In the Holy Bible (our text verse) we find the term “the
condemnation of the devil.” The Scriptures teach that a bishop, or
pastor, should be above reproach, lest he fall into the condemnation of
Satan. The Bible is addressing the reality of ungodly critics, who
continually attack, degrade and try to destroy the reputation of Christian
leaders, to discredit their labors for the Lord.
Carefully notice that the Bible does not prohibit a man from becoming a pastor due to past mistakes, sins and failures. I realize that there is considerable debate among theologians over the interpretation of this passage, but the plain fact is that the Bible speaks only of the present. To say otherwise is speculation. There are countless faithful men of God today, who were delivered by God's grace out of horrible lives of sin and shame, who are now serving the Lord faithfully. Brother Lester Roloff, one of the dearest men of God in American history, was at one time a drunk, as he admits in some of his sermons. You won't find a finer preacher or truer man of God, than Lester Roloff (1914-1982).
I heard a very popular evangelist, whom if I mentioned his name, any independent Baptist would immediately recognize his name (but I won't mention his name due to the nature of the sin), admit publicly in a sermon that at one time he was a child pornographer, but God saved him from that after he got saved. My friend, God's saving and healing grace knows no limits! The truth is that anybody is fully capable of committing ANY sin under the right circumstances! That is why we must guard our heart, as we read in Proverbs 4:23, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Satan desires to sift every believer as wheat, as Jesus warned the apostle Peter. Take a look at what Satan wants to do to YOU!
The Bible is teaching that it is a good thing to desire the
office of a bishop, or pastor. That clearly implies that all the talk about
having to be “called” to be a pastor is untrue. In fact, I don't find
anything in the Holy Bible about being required to be called to do anything!
There is no call to soulwinning! Is there a call to preach? What do we mean
by being “called?” That simply means that some men feel in their soul that
God has chosen them to preach. Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed thee in the
belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified
thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” By the way, the
preceding verse plainly exposes the U.S. Supreme Court as bold-faced liars
and murderers, who have legalized abortion in the U.S. since 1973, on the
ruling that a human fetus in a mother's womb is not a life! You better
believe that fetus is a human life!!! God chose Jeremiah to preach to the
nations BEFORE he was even conceived. And I believe that is still true
today. I believe God chose me to preach before I was born. My parents
dedicated me to the Lord at age one at the Salvation Army. I was saved at
age 13, and knew in my heart soon thereafter that God has a purpose for my
life preaching THE TRUTH!
There is No Condemnation in Christ Jesus!
I
wanted to write this article about “the condemnation of the devil”
to convey one specific truth across to you dear reader; and that great truth
is that, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in
Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans
8:1). Walking after the Spirit means that you have been indwelt by God's
Holy Spirit, which is true of every believer (Romans 8:9' 1st Corinthians
3:16-17; 1st John 3:24). There is NO CONDEMNATION in Jesus Christ!!!
The ungodly world, and ungodly believers for that matter,
will CONDEMN YOU for your sin failures in life. They will bring up your past
sins, oftentimes subtly to plunge in the knife of guilt to grieve your heart
if they can, but you can hold your head high because of the precious
“blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1st John 1:7).
And furthermore, those believers who sinfully judge other believers, are
only digging a grave for themselves at the Judgment Seat of Christ, because
“For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what
measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again” (Matthew 7:2). And
concerning the unsaved who condemn the saved for our sins, “For the time
is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin
at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (1st
Peter 4:17). Woe unto unjust critics!
How Do Christians Cope With Condemnation?
So
how do you deal with condemnation, when ungodly people judge you for your
sins and condemn you (and they ALWAYS will)? You realize that your identity
is hidden in Jesus Christ Himself! Colossians 3:1-3, “If ye then be risen
with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the
right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the
earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ
in God.” The moment that you received Jesus Christ as your
personal Savior, by faith receiving Christ's sacrifice on the cross as
payment for your sins, believing that He physically raised up from the dead
the third day, you were permanently saved and your identity was hidden in
Christ. In other words, when God the Father looks at you as His redeemed
child, He only sees the
imputed (credited)
righteousness of His only begotten Son Jesus, the sinless Lamb of God
(John 1:29; Hebrews 4:15).
I have perfect peace in my soul when people condemn me, and they often unjustly do. People read garbage on the internet, so it must be true, right! Here's why I never defend myself! I watched Dr. Hyles defend himself, and his enemies had a heyday, twisting around everything that he said. Even our precious sinless Lord, when unjustly accused, didn't defend Himself. Don't believe anything you hear, and only half of what you see! I regularly get stupid e-mails from people, asking me what they should do about allegations they've read about Pastor Jack Hyles. Why do you need to do anything? They ask me this because I am arguably the biggest fan and supporter of Dr. Jack Hyles (1926-2001), my favorite preacher and mentor, and a man of God whom I love and cherish dearly. It is unbelievable how wicked people are! Dr. Jack Hyles faithfully pastored five churches for over 55 years! That man did more to help others than 10,000 people could do in a lifetime, because of his influence for God. I could spend hours just telling you of the good things I know about Jack Hyles; yet these ungodly critics, no good doers, slanderers, religious haters, dig under every rock desperately looking for anything and everything they can find to condemn Brother Hyles, in a vile attempt to destroy his legacy and discredit him. That is pure Satanism!!!
And they do the same wicked thing to me. But do you what, there is a benefit when people attack me, because it earns me rewards in Heaven. I always immediately block people out (their e-mail) who ask me about any garage about me on the internet! You say, “Why do you do that?” Simply because I am here to help as many people as I can, not justify myself to anyone. If you have a problem with that, go away, there are others who need my help, and I am helping thousands of people by God's grace! I am not going to waste my time trying to prove what cannot be proven! How can I prove that the horrible things people say about me are not true! If I said they weren't, would you believe me? The fact that you need to know reveals the wicked condition of your heart.
So I don't answer such questions, and I never will. I
neither confirm nor deny any criticism against me online. Oh, but you say,
then it must be true! If you dare make that claim and risk the judgment of
God if you are wrong, as Clint Eastwood says, “Feel lucky punk?” It's your
hide, not mine! God takes judging others very seriously, so you had better
make sure that you know what you're talking about when you go around
attacking others! I stand behind all my online writings, and put my name to
ALL of them, I'm not a coward, and I'll die and confidently give account to
God for what I stand for!!! (Romans 3:4). I love everyone and I never make
it personal when I write articles.
We Are Living in a Wicked Generation of Critics!
Folks,
it is wrong to believe allegations just because someone says something. If I
accuse you of committing adultery with your neighbor, are you obligated to
explain yourself or prove that I am wrong? How can you? The truth is that no
one is required to explain nor justify them self when accused, not even in a
court of law! The burden is upon the accuser to prove their claims, which
very few can! That is why many accused people are acquitted in court.
Acquitted doesn't mean they are innocent, it just means that there was
insufficient evidence to convict. That is why I think
Ross Harris was unjustly convicted, based on a long stretch of shady
evidence against him. I'm not saying Ross is innocent, but I think, based on
all the evidence shared with the public to justify the court's decision, he
should have been acquitted.
I do just want to mention though, that the cowards who attack me online never reveal their names, they (the source) remain anonymous. That is because they can be sued for defamation if they revealed their identity, because what they are doing is illegal and slanderous. I did speak with an attorney several years ago about this matter, and was told that because the slanderous source is anonymous, there is nothing that can be done. And I was also told, that even if a particular source could be removed, the anonymous slanderer would just move to another website. So that's that, for those of you who must know!
Truthfully, all of the ungodly people spreading garbage about me and other preachers on the internet, have absolutely no idea if there is any truth to it, they just hate without cause and want to destroy, so they repeat something they've heard, or outright lie. It could be true, right? Who knows, right? That is the purpose of starting such rumors, to generate doubt in the mind of the reader. Once you read something slanderous about a person, a seed of doubt is forever planted in your mind about that person, and Satan fully knows that!
Workers of iniquity almost always work in darkness. That is
why the true hidden powers behind the subversion of the United States, which
have been exposed and written about extensively over the past century,
continue to remain, for the most part, anonymous. They are cowards! Satan
and his workers always operate under cover of darkness, because their deeds
are evil; but as believers, we work in the daylight for all to see, because
we have nothing to hide! Amen!
The Ungodly Will Always Condemn the Righteous
The world will never allow you to forget your past sins. Sadly, professed Christians are often no better than the ungodly world. They may be more subtle about it, but their hurtful words are as a sharp razor that cuts to the bone. This is called the “the condemnation of the devil” because that is what the Devil does, that is all he does—slander, condemn, criticize and try to tear down anyone and everyone who is God's child, who is trying to live a godly life, who preaches THE TRUTH, or is sorry for past sins and shortcomings in life. Revelation 12:10, “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” The American newsmedia is a house of devils, relentlessly accusing, destroying and ruining lives with their manure-spreading!
There's a YouTube video of the sleazy prostitute who Evangelist Jimmy Swaggart sinned with. She is denouncing his sin, tearing him down, elevating herself over him morally. Perhaps you ask, “How can she do that, when she is guilty of the same exact sin?” The reason is simply because she has nothing to lose. You cannot go any lower in life than selling your body! No doubt she was paid very well for the ungodly interview, which is what prostitutes do, sell themselves! I am not defending ole Jimmy, God forbid; but that two-bit tramp is in even more trouble, because whereas Mr. Swaggart has publicly repented of his sins (if he is even saved), she hasn't! She is condemning him along with the evil media outlet who is paying her to do so. What gives one sinner a right to condemn another sinner, accusing them of being worse than they are? That's like Delilah blaming Samson for their immorality! That's like Bath-Sheba blaming David for their adultery! It takes TWO to tango! Prostitution requires at least TWO sinners!
The psalmist wisely said in Psalms 106:6, “We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.” Pastor Jack Hyles used to say, “First Baptist Church of Hammond will become a great church when we stop saying, 'He has sinned!' and 'She has sinned!' and we start saying, 'WE HAVE SINNED!'” I say Amen to that! WE have sinned, all of us. I am a dirty, no good, rotten, sinner, and so are you you judgmental piece of dirt from the earth!!! So stop critiquing the other guy or gal who sins! If you sin, I am going to love you back to spiritual health! I am not talking about looking the other concerning ongoing sins! All sin needs to be rebuked from pulpits across America! That is one major thing wrong with our country today, pastors are no longer preachers! They don't preach against anything anymore! Good luck finding a church where the pastor cries aloud against the sins of our time! They are COWARDS!!!
Brother Lester Roloff was so right when he said, “When America lost her way to the right kind of church, she lost her way to living right!” The average church pulpit today is deader than a funeral home!!! You might as well sit in a morgue on Sunday mornings, than sit through the average dead church service nowadays!!! Either that or the church has become a worldly rock concert, where no one ever gets saved, there is no preaching against sin, and ears are tickled. In such shameful churches the pastor preaches in blue jeans, the pastor's wife wears pants, and the youth all have hippie hair (Oh for hair again!...lol). Brother Hyles used to call himself a “two-haired hippie.” We've lost our backbone in America today! I receive many letters from frustrated Christians, who are sick and tired of all these dead churches! The average church just wants your money!!! God never intended for churches to become incorporated businesses!!
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“Nothing
in my future can ever affect the salvation that I have... Once you trust
the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are eternally secure!”
—Pastor Hank Lindstrom (1940-2008), a quote from the classic MP3 sermon
titled, “
