"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" {Isaiah 5:20 KJV}
Source - Google Images
Let me define some terms for you FROM THE BIBLE:
*LEFT - cold, goats, tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
wide and broad, many, corrupt tree with evil fruits,
satan's worldly ways, error and lies
*RIGHT - hot, sheep, tree of life,
straight and narrow, few, good tree with good fruits,
God's ways, righteousness and truth
And then there's this:
*Center - somewhere in the middle, neutral, undecided, double minded, lukewarm
As I've said plenty of times, we've had at least two choices from the beginning of man's creation. Here's what Jesus {Yeshua} has to say about left, right, and lukewarm. When you see the plain sense of the biblical terms you see that being extreme (aka: *far*) on either end ... is either really bad, or really good.
.:: TWO TREES ~ TWO CHOICES ::.
"And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil." {Genesis 2:9 KJV}
We know from the biblical account that Eve, and Adam, chose the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, causing the downfall of mankind whereby sin has entered into the world. In other words, of the TWO CHOICES they had ... they both made the WRONG choice. The result of that sin (transgression of the law) is death, and every human being (except those alive when Jesus comes for His church) will suffer it. You should notice that sin, being the transgression of the law, means that Adam & Eve HAD the law already, they knew right from wrong, thus in doing wrong they hid themselves from God ... but that's another story I'll not go into now.
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" ... {Romans 5:12 KJV}
"What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" {Romans 6:15-16 KJV}
.:: LEFT -or- RIGHT ::.
"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth [his] sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed [thee]? or thirsty, and gave [thee] drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took [thee] in? or naked, and clothed [thee]? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done [it] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done [it] unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did [it] not to one of the least of these, ye did [it] not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." -JESUS {Matthew 25:31-46 KJV}
.:: LUKEWARM ::.
"A double minded man [is] unstable in all his ways." {James 1:8 KJV}
"Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse [your] hands, [ye] sinners; and purify [your] hearts, [ye] double minded." {James 4:8 KJV}
"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." -JESUS {Revelation 3:15-16 KJV}
In my honest opinion, the reason people prefer to take an "in the middle" stance is for their own perceived safety & self-preservation. They don't want to rock the boat. They don't want to suffer the wrath of their fellow misguided friends or family. They don't want to end up in jail because their gov't says to keep silent! God calls that "double minded", and lukewarm. You are either FULLY *for Him* or FULLY *against Him*, you can't be both. There is the broad gate that leads to a wide way (path), and there is a straight gate that leads to a narrow way (path). Which one are you on? Are you of the good tree, or the corrupt tree?
"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." -JESUS {Matthew 7:13-14 KJV}
"Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither [can] a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." -JESUS {Matthew 7:17-20 KJV}
My advice? Make up your mind, preferably on the *right* side of the biblical spectrum. Also, there's no such thing as *far left* (goat) or *far right* (sheep); you are either left (goats), or you are right (sheep), there is NO *middle* ground to the Lord. He makes it clear that if you think you're *in the middle* you are actually on the *left* and He will literally VOMIT {spue} you out of His mouth and appoint you to the same punishment as the goats on the left at His coming.
What makes a person a goat or a sheep? That depends on the source(s) you rely on for your information. Is the bible all true, partially true, well I don't understand it so I'll sit on the fence awhile? It's ALL true. That means when it says certain things are an abomination or a sin to God then I/we are to proclaim it from the rooftops because that's what the bible says is truth and that is what I (and you) should align with, not some fluffed up human cause or alternate belief, which is idolatry. Whether I or you agree with the bible or not is irrelevant. His word is final no matter how we may *feel* about it.
Christians should NEVER base their decisions of wrong or right on *how they feel* about a particular topic, if the bible says something is wrong, then it's wrong! God has given us His word IN WRITING as a testimony of wrong or right. Jesus is the word (bible) made flesh, and since He is sinless then we can be confident that His written word (the bible) is also sinless, and fully righteous. If God can't get His word down to you intact then you've got the wrong god.
Either the bible is true in all its wording, and understanding that Jesus IS the "word made flesh", or it's not, that's for YOU to decide. But sitting on the fence, being "in the middle" (aka: moderate or some other form of non-decision) is not going to be blessed according to Jesus.
"[As for] God, his way [is] perfect; the word of the LORD [is] tried: he [is] a buckler to all them that trust in him." {2 Samuel 22:31 KJV}
"In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me." {Psalms 56:4 KJV}
"Every word of God [is] pure: he [is] a shield unto them that put their trust in him." {Proverbs 30:5 KJV}
"For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received [it] not [as] the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." {1 Thessalonians 2:13 KJV}
"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." {2 Timothy 2:15 KJV}
Yes folks, there are only two choices in the end, left (goat, tree of knowledge of good and evil) or right (sheep, tree of life). Anything in between is lukewarm and we've read above what will happen to those people. Either God's word is true, in its entirety, or you make God a liar. It's YOUR choice as always ...
"And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that [were] on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." {Joshua 24:15 KJV}
"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." {Revelation 2:7 KJV} ...and... "Blessed [are] they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." -JESUS {Revelation 22:14 KJV}
I'm sorry if this article offends *many* of you but I must speak the truth in love, as the prophets of old likewise did, even if it's not perceived as such. I pray you seek the Lord on this. If you say, "I don't know", that's one thing, but, the Lord wants you to earnestly seek Him out (through His written word) for the answer and not to just "sit on the fence". Whether we're talking about humanity, politics, or spiritual beliefs ... there are only TWO CHOICES: wrong or right.
Don't rely on our modern culture (NEWS, magazines, articles, posts, videos, etc) to dictate to you what is truth; for they (those who don't obey God's word) just need to slip in a little poison (lie) mixed in with your drink of choice (truth) to kill you BOTH physically and spiritually. It's up to YOU to watch what goes into your own ear and eye gates!
As for me, I choose to be REALLY (extreme, far) right (hot, sheep, tree of life, God's ways, straight and narrow, good tree, good fruit).
Thanks for reading ;o}
{Curly bracket comments are mine. Red letter text is Jesus speaking. This article is Firefox's "Reader View" friendly as of the date of its posting.}
