The Forgetful Fiancée

A number of years ago I read a news item about a young woman in Eastern Europe who disappeared a couple of weeks before her wedding. She was spotted several days later on the outskirts of the city, apparently suffering from a severe case of amnesia.

According to the report, the woman was in her late twenties and was found wandering around near a garbage dump. Although she was cold, hungry, dirty and apparently oblivious to her surroundings, she was comparatively well dressed. She had no ID, and couldn't remember her name, address, or telephone number. She didn't even know what year it was.

At the time she was found, she was carrying some type of textbook, although she seemed to have no memory of its purpose or contents. It was later determined she was a school teacher, but she had no memory of having any type of employment.

Since her family had reported her missing, it didn't take the police long to identify her and reunite her with family members. However, she couldn't recognize her siblings when they arrived at the police station. And much to the chagrin of her distraught fiancé, she couldn't recognize him, either.

The report stated that it was unclear what had brought on her sudden attack of amnesia; however, it was believed that stress related to her upcoming wedding and concerns over her job due to budget cutbacks at her school may have been contributing factors. It's possible there were undiagnosed medical issues involved as well.

I don't know how things turned out for the young woman, but I'd like to think that she made a complete recovery and went on to live a full and happy life.

But these days, as I read about what is happening in mainstream churches, I can't help but think of the woman in that report. As I see what is going on in certain segments of Christianity, I am reminded of the woman I have come to refer to as the Forgetful Fiancée.

In many respects, a lot of Christians in these last days have become more and more like the Forgetful Fiancée. Of course, there is and always will be a solid remnant of believers who strive to keep their eyes on Jesus, walk according to His Word, and long for His appearing. Nevertheless, it deeply saddens me to see what is happening within Christianity in general and to witness the various types of apostasy, deception, false teaching, occult practices, and just plain spiritual ignorance and laziness that are on the rise—and in some cases already running rampant—throughout mainstream Christianity today.

Here is a list of 10 characteristics of the Forgetful Fiancée, and it is worth noting how they apply to many who name the name of Christ these days.

1. She was cold, hungry, and dirty—but well dressed.

Many Christians have grown cold in their relationship with the Lord. The desire for Him is being replaced by the desire for blessings, especially the material kind, and the Word of Faith movement is reaping the benefits. They tell people if they "plant a seed" (send them money) that God will "pour out His blessings" (give them the stuff they want). After all, God wants you rich. God wants you to ride in style.

And if those material blessings are not forthcoming, then maybe you, uh, need to plant a bigger seed.

Or maybe you begin to doubt God and His Word.

Now, don't get me wrong. Our Heavenly Father has indeed promised to meet all our needs:

But He doesn't want us to fret about it, or chase after material things as if that were an end in itself. He wants us to seek His kingdom and His righteousness first, rather than only coming to Him when we want something as if He were a cosmic Santa Claus that could be manipulated by quasi-biblical formulae that have been neatly snipped out of the Bible, out of the context of surrender to His will and obedience to His Word.

2. She was carrying a book, but couldn't remember anything about it.

Speaking of God's Word...people aren't just hungry for it—they're starving for it. Sermons in many mainstream churches have been reduced to 30 to 40 minutes of PowerPoint pablum:

• Four Fundamentals to Finding Your blah-blah-blah.
• Four Keys to Keeping Your blah-blah-blah.
• Four Secrets to Supercharging Your blah-blah-blah.

Partly as a result (and partly out of laziness and the distraction of other things), biblical literacy is at an all-time low throughout much of Christianity.

I could quote some statistical findings to back it up, but it's just too depressing.

Christians need to be taught the Word—and more importantly, to study it for themselves. If all you get of the Word is what you get from the preacher on Sunday morning, it's really not enough—even if it's good, solid teaching. We need to immerse ourselves in the whys and wherefores of the Christian faith and biblically sound doctrine. We need to spend time in the Word daily. No time? Make time. We need to read what the Bible says, understand what it says, remember what it says, believe what it says, and let it transform our minds and our lives.

The reason is simple—and I cannot emphasize this enough: Without solid grounding in the Word, people can easily be...

Bottom line: You can't spot a lie if you don't know the truth.

The problem, of course, is that there is teaching being promulgated today that is 98 percent truth and 2 percent lie. But the result is still a dirty, stinking lie—just one that's harder to spot and tougher to root out. That's why we need to be able to rightly divide the Word of truth.

Oh, and speaking of dirty...

3. She was in a garbage dump, but oblivious to her surroundings.

Whatever happened to holiness?

I mean, whatever happened to being in the world, but not of the world? Whatever happened to "be ye holy, for I am holy"? Whatever happened to being dead to sin? Whatever happened to Paul's anguished lament:

If the apostle Paul could cry What a wretched man I am!, how much more should we?

Well, we certainly don't want unbelievers to feel offended or uncomfortable in our church, now do we? So let's take down those guilt-inducing crosses, put away those intimidating old Bibles, and relate to unbelievers. We need to focus on relationships with the world. Let's lose the fire and brimstone and promote a more positive, more inclusive gospel. A social/relational gospel. Let's just focus on how nice God is and how much He loves everybody.

In many churches, God has been softened, sweetened, and airbrushed to the point where He's a kindly old grandfather who winks at sin and who wouldn't think of sending anyone to hell—assuming, of course, that you're sufficiently medieval and out of touch in your thinking to still believe that hell even exists.

The sad result is that lifestyles virtually indistinguishable from the unbelieving world have become the norm in many churches. Not only that, but anyone who raises an objection or refuses to acquiesce to worldly attitudes and behavior in many Christian fellowships is pilloried for being unloving, judgmental, and a holier-than-thou Pharisee who needs to remove the plank from his own eye.

"Tsk tsk tsk. 'Judge not, that ye be not judged.'"

May God remind us what it feels like to have a broken and contrite spirit over our sin that cost Him the life of His only Son.

4. She had no ID, and couldn't remember who she was.

Many Christians in churches today have forgotten (or never fully understood) who they are in Christ. When you repent of your sin, believe in faith that Jesus paid the penalty for it and ask God to forgive you, a few changes take place that many seem to have forgotten, but would do well to review.

Here's a quick Top 10 list:

1. You have been bought at a great price, adopted into His family, and belong to Him forever (1 Cor. 6:20; Rom. 8:15).

2. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19).

3. You are a new creature in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).

4. You have been set free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2).

5. You are a joint-heir with Christ (Rom. 8:17).

6. You are the salt of the earth (to keep it from spoiling) and the light of the world (so you can shine the light of God's love before men so they may see your good works and give Him glory) (Matt. 5:13–14).

7. You are an ambassador of Christ (2 Cor. 5:20).

8. You are a member of a royal priesthood and a holy nation (1 Pet. 2:9).

9. You are God's workmanship, created in Christ for the purpose of doing the good works that God has preordained for you to do (Eph. 2:10).

10. You will rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years during the Millennial Kingdom (Rev. 20:6).

Incidentally, don't be lulled to sleep by the grand, futuristic tone of that last item. Judging from the way the prophetic scenario is crystallizing, we are probably much closer to seeing this come to pass than many realize.

And note that not one of these is a meaningless piece of fluff that the Bible just tosses off. Each one is an absolute mind-blowing reality, and it is crucial for us to keep that in mind. If we do, it is far more likely we will be able to live the kind of overcoming lives God intends for us to live.

5. She couldn't remember her address.

Pop quiz: If you are a Christian, where is your home? (Hint: It's not here.)

We are citizens of a city whose builder and maker is God, and the Bible calls it the New Jerusalem.

That's our home.

Again, many Christians today seem to have forgotten this. They seem to be so single-mindedly focused on having their best life now, taking over the world for Christ, and in general building bigger and better whatevers here on earth that they have completely lost sight of the fact that we are sojourners here.

We are strangers in a land that is not our land.

I feel compelled to say something here, and it involves the following verse of Scripture that may be familiar to many—at least it should be, because it gets quoted about once every 10 minutes in most Christian television broadcasts:

If I hear one more well-meaning preacher or evangelist invoke this promise in reference to the United States, I'm going to throw a gazit stone through my television screen. I don't care how many millions of people their ministry reaches or how many bestselling books they have written.

I get that many prophecies in the Bible have multiple levels of fulfillment and that many promises have multiple levels of application and so forth. I'm not biblically ignorant. But...

Man, don't even get me started. OK, I'll make this brief:

(a) The people being spoken of are the Jews, and only the Jews.

(b) The land being spoken of is Israel, and only Israel.

(c) Even if (a) and (b) were not true, America is not the Church and the Church is not America, and so America is not the Church's "land."

In a nutshell: THE CHURCH DOESN'T HAVE A LAND TO HEAL!

Paying the piper: God has warned America repeatedly, she has continued to turn her back on Him, and now He is judging her.

And I say this with the deepest, sincerest respect for godly men such as Franklin Graham and others, but it appears that all the prayers in the world won't stop it.

Oh, if you want an Old Testament promise that applies to the United States, how about this one:

In other words, when God finally decides to judge a nation for sinning grievously against Him (which America has done and continues to do in the most flagrant way conceivable), nothing can stop it. Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job—three of the most righteous men in history according to God—were present in that country, they would only be able to save themselves through their own righteousness.

Unlike 2 Chronicles 7:14, which applies specifically to Israel and the Jews, this is a general statement that applies to any nation, including America.

Happy now?

6. She couldn't remember her telephone number.

The Forgetful Fiancée didn't know how to contact home. Sometimes I wonder if some Christians know how to do the same—that is, contact God.

Actually, the problem isn't that many Christians don't seem to know how to "phone home," the problem is that they keep dialing the wrong number.

Mysticism is making huge inroads into churches today, and it comes disguised as such seemingly harmless things as contemplative prayer, centering prayer, spiritual formation, Christian meditation, and so on.

And I know I'm going to step on a few toes by saying this, but I am convinced that some of what goes on in the charismatic movement these days falls into the same category.

A perfect gentleman: The Holy Spirit never calls attention to Himself. He is a perfect gentleman—and He always glorifies and testifies of Christ. The Holy Spirit indwells, fills, seals, leads, convicts, sanctifies, teaches, comforts, empowers, and transforms us. But He is never the center of attention.

In every single story in the Bible that includes a person who represents the Holy Spirit, that individual is invariably an unnamed servant. Whenever the Holy Spirit is turned into the main attraction, that should be a clue that something has gone off the rails.

Yes, God does give people dreams and visions, and does sometimes communicate with people in unusual ways. But the bottom line is that if you are actively, deliberately seeking after a mystical or supernatural experience (which is prohibited in Scripture), there is an excellent chance you are not communicating with God. Whatever you do experience will in many cases be a product of your own mind, and there is the possibility that it's the influence of something a bit more sinister.

And that's not a good thing.

Either way, anything that is even remotely connected with the deliberate pursuit of altered states of consciousness has absolutely no place in the life of a born-again believer. Period.

Preparing your mind for action (or "girding up the loins of your mind" as the King James Version puts it), being sober, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ does not include trying to get in touch with your inner "Christ consciousness" through meditative techniques—regardless of how they are packaged—or flopping around on the floor like a babbling lunatic, no matter how much people try to tell you they are "moving in the fullness of the Spirit."

7. She couldn't remember what she did for a living.

Like the Forgetful Fiancée, Christians have a job. We are here for a reason, and it strikes me that a large number of people in churches seem to have forgotten what it is. Our job is pretty straightforward:

To spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Of course, that includes a variety of activities. We can witness to people as the Holy Spirit prompts us. We can pray that the Holy Spirit would soften the hearts of individuals and make them receptive to the gospel message. We can support ministries that are actively involved in spreading the gospel. We can obey the Word and live overcoming lives that are saturated with God's love, radiate His presence, and exude our faith in His promises—and in so doing cause other people to be curious about what makes us different.

And be prepared to tell them:

That's our job.

It's not to take over the world for Christ. It's not to build bigger, fancier church buildings. It's not to have our best life now in this sick, sin-infested world. It's not to create social programs designed to make the world—which is temporarily under the control of Satan—a better place. It's not to vote someone into the White House just because he knows the difference between the Bible and a bologna sandwich. It's not to divide up into camps and mock and belittle each other over non-essential doctrinal differences.

Our job is take Jesus to a lost and dying world.

And talk about a retirement plan...

8. She didn't know what year it was.

It astonishes me how many Christians today apparently suffer from the same problem. Oh, they know it's 2012 or whatever the actual calendar year may be, but they are blissfully ignorant of where we are on God's prophetic timeline. It simply amazes me whenever I see an article with a breathtaking title such as "Could We Possibly Be in the Last Days?"

"Ya think? What was your first clue, Rev. Holmes?"

Many are blithely unaware of the fact that Bible prophecy is being fulfilled as we speak, and that we are barreling full steam ahead toward a veritable hit parade of prophetic end-time events. Here is a quick Top 10 list of coming attractions:

1. The battle of Psalm 83.

This is a battle in which Israel's immediate neighbors, including Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Hezbollah, the Palestinians and others attack Israel, but are defeated by the hand of God.

2. The battle of Gog and Magog (Ezek. 38–39).

This is a battle in which Russia, Iran, Turkey, Libya and others attack Israel, but God supernaturally intervenes in order to turn the hearts of His people back to Him and to sanctify His holy name in the eyes of the entire world. Note that some Bible scholars believe this is actually a description of the battle of Armageddon (see no. 9), although I disagree.

Some believe Psalm 83 will precede and set the stage for Ezekiel 38–39, but some think they are actually two views of the same attack (and I have come to lean in this direction personally—so much so that I seldom even mention them separately anymore). If you plan on placing a friendly wager on which it will be, however, I suggest you do so at your earliest convenience. This furball could get coughed up faster than you can say "Allahu Akbar."

3. The utter destruction of Damascus (Isa. 17).

Assuming it hasn't happened by the time you read this.

Damascus (the capital of Syria), is the oldest continuously inhabited city on earth, so this prophecy is yet future. The prophet Isaiah said it would be turned into a "ruinous heap."

4. The Rapture (1 Thess. 4:13–17; 1 Cor. 15:51–53).

Assuming it hasn't...you know.

5. The rise of the Antichrist (2 Thess. 2).

Many Bible prophecy scholars interpret this passage of Scripture to mean that it is nothing less than the Rapture that allows the Antichrist to be revealed and rise to prominence. This is because the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of born-again believers is seen as a restraining force against this ultimate expression of evil, and the Rapture will remove that restraining influence and turn Satan loose, so to speak.

6. A seven-year peace treaty with Israel (Dan. 9:27).

The Antichrist will confirm a seven-year peace treaty with Israel, and that is what officially begins the Tribulation.

7. The building of the Third Temple in Israel.

According to Daniel 9:27, the Antichrist causes the sacrifices to cease at the midpoint of the Tribulation, and so there must be an operational temple in Israel by that time.

8. The abomination of desolation (Matt. 24:15).

This is an event in which the Antichrist places his image in the holiest part of the above temple and demands to be worshiped as God. It occurs at the midpoint of the seven-year Tribulation, and triggers what Jesus Himself referred to as the Great Tribulation, the most horrific three and a half years of destruction and turmoil the world has ever known or ever will know. Jesus said that unless those days were shortened, nobody would survive.

9. The battle of Armageddon (Rev. 16:16).

In this battle, which occurs at the climax of the Tribulation, all the nations of the earth come against Israel, and it culminates in...

10. The second coming of Christ to the earth (Matt. 24; Rev. 19).

(Note: Don't read too much into the order in which I have listed these.)

Some Christians have given up even attempting to understand anything about end-time prophecy, either because they have become convinced that it's too difficult or, what's just as likely, they have grown weary of listening to know-it-all doctrine Nazis get into venom-spewing arguments about it. Or they may have been exposed to false teaching that suggests that most prophecy has already been fulfilled (preterism, etc.), so there's not much to look forward to. So, let's just get busy trying to build a better world. And bigger churches.

Whatever the case my be, many Christians need to be reminded that we are told in Scripture to watch for the fulfillment of prophecy so we will know when His return is getting close. As Jesus was giving an end-times briefing to several of His disciples, He gave them (and us) the following admonition:

Well, there's only one way to know when these things begin to happen, and that is to watch.

So watch.

9. She didn't recognize her brothers and sisters.

When the Forgetful Fiancée's siblings showed up at the police station, she didn't know who they were—she treated them like strangers. Many Christians today seem to have a similar problem when it comes to other born-again believers who may hold to different interpretations of certain doctrinal issues.

They hole up in their little bunkers and shut out other believers who don't see things their way, and sometimes it reaches the point where they marginalize, trivialize, and demonize those in other camps. In the process, they lose sight of the fact that those same people are their siblings in Christ.

Talk about the Saturday Night Fights: With some Christians it's the Sunday Morning Polemics. Here are a few of the featured bouts:

• Post-tribbers vs Pre-tribbers

(Rapture at the end of the Tribulation, or Rapture before the Tribulation.)

• Pre-wrathers vs Pre-tribbers

(Rapture during the Tribulation but before the worst part, or Rapture before the Tribulation...and notice that it's very seldom Post-tribbers vs Pre-wrathers.)

• OSAS vs Anti-OSAS

(You're either "Once Saved, Always Saved," or you must produce fruit/good works to earn, keep, or maintain your salvation.)

• Preterists vs Futurists

(All or most Bible prophecy was fulfilled by AD 70, or much, including the seven-year Tribulation, is yet future.)

• Cessationists vs Continuationists

(The miraculous sign gifts operative in the New Testament Church such as speaking in tongues, healings, etc. ceased after the canon of Scripture was complete, or they continue to the present day.)

And it just goes on and on. It's invariably one versus the other:

 The Enlightened Guardians of Biblical Truth So-and-So 
vs
 The Enlightened Guardians of Biblical Truth Anti-So-and-So 

The point is that regardless of our views on certain doctrinal issues, we would all do well to remember that our sins were washed away by the same precious blood, we have been reconciled to the same holy God, and we are all indwelt by the same Holy Spirit. And so we might as well start getting along with each other right now.

Did I say getting along with each other? Uhm...

Now there's a passage of Scripture that some of us need to have tattooed to our forearms.

And I'll go first.

After all, we're all going to spend eternity in the same heaven.

10. She didn't recognize her fiancé.

Finally, the saddest of all: The Forgetful Fiancée couldn't recognize the man she was going to marry. When her fiancé showed up at the police station, it was as if she had never seen him before.

She looked into the eyes of the man who had pledged his undying love to her and was prepared to share his life with her and said:

"I don't know you."

It saddens me to see people within Christianity who seem to have forgotten who Jesus really is: He is the Bridegroom to whom we have been betrothed. He loved us enough to pay the bride price for us with His blood while we were utterly repulsive. He gave His life for us, and we are to keep ourselves for Him as a chaste virgin, not worshiping or chasing after any other gods or idols.

• He's not your imaginary friend.

• He's not your buddy, pal, bro, or homey.

• He's not your secret boyfriend.

• He's not your mascot.

• He's not your good luck charm.

• He's not your co-pilot.

He's your Lord and Savior, and the single highest goal in your life should be to know Him.

And just as a bridegroom traditionally picks up his new bride and carries her across the threshold into their new abode, know this: He is going to catch us away to be with Him at some point in the future—and from the looks of things, I would say the not-too-distant future.

The Faithful Fiancée

When Jesus comes for us at the Rapture, it is at that point we are "officially" prepared to become the bride of Christ (although legally we are now). Until then, you could say in a more modern sense that we are His Faithful Fiancée.

Unlike the Forgetful Fiancée, the Faithful Fiancée isn't cold and dirty: She loves the Lord with all her heart, all her soul, and all her mind, and all her strength, and strives to live in a manner that is pleasing to Him. And she may not always be so well dressed in this life, but on her wedding day she will be clothed in the sparkling white robes of His righteousness.

The Faithful Fiancée treasures His Word, and seeks to obey it. She hides her Lord's Word in her heart so that she might not sin against Him.

Rather than being oblivious to her surroundings, the Faithful Fiancée seeks to separate herself from a lost and dying world that is steeped in sin. She takes seriously and responds to her Lord's command to live a life characterized by holiness and purity.

She knows who she is in Christ.

She knows her Lord is preparing a home for her in heaven, and is looking forward to the day when she'll get to move in.

The Faithful Fiancée knows how to communicate with her Lord, and spends time in prayer. She seeks His counsel on matters big and small, and sets aside time just to commune with Him. She keeps the lines of communication with Him open 24 hours a day.

She knows her job is to share the gospel and to shine her light before men, and has only passing concern for her temporary stay in this world because she trusts her Lord, who has promised to provide for all her needs.

The Faithful Fiancée understands that her Lord could return at any time, and so wants to be found attending to her appointed duties. Thus, when the fleeting pleasures and carnal distractions of this world call out to her, those calls fall on deaf ears. Not only that, but she longs for the day when He returns and she will see Him face to face.

She loves her brothers and sisters in Christ, and seeks always to comfort, strengthen, and edify them in any way she can.

And the Faithful Fiancée definitely knows to whom she is betrothed. She has eyes only for her Lord, and doesn't have the time of day for other suitors with their seductive promises of secret knowledge and esoteric enlightenment. She refuses to worship the idols of this world, or wallow in its man-made philosophies or belief systems, or give heed to any such thing that would displease, dishonor, or draw her attention away from Him.

Not only that, but the Faithful Fiancée's heart is beginning to stir within her because she is obeying her Lord's command to watch and read the signs of the times, which are telling her she won't have to wait a whole lot longer.

The Faux Fiancée

There are people, however, who believe they are part of the future bride of Christ, but may not be. Perhaps at some point they understood the idea of the gospel, but they never really let it in. They probably understand who Jesus is and are certainly amenable to the idea that He died for them.

They liked Jesus on Facebook.

But maybe they never let the convicting power of the Holy Spirit get through to them, and they never really changed their minds about their sin and their need for a Savior. Perhaps they remain on the fence, and they go about their business casually assuming they've got that religion thing taken care of.

"I got my ticket punched, so I'm OK."

Well, maybe...maybe not. They may be part of what could be called the Faux Fiancée. They seem to feel the same way about sin as they did before, and their lives seem to reflect the fact that they never really changed their minds about anything in relation to their sin that has separated them from God and the fact that Jesus died to pay their penalty for it.

They may be good people; they might even regularly attend and be prominent members (or leaders) of the finest megachurch in the area.

Are they saved? Only God knows—only God looks upon the heart. After all, sheep do stray from the flock, and the Good Shepherd knows just when and just how to retrieve them.

So, it's not my call. Nor is it anyone else's.

But if they've never been born of the Spirit, then what is saddest of all is the fact that one day they will stand before Him and they will be the ones who will hear the crushing, horrifying words of our Forgetful Fiancée, only this time uttered by the one they so casually and disingenuously called "Lord":

"I don't know you."

Greg Lauer — JAN '13

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 JAN '13 

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