"Closeness" to God

I've used the phrase many times myself--someone confronts me with an action I'm doing that is contrary to the Word of God and I offer this oft-uttered protest, "but, I've never felt closer to God!" Such words are often spoken with that put-on look of misunderstanding towards the accuser, as if you are astounded at their primitive ignorance. Thankfully, I have come to realize the true import of the cherished phrase, and now understand that it masks a life and heart that are anything but close to Christ. With each passing moment I grow more astounded at how utterly stupid human beings are, or perhaps how utterly carnal we are. By 'carnal' I do not necessarily mean 'sinful,' but rather in the biblical sense, which simply refers to our literal mortal state--to our being made up of flesh and naturally idolizing everything that has to do with the physical and visible plane of existence. We come into this world spiritually blinded and only receive that sight upon a genuine born again experience. But my oh my, how many of us are good pretenders! I spoke in an earlier post about how difficult it is to hear from God amidst the clamor of our carnal selves, and of how frequently Christians misinterpret their own emotions and feelings as God's will or divine approval. Well, never is this more true than when our carnality is running at full steam, and yet we have just enough fear of Hell to keep us from rejecting Christianity altogether. And so we enter into a strange state of heathen religiosity, a blissful utopia in which we can take part in immorality one moment and then turn around and say innocently to the concerned Christian friend or family member, "why, whatever do you mean?? Me and God are great, we're 10+!" Little does the protesting scumbag know that he/she is standing at the very mouth of Hell, though to them it looks more like a tropical resort. Quoting scripture to such an individual is largely worthless, for they have convinced themselves that scripture has little relevance, and that they posses a special, personal link with God. It is lost on them that if the Bible is not the inspired word of God then it is quite pointless to keep calling oneself a Christian, as Christianity hinges upon the Bible's infallibility. It is truly a dangerous spot to be in and I have lingered in such a wasteland many a time, including, most ironically, while attending a conservative Christian private college. Nowhere is the plague of the 'God and I are cool' delusion more prevalent than among young people. Full of energy and ready to conquer the world, a young college student is apt to try anything and everything. Add to that a perilous system of theology that deems a sin-plagued Christian as acceptable before God and you have one genuinely 'sanctified' infidel on your hands. We young people fool around with booze, smokes, and romantic entanglements, living carelessly and often shrugging at the lamentable outcomes that usually result. With today's 'it's all cool' attitude, a young supposed 'Christian' can find themselves partaking in the grossest of sins, completely unaware that their conscious has been "seared with a hot iron," as the Apostle Paul says. Such claim they have 'never been closer to God,' when the sad fact of the matter is they are so far away from him they cannot even begin to hear his quiet pleading voice. The roar of their own pride and sinful desires have so overcome their minds they cannot properly discern anything spiritual at all, for there is nothing within them that is spiritual, they are carnal, sold in sin, and Christ has departed from them. Read these sobering words from the book of Hebrews:

For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance [belongeth] unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. --Hebrews 10: 26-31

That this passage applies to Christian believers who have turned from the righteous path to the carnal is obvious. I think over my time at college--of the filthy mouth I developed just by virtue of 'letting it slide'. Words I never dreamt I would say prior to arriving at such a prestigious 'bastion' of Christian morality, came flooding out of my mouth at all times (odd how when that happens you stop praying, sometimes altogether). It was only when nearing the end of my most recent stint there that I realized what had happened. My sister's passing had awoken a new awareness in me concerning my actions and words, and I began to realize just how far down the slope I had slipped. I was reminded of an earlier time two years ago when I'd made similar mistakes, when 'innocent' compromise after compromise eventually led to my being nearly swallowed in a mire of carnality. I could not discern sin in my own life then, and what's more I could not discern it in the lives of young people I should have been watching out for. My lack of awareness not only damaged my life but another's as well, a life I should have been protecting and being a voice of warning within. And guess what? At the time I said, "I've never felt closer to God." What a sad joke. So full of pride that you interpret your own good feelings about yourself to be God's winking approval. If that is not Satanic and vomited from the bowels of Hell, I don't know what is. Christians are not carnal, Christians are not sinful, and how do we know if an individual is genuinely close to God? Here is what Jesus had to say:

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast [them] into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. --John 15:4-10


If we are of Christ, we act like Jesus...Period.