The Perilous Times of These Last Days

Living in the Perilous Times of these Last Days

by Dustin Miller

I am pretty sure that it is common knowledge amongst us Christians that we are living in the “last days” and concerning this time in which we live the Apostle Paul, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote this in 2 Timothy 3:1-5:  “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” And in 1 Timothy 4:1,2: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.”

In these last days we are told that the Church will live in dangerous, troublesome and harsh times – so much so that what will be branded by many as true Christianity will not be true at all, but will be nothing more than a “Christianized Religion” meaning that it will have the appearance of true Christianity, but will be void of any power! Despite the fact that millions will call themselves Christians, a great number of them will, in reality, only be in the “Christian religion”, but not in Christ. A Church that doesn’t preach the Gospel will have no converts. A Church that doesn’t preach the Blood of Jesus will not see the captives set free. A Church that doesn’t preach the Cross will lead no one to victory. And today we are seeing more and more Churches forbidding the Cross to be preached from their pulpits. God help us.

I read an article a few weeks ago about a pastor and his congregation who were protesting their denomination’s stance to oppose gay marriage. For the sake of the article, the entire church, numbering over hundred people, posed for a picture outside the church. Everyone in the picture was smiling and seemed extremely proud of their stance for “tolerance”. How tragic. How horrific it is to know that the members of that church would not only deny the Word of God by condoning such immorality, but could be so foolish and seemingly unaware by the fact that they are leading their innocent children toward the gates of hell singing “Jesus loves me, this I know, because the Bible tells me so”. These are supposed to be Born-Again Christians, yet the fruit they are yielding bears witness to the contrary.

Despite the condition of the modern Church and the perilous times we will yet face, I believe, we have entered into the beginning of what will be the greatest move of God this world has seen or known. I believe that we will soon see the greatest harvest of souls that the Church has ever seen. Millions of souls will be swept into the Kingdom of God, just before the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. But in sad contrast to this great move of God, we will also see many depart from the Faith of Christ. Many will leave the Faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. There will be people we know and love who will abandon the Truth and believe lies. Despite the countless hours I’ve spent studying the Bible concerning this great “falling away” of the church and despite the numerous times I have preached about it, I’m still shocked at seeing this occur right before my eyes. A good friend of mine, a pastor, was hastily removed from the pastorate by his church board, because he boldly preached the Cross from behind the pulpit. On the flip-side to that, I’ve had friends in the ministry who at one time preached the Gospel with power and purity, but today after turning away from the Truth now preach false doctrine. I know that what I’m about to mention next may sound far-fetched, but it is true - there are ministers that are being castigated by other members of their denomination for simply making a stand for righteousness and preaching Truth. It’s absolutely shocking how pastors and even some leaders of denominations are leading their people away from the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ unto another gospel. They have defected from the Faith of Christ and are committing Spiritual Adultery and see nothing wrong with it. It behooves us all to be watchful lest we should also be seduced and caught away with false doctrine. For this reason, we must be diligent to listen with care what is preached and taught from behind the pulpit and make sure it agrees with God’s Word. A little leaven, leavens the whole lump! We must also be diligent to test every spirit to see whether they be of God – our very souls depend upon it. This means that we must make it a point to learn, know and understand sound doctrine for ourselves and not just believe what someone else says. 

In 2 Timothy 4:3-4 the Apostle Paul warns, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”  It is a heart-breaking fact that these days if a preacher drives up in his high-dollar luxury car, wearing a three thousand dollar suit, flashing his Rolex watch and with seducing speech promotes his unscriptural prosperity gospel, many in the Church will shower him with praise and pledge to make him rich. Should another come waving his “credentials”, promoting his “intellectualism” and boasting of the great “revelations” God has given him, but his preaching and teaching is void of Truth, many in the Church will follow after him and claim he is a prophet of God. If there be yet another preacher that comes performing great “signs and wonders” a multitude of Church folk will flock to his meetings and will believe his doctrine regardless if it is fat with eastern mysticism, laced with new age philosophy and empowered by demon spirits. But if there be a preacher who would come preaching the Gospel in power and demonstration of the Spirit, despising sin, compelling all to come to the Cross in repentance and place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, many that claim to be Christians would rebuke, criticize and shun him. They would call him an ignorant, intolerant fanatic whose doctrine is outdated. Well, I cannot speak for all, but as for me, I’d rather be forsaken as a fool for Christ’s sake than to be a fool by forsaking Christ!

As I mentioned earlier, despite the direction that most in the modern Church are going, I believe that there is a remnant of true Believers that have not left their first Love nor have bowed their knee to Baal! I believe that we are currently in the beginning stage of the greatest move of God this world has ever seen or known. I believe that the Lord is, in this very hour, raising up preachers who like the prophets of old will preach without fear or compromise, “Thus saith the Lord God Almighty!” The days of fiery preaching aren’t behind us friend, but they are before us! Hallelujah! Oh God give us preachers that have Galatians 6:14 written in their hearts and minds – “God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” God give us preachers whose philosophy of ministry is “For I determined not to trust in or preach anything but Jesus Christ and Him Crucified. And I, not desiring my will or trusting in my own abilities, but in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling will preach, with all boldness, Your Word. My speech and my preaching shall not be with enticing words of this world’s wisdom, but in demonstration of Your Spirit and of power: That the faith of those who hear should not be established in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”  My fellow brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus – let’s proclaim His Gospel everywhere and to everyone; let us not be weary in these perilous times, but rather be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might!

Thank You Jesus!

How to Live Victoriously in Christ Jesus

YOUR DAILY WALK WITH GOD
By Dustin Miller

It is important that we be rooted and built up in Christ Jesus and established in the faith as we have been taught (Colossians 2:6, 7). That simply means that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is to be the foundation and sole object of our faith. We are not to embrace a “different Gospel” or a “different Jesus,” but are to stand by faith on the one true Gospel of Jesus Christ, as given in the Scriptures (Galatians 1:6-9; II Corinthians 11:3, 4; Galatians 5:1; Romans 5:1, 2).

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1)

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1-2)

As children of God, we must always remember that our salvation is a not a result of any noble or religious deeds that we have performed or by the keeping of any commandments or traditions, but is a result of God’s grace through our faith in Jesus Christ and in His redemptive work on the Cross (Ephesians 2:8, 9).  

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8, 9)

The Bible teaches that we are to live for God in the same manner by which we received Christ, which is by God’s grace through faith (Colossians 2:6).

“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:” (Colossians 2:6)

The scriptures declare that the “just shall live by faith” and that it is “foolishness” to believe that we can live a holy life and/or that we can perfect the work that the Holy Spirit has begun in us by the means of our own efforts (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38; Galatians 3:1-3).

“O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:1-3)

The Christian disciplines, such as Bible study, prayer, fasting, etc., are of great value and importance in the life of the believer and every effort should be made to perform these disciplines as best as we can. However, it must be understood that performing these disciplines (works) will not give one victory over sin. Victory over sin is only accomplished by the believer exhibiting faith, continually and exclusively, in the Cross of Christ. Our faith in Jesus Christ and what He has accomplished on the Cross gives us access into this grace wherein we stand and are made free from the dominion of sin (Romans 5:1, 2; Romans 6:14). To place faith in our own efforts to produce righteousness or maintain freedom from sin is to frustrate the grace of God and cause the effectual working power of Christ’s atoning death to become of no benefit to us in that regard (Galatians 2:20, 21; Galatians 5:4).

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”(Galatians 2:20, 21)

Man, because of original sin (man’s fall in the Garden of Eden), is living in a body of sinful flesh (Romans 7:16-18; Romans 7:21-23). This innate desire for sin is what the Bible calls the sin nature, and is present within every human being, saved or not, and is extremely powerful. Should a believer attempt to overcome his/her sin nature by means of will power and self-effort,  the sin nature will dominate and rule that believer, driving him/her to commit acts of sin against his/her will (Romans 7:14-23). We must recognize the power of the sin nature and understand that the only way to be free from its dominion is to be governed by the grace of God through faith and not by religious works or Christian disciplines (Romans 8:2-4; Romans 5:1, 2; Romans 6:14). It is not by will power, human effort or through self-atoning works that we are kept free from sin, but is by God’s grace through our faith. It is God who works in us to will and do His good pleasure and this He does through our faith in His predestined plan for victory which He foreordained before the foundation of the world – the redeeming, atoning, sacrificial death of His Son Jesus Christ on the Cross (Philippians 2:13; Hebrews 9:26; I Peter 1:18-21).

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2)