Hip-Hop [Christian Faith] is Dead (2010)
Flagrant Agents
Sin’s agents within
Us flagrantly pin wages
Pitted against us.
‘For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’
– Romans 6:23
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Death Works
Death works for Christians
With no faith in the power
That works within them.
‘For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.’
– Philippians 2:13
‘Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us…’
– Ephesians 3:20
‘What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?… Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead, being alone.’
– James 2:14, 17
I recently exchanged emails with a Christian woman who had updated me on several health issues that she’d been dealing with. When I attempted to encourage her by speaking the healing power of the Holy Spirit into her circumstance, she kindly rebuked me! After explaining how she’d prayed with a group of Christians over someone else earlier in her life who died despite their efforts, she basically stated that sickness and disease is something beyond our control.
Although I explained to her how faith and unbelief either abundantly release or limit the manifestation of the Holy Spirit and provided her with scriptural evidence; she regrettably concluded the conversation by saying “I’m sorry you don’t believe what I believe.” WHAT?!!!!!!
In much the same way that Nas expressed his concern and grief over how the music industry – which is supposedly designed to support it – has been killing Hip-Hop softly from within, I have come to a similar conclusion:
Christian FAITH is Dead.
This supposition is not based in secularity but in the aforementioned scripture of James 2:14, 17.
In attempts to misunderstand and undermine the Bible, many doubters may refute this scripture with another scripture which seemingly offers a contradiction. So although James states that faith without works is dead, history tells us that Martin Luther branched away from the Catholic Church based on a revelation of truth from Ephesians 2:8-9 which states:
‘For by grace are ye saved through faith; and not that of yourselves. It is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast.’
The first thing to note in the latter scripture, which is at the base of the Protestant Reformation, is that it is referencing faith in the risen Savior of Jesus Christ as what saves a person. Good works are not enough to gain eternal life if not predicated by a statement of faith that “Jesus is Lord” in one’s life (Romans 10:9).
Since this precept flew in the face of the Roman Catholic Church which had created a papal system of religion where tributes could be paid and rituals could be performed to waive sins and dead saints could be prayed to for intercession; once the disillusioned German priest read this scripture, he knew the Church had to repent from such “religious” activity.
Religion requires no faith. When a person does something religiously, a commitment to rote and habitual practices will form with a lack of true understanding. Doing a work blindly is not the same as operating in what Hebrews 11:1 defines faith to be as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Yet we live in a world where Christians follow and fall into patterns of dead works. We go to Church with Christians who profess belief in Christ but won’t believe in the power of the Holy Spirit that He operated in and left behind for us to do the same after He ascended (John 14:26). We live amongst Christians who are gripped in fear and death – both of which have been overcome by Christ and never existed in the original will of God for mankind. Timothy 1:7, John 16:33 and 1 John 4:4-6 are the scriptures I stand on as a victor of certain stance to make this claim.
Do you want to see real acts of faith? You can go to the book of Acts to get a glimpse but it is more than that. It is EVIDENCE of what we should be doing as the body of Christ TODAY!!! Jesus said that He sent us into the world with the power and expectation to do GREATER things than Him. Those are His words to be minced, not mine:
‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father.’ – John 14:12
So, in the name of Jesus, I challenge you – rebuke a fever or cast out a spirit of rebellion in a young child that you have authority over. Bind up cancer, ailments and all agents of death from a bedridden person (Matthew 18:18). But to the point – do these things and believe that the manifestation of the Holy Spirit will occur.
If I may borrow from another secular worldview – be like Mike. He envisioned his shots going in before his release; and when he was really feeling it, could be seen running back on defense before the ball had even gone through the hoop. Although he didn’t make every shot, can you imagine what his legacy would NOT have been if he decided to quit basketball because of a few bricks?!! If anything, missing a jump shot or free throw made him exercise/practice even more to increase the act of faith required to release the ball from his hands to take the shot. All the while doing so, he also maintained high expectations.
So if reading “Christian FAITH is dead” upsets you – do something about it. Granted, we will all suffer a physical death at some point but don’t go down or let others go down without a fight! Christ didn’t except it, so why should we? Read up on and revive your faith from its atrophic state.
Victors of Circumstance
We’re to be victors
Of certain stance – not victims
Of circumstances.
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The Catastrophe of Atrophy’s Apathy
Atrophic faith is
A catastrophic place to
Stake a Christian base.
