130 – Elvin – “The pre-trib rapture teachers all say being saved is so easy and I get angry and confused.”
“Hello brother, in the early days, when I was coming out of this false prosperity gospel and this charismatic movement, your message was very strong about sin and rebellion, and I just wanted to ask you a question very sincerely and humbly, brother.
I noticed, particularly in Christianity on YouTube, from America, there is a wide group of people at the moment getting prepared to be raptured away. They are rapture ready and they say salvation is easy and all you have to do is believe the good news. They don’t believe in the Lordship Gospel you preach. They say if you live holy, it is a “works” gospel.
I just wanted to ask you, brother. You know we are saved by believing and receiving the gift of grace, through faith, and now we have to uphold righteousness. I see such a push in America, particularly where they just say all you have to do, is believe. And yet I worked for a professing Christian organization called Salvation Army, which I call Unsalvation Army, and all they did was believe. And they lived however they want. They loved money. They exploited staff and some of them are Freemasons. And I just don’t think salvation is easy, but you can correct me, brother. I really don’t know the answer and I have been looking at Scripture, and I see both sides of it, you know. Yes, you do believe, but how do we stay saved? I believe you can lose your salvation. A proper biblical terminology is to ask “can you be cut off, rather than “can you lose your salvation” because Scripture clearly says you can be cut off.
And. I just find myself sometimes a little bit too afraid, that if I fall into sin, I’m afraid I’m going to get cut off. But I know that if I say there is no sin in me, I deceive myself. But if I confess my sins, Father is faithful to forgive. But I just don’t know if salvation is easy like so many of these American channels are teaching. Is it just as easy as this? You just believe? I mean, Father showed me much grace. I was one of those that I thought that it was easy. That all you have to do is believe. But then I went and lived a very sinful lifestyle. I’m grateful that Father disciplined me. But I get a bit angry now when I see, these “watchmen”, these pretribulation rapture watchmen, saying be ready for the rapture, be ready to fly, we will be out of here. Get your boarding passes ready. All you have to do is believe. And all born again believers will be raptured away before the terrible times of the Tribulation. They ask, why would our bridegroom beat up his bride then take her to the wedding? All these things, brother, I just find myself so discouraged that there’s so much division, and rightfully so, because the devil has been at work. But, I don’t see a pretribulation rapture in the Bible, to be honest.
When I do my father’s will. Sometimes the yoke is not easy. The burden is sometimes heavy, and I don’t want the yoke and the burden of the law to burden me because I’ve been set free from the law. But I established the law by obeying him, obeying his commandments. But sometimes I think if I don’t obey his commandments. I will be. Off and I think that’s true, but it brings a very, very unhealthy fear in me, but I don’t see that kind of fear in these pretribulation rapture ready folks out there.
I mean, are they being fruitful? I don’t know and I get so carried away with all these other people and what they are doing and I forget about my own walk sometimes, you know, because I like to see the current condition of the body of Christ, plus we have global events happening and obviously everyone is screaming “END TIMES…END TIMES” at the moment.
I struggle with so much of what I see and hear in the body of Christ, and I just sometimes think, “Lord, you’ve got to discipline these people like you disciplined me. But. Yeah. I don’t know, brother. I’d like to hear your view.
Well, love you, dear brother. Thank you. Bye.”
Strangled Spirituality: The Danger of Satan’s End Time Distractions
Have you ever felt overwhelmed, like Elvin, about End Times teaching or news online? In today's digital world, we are bombarded with information, opinions, and anxieties. It's so easy to become overwhelmed and lose sight of what truly matters: our personal relationship with God. Like weeds in a garden, falsehoods and distractions grow effortlessly, choking the life out of our faith if we're not careful.
Jesus warned us about the dangers of worries. In Luke 21:34, He said, “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with…the anxieties of life.” In Luke 9:51, we see that despite Samaritan opposition, Jesus remained resolutely focused on His purpose. He "violently" pursued the Kingdom of God (Matthew 11:12). We too must be resolute in our pursuit of God's will, resisting the temptations to get sidetracked by the noise in the world.
In Revelation 3:11, Jesus says, "Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown." This is a call to spiritual focus and discipline. We must actively cultivate our faith, guarding our hearts and minds against the distractions and deceptions of our time.
Furthermore, we must trust in God's sovereignty. "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed" (Luke 10:41-42). We can't control anything in the world, nor are we expected to, therefore we do not need to stay up to date on the problems of the world. Our primary focus should be on seeking God's will and trusting that He is in control of the rest.
In a world filled with distractions and false teachings, let us remember Jesus' words: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33). Let us be resolute in our focused pursuit of God, cultivating truth and trusting Him with the troubles of the world.
