All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies (Psalm 25:10, KJV).

The contemporary self-centered seeker sensitive spiritual climate in which we find ourselves here in the American Christian Church does not make for strong believers, and it barely even makes for more “church-goers,” as my friend pastor Richard Snider calls them. When the “new” Evangelical leaders made the ill-fated mistake to deny the cross and to instead take up them-selves they ended up creating a pseudo-Christian religion centered on meeting our so-called “felt needs.” This refusal to approach things the way Christ had commanded His followers has led to a large percentage of professing Christians being taken captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ (Colossians 2:8).

But we praise our merciful God that there is still hope; there is still a way back onto the narrow path, and there is still time to avoid being caught up by these deceptions that come through seducing spirits with their things taught by demons. You need concentrate on the Lord and on the Truth revealed in our text – All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant. However you must also come to realize that to walk with Christ means that you must keep the demands of His covenant. Jesus Himself even says to the true Christian – “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). This horribly watered down version of Christianity that you are so used to hearing just simply cannot be found in the Bible.

Sadly, counterfeit Christian teachers like Rick Warren and Brian McLaren and Joel Osteen, in a hugely misguided attempt to bring more people into the Church, stumbled over some very important things that Christ Jesus of Nazareth tells us about the faith of the true born again believer. Chief among these would be the essential conditions of the denial of self and our putting the will of the Savior above our own. This whole warped seeker sensitive idea of the self-ish Purpose Driven Life in some Emergent Church allegedly built on the confession of your faith-filled words collapses in squalid ruins when Jesus says:

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” (Luke 9:23-25)

If there was one passage of Holy Scripture alone to destroy this fictitious ecumenical new Evangelical kingdom of NAE presidentTed Haggard it’s this one. Christ says – “If” – [this is not unconditional] – “If anyone would come after Me, he must” – [another condition] – “he must deny himself and take up his cross” – [and this has not changed even for the insolent foul-mouthed postmodern Emergent hoping to be able to still have a few beers at his favorite pub and to be a “Christian” as well. Yes, even] – “he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Our Lord is not the least interested here in our “felt needs,” or with some longing to be at peace with other religions.

Then the Master continues – “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it” – [because your real “purpose” as a born again believer is to be a slave to Christ] – “but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” And finally the self-ish gain of the Word Faith movement is obliterated when Jesus says – “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” Which brings us back to the Evangelical church in postmodern pagan America being taken captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

For you see our Lord tells us to “Enter through the narrow gate,” but the basic principles of this world say: “Bigger is better.” Yet again the opposite from the ways of the LORD God – “For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.” How much wiser it is for us to turn our back on these worldly human traditions as proposed by the Purpose Driven Emergent Church of new Evangelicalism along the broad ecumenical road that leads back to the apostate Church of Rome, and instead to just concentrate on the Lord.

The wise old minister was right when he wrote:

I hope some of you will agree with me that it is of far greater importance that we have better Christians than that we have more of them! If we have any spiritual concerns, our most pressing obligation is to do all in our power to obtain a revival that will result in a reformed, revitalized, purified Church. Each generation of Christians is the seed of the next, and degenerate seed is sure to produce a degenerate harvest; not a little better than but worse than the seed from which it sprang. Thus the direction will be down until vigorous, effective means are taken to improve the seed.

Why is it easier to talk about revival than to experience it? Because followers of Christ must become personally and vitally involved in the death and resurrection of Christ. And this requires repentance, prayer, watchfulness, self-denial, detachment from the world, humility, obedience and cross-carrying! Let us not make the mistake of thinking we can be spiritual and not be good. And we must not make the mistake of thinking we can walk with the Holy Ghost and go a wrong or a dirty or an unrighteous way, for how can two walk together except they be agreed? (see–Amos 3:3)

He is the Holy Spirit, and if I walk an unholy way, how can I fellowship with Him? So let us walk in righteousness. The grace of God that brings salvation also teaches the heart that we should deny ungodliness and worldly passions and live self-controlled, righteously and godly lives in this present world (see–Titus 2:12). And there you have the three dimensions of life. Self-controlled–that is me. Righteously–that is my fellowman. Godly–that is God. No matter how men deny and resist, the Bible teaches that the purification of the heart is the work of God…and God alone…

Can you guess who he was?