There is a sin of unbelief.
Paul, speaking to the Jews in Heb. 3:12 said, "Take heed, brethren (Jews), lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God". It is indeed an evil heart which refuses the Truth and Promises of God.
"Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest (in which we cease from our own works, vs. 10), lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" Heb 4:11-12.
If we pursue a salvation based on our own works of righteousness; if we believe we can or must do something in which our heavenly presence will be welcomed - we make God a liar in our lives (not that He ever can be)... By GRACE are you saved through FAITH and that NOT of yourselves, it is the GIFT of God, NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should BOAST! We become guilty then of the sin of unbelief.
Can there be anything more damning than not believing the Truths of God which He has liberally given us to know… and He has even provided His own Teacher in the Holy Spirit to convict and instruct??? Yes, actually there can be. It is to accept a FALSE belief. Nothing is more fatal to the soul than to fall into a complacency of false beliefs. The unbeliever (in his unbelief) has no where to go but up, with the mercies of God surrounding him and beckoning. But a "believer" who has fallen into the trap of heresies, and furthermore, is arrogant in their knowledge (of lies) is going nowhere but down.
False teachers are not fictional characters in the Bible. They are in our world churches.
"They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error" 1 John 4:5-6.
There are today so many ecumenical religions and religionists caught up in the same race as the world, traditionally referred to as "the Rat Race". The acquisitions of money, property, toys and trinkets; all self-justified by the rationalization that God wants to prosper us. It becomes for "professors" the same benchmark of success as the world's… "he who dies with the most toys" (is confirmed to have been righteous with God). Not so says God… "your money perishes with you".
[The gospel of satan is not a program of anarchy. It does not promote strife and war--but aims at peace and unity. It does not seek to drag down the natural man--but to improve and uplift him. It advocates education and cultivation, and appeals to the "best that is within us." It endeavors to occupy man so much with this world--that he has no time or inclination to think of the world to come. It propagates the principles of self-sacrifice, charity and benevolence; and teaches us to live for the good of others, and to be kind to all. It appeals strongly to the carnal mind and is popular with the masses, because it ignores the solemn facts--that by nature, man is a fallen creature, alienated from the life of God, dead in trespasses and sins, and that his only hope lies in being born again.
The gospel of satan teaches salvation by works. It inculcates justification before God, on the ground of human merits. It is a bloodless gospel, and presents a crossless Christ, who is received merely, as the Ideal Man.
The apostles of satan are not saloon-keepers and white-slave traffickers--but are for the most part ordained ministers! Their message may sound very plausible, and their aim appear very praiseworthy--yet we read of them, "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness." (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).
In Proverbs 14:12 we read, "There is a way that seems right to a man--but in the end it leads to death". It is set forth in such a subtle and attractive manner, that it commends itself to the minds of its hearers. By virtue of the fact that it appropriates to itself religious terminology, sometimes appeals to the Bible for its support (whenever this suits its purpose), holds up before men lofty ideals, and is proclaimed by those who have graduated from our theological institutions, countless multitudes are decoyed and deceived by it!] ~Arthur Pink, Another Gospel
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