Choir for the damned

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." (John 3:16-18)

"You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!" (James 2:19)

So you can infer from the above passages of Scripture that there are two kinds of people in the world: believers in Jesus Christ and unbelievers in Jesus Christ. And James takes the trouble to explain further that belief is demonstrated by fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22) being manifested in a Christian's life. A lot of people say they believe and that "Jesus is just alright" with them but are they really redeemed and glory bound or are they just deceiving themselves and others?

Martin Lloyd-Jones shows us in his book, Life in Christ, how the apostle John in his first epistle gives us the litmus test for knowing who is born again and who is not. It's a very detailed exposition with many nuances that have been debated throughout the running centuries, but Lloyd-Jones does a pretty thorough job of sifting it all out. Basically, if you like and look forward to being with other Christians as much as possible, that's a good sign that you are one of the elect. If you don't, or hang around with true believers grudgingly and only for a limited time and prefer to socialize with those who love the world and things in it like the lust of the eyes, the pride of life and such (1 John 2:16), you need to examine your faith.

I knew before I jumped into this venture of Christian music blogging that the road would be filled with many dangers but isn't everyone's walk of faith and outreach a challenge? If it isn't, if you don't struggle with sin, pride, distractions from the world and other issues that the New Testament constantly warns us about, then I wonder if you are truly climbing the latter to the tune of celestial music or just enjoying the Choir for the Damned which can often sound like the real deal but is all smoke and mirrors. This calls for discernment through Holy Spirit inspired Scripture study and not just listening to music as a substitute for sound teaching. Make sure your instrument is tuned to the right pitch of the Savior's voice because contrary to what Universalists teach these days, more people are going to hell than to heaven. The road is straight and narrow and few there be that find it. (Matthew 7:14)

Mozart--Requiem