From The Poorhouse To The Whorehouse

A Christian man shared recently that he’s had a wonderful spiritual breakthrough as a result of catching up with his former pastor whom he had not seen for many years. In conversation he told the pastor, “Sometimes I think God must look at me and shake His head in despair, thinking, ‘what am I going to do with you? I’m almost ready to give up.’” In response the pastor said, “God sees you through the eyes of His Son Jesus, who sees you redeemed, washed and cleansed in His precious blood.” The man said it was as though a light had been turned on for him; he saw the truth of it and experienced an immediate spiritual release.

It was not the first time the man expressed those words about God towards himself. Neither is it the first time he’s heard about how God truly sees him, but it is the first time that the truth of it has sunk deep into his spirit. He’s enjoying the change within as a result of his release, especially in his relationship with God, but also with family and work colleagues. I don’t know how biblically strong the man is; I’ve never heard him refer to the Scriptures other than in a general sense. Like so many Christian people, he’s not been known for quoting the Scriptures so I can only presume when faced with specific issues he’s failed to stand on specific Scriptural promises.

Every Christian hears the voice of God and every Christian hears the voice of Satan, the devil. The problem is very often we don’t know which voice is which … and we can only ever find out which is which by coming to the Scriptures daily. In the Scriptures we learn that God never acts and speaks as though He’s Satan, but we learn that Satan often acts and speaks as though he’s God. In the Scriptures God speaks truth, Satan usurps truth. God is specific, Satan is vague. God is convicting, Satan is condemning. God is encouraging, Satan is discouraging. God is positive, Satan is negative. God reassures, Satan accuses. God attracts, Satan rejects. To the redeemed sinner God says, “you’re free”, Satan says, “are you sure you’re free?”

Some Christians seem to believe that they can get by without coming to the Scriptures on a regular basis, but we can no more do that and remain strong in Christ than we can fly to the moon. Coming to the word of God is coming to Almighty God Himself, the God of the word. It may sound strange, but when we hold that Bible in our hands we’re holding Almighty God Himself. Some find that offensive, but there can be no other explanation for, ….the word of God is living and powerful…. Hebrews 4:12. How else can we interpret, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God (God-breathed) 2 Timothy 3:16. We must be reminded that God came down to our level to lift us up to His level; it’s not the other way round.

It is a glorious experience to hear the Lord minister truth and encouragement through a pastor or fellow-Christian, that’s what relationship and fellowship in the church is all about. But it shouldn’t be at the expense of hearing first-hand from the Lord Himself. If anything, the human voice should (more-often) be a confirmation of what we’ve read from the Scriptures. Sad it is that too many Christians know pastors and people better that they know their Scriptures. What will such people do if heavy persecution comes to our land and the pastors and biblically knowledgeable get wiped out? Problem is though that those who don’t know their Scriptures all that well don’t think about forthcoming persecution … others dismiss such a reality!

To my mind, one of the most encouraging Scriptures in the Bible is, ….faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God Romans 10:17. I love ‘faith comes’. I may not have the faith I need for my present situation, but it will come if I do what that Scripture promises, which is not simply, “read the word” but, “hear the word.” In practical terms that means when I read the Scriptures, I read aloud; hearing by the word of God. Yes, I want to read what God’s word says, but at the same time I want to hear what He says and I marvel at the amount of times I do hear Him as a result. The other morning Satan subtly whispered something condemning in my ear. Minutes later reading the Scriptures aloud, God shut him down immediately.

Another mind-blowing Scripture for me is, For He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (Jesus) 2 Corinthians 5:21. We hear it preached from pulpits as God’s one and only remedy for our ruin but unless we totally believe it, embrace it, confess it and live it out daily, it can almost be guaranteed we will endeavor to strive in helping God out in some way to bring about our own salvation. The church is full of such people … ‘there must be something I can do’ or ‘I feel I owe Him that much’ becomes part of their thinking, perhaps most not realizing this offends God. Self-effort equates with self-righteousness and God can have no part of that.

I sometimes meditate on the great differences between the Lord Jesus and my (natural) self. All Jesus has ever known is righteousness, all I have ever known is sin – which is lawlessness, defiance and rebellion. Of all the sins I’ve ever committed, those 3 things are root causes of them – not to speak of my inherited rejection! Jesus comes to me and He says, “Here, I’ve got a grand proposition to put to you. It’ll cost you your life and reputation just as it cost Me My life and reputation, but nevertheless, let’s you and Me make a trade. I became sin for the entire peoples of the world. If you personally let Me become sin for you, I’ll personally let you become righteousness for Me. This is what I call the divine exchange … Me for you, you for Me. Deal?”

Over thirty years ago the Christian man learned from his former pastor that Christ became sin for him. At the same time he would have heard that he had become the righteousness of God in Jesus. But here’s what I have learned of Satan. He will do everything he can to stop people from receiving the truth that Jesus became sin for us. But if he can’t stop that, he will do everything he can to stop people from believing they have become the righteousness of God. “Are you sure of that?” Satan asks. “You’re the righteousness of God – in Jesus? Really? Jesus never sinned, but look at you. You sin with your thoughts, with your eyes, your ears and your mouth. Righteous? Hardly! What is it that God says about the proud in heart?”

So, the one who doesn’t regularly come to the Scriptures becomes an easy pushover for our Adversary. He tries to fight the good fight of faith, he tries to lay hold on eternal life, he tries to confess the good confession 1 Timothy 6:12, but he knows he’s not succeeding. He thinks God’s voice is Satan’s and Satan’s voice is God’s which then puts him into a state of confusion and frustration. Coupled with that he becomes jealous, judgmental and critical of fellow Christians who do discern which voice is which. A man or woman of God under the Holy Spirit’s anointing stands and declares God’s word boldly and authoritatively, but because he’s imprisoned by those things he’ll say, “How presumptuous! Where’s your humility?”

Too many of God’s people are dwelling in spiritual poorhouses throughout the western world today.  But unlike the poorhouses of Charles Dickens’ day, where the financially impoverished had no choice but to go there, God’s people do have a choice – lots of choices! There’s never been a period in history like the present for Bibles, books, study helps, teachers on radio, TV, Internet to be accessed so easily and readily, yet there’s never been a period in history when God’s people have been so spiritually impoverished. Sadder too, the financially impoverished of that day were highly embarrassed about their predicament and couldn’t wait to get out of it. Not so, the people of God … no embarrassment, no shame, no sorrow.

From the poorhouse to the whorehouse … or is it the other way round?  In any case, too many of these spiritually impoverished people are affiliated with churches that are little more than spiritual whorehouses throughout the western world. Shameless, enticing, idolatrous spiritual pimps and prostitutes in the pulpit today, profaning the Lord Jesus’ name and reputation, spewing out false doctrines and spiritual error … fleecing and manipulating the gullible in the pews of their dignity, plus their hard-earned dollars. God had nothing but judgment for idolatrous, spiritually- whoring Old Testament Israel and He has nothing but judgment up ahead for these spiritually-whoring and corrupt “churches” today Revelation 2:22-23.

Hang around in one of those places for a while and it won’t be long before you’ll lose all sense of the righteous person you are of God in Christ. But … the same goes for your true sense of sin, including your Sin-Bearer! Satan will make sure you retain a sense of sin – a constant sense – but it will be false. It’ll be the kind of sense that’ll make you senseless, as in stupid or foolish as you attempt to help God out in achieving your salvation. The kind of sense that has you devaluing the Lord Jesus, devaluing His once-for-all sacrifice for your sin, devaluing the power and authority of His word, devaluing the grand efficacy of His blood shed for you and, devaluing the ministry and presence of indwelling God the Holy Spirit, sent to lead you into all truth.

What to do then? God’s people must get out of the spiritual poorhouse and get out of the spiritual whorehouse. They have no right being in either place because both are houses of sin, not righteousness. They dishonor God immensely. They are Satan’s houses for the man-centered religious, not God’s houses for the Christ-centered released. How can we know the difference? Only by daily lining up our every thought, word and deed (plus those expressed  by peers and leaders) and subjecting them all to the biblical Scriptures as led by the Holy Spirit, our God, Guide and Teacher. When we do so, we see ourselves as God sees us. “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness” Isaiah 61:10.