"WHERE ARE THE OTHER NINE"?

"WHERE ARE THE OTHER NINE"?

Another one of many reasons Christians find sobriety eluding them.

WHERE ARE THE OTHER NINE?

Luke 17:11-19

11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. 17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. 19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

WHERE ARE THE OTHER NINE?

Might I suggest that they've taken a wrong turn somewhere's along their journey and are now lost in the darkness on the wide road to destruction!? Having spent most of the first 40 years of my life as an alcoholic and addict, I don't see much difference between drunkenness and leprosy. Those of us who are lost in the darkness of our addictions can see no hope until Jesus crosses our path, and sheds light on our hopelessness, offering us freedom and Salvation! During the past 30 years, after having accepted His offer and choosing to share His Good News with others, I've come to the conclusion that while we all need to accept His offer of Eternal Life by accepting Him as our Savior, many, perhaps only 9 out of 10 will accept it! While many claim to have "met" Jesus along their paths, they refuse to Crucify their old selves, (Romans 6:6) or their flesh, and pick up their own cross (Matthew 16:24). Repentance is a price they are unwilling to pay, and the consequences for the alcoholics or addicts who continue to make meaningless excuses often keep them in their addictions as well as the darkness that accompanies them. These are the "many" Jesus speaks of below, who are on the wide road "that leadeth to destruction"! They are the ones listening to "false prophets" in "sheep's clothing" convincing them that the AA 12-steps are the only road to addiction recovery, when the Truth tells us that cults like AA will only lead us to hell!   
     
Matthew 7:13-15, 13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it., 15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 

WHERE ARE THE OTHER NINE?

Did they get lost at The Cross? Did The Cross become a stumbling block? Was the idea of repentance and obedience more than they could accept and commit to? Only Jesus knows!

It’s very easy today to get lost in the darkness along that very crowded wide road! Being a Christian today subjects us to a far greater degree of temptation and false teaching than ever before. We’re surrounded by the enemy on the internet, TV, and throughout the world, including many of our Churches. Many today, profess a relationship with Jesus one minute, and a minute later are engaged in the sin of one worldly activity or another. All the while defending and justifying their actions through some false teaching that they’ve heard in a “MEGA” Cathedral, or on TV, or the internet. Repenting with our lips one minute, and dabbling in sin the next, is not what God had in mind in Acts 26:20! “But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.”   I pray that you’re not one of the nine out of ten in AA who claim to be Christians, who have been "cleansed" of their addictions, yet they refuse to acknowledge The Truth, instead giving all the glory to, and defend, even promote the idea that their "cleansing" came from AA, or another similar 12-step program. Their defiance is well defined in the above scripture! Maybe 1 in 10 will see The Truth, that there is but one way to receive that “cleansing, “ while the other 9 take their "cleansing" for granted, turn away from God, and go back to their worldly ways! More than likely their next relapse is hiding right around the corner of their defiance and arrogance, just waiting for the next trial or temptation to appear, where their arrogance will be revealed. Psalm 17:10, “They close up their callous hearts, and their mouths speak with arrogance.”