A little over a year ago,
a childhood friend and I had a discussion regarding the
paths we have taken in our Spiritual lives.
We hadn't been in touch with one another for many years.
I had no idea what had transpired in the years we were apart.
I was grieved to discover that she had abandoned her faith.
Through that conversation, I was exposed to some
very disturbing heresies put forward as truth by this friend
who had "grown up" and was "trained up" in the church.
We had gone to Sunday School together as children.
Her "testimony" began where the
Bible Believing Christian's would remain ~
with the Lord.
After abandoning that "fairy tale"
(her words...not mine)
there was more enlightenment and
"truth" reportedly discovered.
Unfortunately, this story is not unique ~
many have fallen away from the Truth.
How does this happen?
Were they ever really saved?
Can a true believer of the Lord Jesus Christ
ever be snatched away by the Evil One?
According to God's Word,
the answer is an emphatic NO!
"My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them and they follow me:
And I give unto them eternal life;
and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
My Father, which gave them me,
is greater than all:
and no man is able to pluck them out of
my Father's hand."
~ John 10:27-29 ~
We are all sheep.
Who or what are we following?
I am so thankful that my husband patiently walked
with me through this process and
directed me to portions of Scripture that
settled and calmed my soul.
What a blessing that God's Word is "quick and powerful"!
That word "quick" could also be translated living.
God's Word is Living ~
the only book in the Universe of it's kind!
The verses to follow are what my
Precious Saviour used to minister to my heart.
"But there were false prophets also among the people,
even as there shall be false teachers among you,
who privily shall bring in damnable heresies,
even denying the Lord that bought them,
and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
And many shalll follow their pernicious ways;
by reason of whom
the way of the truth shall be evil spoken of."
~ II Peter 2:1-2 ~
"While they promise them liberty,
they themselves are the
servants of corruption:
for of whom a man is overcome,
of the same is he brought in bondage.
For if after they have escaped the pollutions
of the world through the knowledge of the
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
they are again entangled therein, and overcome,
the latter end is worse with them
than the beginning.
For it had been better for them not to have
known the way of righteousness,
than, after they have known it,
to turn from the holy commandment
delivered unto them."
~ II Peter 2:19-21 ~
And, regarding the infallability of the Bible,
(which was another attack made),
the following verses were a comfort ~
They address the inspiration of both
the Old and New Testaments.
"That ye may be mindful of the words which
were spoken before by the holy prophets,
and the commandment of us the
apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
Knowing this first,
that there shall come in the last days scoffers,
walking after their own lusts."
~ II Peter 3:2-3 ~
And regarding the apparent "contradictions"
among the writings of Paul and even the Gospels,
the following verses were a comfort ~
"And account that the longsuffering of
our Lord is salvation;
even as our beloved brother Paul also
according to the wisdom given unto him
hath written unto you;
As also in all his epistles,
speaking of them of these things;
in which are some things hard to be understood,
which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest,
as they do also the other scriptures,
unto their own destruction.
Ye, therefore, beloved,
seeing ye know these things before,
beware lest ye also,
being led away with the error of the wicked,
fall from your own steadfastness."
~ II Peter 3:15-17 ~
**In all the Scripture quoted above,
the emphasis is mine.**
My husband began writing his blog as a direct result of these
charges brought forward against God's infallible Word.
He patiently and graciously worked through this knotty subject
with me and my precious childhood friend.
What a blessing!
Are you interested in reading more?
His posts are much more *in depth* and thorough
than my treatment of the subject here.
Click here
to get to the series he
diligently laboured over.
Scroll to the bottom of the page to get to the first post
and read up ~ typical blogger style.
May the LORD guide you each one to
HIS perfect and infallible TRUTH.
And those of us that belong to HIM ~
May we boldly proclaim the LORD Jesus Christ
as the ONLY Way of Salvation
for this lost and dying world.
Many Blessings,
Camille
**Sheep photo in this post is
courtesy of my friend Christa @
Country Hearts at Home
Thank you so much!
a childhood friend and I had a discussion regarding the
paths we have taken in our Spiritual lives.
We hadn't been in touch with one another for many years.
I had no idea what had transpired in the years we were apart.
I was grieved to discover that she had abandoned her faith.
Through that conversation, I was exposed to some
very disturbing heresies put forward as truth by this friend
who had "grown up" and was "trained up" in the church.
We had gone to Sunday School together as children.
Her "testimony" began where the
Bible Believing Christian's would remain ~
with the Lord.
After abandoning that "fairy tale"
(her words...not mine)
there was more enlightenment and
"truth" reportedly discovered.
Unfortunately, this story is not unique ~
many have fallen away from the Truth.
How does this happen?
Were they ever really saved?
Can a true believer of the Lord Jesus Christ
ever be snatched away by the Evil One?
According to God's Word,
the answer is an emphatic NO!
"My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them and they follow me:
And I give unto them eternal life;
and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
My Father, which gave them me,
is greater than all:
and no man is able to pluck them out of
my Father's hand."
~ John 10:27-29 ~
We are all sheep.
Who or what are we following?
I am so thankful that my husband patiently walked
with me through this process and
directed me to portions of Scripture that
settled and calmed my soul.
What a blessing that God's Word is "quick and powerful"!
That word "quick" could also be translated living.
God's Word is Living ~
the only book in the Universe of it's kind!
The verses to follow are what my
Precious Saviour used to minister to my heart.
"But there were false prophets also among the people,
even as there shall be false teachers among you,
who privily shall bring in damnable heresies,
even denying the Lord that bought them,
and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
And many shalll follow their pernicious ways;
by reason of whom
the way of the truth shall be evil spoken of."
~ II Peter 2:1-2 ~
"While they promise them liberty,
they themselves are the
servants of corruption:
for of whom a man is overcome,
of the same is he brought in bondage.
For if after they have escaped the pollutions
of the world through the knowledge of the
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
they are again entangled therein, and overcome,
the latter end is worse with them
than the beginning.
For it had been better for them not to have
known the way of righteousness,
than, after they have known it,
to turn from the holy commandment
delivered unto them."
~ II Peter 2:19-21 ~
And, regarding the infallability of the Bible,
(which was another attack made),
the following verses were a comfort ~
They address the inspiration of both
the Old and New Testaments.
"That ye may be mindful of the words which
were spoken before by the holy prophets,
and the commandment of us the
apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
Knowing this first,
that there shall come in the last days scoffers,
walking after their own lusts."
~ II Peter 3:2-3 ~
And regarding the apparent "contradictions"
among the writings of Paul and even the Gospels,
the following verses were a comfort ~
"And account that the longsuffering of
our Lord is salvation;
even as our beloved brother Paul also
according to the wisdom given unto him
hath written unto you;
As also in all his epistles,
speaking of them of these things;
in which are some things hard to be understood,
which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest,
as they do also the other scriptures,
unto their own destruction.
Ye, therefore, beloved,
seeing ye know these things before,
beware lest ye also,
being led away with the error of the wicked,
fall from your own steadfastness."
~ II Peter 3:15-17 ~
**In all the Scripture quoted above,
the emphasis is mine.**
My husband began writing his blog as a direct result of these
charges brought forward against God's infallible Word.
He patiently and graciously worked through this knotty subject
with me and my precious childhood friend.
What a blessing!
Are you interested in reading more?
His posts are much more *in depth* and thorough
than my treatment of the subject here.
Click here
to get to the series he
diligently laboured over.
Scroll to the bottom of the page to get to the first post
and read up ~ typical blogger style.
May the LORD guide you each one to
HIS perfect and infallible TRUTH.
And those of us that belong to HIM ~
May we boldly proclaim the LORD Jesus Christ
as the ONLY Way of Salvation
for this lost and dying world.
Many Blessings,
Camille
**Sheep photo in this post is
courtesy of my friend Christa @
Country Hearts at Home
Thank you so much!
18 comments:
Amen Camille, I will be checking out your husband's blog. It is so true that God keeps his children, we are graven in the palm of his hands. People that fall away usually tend to start listening to the lies of these false prophets you mention. Only the truth of God can keep his children:)
I was reminded today of the scripture in Amos 8..."Behold the days are coming, says the Lord, That I will send a famine on the land. Not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the Words of the Lord." There is a famine in the land...and He has sent it. Because men have itching ears that just want to be tickled. We have it here in our very own town...Rob Bell, who is coming out with a new book called "Love Wins"...where he allegedly talks about there being no hell. This man is known nation, if not world wide and he is spreading a false gospel. As are many other well known "evangelists"
We have seen many fall away from their faith. Some I believe had been truly born again....Hebrews 6:4-6...and many were false converts...They "went forward" for an altar call, and "asked Jesus into their hearts" (not even in the Word...anywhere) but there was NO fruit in their lives. You shall know them by their fruits. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Easy peasy. I think church goers everywhere need to examine themselves in light of 1John. Jesus said..."Many will come to Him on that day and say Lord, Lord....I did this in Your name. I did that in Your name. (that would be someone who THINKS he is a believer...doing things in His name...) And His response..."Depart from Me...I NEVER knew you."
We have many family members who I think will find themselves in that very situation...several of my own children...at least at this point in their lives. Never having come to true repentance, they think God just thinks nothing of their rebellion and sin. Greasy Grace. We pray there is serious heart change and conversion...
Sorry, Camille....this is a subject of which I am passionate...
Lives are at stake...
In His grace,
Cindy
Thanks for the very pertinent encouragement!It is information that we must know to engage our contemporaries!
Amen, Camille! Thank you for posting this. We JUST finished those sections of 2 Peter in the ladies Bible study! I love how God does that. May your day be blessed!!
Camille,
What a blessing to read of Howie's faithful guidance and leadership in your marriage. It refreshes me to read these words and to see a glimpse of your heart in what you write. Amen and preach it sister! :) You encourage me!
Your post was such a blessing. Thanks for sharing.
Dear Toyin ~ How precious it is that the LORD does the keeping!! We are blessed to belong to HIM!
Dear Cindy ~ No need to apologize! I am so pleased that you shared your heart here today...it is a blessing to read your thoughts.
Dear Keri ~ How true! We must stand for Truth! May the LORD enable and equip us to do it all for HIS glory.
Dear Terri ~ Oh how wonderful HE is! I love it when HE does those things too...isn't it precious?
Dear Jenn ~ You encourage me! Thank you for your sweet words today. May the LORD be glorified!
Dear Patty ~ I'm so glad you were encouraged. How wonderful the LORD is!
Many blessings to you each one!
In His Love,
Camille
I pray that she would remember the way home. Truth shine forth your light!
Oh Camille, you most certainly have the gift of encouragement, even in sad situations such as this. It always makes me so sad to see the different paths that friends of mine have taken over the years.
It is a constant reminder to humbly remain on my knees and intercede for my children and pray that God gets ahold of their hearts in a radical, life-altering way as He did with me...
Dear Stacie ~ Oh, I do too! Thank you for praying my friend! :)
Dear Heather ~ Oh that the LORD would have the HEARTS of our children! You are right to pray that way and seek HIM for it!! May the LORD give you wisdom as you seek to raise those precious ones for HIS glory. :)
Many blessings,
Camille
Thank you for the truths you placed here! I am going to take a moment and pray for your friend.
Dear Camille,
This post grieved my heart. After reading the first few sentences about your fiend, I felt she never knew Him. So many claim to be 'Christians" but what exactly does that mean to them? I agree with Cindy that there are so many false teachers (like Mr. Bell) and people like hearing what they are being taught because it gives them the 'warm fuzzies" and makes them 'feel good'. We need confrontation, we need to be rebuked when wrong. We need a Savior and that Savior ONLY comes from knowing Jesus Christ.
My fervent prayer is for discernment for the saints to be able to recognize a false gospel (Ugh, I really dislike using the word gospel here). To know the truth and to be able to distinguish it from half truths and lies.I guess it's my turn to go on too :)I get very angered at these false teachers leading the sheep to the slaughter and giving the unsaved false hope. Sorry :)
Have a blessed day Camille and I am praying for your friend's eyes to be opened to the truth and to embrace Him.
Love,
Sharon
Amen Camille, I am so happy you have a Godly husband that can point you in the right direction, will check out his blog soon, looks really good, hugs my friend
Camille,
I have a childhood friend that sounds very much like yours. Have you ever heard of the preacher Paul Washer? He has a wonderful message out about true conversion. It seems in the Wester mindset, we have bought into an easy believism that is not true conversion. It is hard to think about how many tares there truly are among the wheat. Some of the nicest people we know will not make it to Heaven. That is why the Bible tells us to make our calling and election sure. My heart goes out to you over the pain of finding this out about a friend. But, there is still time. Praying that she will find Christ. In Him, Jackie
Dear Jenn ~ Thank you so much for praying...what a blessing! :)
Dear Sharon ~ I am so encouraged to read a comment like yours my friend...what a blessing to know the LORD is your Saviour too! How true it is that there are many false teachers and people flock to them because they have itching ears to hear what they want to hear...not what they NEED to hear! How incredibly sad it is! Thank you for your prayers. :)
Dear Barbara ~ What a blessing to be led by a godly man...you are right! Thank you for your sweet words of encouragement. :)
Dear Jackie ~ Thank you my friend! What a blessing to have God's Word and HIS Truth! Oh that we would diligently study it and teach it to our children for HIS glory! May we be bold to proclaim it wherever we can. :)
Many blessings to you each one!
In His Love,
Camille
Dear Camille,
I was just visiting Keri's blog and saw your comment and thought I'd stop by for a visit. I'm so glad that I did. This post is wonderful...a subject that is often on the hearts of my family. Discernment is the key...and we can only do this by diligently seeking God's Truth through His Word every day...and bathing this seeking in prayer. I really enjoyed reading this...I look forward to stopping back and reading some more.
Have a blessed day,
Laura
I'm on the downhill side of the first century of my life (grin!) and as I reflect back over the many years, places I've lived, and there is much grief over many friends I've had. Recently I joined facebook, and while mindful of the pitfalls, I've connected with classmates from grade school! Many of them were even then much different than I, and now we talk and share on our posts. Many are still to this day completely out in left field (one is a Buddhist!) and my oldest dearest friend has had 3 failed marriages and currently "in a relationship". My prayer is that the Lord can use me, and my fb to post about His goodness and abundant kindness. I get "likes" from the most unlikely people, so my heart is reassured they are at least reading the scripture verses. I will pray for your friend to be captured by Christ.
Dear Laura ~ Welcome! It's lovely that you stopped by. Oh I agree...we so need the LORD's discernment and wisdom in these matters. How gracious and patient our wonderful LORD is!! :)
Dear Lois ~ I know some of that grief over friends going down the *wrong* path...so dreadful! Thank you for your encouragement and for sharing your heart. What a blessing that the LORD is using you on your FB posts...keep on doing it all for HIS glory! :)
Many blessings,
Camille
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