Christian Cocktail
No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Matthew 6:24)
And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful (Matthew 4:18-19)
For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica (2 Timothy 4:10).
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.(2 Timothy 3:1-5)
The Bible is very plain, we must make a choice. The Christian faith does not mix with the sinful pursuits of the world at large. In every instance where someone chooses to try and cling to idolatrous passions and Christian practice, it leads to heresy and apostasy. The spiritual life will collapse. The soul will turn away from Christ and back to sin. The Christian cocktail will make one drunk with the pleasures of this world.
Some make the grave mistake of thinking that the Christian life is about getting rid of the big sins while tolerating a few, insignificant others. Such philosophy will lead to shipwreck. Sin is sin, we must repent. Others believe that Christianity is something they practice on Sunday. If so, their faith will become a weekly tragedy.
When we stir the Christian cocktail it skews our view of Scripture. Those that drink the Christian cocktail have an anemic view of Scripture that leads to sickly interpretations. Inevitably they ignore those portions with which they are uncomfortable, concentrate on a few token verses they enjoy, and twist other portions that help them justify their mistaken version of the Christian faith. They are scholars on the verses in which God promises peace, rest, abundance, joy, and protection. What they fail to realize is that most of those verses are surrounded by scores of others that call the people of God to purity. They fail to see the “IF” and “THEN.” “IF” my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, “THEN” I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land (2 Chron 7:14). THERE ARE VERY FEW PROMISES IN SCRIPTURE THAT ARE UNCONDITIONAL. Most of them are contingent upon “IF” and “THEN.” Believing that one who lives in sin is still a candidate to embrace the promises of God is a grave mistake. Such practice is deceitful to the soul (James 1:22). It is a moral and theological house of cards that is doomed to collapse in the end.
In order to be a man or woman of God we cannot be selective about sin. We must repent of them all, hate it when we fail, and seek holiness. We must embrace Scripture, all of it; even the parts that call for us to change. We cannot be deceived with the idea that we will be the first to succeed in loving money and Jesus. We should not think that although others have failed, we will be the first to successfully juggle a lack of self control with godliness. Christianity and worldliness do not mix. The Christian cocktail is a popular drink, but eventual poison to the soul.
And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful (Matthew 4:18-19)
For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica (2 Timothy 4:10).
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.(2 Timothy 3:1-5)
The Bible is very plain, we must make a choice. The Christian faith does not mix with the sinful pursuits of the world at large. In every instance where someone chooses to try and cling to idolatrous passions and Christian practice, it leads to heresy and apostasy. The spiritual life will collapse. The soul will turn away from Christ and back to sin. The Christian cocktail will make one drunk with the pleasures of this world.
Some make the grave mistake of thinking that the Christian life is about getting rid of the big sins while tolerating a few, insignificant others. Such philosophy will lead to shipwreck. Sin is sin, we must repent. Others believe that Christianity is something they practice on Sunday. If so, their faith will become a weekly tragedy.
When we stir the Christian cocktail it skews our view of Scripture. Those that drink the Christian cocktail have an anemic view of Scripture that leads to sickly interpretations. Inevitably they ignore those portions with which they are uncomfortable, concentrate on a few token verses they enjoy, and twist other portions that help them justify their mistaken version of the Christian faith. They are scholars on the verses in which God promises peace, rest, abundance, joy, and protection. What they fail to realize is that most of those verses are surrounded by scores of others that call the people of God to purity. They fail to see the “IF” and “THEN.” “IF” my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, “THEN” I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land (2 Chron 7:14). THERE ARE VERY FEW PROMISES IN SCRIPTURE THAT ARE UNCONDITIONAL. Most of them are contingent upon “IF” and “THEN.” Believing that one who lives in sin is still a candidate to embrace the promises of God is a grave mistake. Such practice is deceitful to the soul (James 1:22). It is a moral and theological house of cards that is doomed to collapse in the end.
In order to be a man or woman of God we cannot be selective about sin. We must repent of them all, hate it when we fail, and seek holiness. We must embrace Scripture, all of it; even the parts that call for us to change. We cannot be deceived with the idea that we will be the first to succeed in loving money and Jesus. We should not think that although others have failed, we will be the first to successfully juggle a lack of self control with godliness. Christianity and worldliness do not mix. The Christian cocktail is a popular drink, but eventual poison to the soul.
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