he is living in me, then I have to be speaking and living according to his truth. That’s what makes me a disciple of Jesus Christ. But if I’m not, I need to test myself. I need to examine myself whether I’m actually in the faith, or am I chasing a different gospel? Am I chasing a false apostle? What am I chasing? What are my motives? Is Jesus Christ really living in me? Christ really living in me? I know this is a really hard-hitting, I know it’s kind of a punch to the gut, but we need to stand for truth and righteousness. We’ll stand before him one day, and boy do I want to hear the words well done, good and faithful servant. That’s what I want to hear. That’s what I want to hear. Folks, I challenge you examine yourselves. Make living for Jesus the motivation of your life. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. What he says is right, and all of these things will be added unto you.
Thank you so much for taking the time and staying with me today. I pray this was an encouragement to you. Do me a favor, hit that like button. Give us a thumbs up. If you aren’t yet a subscriber, hit that bell and get notified. I’d like to hear from you. You can send me an email at mail at jamielucecom or visit my website, jamielucecom. Both of those J-A-I-M-E-L-U-C-E Thank you again for being with me today. It was my pleasure to be with you and I’ll see you next time. Bye-bye.
