"[W]hen the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" Luke 18:8
This verse sounds to me as if it is prophetic. Look around you. Look across the world today and how at every turn the masses are deceived. Look at the majority of mega churches and the influence they are having over other churches, and Christians in general, and the deception they are sowing with their false teachings and false doctrines. People are being deceived at alarming rates these days. The deception is unprecedented. I believe that this is evidence that Satan has already been loosed again to deceive the nations. I also believe this is evidence of the great falling away.
When Jesus returns, what kind of faith is He going to find? I believe that He will find few faithful servants, just as His words describing those who will enter Heaven: "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matt. 7:13-14). 80% of Americans might identify themselves as "Christian," but that is a complete contradiction to the 25% Jesus identified in His parable of the sower, and the few He said would find life.
Based on both verses above, it would behoove the genuine follower of Christ Jesus, the true believer, the legitimate Christian, to guard him/herself and his/her doctrine closely and to strive to make sure they are in the faith and on the right path. Strive to keep the faith. Strive to remain faithful. Even if it should come to be known that you are the only faithful one left on the Earth at Jesus' second coming, strive to remain so in His strength. Never take your eyes off of Him. He is your rock. He is your refuge.
So many churches have let in the heretical "praise and worship" music by artists such as Kari Jobe, whose songs romanticize an erotic emotional eros love toward God, rather than sound doctrine of the parental, sacrificial, unconditional agape love of God. God is not your boyfriend/girlfriend and you should not sing about Him as such. He is the sovereign creator of the universe whom you should honour and revere, bowing before Him in all humility.
The "love" promoted by the world and many "Christian" sects today is precisely that erotic, emotional, romanticized "love," rather than true, genuine, sacrificial, unconditional love, which is what God the Father shows toward His children and the love Christ has for us and the love Christians are commanded to show each other (especially husbands to their wives). Agape love is a love poured out regardless of whether the person has earned it or deserves it. When the love you speak in regard to Jesus is an emotional, "feeling," erotic love, then you worship a false Jesus. Your emotions and feelings are to be governed by and subjected to wisdom, understanding, and discernment. They are to be governed by and subjected to truth. They are to be governed by and subjected to Scripture. Your emotions and "feelings" and "experiences" and opinions are to be subject to Scripture; Scripture is never subject to your emotions and "feelings" and "experiences" and opinions.
Songs by these heretical "praise and worship" artists are leading a great many Christians astray. The books of false teachers such as Rob Bell are also leading a great many Christians astray. Because of the trash they read, Christian musicians Don and Wendy Francisco have rejected the doctrine of Hell, of which Jesus spoke twice as much about than He did Heaven, and have also rejected the infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture. Don has been quoted as saying that those who believe in the infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture are "dead" and need to stop drinking the Kool-Aid. The fact is, Don has become undiscerning in the material he consumes. He likely does not weigh it against Scripture, but instead weighs Scripture against the heretical material he reads. The result of this material has been witnessed in the character and attitude of his wife, Wendy, who speaks with a foul mouth on her social media accounts, trying to justify the nonsense she now believes. This is what happens when you take your eyes of Jesus and are not daily in the Word so that it can saturate your soul. If you do not use the truth, you will eventually lose the truth.
"It’s never-ending. The apostasy, the lack of discernment, the gullibility. How can anyone who proclaims the name of Jesus Christ not recognize the dismal state of the professing church? Words cannot even begin to describe how far away the church is from Christ in these days. The attractions, the concerts, the conferences. People joining hands with those teaching for shameful gain things they ought not to teach. This is not revival, but the falling away in it’s most deceptive and extreme form—a form of godliness that denies its power." —Jeff MaplesThe church these days lacks wisdom, understanding, and discernment. If they would just ask the Lord for it, He would give it to them abundantly. But they would rather play in a mud puddle while God has provided a sparkling ocean for them. Their ignorance truly is bliss. The amount of professing "Christians" out there without a shred of discernment is just staggering. Discernment is not just for preachers, teachers, and theologians. All Christians are to have and use discernment. All Christians are to be like the Bereans. The Berean character is two-fold: they examine the Scriptures to see if what they are being told is true (Acts 17:11); and they examine the life of the one speaking to see if it lines up with their words (1 John 4:1; Rev. 2:2). Scripture has much to say about this (Acts 20:30; 1 Thess. 5:21; 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Pet. 2:1). Even a false teacher can speak the truth of Scripture while their life does not match up with their words or the words of Scripture.
So many churches have let in the heretical "praise and worship" music by artists such as Kari Jobe, whose songs romanticize an erotic emotional eros love toward God, rather than sound doctrine of the parental, sacrificial, unconditional agape love of God. God is not your boyfriend/girlfriend and you should not sing about Him as such. He is the sovereign creator of the universe whom you should honour and revere, bowing before Him in all humility.
The "love" promoted by the world and many "Christian" sects today is precisely that erotic, emotional, romanticized "love," rather than true, genuine, sacrificial, unconditional love, which is what God the Father shows toward His children and the love Christ has for us and the love Christians are commanded to show each other (especially husbands to their wives). Agape love is a love poured out regardless of whether the person has earned it or deserves it. When the love you speak in regard to Jesus is an emotional, "feeling," erotic love, then you worship a false Jesus. Your emotions and feelings are to be governed by and subjected to wisdom, understanding, and discernment. They are to be governed by and subjected to truth. They are to be governed by and subjected to Scripture. Your emotions and "feelings" and "experiences" and opinions are to be subject to Scripture; Scripture is never subject to your emotions and "feelings" and "experiences" and opinions.
Songs by these heretical "praise and worship" artists are leading a great many Christians astray. The books of false teachers such as Rob Bell are also leading a great many Christians astray. Because of the trash they read, Christian musicians Don and Wendy Francisco have rejected the doctrine of Hell, of which Jesus spoke twice as much about than He did Heaven, and have also rejected the infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture. Don has been quoted as saying that those who believe in the infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture are "dead" and need to stop drinking the Kool-Aid. The fact is, Don has become undiscerning in the material he consumes. He likely does not weigh it against Scripture, but instead weighs Scripture against the heretical material he reads. The result of this material has been witnessed in the character and attitude of his wife, Wendy, who speaks with a foul mouth on her social media accounts, trying to justify the nonsense she now believes. This is what happens when you take your eyes of Jesus and are not daily in the Word so that it can saturate your soul. If you do not use the truth, you will eventually lose the truth.
Seeing this kind of deception in even long-standing doctrinally-firm Christians makes me think that perhaps Jesus' words in the above verse are prophetic, rather than an actual question. Considering the great falling away from the faith that we seem to be seeing, I think it is a safe bet. We as Christians need to guard ourselves daily. We need to be in the Word daily, letting it wash over us and fill us with its truth. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus alone and quit diverting them to the various bandwagon crusades that keep popping up. Satan's ploys are to distract us and separate us from the Saviour. We need to be ever vigilant and make sure Jesus is elevated in our hearts and minds. Let the Word of God be our distraction. Be firm in your faith and let Jesus be your strong tower. Pray for wisdom, understanding, and discernment. Let the Word of God guide you. Strive to be among the few who will be faithful at the return of our Lord and Saviour.