The Lost & Lukewarm

Once a Man Has Tasted the Light

A lost man lives in darkness, spiritually dead and unable to come to Christ unless the Father draws him (Eph. 2:1; John 6:44).

But Scripture also speaks of men who are "enlightened," who "taste of the heavenly gift" and "the good word of God," yet still fall away (Heb. 6:4-6).

To taste the light is not necessarily to possess the Light—but tasting it reveals an alternative. Before, darkness was all the man knew; now he has seen another way.

This does not mean illumination has regenerated him or made him spiritually neutral, but it does mean his rejection is no longer made in the same ignorance.

He has tasted the light and knowingly turns back toward darkness. That is why Scripture says it would have been "better for them not to have known the way of righteousness" than, having known it, to turn away (2 Pet. 2:21).

Before tasting the light, there was ignorance. After tasting the light, there can be knowing rejection—and with greater knowledge comes greater accountability.

"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."
— John 3:19 (KJV)

✠ P.S. Exposure is not conversion. Familiarity is not faith. A man can stand close enough to the Light to recognize it and still walk away. Inside The Kingdom Council 🏛️, we help men stop making peace with the darkness they've already recognized—and pursue Christ through real repentance and costly obedience. Join us.

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You Own the Rejection. God Owns the Salvation.

By Ryan M. Maes Leave a Comment

God is the decisive cause of salvation; man remains the responsible agent of rejection.

Man can genuinely and knowingly reject revealed truth. That rejection is his doing. God isn't unbelieving for him, coercing him into unbelief, or morally responsible for his sin. The man acts according to his own desires and will.

But the reverse doesn't have to be symmetrical. If that man actually comes savingly to Christ, God's grace was decisive:

Rejection: man willingly rejects the light.

Salvation: God draws, regenerates, and enables the man to embrace the Light.

Man can own his rejection without being the author of his salvation.

Scripture can simultaneously say:

"ye will not come to me, that ye might have life."
— John 5:40

and:

"No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him."
— John 6:44

✠ P.S. You can know the Scriptures, defend sound doctrine, and still resist the God they reveal. Knowing the truth isn't the same as surrendering to it. Inside The Kingdom Council 🏛️, we help men close the gap between the truth they defend and the life they live—bringing their decisions, desires, and conduct under Christ's authority. Join us.

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We Are All Screwed Up—All of Us

By Ryan M. Maes Leave a Comment

"As the Scriptures say, 'No one is righteous— not even one.'"
— Romans 3:10 (NLT)

We all have SECRET thoughts.

We all have FORBIDDEN desires.

We all have HIDDEN sins.

We all have a PAST.

We all stand 👉 GUILTY 👈 before the Lord—every single one of us.

You are not alone, my brother.

God sees you...

"Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD."
— Jeremiah 23:24 (ESV)

The truth is that we all have 💀 SKELETONS IN OUR CLOSET 💀—

—yet we are often unaware of our own DEPRAVITY, as the world seeks to blind our eyes and harden our hearts.

In our flesh, our transgressions frequently go UNNOTICED—

—and we fail to recognize just how far we've BACKSLIDDEN.

"The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?"
— Jeremiah 17:9 (NLT)

Often, only the eyes of God can REVEAL it.

Only the mind of God can PERCEIVE it.

Only the strength of God can BEAR it.

Only the hand of God can LEAD it.

Only the peace of God can SOOTHE it.

And only the power of God can 👉 TRANSFORM 👈 it.

You are not alone...

Seek the LORD while he may be found—

—and call on him while he is near (Isa. 55:6).

Praise be to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who called us out of darkness and into his marvelous light!

"In Christianity, it's not 'due'; it's 'done,' based on what Christ has done."

*Related: "Check Your Heart!"

✠ P.S. When a man hides sin, carries guilt, and pretends he is fine, the indictment is simple. Sin does not die in the dark—it grows there, and isolation does not strengthen a man—it softens him. The Kingdom Council 🏛️ is where hidden battles are exposed, compromise is rejected, and obedience is lived under accountability. A man who hides his battle will lose it—because what is concealed is never conquered.

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Check Your Heart!

By Ryan M. Maes Leave a Comment

"Touch me, O Lord,
and fill me with your light and your hope.
Please give me strength when I am weak,
love when I am forsaken,
courage when I am afraid,
wisdom when I am foolish,
comfort when I am alone,
hope when I am rejected,
and peace when I am afflicted.
Amen."

When we are hit with severe hardship, trial, or affliction, one of two things generally happens:

We retreat inward—

—or we reach upward.

When We Retreat Inward

Our HEARTS HARDEN, leading to a spirit of bitterness and resentment taking root—

—and we lash out at God with fiery rage because life seems so UNFAIR.

When We Reach Upward

Our HEARTS SOFTEN, and our love and devotion to God—coupled with our utter helplessness apart from Him—drive us to our knees in shame-faced sobriety—

—and we cry out to Him in anguish, "Abba, Father!" with a broken and contrite heart because we know we cannot do it ALONE.

How Will You Respond to Life's Challenges?

Will you harden or soften?

Will you stand alone or kneel in His presence?

Will you isolate in anger or connect in surrender?

Will BITTERNESS drive you—

—or will HUMILITY guide you?

"Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."
— Isaiah 55:6-9 (ESV)

✠ P.S. If you have drifted from God or are wrestling with doubt, this is not a phase—it is erosion. Distance from God never stays neutral; it weakens conviction until faith collapses under pressure. This brotherhood exists to restore Biblical masculinity and forge faith that is lived, not inherited—inside The Kingdom Council 🏛️. Because when pressure comes, a faith you do not live will leave you standing alone.

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From Exodus to Eternity: The Eternal Kingdom Typology

By Ryan M. Maes Leave a Comment

"And who was it who rebelled against God, even though they heard his voice? Wasn't it the people Moses led out of Egypt? And who made God angry for forty years? Wasn't it the people who sinned, whose corpses lay in the wilderness? And to whom was God speaking when he took an oath that they would never enter his rest? Wasn't it the people who disobeyed him? So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest."
— Hebrews 3:16-19 (ESV)

We have the model of redemption for the Israelites in the Hebrew Bible.
By extension, this applies to us.
They're on the trajectory to enter the Promised Land.
However, due to disobedience and unfaithfulness, they don't.

Who makes it?

Those under the age of accountability.
God brings them in.

Who else?

Joshua and Caleb.

Now, Moses was a man of faith.
We'd consider him saved.
He was once a slave.
He was delivered from his captors.
He's on the trajectory to enter the Promised Land
(which we recognize as a typology of the Eternal Kingdom).
Yet, he only views it from afar; he does not get in.
This is due to moments of DISOBEDIENCE.

Now, this doesn't mean Moses won't be in the kingdom.
But it provides us with a TEMPLATE.
Not only for our rescue and deliverance.
But also for our instruction, edification, and ultimately, our 👉 SALVATION 👈.

"For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person's work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames."
— 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 (ESV)

✠ P.S. When a man wrestles with doubt, the issue is not unanswered questions—it is pressure testing his convictions. Men do not backslide because God is unclear; they backslide because obedience becomes costly. The Kingdom Council 🏛️ exists to raise up men who refuse compromise and stand under Biblical authority. Because faith that bends to pressure eventually breaks.

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