himself to do Samuel's priestly duty of offering the sacrifice in 1 Sam 13? But Saul's rebellion would progress much farther. His pride extended into a final act of defiance, one that was the final nail to be driven into the coffin of his declining kingship. He didn't do what God had told him to do, which was to completely annihilate the Amalekites, right down to the last human babe and animal hoof. This sober work was to be done out on the field, not at or near any altar. Kingly and priestly roles were to be kept separate, except for the coming Messiah. Anyway, as soon as Saul sinned by keeping King Agag alive, God told Samuel what had happened, and how Saul's sin had emboldened the people to sin by keeping the best animals for themselves.
Neither God or Samuel were pleased with what Saul had done. When Samuel finally reached Saul, what did Samuel tell King Saul regarding his outright lie and lame excuses? He said that obedience is better than sacrifice, and that rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and arrogance (pride) is as the sin of idolatry. To add insult to injury, as if Saul's lame half truth repentance wasn't enough, he even referred to the LORD as being Samuel's LORD, and not his. Well, at least he was truthful in that. Saul had become his own god, and so he had no need of the LORD, except to maintain appearances with the people.
Many so-called Christians do the very same thing, to this very day. They claim the Lord is their God, but only with their lips. They claim that the Bible is their sole book of instruction and that they are obedient to what it says, but they really aren't. They only obey when they want to, or they give their ears to "revelation knowledge," but when they see something they like that is of this world, all of the sudden, their brand of obedience is likened unto Saul's. They do what is right in their own eyes, and when they are caught doing what is wrong, rather than humbly repent, that's when they start to make lame excuses to justify themselves.
There are two areas in Christianity (in particular) that I wish to expose here in this article, that are currently under fire, and are avenues for rebellion. One of these areas is the striving for "unity" in the body of Christ, and the other is regarding the worship of God that goes on within the four walls of church buildings.
"Many boast of their obedience to the command of God; but what mean then their indulgence of the flesh, their love of the world, their passion and uncharitableness, and their neglect of holy duties, which witness against them?" Matthew Henry commentary on 1 Sam. 15:14
Unity In The Body of Christ
The slave girl that was possessed by a spirit of divination (a spirit of Apollos) kept trying to link herself to his ministry. God doesn't need Satan's help to bring the lost into His kingdom.
So after several days of her heralding the good news, Paul was annoyed and cast the demon out of her. Yes, even though the demon inside her spoke the truth, Paul was ANNOYED by it, and cast out the demon! Well now, that ended that superficial good news association real quick! Even though a demon or Satan himself may "tell the truth," it is really a lie because of the intent, which is to mislead people. Not only does sound doctrine unite the believers, but so does persecution.
The church has always suffered persecution from the outside, and it has also endured rebellion from the inside. This will be the case until Jesus finally puts the last enemy (death) under his feet. Yes dear reader, there will even be unrighteous people mixed in with the righteous while he is ruling the world from Jerusalem. But we are not to become weary in doing good. We must fight the good fight of faith, and we must be ready at all times to defend the gospel and defend our faith when under attack. We must expose the unfruitful works of darkness, not link up with them, arm in arm chanting "unity!" The defending of the gospel against subtle infiltration is not for the mamby pamby, or the clueless. By firmly holding the hilt of sound doctrine's sword, we must use it to battle against heretics from within, and defend its legitimacy against the mocking spirits that influence the unsaved, from the outside.
True unity of the body of Christ is to be done in the obedience of the faith, not through worldly compromise and the deceitfulness of pride. Yes, these presumptuous ecumenical and misguided souls actually try to justify their disobedient brand of "Church unity" in ignorance of what true unity really is. They claim that all religions are leading to God, yet they don't have the slightest idea of what they are saying. As they blissfully sway and dance to the satanic beats of their "Christian" rock-n-roll, and their ears are turned away from the biblical truth, because it sounds like a bunch of unintelligible noise to them. Instead, they train their itching ears to hear the seductive rhythmic beat of the pagan drum, calling them to corporate worship, and the snarled accent of well trained fleece covered wolves telling them that sound doctrine is a bunch of hooey. They yip and howl about the spirit of unity as being a feeling to experience. While these lies tickle the dumbed down ears of the wayward sheep, they are being hypnotically lured to their destruction. This is done, amazingly, through the rebellion incited within them by those satanic drum beats coming from their own stages. This is what the apostle Paul has to say about true biblical Christian unity.
"But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people." 1 Corinthians 5:11
The Music of "Christian" Worship
"Rock has always been THE DEVIL'S MUSIC . . . I believe rock and roll is dangerous . . . I feel we're only heralding SOMETHING EVEN DARKER THAN OURSELVES." -David Bowie, Rolling Stone, Feb. 12, 1976
"Rock concerts are the churches of today." - Guitarist Craig Chaquico of the rock group 'Jefferson Starship.'
Well for starters, it's the drums. I'm not talking about a hand held tambourine, or the timbrel. I'm talking about the crack of the snare, and the mellow monotonous beat of toms. The deep resonating boom of the base, and kettle drums; all of which can produce a heart pounding hypnotic beat. These various drums and their relentless beats were used in all pagan cultures (not just African) to call up evil spirits, to drown out the cries of those being sacrificed, and to put the listeners into a trance like, or altered state of conscience, so they would easily become possessed, or stand by helplessly while their child was being burned alive.
By mixing pagan idolatrous drum use with God's holy worship, carnal "Christians" have done Saul's (and Satan's) work. To be honest, any instrument used in a steady, rhythmic, monotonous fashion, can induce hypnosis. So the person that is creating the music (the composer), is also to be held responsible, and had better be a genuine Christian. Fake, or New Age "Christians" compose satanic music, that induces hypnosis. Those who understand hypnosis know that the subject under hypnosis isn't physically asleep, but rather their reasoning conscience has been set aside. This opens them up to the suggestion of the lyrics or the leading of the spirits that are present. Knowing this, it seems to me that drums are unique in their design as to its single purpose - to induce hypnosis through its underlying repetitive monotone beat.
Now then, what does Matthew Henry have to say about this type of "anything goes as long as it is dedicated to God" attitude, according to Scripture? You can read it here:
"God appointed these cattle to be sacrificed to him in the field, and therefore will give those no thanks that bring them to be sacrificed at his altar; for he will be served in his own way, and according to the rule he himself has prescribed. Nor will a good intention justify a bad action." - Matthew Henry commentary 1 Sam. 15:15
The good intention of using rock n roll as a means of luring sinners who like rock music into church to hear the gospel, is not the way of Christ. He didn't trick or lure anyone into the kingdom under false pretense. Just like Adam and Eve used fig leaves to clothe their nakedness (their disobedience), likewise do the modern "Christians" try to justify their disorderly musical conduct with inadequate cover stories. Obedience is not negotiable. Rock-n-roll music is pagan, the makers of the music say so, and no amount of Scripture set to this kind of music will change it. Just as yoga was formulated to worship pagan gods, and cannot be separated from its original intent, same goes with the satanic nature of the drum beat. Where ever it is heard, there will also be a spirit of rebellion against God. This web page is a good place to start if you want to educate yourself.
See what a hard thing it is to convince the children of disobedience of their sin and to strip them of their fig-leaves. Matthew Henry commentary on 1 Sam. 15:20-21
The Dangers of Compromise
Are You A Sheep, or A Goat, or A "Geep?"
What Did Jesus Bring To The Unity Table?
True Unity of The Saints
"Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? Matthew 16:24-26
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, even their own life--such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:26-27
In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. Luke 14:33
Improper use of satire (which is really sarcasm) is self-seeking, hurtful and doesn't want to solve a problem. The apostle Paul used satire in his first epistle to the Corinthians in chapter 4. The Lord's own masterful use of satire is unparalleled; you can get a taste of that in Matthew 7. Yes indeedy, our Lord's telling of the chunk of wood in the eye of the hypocrite is classic satire.