I remember back in 2000, most of us were stunned when "Hanoi" Jane Fonda, one of the most radical anti-Vietnam War protestors, and a feminist whom almost all United States military veterans and citizens despise, announced boldly that she had become a "Born-Again Christian"!
I was among those who believed it...after all, it was Jane Fonda, who grew up the daughter of atheist Henry Fonda and like most liberals, turned their noses up against the Bible Belt and all we believe. Even more incredible was the fact that Jane was married to one of the worse Christ-haters in America - TV mogul Ted Turner (CNN, TBS etc). This revelation led to Turner divorcing her.
Jane said she became a Christian after attending an African-America Baptist church in Atlanta, secretly, for many years. She then reinforced that view on the Oprah Winfrey show in 2005. However, the fruit of one' decision in life are not immediately visible. The question is...where do you stand in the long run?
Are you really and truly BORN AGAIN?
Are you a repentant sinner, saved by the Grace of God?
Are you a really a son or daughter of His?
Like most American professing Christians, Jane developed doubt and even despair over the years and by her own admission, looked outside the Bible for answers. She went to texts not considered in the Canon of Scripture, as well as to other religions. While she admitted to faithful attending Real Bible Studies over the years and knowing exactly the Words of Jesus, her rebellious spirit has led her to become more interfaith like most evangelicals to the point where she rebels against the Attributes of God the Father!
She never left her feminist background and also dislikes certain tenets of the Faith which are prime for real believers. She is still pro-abortion. Jane Fonda says in her biography "Over time, and, I feel, because I stepped outside of established religion, I was able to rekindle the spiritual experience that I’d been seeking. Some will say that because of all this I am not a true Christian. So be it. I feel like a Christian, I believe in the teachings of Jesus and try to practice them in my life. I have found Christians all over this country who feel as I do.
They may not have been ‘saved’ yet they hum with divine spirit.
Look at that last line "THEY MAY NOT BE SAVED...!!!!!" Yet Jane calls them Christians! Sadly, SHE IS CORRECT! Most America Christians have never really been saved!
Therein lies the another big problem. Christians and Christian media is HORRIBLE about this. Some celebrity declares he/she is now a christian, and we go ape hooting and hollering and inviting him to speak to our youth. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is bad about this...not our local one in Springfield, which is led by biblically grounded and wise friends of mine. But some flashy football player says that he "loves Jesus", (usually after he is arrested for something or other, or caught with a woman not his wife) and he is on some Christian magazine cover.
Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) is the biggest culprit here. They have these athletes, movie stars or rap singers on on the air, worldwide...in PRIME TIME! Most of them ramble or cannot give an account of the Life-changing power of the LORD JESUS Christ and how He rescued them from the Domain of Darkness! Sure enough, over time, most of their empty lives show no fruit and they end up worshiping other gods, while professing what they call 'the nice teachings of Jesus'!
Albert Pujols |
Yet, with the world watching an amazing sports comeback story, when the wildcard St Louis Cardinals came from just barely making the playoffs to baseball champions of the World, NONE OF THESE TWO MEN, THANKED GOD OR JESUS WHEN IT WAS THEIR TURN TO TALK ON NATIONAL TV!! NONE! ZERO, ZIPPO, NONE!!
All we heard was how good they were, how good their team was and how good it felt to be "world champs"! YET, these same men will now be invited to speak at major Christian events, where you will hear the name of Jesus in passing and nothing about the Gospel. Then you will hear about how good they feel and how they stuck it out to win...etc etc....then they will raise a lot of money for some group....many in the Crowd will not be really converted christians...just a bunch of celebrity gawkers.
These gawkers will then leave the fundraising dinner, maybe with a photo of this celebrity ball player, satisfied with themselves and the $1000 they donated to some christian cause....and go home. The entire exercise will be worth NOTHING in terms of Eternity, and if this person is not saved, which is most likely the case in modern American christianity, they will stand before Jesus and be condemned.
Is this what we want? Celebrity determining Eternity, for those who worship this, rather than Christ? NO!
A thousand times NO!
The best advice we can give seekers, weak christians and even those who can get caught up in the the Jane Fonda's and Pujols or Deion Sanders...or even Charlie Sheen (who once said he was born again)...is to ignore Celebrity...forget this garbage! They - the regular man and woman in our own sphere- they will stand before Jesus one day and be judged and if He is not their Savior and they were never really converted; born again and saved.....well, what will it profit them on that day?
THINK ON THESE THINGS...and then act accordingly!!
(Credits: Photo by Google Images.
Quote: from JaneFonda.com)
2 comments:
My pastor showed me a report from the 80's in which the Rev. Billy Graham said that 80 % of people in church was not saved.
http://boydweeklydevotional.blogspot.com
Amen brother Derrick! You are correct, sir! It's sad people have to look at celebrity so-called christians and then measure themselves by that yardstick, instead of the WORD!
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