Don't allow your heart to be hard

1 Timothy 4:1-2 “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,”

The verse above speaks of a very dangerous place to find ourselves. It is dangerous for those who are or claim to be Christians but it is even more dangerous for the non-believer. But lets take them one at a time, first the believer then the non-believer.

For the believer this should serve as a warning. There are many out there today chasing after every wind of false doctrine. Some are listening to any spirits that come their way assuming it to be the Holy Spirit but they are not testing these spirits against the Word of God as recorded in the Bible. Some such as the Baptist groups would claim you cannot loose your salvation. However, there is enough information in the Word to give me extreme caution to make sure I remain in a state of seeking after the Lord instead of seeking after the doctrine of demons. My guess is some that are “Christians” who live like hell on earth have not lost their salvation but rather were simply “religious” and never saved to begin with. If you are one who spends two hours a week at church but the rest of your week living like the world, I would caution you to really spend some time in prayer asking the Lord to search your heart. If you are not abiding in Christ more often then not, I would suggest you should be cautious against the danger of becoming a “religious” lost person.

Many today are seeking after "Spirtual" things, seeking after signs and wonders and things of that nature. But you have to realize that the devil is very capable of performing signs and wonders but he and his demons are hardly the Holy Spirit. We need to be very cautious that we are really saved and abiding in Jesus instead of practicing a religion that while it may give us a false sense of security is in reality practing the doctrine of demons.

When asked what would be the signs that His return was approaching, Jesus warned in each account given to us in Scripture that first and foremost we should “take heed that no one deceives you.” Further, in the book of Revelation Jesus addresses the church of Laodicea as His church but then He warns them, “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” in Revelation 3:16. Scholars debate whether this passage means one can loose their salvation but I would prefer not to take the chance myself. As a side note, if you are involved in a “seeker sensitive” church that is really into the Rick Warren style of “doing church” I would suggest you read Revelation chapter 3 for the description of the Laodicean church because you may find some of it sounds as if it is hitting a little to close to home.

We do know there will be some in the last days that God will give over to strong delusion or send them strong delusion according to 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12. I am starting to believe that many of these people will be “religious” or “Christians” in the cultural sense. I think these sorts of warnings should give us all pause to really consider if we really know Jesus or know “about” Jesus. Are we really abiding in His word or are we simply religious and playing church.

But what about the non-believer? Some will tell you that they are still “thinking about” the Gospel message. If this is you I would caution you strongly. While it is true that I have personally seen the seemingly most hardened of people come to Salvation in Christ there are no guarantees.

I firmly believe that each person is called to Salvation by Jesus at one time or another. Some are given many chances and others only a few. It is different for each person.

However, if you are called by the Holy Spirit I cannot caution you enough to not reject the call. It could well be that this will be the last (or only) time you are ever called and if you reject the call you may be damming yourself for good.

Romans 1:24 "Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves," (NKJV)

Romans 1:28 "Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done." (NIV)

Exodus 9:12 “But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said to Moses.”

In the verses above we find where the Scripture speaks of the Lord hardening a person’s heart or giving them over to a depraved mind.

This is a very dangerous place to be and you should go to any and all lengths to avoid being in this state. I believe some of these mentioned in the verses above are ones who have rejected the call of Jesus via the Holy Spirit one “too many” times. If you reach this point it is likely you could not repent if you wanted to.

If the Holy Spirit is calling you to Salvation today, please consider responding to the call. You may well get another chance later to receive Salvation but then again maybe not. It is a very dangerous game to play and if you are being called I would suggest your respond right now by clicking this link