Save America Ministries

Guest (Male): This is Viewpoint with attorney and author Chuck Crismier. Viewpoint is a one-hour talk show confronting the issues of America's heart and home. And now, with today's edition of Viewpoint, here is Chuck Crismier.

Chuck Crismier: How do I know if something is a sin? How do I know what sin is? That's what we want to talk about here today on Viewpoint. I'm glad that you've joined us. It's conversation, as always, with ever-increasing conviction, talk that transforms. If we don't believe that we're sinners, then we'll not have an accurate understanding of our need for a Savior.

And it's only when we understand that we're sinners that we will flee to Christ for forgiveness of our sin. So, in order to understand that we are sinners, we need to know what sin is. So what is it? What would you say sin is? Well, it used to be said that if you don't smoke, you don't drink, you don't go to movies, and you don't swim in mixed swimming, and you tell the truth, then you're a Christian. Then you're avoiding sin.

Well, there may be aspects about sin that are linked to those things, but what is really the essence of sin? Scripture teaches that sin is displeasing to God, that it merits spiritual death and is an eternal judgment. So it's essential to know what sin is so that we can find a remedy for it in Christ and seek to avoid sin that we might live a life that is pleasing to God.

Some people say—and there are many who actually seem to believe—that if I once confess Christ as Savior, no matter what, I'm in and I have no concern about sin anymore. There are others who say, "Doesn't the Bible say that if you're in Christ, you cannot sin? Therefore, I don't believe that they can sin." Well, that makes a mockery of the Word of God, which says if you say that you don't sin, you're a liar, and you make a fool of the gospel. His word isn't even in you.

So what is sin, anyway? I'm looking at a picture right now of a serpent kind of laying over an apple on top of the hand of a woman, obviously representing Eve. Why would that be a representation of sin? Is there anything wrong with an apple? Is there anything wrong with the woman's hand? Is there anything wrong with the snake itself? No, except I despise snakes, quite frankly. I don't know very many people that love snakes.

But in fact, God actually cursed the serpent and said that from that time on, it would squirm around in the mud and in the dust for the rest of his life. Apparently, at one time, the serpent either climbed trees or walked. We don't know. But somehow the curse of the serpent revealed that the serpent was desperately linked to sin. So maybe what we should do in order to understand what sin is, is to understand what sin is not.

How would we know what sin is not if we don't know what sin is? Sin is not an opinion. It's not an opinion of what's right and wrong. It's not our own private list like the dirty dozen or the filthy five or the nasty nine. It's not as though I can have my list of what I think sin is and then you can have your list. For example, we can say adultery is sin, but sex outside of marriage is not sin, as long as the two people love each other.

The Bible says the way of a fool is right in his own eyes. So our opinions do not determine what sin is. Neither is sin defined by preferences. For instance, if I don't like rock music, rock music is sinful, then. Or if I don't like dancing, it must be sinful. Sin is not a matter of one's personal preferences, nor is it a matter of societal mores. In other words, sin is not determined by psychological or sociological surveys.

Some would say as long as the majority of society says something is permissible, then it can't be sin. For instance, the song back in the early 1970s, "How Can It Be Wrong When It Feels So Right? You Light Up My Life." Beautiful song, but actually terrible theology, and actually sung by a professing Christian. So if abortion is approved by society, how can it be sin? If all divorce is approved by society, it can't be sin, can it?

If homosexuality is approved by society, how can that be sin? However, what is sin and what is not sin is not to be determined by sociological studies or by the majority vote of the population. So then, where do we go? How would we determine what sin is? That's the question before us here on Viewpoint today, and I'm so glad that you've joined us. It's conversation with ever-increasing conviction, talk that transforms.

Don't think that this is a minor question. It's not a minor question. In fact, it's become, in one sense, almost the question of the hour. Because if we don't understand the nature of sin, then why would we consider deception to be a problem? Deception by its very nature is linked to sin. In fact, Jesus said just before His crucifixion, as He gathered His disciples on the Mount of Olives, they asked Him what would be the sign of His coming and of the end of the age.

Jesus said, "Take heed that no man deceive you." Then, later on after talking about wars and rumors of wars and earthquakes in many places, all of those things that we constantly think of concerning the end times, He said again to His disciples, "By the way, many are going to come in my name and deceive many." Deceive them about what? What color of shirt to wear? What color of carpet to put in the church? No. What is sin? That's where the deception comes.

Then, as if that were not enough, Jesus goes on in the Olivet Discourse to talk about the events that are going to take place even more so. Then again, He reminds His disciples about the nature of sin, although He doesn't even use the word sin, and He says, "By the way, guys, you need to understand that the deception of the end times is going to be so great that if it were possible, even the very small remnant elect would be deceived."

Now, that's a pretty severe warning. Jesus understood that the nature of the end times would surround the question: what is sin? What is sinful? What is pleasing to God? What is not pleasing to God? How do we know what sin is? Are we living a sinless life, or are we living a life characterized by the culture and its determination of what is right and what is wrong?

Guest (Male): Once upon a time, children could pray and read their Bibles in school. Divorces were practically unknown, as was child abuse. In our once-great America, virginity and chastity were popular virtues, and homosexuality was an abomination. So what happened in just one generation?

Chuck Crismier: Hi, I'm Chuck Crismier, and I urge you to join me daily on Viewpoint where we discuss the most challenging issues touching our hearts and homes. Could America's moral slide relate to the fourth commandment? Listen to Viewpoint on this radio station, or anytime at saveus.org.

In order to understand what sin is, maybe we need to understand more about this word that's so unpleasant: deception. The truth about deception. Why is deception deceptive? Who are those who will be deceived? What part do I play in being deceived? What does deception reveal about my life? Where is deception most likely to enter my life? Why is it so easy to be deceived, and when does deception begin and end?

If deception is truly deceptive, we should well expect that there are nuances about deception that make it deceptive. We should also expect that there are aspects about ourselves and our lives that render us more ready to be deceived than we would like to think. So, in my book, "Seduction of the Saints: How to Stay Pure in a World of Deception," we talk about this issue of deception. And it's a big, big issue.

In fact, so big that Jesus said it was going to be the primary characteristic of the period of time just before His return. Do you think that would indicate it was important? I do think it would be. So when the Scripture says seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived, it's talking about deception. In fact, it's talking about people who will virtually intentionally lead us into ways of disbelief, unbelief, and sin, and we won't even realize it.

They are deceived and being deceived. In other words, it almost takes a deceiver to be a deceiver. And so, guess what? Satan is called the deceiver. That's one of his names: the deceiver. Why? Because that's his modus operandi: deception. And he uses the Bible oftentimes to deceive. Isn't that interesting? He uses the Bible to deceive. He did that right there in the first deception in the Bible, Genesis chapter 3.

No sooner had God created Adam and then formed Eve and married them there, the very next thing is then the serpent, representing Satan. He used the Bible. He asked a question: "Hath God said?" He wanted to find out what they knew about what God said. Well, he didn't really want to know what they knew about what God said. What he wanted to do was twist the implication and meaning or authority of what God said, and who said it, into an operation for them to put their personal opinion or spin on it.

That's one of the biggest problems that we have in discerning what sin really is. Some will call sin missing the mark. Yes, it is missing the mark. What mark? The mark God set. Adam and Eve sinned because God had said you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day you eat thereof you shall surely die. They said, by agreeing with Satan, "We shall not surely die. We will be like God, knowing good and evil."

So even their desire to know good and evil was sin. Why was that? This may sound strange to you, but their desire to know good and evil was contrary to God's will for them. They did not have to know about good and evil. All they had to do was take God at His word. If they had taken God at His word, the rest would have been simple. All they had to do was take God at His word.

And guess what? That's all that you and I have to do, too. Sin is the refusal to take God at His word. Isn't that interesting? Sin is actually the refusal to take God exclusively at His word. When we say "yes, but" to what God has said, we are in sin immediately. Because we're elevating our own thoughts, our own ideas, our own viewpoint over what God has said. In other words, we're declaring in effect that we're God, or we're equal to God.

That's what Satan did in the garden to get Adam and Eve to declare that they were equal to God. That they didn't have to resort just to God's authority because they were made in the image of God and therefore they could be like God in the sense of being equal to Him. And that is exactly what Satan's original sin was. He said, "I will be like the most high God. I will ascend to the heights of the north; I will be like the most high God."

Pure envy. Pure envy. Well, that leads us to—maybe we should talk about that word envy. The Bible uses the word covetousness in the Ten Commandments. But in reality, covetousness and envy are virtually identical; they're corollaries of one another. A covetous person is one who wants what somebody else has. Why is that sinful? It's sinful because we're not trusting God with what He gave us.

We want what somebody else has. In other words, we're not willing to be satisfied with what God has given to us. So we lust after what somebody else has. That creates all kinds of problems. In fact, envy is the root cause of many murders. It's the root cause of many wars. Envy. Envy is what caused the first murder in the Bible. Cain killed his brother Abel because he didn't like the fact that God honored Abel's sacrifice and God didn't seem to honor his sacrifice, so he was envious of it.

Then we know that Joseph's brothers, the children of Israel, the children of Jacob whose name was changed to Israel, were envious of their brother Joseph. And they conspired because of the envy to put him to death. Then ultimately, instead of putting him to death, they sold him into slavery. Now, God used their envy ultimately to the benefit of even the brothers and their families.

But they still were guilty of envy. And it didn't stop there. Envy can be seen throughout the Bible. Ahab and Jezebel, king and queen of Israel, the 10 northern tribes. Desperately wicked people, especially Jezebel. She was even willing to have an honest and innocent man killed so that she could present a plot of land that her husband envied to him. That's right. A wicked, wicked woman.

Then again, the plot goes on. Jesus Himself was sold because Judas was so troubled about the money that a dear woman had poured out on an alabaster box on Jesus' head. He was envious of the money because he held the money bags for the disciples. And because of that, he was motivated to betray Jesus. Then again, Jesus was brought to the cross and crucified, and a crusty Roman governor identified the motivation why the religious leaders of the day—the high priest and those with them—brought Him to be crucified: because of envy.

Pilate said he knew that it was due to envy that they brought Him. Did you know that every single one of the apostles, except perhaps John, met the same fate because of envy? The Bible specifically says so. The apostle Paul met the same martyred fate because of envy. How do we know? The Bible says so. If we want to know what sin is and how it works, we can look at this word envy and see how incredibly powerful it is.

So let me ask you a question: do you have envy in your heart? It's deadly. It tears up families. How many families have kids and the kids become envious of one another? Sometimes it's due to parents that haven't acted wisely and treated their children fairly. But notwithstanding, kids become envious, and it breaks up families. It breaks up churches. It breaks up ministries.

How many pastors are envious of the pastor next door, or the pastor across the way or the pastor in another state? And they say, "I want to be just like him. I want to have that. If he has what the pastor says is a great church, then I have to have a great church." Envy is desperately wicked. Who can know it? So even as we're talking about it now, how should you and I respond to the discussion about the word envy as followers of Jesus Christ, who was pure in heart, in word, and in truth?

He was the supreme manifestation of sinlessness. Well, here's what we should do. It's very simple. We should ask the Holy Spirit: do I have envy in my heart? Do I have envy in my heart? And He'll be sure to let you know. If we have an honest heart, somehow the Holy Spirit will let us know. That's called conviction. Conviction is the most wonderful thing. In fact, the Holy Spirit was given not just to comfort us, but specifically to convict us.

Convict us of what? Convict us of sin. That's exactly what the Bible says. So oftentimes the Holy Spirit is presented to us under false pretenses: only part of what His job is—to be our comforter or to be our teacher, but it's also to be our corrector and convictor. If we reject that, then we're going to miss out on one of the greatest benefits of the Holy Spirit.

Because if we don't yield to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit with regard to, say, envy, then we won't repent. And if we don't repent, we continue in our sin. And if we continue in our sin, we are setting ourselves apart from God, separating ourselves from Him because that's what sin does. It separates us from God. And we don't want to be separated from Him, do we?

We have a plaque that we received at one of the premier plantations in America, the Monmouth Plantation. We've had it for many, many years. My wife served as a docent there for a special event that they had, and in their little store, they had a plaque, a beautiful plaque, and it said this: "If you don't feel close to God, guess who moved?" If you don't feel close to God, guess who moved?

You see, God does not leave us; we leave Him. How do we do it? Through sin, deception, and seduction. That's why I wrote the book, "Seduction of the Saints: Staying Pure in a World of Deception." $15 will put the $18 book in your hands. It's on our website, saveus.org. You can't imagine what this book will reveal about our lives and the future.

Guest (Male): There is so much more about Chuck Crismier and Save America Ministries on our website, saveus.org. For example, under the marriage section, God has marriage on His mind. Chuck has some great resources to strengthen your marriage. First off, a fact sheet on the state of the marital union, a fact sheet on the state of ministry marriage and morals. saveus.org. Marriage, divorce, and remarriage—what does the Bible really teach about this? Find all of this at saveus.org.

Chuck Crismier: We began by asking the question: what is sin? A three-letter word, yes. It's a word that defines our separation from God. How we become separated from God, why His blessings do not flow in our lives, why our prayers are not answered, and so on. Sin opens a gateway into our lives that allows so many things to pass through that should never get into our lives and that God has no desire or intention be in our lives. Sin is the gateway.

Jesus said in Matthew chapter 7, "Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, and precious few that find it, but broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many go in thereat." What's He talking about? He's talking about sin. He's talking about how people view sin. If you view sin narrowly, as God does, that it's a violation of His Word, His will, and His ways, then you're going to enter into the narrow gate.

Because the majority of people don't form their view of what is right and wrong based upon what God has said, what His will is, but rather on the basis of what other people think. On the basis of what seems to be right in their own eyes, according to their own feelings. Faith then is given short shrift and feelings are given lordship. Feelings are crowned in our lives as essentially godhood. And that's why they're so dangerous.

Feelings that don't serve us enslave us. And when we yield to the lordship of feelings as if the feelings themselves are the Holy Spirit, we're in danger of committing blasphemy, attributing to God that which is not of God itself, but which is of his arch-enemy, the deceiver. So what we're trying to do here is discuss this in such a way that we avoid a lot of the landmines that are out there.

For instance—you say landmines—what do you mean by that? Well, have you ever heard the phrase, "Well, my pastor doesn't teach that fire and brimstone stuff. Our pastor doesn't teach that fire and brimstone stuff." What do they mean by that? It's a collective term to describe a pastor that doesn't teach the authority of God's Word in such a way that God expects you to obey it, and that there are consequences if you don't.

The pastor is more or less interested in making you feel better. What seems practical in your life? How can you feel better? How can you have a nicer marriage and so on? There's nothing wrong with having a nicer marriage, but the question is why don't you have a nice marriage? Well, usually the reason we don't have a nice marriage is because we're living in sin. We're acting sinfully.

And everybody has to deal with that in marriage. And that's the reason why marriage is God's testing ground. It is the exemplary social experiment, so to speak, as to whether we will live godly in this life. That's why marriage is the metaphor for Christ and His Church. Will we live holy and righteous lives between us and our spouse and the Holy Spirit or not? Sin is often manifested—usually manifested, quite frankly, quite boldly, quite apparently—in our marriages.

And you will know, if you're listening today, every single one of us, including yours truly, has had to deal with that. And we still have to deal with it. Why? Because in sin did our mothers conceive us. David, the King of Israel, had to deal with that. God called him a man after His own heart, but he yielded to sin in a number of different ways quite badly.

The difference between he and King Saul, who also yielded to sin in many ways, is David chose to repent and was so grievous over his sin. And that's what we need to do. We need to be grievous over our sin. Not that we should run around walking around with long faces and scowls on our faces and desperate seriousness in that regard. No. This is an internal job of humility before God.

And if we humble ourselves before God, which means to agree with His viewpoint on all the issues of life—where God has spoken, we agree with Him. Do you? Be very careful now, because one of the biggest problems that we have in America and in the American church today is dissing what God has said in whole or in part because it doesn't make us feel good. Or it doesn't make our family coalesce because our family disagrees over what God says.

So therefore, we're going to unite our family by collectively disagreeing on what God says in order that we can feel better together. Have you been tested in that regard? Jesus said we would be. He talked about deception taking place within families. In fact, so great deception that it would amount to persecution. We're seeing it in our families today, friends. When our kids come home from college or university and we see how dramatically their thinking, their lives have changed, their values have changed, they've embraced a completely different set of standards for their lives.

The Word of God is no longer the chief standard of their life. They've embraced the culture, they've embraced scientism, they've embraced inculturation, they've embraced feelings, they've embraced all kinds of things except for what God has said. So, if we want to really look at this issue, the first thing we need to do is realize that sin is defined for us in God's Word, and it is coming against in whole or in part what God has said.

Both in our minds, in our hearts, and then in our actions. So sin is not defined in terms of our opinion or the opinion of others or in terms of what makes us feel bad or in any other man-made criteria. Sin is defined by God in terms of His law. Sin is lawlessness. So it was the beloved disciple John who said exactly that: sin is lawlessness. Well, guess what? One of the names given to the Antichrist is the lawless one.

So if you are lawless with regard to the authority of God and His Word today, you are going to be very likely to be seduced by the ways of the Antichrist to come. And the spirit of Antichrist is already here. It's been here for 2,000 years. Can you see how this is so extremely important? And there's no way on this program today that we can go into the actual depths of how to understand deep in our gut, deep in our heart, the practical ramifications of how this really works.

And that's why I wrote a book called "Seduction of the Saints: How to Stay Pure in a World of Deception." The world that Jesus said would exist just before His second coming. It's an $18 book, yours for $15 on our website, saveus.org. You can give us a call at 1-800-SAVE-USA, or write to us at Save America Ministries, P.O. Box 70879, Richmond, Virginia 23255, writing a check and $6 for postage and handling.

And you know what the interesting thing is? Very little do we talk about the word sin in this book. Because we're framing it in ways that are easier for us to understand and not get caught up with the word itself, but get caught up in the spirit of what it is. How to understand it. And I believe this is the reason why so many have said this may very well be the most important book they had ever read other than the Bible.

Why would that be? They say it's because it's so unbelievably practical. So, if you want a book that really is about life, a book that's really about so many different aspects of life, then this is your book. Let me just share with you some things from the table of contents so that you can get a feeling for this. First of all, we talk about beware of deception, ask the question, "Can saints be seduced?"

And if believers can't be seduced, then all of God's warnings, all the warnings of Scripture about seduction and deception are moot. God did not know what He meant, Jesus did not know what He meant, and they were wrong. Obviously saints can be seduced. And that's the trouble. You and I can be seduced. Three chapters in a row: the truth about deception, the further truth about deception, and then protecting godly paths.

How do we protect godly paths in our lives? What about the road to hell? We say the road to hell begins at compromise corner. What does compromise look like? How is that related to sin? In fact, quite frankly, all sin is dealt with at compromise corner in our lives. Because they're decisions that we have to make. Will I believe this or will I believe that? Will I go this way or go that way?

Cultural seduction. The killer virus: political correctness. The synthetic authenticity, the pretense of what is right and true. Scientisms, socialisms, politicalisms, religious pluralisms, globalisms. The mark of the beast, false prophets, false teachers, false hope, and a passion for purity. Boy, I'll tell you, a lot is covered. And we need it.

Guest (Male): Have you ever considered what the early church was like? Many people are developing a hard longing for a greater fulfillment in our practices as Christians. A recent study shows 53,000 people a week are leaving the back door of America's churches in frustration. What is going on? Jesus said, "I'll build my church." Is Christ by His Spirit stirring to prepare the church for the 21st century?

The early church prayed together and broke bread from house to house. They were family. We can revive first-century Christianity for the 21st century. It's about people, not programs. It's about a body, not a building. That's saveus.org. Click Cell Church.

Chuck Crismier: When we began this ministry in 1992, approximately 92% of Americans claimed to believe in God. That number now is around 70%. In 1992 when we began Save America Ministries, approximately 45% of Americans claimed to either be born again or evangelical Christians. That number now at best is around 20%. Do you see what's happened in our country?

And it's happened in the church. A great falling away. When people fall away from the faith, it's because of sin. They're falling away from God and His Word. They're falling away from their trust in God and beginning to trust other things as more important. Who could be seduced? What's the nature of seduction? Why would God allow people to be seduced? Where do we find seduction in the Scriptures? When does seduction take place?

It takes place every day. Every day in our lives. When a man is on the internet and he sees a bar on the side or some picture or whatever that's alluring, and he is drawn to that picture to click on it, maybe a series of words or whatever, and in his mind, in his heart he knows that it's likely not to lead anywhere good. But he clicks on it anyway. That was sin.

Why? Because the Holy Spirit was trying to correct him and keep him from doing that, but he yielded to it anyway because in his mind and his heart he was willing to be seduced. That's how it works, friends. You may think that's too harsh, but it's not. It's the way it works. When 70% of professing Christian men are involved in pornography by their own admission, when 30-plus percent of Christian pastors are by their own admission involved in pornography, when 34% of professing Christian women are by their own admission involved in some form of pornography, female style, do you not see that we've been seduced?

It's unbelievable how easily we justify it. We swim in this water of seduction and deception, and Jesus says, "Look, this is going to kill you. It's going to destroy you. And if you don't repent, if you don't come clean about this, it's not going to be a pretty picture for you in the time of judgment." We can't play games with this issue. And as we get closer and closer to the Lord's return, we should see that the last days are our days.

The evidence confirming the matching of mankind, the world, and human society and religious thinking to that described as characteristic of and defining the last days is overwhelming, and it's shockingly descriptive. And we see ourselves—a reflection of ourselves, our culture, our society, the world—in a biblical mirror that ought to cause us to shrink in horror. But attitudes, behaviors, and spiritual conditions are not our only reference points.

Prophetic fulfillment is accelerating at breathtaking speed, don't you think? Never in history has there been such a confluence of precise and profound moral and spiritual conditions, prophetic happenings, and horrors occurred with technological capacity to fulfill them. Mankind, you and I are on notice. So we would be well advised to prepare the way of the Lord in our lives for history's final hour, right?

Unfortunately, the Scripture says that in these end times, the majority will not be willing to endure sound doctrine. In other words, they would prefer deception. They would prefer something else, something sweeter, something nicer, something that's not so keen on truth, something that really doesn't care that much about sin. And so, the amazing result of this is that Dr. Robert Schuller—remember the great television program, "The Hour of Power," that was so popular for years, decades?

He built the Crystal Cathedral, and the crystal all disappeared from his life. He seduced thousands and thousands and thousands of pastors to embrace a false understanding of the truth. Every year he gathered pastors from all over the world. I think it was a total of about 150,000 pastors ultimately during those years to be trained in spiritual seduction. Why? To grow churches instead of to grow righteous people.

The result has been devastating. The whole megachurch movement began with Dr. Robert Schuller and the pastors that glommed onto his theories in the early 1970s. I watched it happen from the seedbed of it in Pasadena, California, where I practiced law for 20 years. It came right out of a seminary. Seduction and deception can come right out of a seminary that purports to be one of the finest evangelical seminaries in the country.

When Jesus gave a warning about deception and seduction, He wasn't playing games. And He wasn't talking to disbelievers or unbelievers. He was talking to people who were supposedly His followers, His warmest audience. Paul carried the same message to his disciples. He said in the latter times—that's our times—some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits. You either agree with that or not.

And who are those who give heed to seducing spirits? Those who modify in one way or another the word, will, and ways of God as clearly spoken in the Scriptures. So, if Jesus says—and this is probably the most classic illustration and application because it cuts across vast swaths of the professing Christian church in America today—if Jesus says, "Whoever divorces their spouse causes him to commit adultery, and whoever marries the one so divorced commits adultery," then what do you say?

What does your pastor say? What do your friends say? What do your neighbors say? What do you think is the predominant opinion today? What is going to guide your decision? You get the point? That's why we had such an assault on marriage in our country beginning in the late 1960s and early 1970s. And it swept through the church like wildfire.

And then remarriage when our spouses were still living swept through the church, and we justified it. Even though Jesus called it adultery, we swept through the church, and the apostle Paul said, "Don't you know, be not deceived: neither fornicators nor adulterers nor practicing homosexuals are going to inherit the kingdom of God, unless they repent." It's very hard to communicate these things in ways that do not pierce deeply into our minds and hearts because we're so far down the path of deception.

One of the reasons why I believe that God called me to write the book, "The Power to Overcome," is that it's another way of seeing what is necessary from Jesus' viewpoint to be ready for His coming. There's something that has to be overcome. What is it? What is the nature of being an overcomer? It's not about winning a soccer game or a football game.

There's something else about being an overcomer that is so deep and so profound and yet so simple that we need to grasp it and become an overcomer. Because Jesus said the blessings of God are going to come only on the overcomers. I believe it's eight times in the book of Revelation alone He calls us to be overcomers. And then He says, "He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear."

In other words, if we don't have an ear to hear, we won't. And if we don't hear, we will not be an overcomer, and then the consequences will not be pretty. They'll be disastrous, even though we may think and have convinced ourselves that we're okay because everybody's doing it, or because that's what my pastor thinks. Your pastor is not going to stand alongside you on judgment day for you to look to before God and say, "But my pastor said." No. It's what God has said. It's what Jesus has said.

There's a reason why in Genesis chapter 1, in terms of the creation, it says, "And God said, and God said, and God said, and God said, and God said." Seven or eight times, "And God said." Why is that repeated? So that you and I would understand we must diligently respect what God has said. I'm trying to hold back the tears right now, quite frankly, because I know, having grown up in the church, a pastor's home, I watched even within our own home, I watched even my own brothers and sisters reject what God said and what happened to them as a result.

Very painfully. I've watched even some of my grandchildren who have rejected what God has said, and the consequences are very painful. I pray, I'm troubled, I see their trajectory and it ain't good. You know the same feelings. How many parents are seeing this in their own homes, their own families? But maybe the foundation for some of it was because in our homes we did not accurately display our agreement with what God has said. Maybe we compromised and were thought to be hypocrites.

These are perilous times, friends. Perilous times are when people resist the truth and become of corrupt minds, even reprobate or perverted in their faith. So seducers wax worse and worse, multiplying so that deception actually becomes the norm, deceiving and being deceived. Perilous times, that's where we are, and God will send such people strong delusions.

Get a copy of the book "Seduction of the Saints," friends. It will strengthen you for such a time as this. Really, it will encourage you, it will strengthen you. "How to Stay Pure in a World of Deception," $15 on the website saveus.org. Call us 1-800-SAVE-USA, write to us. These are immensely challenging times. I hope that you will seriously consider becoming a partner with us. Also, I hope that you'll become one of the Overcomers Project. Look to the website, become an overcomer.

Guest (Male): You've been listening to Viewpoint with Chuck Crismier. Viewpoint is supported by the faithful gifts of our listeners. Let me urge you to become a partner with Chuck as a voice to the church, declaring vision for the nation. Join us again next time on Viewpoint as we confront the issues of America's heart and home.