The
Preaching of Sin, Righteousness, and The Judgment
In recent years it has been burned into my
soul that God is very angry with that which calls itself the
Church. I have been made to know that He will shortly release
His fury and blot out all those that have defiled themselves.
He will destroy all those that cause offense in his kingdom. And He will gather all that are tares and burn
them with unquenchable fire. These are those who walk after
the flesh and not after the Spirit. These are those who have
not the love of the Father in them, but instead love the things
of the world. These are those who do not hunger and thirst after
righteousness, but love rather the corrupt wealth and corrupt
mammon of the god of this world.
I can feel these waves of warning coursing
through my being even as I write these things. When I read the
words or hear what is commonly preached today words cannot describe
the horror and pain that I see and feel.
I am speaking in particular of those blind Pharisees
that live among us in this day who would claim to have been
given the guardianship of the word of God. I am speaking of
those arrogant souls who claim that they are operating at the
same level of gifts and operations of the Holy Spirit in their
ministries as the early Church and the Apostles. Those that
would speak such things vex my soul and spirit.
For they do not speak that which they have seen and heard (1 John 1:1 and 1:3.)
of the father, for
they have neither heard His voice nor seen His shape (John 5:37). Instead they preach themselves, they bear witness of themselves,
and
they have other men to bear witness of themselves (John 5:44.)
And of this Christ testified saying: If another come in is own name him shall ye hear (John 5:43.) And likewise shall every word of Christ be
fulfilled concerning this evil and perverse generation.
Matthew 23:13-36 13But woe unto you, scribes
(Teachers, Preachers) and Pharisees, (Fundamentalists, Pentecostals, and Charismatics) hypocrites! for ye shut up the
kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves,
neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. 14Woe unto you, scribes(Teachers, Preachers) and
Pharisees, (Fundamentalists,
Pentecostals, and Charismatics) hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, (With your tithing and prosperity Gospel messages) and for a pretence
(Whenever you stand before your
audience you pretend to be guided by the spirit to:) make long prayer(s)
(you cry out for offerings, and you declare God is speaking
to you when He has not): therefore ye shall
receive the greater damnation. 15Woe unto you, scribes (Teachers, Preachers) and Pharisees, (Fundamentalists, Pentecostals, and Charismatics) hypocrites! for
ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte (A
disciple to follow in your footsteps), and when he is made, ye make him twofold
more the child of hell than yourselves. 16Woe unto
you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear (makes
confession with their lips) by the temple, (To become
a disciple of Christ alone) it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the
temple, (To become a disciple
of his pastor, his ministry or his denomination) he
is a debtor! (He is a bound
by who he has submitted himself to.) 17Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater,
the gold (the pastor the ministry
or denomination), or the temple (Christ alone) that sanctifieth
the (true) gold? 18And,
Whosoever shall swear (makes
confession with their lips) by the altar (Christ our burnt offering,
Christ our sin offering, Christ our drink offering, Christ our
peace offering etc.) it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift (sacrificial tithes, sacrificial offerings, sacrifices of praise,
or partakes in the sacrifices of the church service.) that is upon it,
he is guilty (He is made a disciple
of who and what he serves). 19Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater,
the gift, (Your false man-made
sacrifices or offerings) or the altar (Christ who offering
himself once and for all for us) that sanctifieth the (true) gift(s)? 20Whoso
therefore shall swear by the altar, (maketh
himself a disciple of Christ alone) sweareth by it, and (receiveth by Him) all things (That pertaineth to the kingdom) thereon. 21And
whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by Him that dwelleth
therein. 22And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth
by the throne of God, and by Him that sitteth thereon. 23Woe
unto you, scribes (Teachers,
Preachers) and Pharisees,
(Fundamentalists, Pentecostals, and Charismatics) hypocrites! for
ye (clamor and lust after cold
hard cash, the corrupt mammon of the god of this world
instead of the) pay(ment of agricultural goods alone
that were prescribed by the law of Moses as in:) tithe(s) of mint and anise
and cummin, and (like your fathers
the Pharisees you) have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy,
and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave (providing food for the widows the fatherless and the poor) the other undone.
24Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow
a camel. 25Woe unto you, scribes (Teachers,
Preachers) and Pharisees, (Fundamentalists,
Pentecostals, and Charismatics) hypocrites! for ye
make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within
they are full of extortion and excess. 26Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which
is within the cup and platter, (that
which is in your black, corrupt, earthly, and sensual hearts) that the outside
of them may be clean also. 27Woe unto you, scribes
(Teachers, Preachers) and
Pharisees, (Fundamentalists,
Pentecostals, and Charismatics) hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed
appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's
bones, and of all uncleanness. 28Even so ye also
outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full
of hypocrisy and iniquity. 29Woe
unto you, scribes (Teachers,
Preachers) and Pharisees,
(Fundamentalists, Pentecostals, and Charismatics) hypocrites! because
ye build the tombs of the prophets, (those
that you deem as spiritual giants of the past)
and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, 30And
say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not
have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 31Wherefore ye be witnesses
unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed
the prophets. 32Fill ye up then the measure of your
fathers. 33Ye serpents, ye generation
of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? 34Wherefore,
behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes:
and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them
shall ye scourge in your synagogues, (Churches,
fellowships and denominations) and persecute them from city to city: 35That upon you may
come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood
of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias,
(Those martyred for the faith) whom ye slew between
the temple and the altar. 36Verily I say unto you,
All these things shall come upon this generation.
Christ’s words Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers
is what is coming to the Church of our day like a
freight train. No one is going to fly away anywhere, instead
they will be confronted separation unto Christ alone, and repentance,
and a giving up of all their worldly goods that they might obtain
a more excellent inheritance. Yet they shall reject these words
and the words of those whom the Lord shall send and they shall
do what their fathers the Pharisees did and reject the Prince
of Life, reject his words and persecute and kill any that dare
speak such things.
How these things possibly be, my pastor tells
me that I am perfect and holy?
How can there things possibly be, my pastor
tells me that the Church has been growing step by step towards
perfection?
How can these things possibly be. When the
ministry I follow says” We are on a progressive path of restoration
the Wesleyan Revival restored the ministry of evangelist, the
latter rain revival in1948 restored the office of prophet and
we are soon to get the office of apostle and have all things
restored and we will suddenly enter into full Sonship and take
the world from the devil and present it to Christ?
If anyone has the Spirit of Christ in them
they already know in their heart of hearts that things are not
right in the church. They already know in their heart of hearts
that the evangelists of this day are not the same in kind as
what was written in the book of Acts. And they know that the
so-called prophets of this day pale in comparison with the prophets
of Old Testament or John the Apostle John when he recorded that
which he saw and heard in the book of Revelation.
And I dare say those that have the Spirit of Christ in
them already know that they have a serious lack of something
in their lives that cannot simply be confessed up, or prayed
down, regardless of what your or any other preacher or teacher
would tell you.
So what is really wrong in this day? We have come to a fearful time, when the preaching
of sin, righteousness, and the judgment are no more. Churches
and ministries have left off from teaching such things for decades
now. Instead this is a day where teaching and preaching
has centered on smooth things that tickle the ears of their
hearers.
We preach about healing, we herald our power
and standing in God, we boast of our gifts and fruits, and all
that we have done with our own hand.
We teach that confession of out lips is essential
in order that we might be healed. And further we teach that
the only way that one can keep and maintain their healing is
by making confession with their earthly, carnal lips. Shall
the Spirit indeed be perfected by the flesh, or by the will
of man? Shall a man guide God about as if He has a hook in His
nose? Shall the
clay say to the Potter I shall form myself by the power of my
own lips? Nowhere in the Gospels and Epistles did Christ
or the Apostles preach any such message.
We also preach that the fruits of the Spirit,
of obtaining spiritual ministry, and that the gifts of the Spirit
are all ours for the taking.
Beyond the confession teachings we teach that
by our making demands of God in prayer God will have to obey
us. Is this not the sin of the Children of Israel in the wilderness
that they demanded of God?
And if that was not enough we actually have
the nerve to teach that God is bound by his word. That somehow
has become enslaved to the written in the Bible and that when
carnal and corrupt men sandwich their lusts, between a verse
or two that God must give to them what they want. These are
truly perverted and evil messages yet when they are preached
all the people say amen, thereby become partakers of their sins.
Jeremiah 5:31 The
prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their
means; and my people love to have
it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?
Who is there among you that has not
felt the twinge of Holy Ghost telling you that these things
are wrong and evil. As newborn babes in Christ we knew when
we were first confronted with these arrogant ministries and
their evil selfish claims. And we spoke up but others around
us told us that those feelings from God, and the words of the
Holy Spirit that were in us were not true and not to be believed.
And that the words that were spoken were not greed or selfishness
but faith – and after we were beguiled with the words of surrogates
of the serpent our eyes were opened and we say how that if we
were to partake of this how we would be enriched and so we were
drawn away by our own lusts. It is time to remember the things
that are past – and repent until we are truly changed within.
In this day it is
preached and taught virtually in all quarters that our position
in Christ does not change whether we sin or live for God – this
is the doctrine of eternal security. Only it has been gussied
up in a robe of the love of God. We are told we can: live unto
ourselves and still be saved, we are told we can partake of
earthly riches and still be saved. We are told we do not have
to actively seek God and we still can be saved. We are told
that we do not have to be obedient to Christ in any manner and
we still can be saved.
What is being preached is that if seek with
all our heart, with all our mind, with all our soul and all
our strength the things of the world and in so doing we shall
possess them and by so doing we shall walk in the FULL SALVATION
that Christ purchased all of this for us on the cross.
And when these truly perverted and evil messages
are preached, all the people shout: Amen, and thereby become
partakers of their sins and their eternal damnation as well.
Lets see if this “salvation
of men” passes the scrutiny of scripture?
Ezekiel
3:19-21 Yet
if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness,
nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity;
but thou hast delivered thy soul. Again,
When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit
iniquity, and I lay a stumbling-block before him, he shall die:
because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his
sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered;
but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless
if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not,
and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned;
also thou hast delivered thy soul.
Ezekiel
18:20-32
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear
the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the
iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall
be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon
him. 21 But
if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed,
and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right,
he shall surely live, he shall not die. 22 All
his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be
mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he
shall live. 23 Have I
any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord
GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness,
and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations
that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness
that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that
he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them
shall he die. 25 Yet
ye say, The way of the LORD is not equal. Hear now, O house
of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? 26 When
a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth
iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done
shall he die. 27 Again,
when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he
hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he
shall save his soul alive. 28 Because
he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions
that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
29 Yet saith the house of Israel,
The way of the LORD is not equal. O house of Israel, are not
my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?
30 Therefore
I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to
his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from
all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
31 Cast away from you all your transgressions,
whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a
new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? 32 For
I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the
Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
Ezekiel
33:1- 20 Again
the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2 Son
of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them,
When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land
take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:
13 If when he seeth the sword come upon the
land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
4 Then whosoever heareth
the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword
come, and take him away, his
blood shall be upon his own head.
5 He heard the sound of the trumpet,
and took not warning; his blood shall
be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver
his soul. 6 (The trumpet calls of Revelation are calls to the Church for
deep repentance but it does not come, for as Israel was so the
church is a heard hearted stiff necked people.) But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet,
and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any
person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but
his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.
7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman
unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear
the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. 8 When
I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die;
if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that
wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but
his blood will I require at thine hand. 9 Nevertheless,
if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do
not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou
hast delivered thy soul. 10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak
unto the house of Israel; Thus ye
speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us,
and we pine away in them, how should we then live?
11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death
of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live:
turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O
house of Israel? 12 Therefore, thou
son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in
the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked,
he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his
wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for
his righteousness in the day that he sinneth. 13 When
I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if
he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all
his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity
that he hath committed, he shall die for it.
14 Again, when I say unto
the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin,
and do that which is lawful and right;
15 If the wicked restore
the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes
of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live,
he shall not die.16 None of his
sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he
hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.
17 Yet the children of thy
people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them,
their way is not equal. 18 When
the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth
iniquity, he shall even die thereby.
19 But if the wicked turn
from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right,
he shall live thereby. 20 Yet
ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel,
I will judge you every one after his ways.
Recently I sat in a meeting preached by a quasi-disciple
of Kenneth Hagan, and he began speaking on the love of God.
As this man spoke I began to hear the all too familiar words
of how God loves us so much, and how Jesus will forgive us of
anything, that we can live anyway we want, and still enjoy this
salvation.
One of the points he preached “There is there for now no condemnation in Christ Jesus”
that God does not condemn us. And in typical Hagan half-verse
style this preacher like his master left out the second half
of the verse to them that walk not after
the flesh but after the Spirit. He went on the hammer
away that God does not condemn us, the Holy Spirit does not
condemn us, that it is the devil that condemns and that God
and Christ are just filled with love.
Is God blinded by some kind of puppy love that
His righteousness and judgment have been impaired? The answer is no, but it is commonly preached in our day that God
has been blinded by the sacrifice of Christ. That God when He looks upon your sin sees only Jesus. That in the
final Judgment Christ will stand up as Perry Mason and declare
his blood covers everything that we have ever done, the lying
the cheating the stealing, the murder, the rape, the extortion,
the pedophiles etc. In other words heaven according to these
preachers of unrighteousness will be a place filled unrepentant
active liars, thieves, murderers, rapists, extortionists, and
pedophiles need I go on? Many are the corrupt, but few ever
become righteous and wash their garments in the blood of the
lamb.
I
don’t know how many preachers and teacher I have heard over
the last few months speak about: “The Faithfulness of God.”
or “The Love of God ” In either case the message is always the
same: that we can do whatever we want, we can fall away, we
can sin to our hearts content, we can abuse the Church, and
the brethren and Jesus our advocate will always be there like
some love-sick puppy waiting with His tail wagging like mad,
almost unable to control His excitement at any contemptuous
or disinterested glance we send in His direction.
The image I see is
the proverbial barn dance where a young good-looking girl brings
this geek to the dance to meet the approval of her parents.
And no sooner than she arrives she casts his aside so that she
can spend the night dancing with the world and the devil. But
in her heart she knows that he cannot be allowed to leave, because
she is going to have to face mom and dad after all of this is
over. So while she spends the night dancing with the devil she
while occasionally tosses a glance in the direction of this
wall flower, just enough to hold him so he will take her home
and she can pass muster before her father and mother.
This is not salvation. This
is not the Gospel. And
this is not Christ.
I don’t know how
many times I have heard these sin laden Preachers and teachers
reduce God’s faithfulness and the Love of God to what He will
do for us. The way they tell it is that the burden of salvation
is somehow on God to prove himself to us. What they have done
is they have made God, the King of the Universe, out to be our
personal servant to grant us our every whim. And that we need
not give up anything (of the world the flesh and the devil)
we need only to accept him that is: If we find him to be acceptable by our personal
standards, if we deem him worthy to be associated with us, then
we will allow him to become out limited friend and our limited
Savior. The emphasis of this day more and more is of Jesus the
faithful friend, and the oft forgotten sidekick. And this is
tolerated just as long as He doesn’t become a total bore talking
about sin or righteousness and Judgment or he starts hanging
around with me when I am with my friends.
The Lord by His grace
has revealed to me in recent years that instead of the Ek-klesia
being that light on the hill that they were called to be, that
which calls itself the Church instead reflects that which is in and of the world. And that which is being reflected is the shifting
sand of the pop culture of a generation ago.
I will give you a
few examples: In the early 1970’s when I first was saved that
was the end of many things in the church.
The preaches that passed on in that day were in their
60’s and 70’s many of these people had been saved 35 -40 years
earlier meaning that they were saved in the 1930’s and 1940’s. The people from those days preached hard against
sin, divorce. At that time it was repeatedly cited in sermons
that because divorce was relatively rare among believers it
was a sign that God was with the church.
And they lauded with a sick glee the world the was all
around us falling into deep corruption, at that time divorce
rates had skyrocketed to about 50-60 %.
Elsewhere I have
cited that their observations of divorce was flawed first that
it was not in the Church – for since the Reformation and the
rise of the doctrine of Menno-Simons the fundamentalist movement
has had well over 100,000 church splits (divorces) and thousands
of denominational splits (divorces.)
And this corruption that began with the Ana-Baptists
who became the Mennonites – up steam these same people eventually
became Pentecostals, and in more recent days Charismatics.
In
the 1970’s Television was preached hard against as being sin
and of the Devil – these preachers knew there was something
wrong with this medium but were not able to exactly put there
finger on it. Consequently the people in the church of that
day rejected their words and many people in the church had TV’s
and spent far more time watching them than seeking God and reading
the bible. Thirty years later there is hardly a pastor that
does not own a television, and spend hours watching it.
Some preach from film and movies like Star Trek, Star
Wars, The Matrix, and even cartoons like Sponge bob.
Moreover in the 1980’s
there was the rise of CBN and in the 1990’s Pat Robertson brought
to the screen of his “Christian Network” The television shows
of the late 1950’s and early 1960’s as being “wholesome entertainment.”
So that which was called of the devil and sin a generation
ago is now declared to be wholesome Christian entertainment.
Rock music was declared
to be of the devil, dancing was declared to be of the devil,
gambling was declared to be of the devil, investing money and
accumulating wealth was declared to be of the devil. And in
each case these have not just gained acceptance in the church
but have been embraced and made to be essential parts of the
faith. How so Rock has been brought directly in the
church as part of the worship, Christ radio tapes and CD’s are
piped in believers minds seemingly 24-7.
Dances that were in “Dance Halls and Disco’s are now
in Churches as part of socials and young people meetings – having
replaced bible studies and prayer meetings. Gambling and wealth
building have been incorporated into the prosperity Gospel and
some even preach that one’s salvation is dependent upon their
giving tithes and offerings.
Luke 7: 31-35 And the Lord said, whereunto
then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are
they like? They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace,
and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you,
and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have
not wept. . . But
wisdom is justified of all her children.
The
Church is run in this day by babes and novices, there are few
seasoned ministries. Few that know the counsel and mind of God
because they never learned to walk with Him. Instead they rely
on the walks of others, and most of those who are consulted
in matters of spirituality are dead preachers and ministries
of a bygone era. From these the living attempt to divine the
will and purposes of God for themselves and their hearers. So
the preachers of this day use books, tapes, videos, TV movies
and Christian radio to hear the voice of God. And this is the condemnation of the ministry
of this day.
John 5:37-40 And the Father himself,
which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have
neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and
they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
The
whole of the Church is no longer founded upon the rock of Gospel
of Christ, it is built wholly upon sand and rises and falls
and takes whatever form those who rake it around wish for it
to take. This is akin to the “confession” heresy of this day.
God said will the clay say to the potter
why has thou made me thus? Welcome to the day when it is preached that the clay can now form
itself into whatever vessel it wants to be. And that this clay
can also endow itself with any of the gifts and ministries that
it wants simply by confessing them unto themselves.
With that said let us now move on to a closer examination of Sin,
Iniquity and Defilement in Scripture.
Galatians
3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that
we might be justified by faith.
Paul says here that the Law was the early
Church’s schoolmaster. – That the Law was designed to bring
them to Christ, that they might be justified by faith. – How
if we have removed the schoolmaster and use in its place the
traditions and teachings of men in can we rightly be brought
to Christ?
Romans
3:20 Therefore
by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in
his sight: for by (reading and
meditating upon) the law is the knowledge of sin.
One of the lessons that God has driven home
to me in recent months is that Christ came to save sinners.
And if there is not a knowledge of sin, if there is not a personal
revelation that we are corrupt and that this is no clean thing
that dwells within us, then Christ can not save us. Did you
ever think that it was strange that the Apostles continually
expose their shortcomings and speak continually of sin within
the church? Why does Paul continually tell us that he is the
chief of sinners in the Church? Why does Paul tell us that he
fears that he might be disqualified, he fears that he might
miss the call of God in his life and that he fears for those
in his churches? Could
it be that Paul understood some things that the Word of Faith
People of our day understand not?
Romans 7:7 What
shall we say then? Is the law sin? (Is reading the law sinful to believers? Does reading the Law and
the Old Covenant detract from the new covenant?) God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law:
for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt
not covet.
How if we have removed the schoolmaster,
how if we have removed the law altogether by corruptly dividing
the word of God into two bibles the Jewish bible, and a Christian
bible can we rightly be brought to Christ?
We cannot.
A little over 130 years
ago in response to a question posed of what the challenges of
the 20th century would be, General William Booth
responded: "I am of the opinion that the dangers which confront the
coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost; Christianity
without Christ; forgiveness without repentance; salvation without
regeneration; politics without God; and heaven without hell."
To me this is an amazing prophecy that the
day would come when salvation would be preached without repentance.
We have crossed into that day and it is a fearful thing to know
that there are entire churches and denominations that people
have been told that they are saved without the least semblance
of repentance. What has really happened is that the preachers
of our had have blinded their hearers with their conceits, and
smooth words, they have perverted the way of righteousness and
corrupted their followers so that in the unlikely event that
they ever do run into the truth, they have been inoculated against
it so that they will not repent and be converted.
By the Law we learn of sin, by the knowledge
of sin worketh Godly repentance.
2 Corinthians 7:9-11 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made
sorry, but (I do greatly rejoice) that ye sorrowed
to repentance. For ye were made sorry after a Godly manner,
that ye might receive
damage by us in nothing. 10For godly sorrow worketh repentance
to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh
death. 11For behold (in) this selfsame thing,
that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought
in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation,
yea, what fear yea, what vehement
desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things, ye have approved
yourselves to be clear in this matter.
Look at this Paul is speaking about a prolonged
period of repentance. A Godly sorrow, a Godly repentance – This
period of repentance that was accomplished over weeks if not
months accomplished great things in these people’s lives.
1) WHAT CAREFULNESS IT WROUGHT IN YOU.
I have seen growing among the people of God
a haughtiness, and a lightness, concerning the Lord and the
things of God. Today many things that are said in “jest” in
meetings by parishioners and preachers alike -- none dare spoke in the early 70’s. Everything
today is laced with levity. We joke of salvation, we joke of
heaven, We joke of scripture, we joke of Christ and the Father,
and we joke of the Holy Ghost. The first symptoms of this was
carnal believers seeking to justify their worldly lifestyle
by saying: I think God has a sense of humor; therefore I can
mock God, and the things of God, and I can mock that which is
Holy and treat it with contempt and scorn.
Numbers 12:7-9 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine
house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently,
and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall
he behold: wherefore then were
ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? And the anger of
the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed.
If God was angry
– real angry that Miriam and Aaron has spoke against Moses –
For he had married an Ethiopian woman. They were implying that
Moses was corrupt. They were implying that Moses was less of
a child or Abraham than they were -- And they said, Hath
the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also
by us? What you may not know is God appointed Aaron as an Apostle
and Miriam as a Prophet. (This
is studied more fully in “And He gave some Apostles.”)
Consider that if
God was furious that they spoke against Moses, they chided Moses,
they “mocked” Moses, they spoke “in jest” against Moses. How
much more with the wrath of God be upon those corrupt those
around them by speaking with lightness and levity of Christ,
Scripture, and the Gifts and workings of the Holy Spirit.
That which you do unto the least of these my brethren you do it unto
me.
What is said in jest
is usually meant in dead earnest. Christian people sharpen their
knives and speak against God, they speak against any man and
woman that they perceive to have more than them in God, and
they speak against scripture that they do not like or want to
believe. And then they
declare I was only jesting, I was just kidding believing that
this somehow gives them shelter from the wrath of men and God.
Levity, and jesting
are borne out of one’s lack – we speak against that which we
ourselves do not have, in an attempt to devalue what we do not
have, while at the same time raising our value in the eyes of
those around us.
Levity
and jesting are born out of covetousness – when see something
that we do not have and it seems unattainable we speak against
it in an attempt to devalue it in order to comfort our soul,
and raise our value in the eyes of those around us.
Levity and jesting
are born out of jealousy and bitterness, -- when we see others
prosper spiritually while we are in the same old rut, instead
of repenting and seeking God that we might be changed we instead
become jealous and bitter – and we speak against those who God
speaks to and has blessed – in an attempt to pull them back
down to our level.
In the Chesapeake Bay many people go crabbing,
and one of the first things a crabber learns is if you catch
a single crab and toss it in the bucket by the time you catch
the second crab, the first will invariably have climbed out
of the bucket and our of your boat back into the bay. So what is done? The crabber puts two crabs
are put in the bucket and anytime one or the other attempts
to rise above his fellow the other reaches out and pulls his
fellow crab back into the same old rut with him. In all to many
churches I have seen this demonstrated time and again, that
when some one starts seeking God – the others will invariably
reach out and in all their little ways to hinder them.
Mark 6:4 But
Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but
in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
We will define a
prophet as one who hears from God. Jesus is saying that one
who hears from God has no honor where he grew up and lived.
Jesus is saying that your own natural brethren and in this day
it has moved on to you spiritual brethren as well. In your own
house the words you speak shall not be heard, and this is so
in the spiritual house your associate with. In your Church the
words you speak if they are truly from the spirit of God will
not be heard.
Isaiah
53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from
him; he was despised, and we esteemed
him not.
Christ continues
to be despised and rejected of men, but in this day it is done
in the confines of the church. We do not recognize Christ in
each other. We do not hear His voice when He speaks through
a vessel that is not a member of our click. We have no respect
and look down on those whom we deem to speak out of turn. We
reject the words and deeds of all that do not follow the pecking
order of or fellowship. We belittle and cast away from us all
who do not go through the imposition of the hazing process we
have set up for one to gain acceptance.
John
1:11 He
came unto his own, and his own received him not.
Matthew
25:40 And the King shall answer
and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch
as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,
ye have done it unto me.
Matthew 23:34 Wherefore,
behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes:
and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them
shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from
city to city:
And so with the next one the Lord sends in
our midst we begin the process anew. Sharpening our daggers,
jesting mocking chiding and if they do not fall into submissive
silence we drive them out from our midst.
Wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
Nowhere is scripture does God say were you
not afraid to speak against Aaron, or Miriam. One has to ask
why, Why was Moses different, why are the least of my Brethren
different than the greatest or the average believer?
Numbers 12:3 (Now
the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon
the face of the earth.)
In other words Miriam and Aaron were selfish
and Moses was selfless. Moses was wholly dependant upon the
Lord and would not lift his hand, nor his voice in his behalf.
So that when Moses fell (I am not speaking of him falling in
sin) he left it that if God was pleased with him that He would
catch him in His hand. Moses was able to rest in whatever came
his way, knowing that God was a righteous and a Holy God. And
further Moses and would not lay any charge to God.
Levity and jesting are born out of ignorance
of Scripture and the Holiness of God.
The wife of the current president of the
Bible school I graduated from in 1978 has said on more than
one occasion that she is glad that she is not living in the
Old Covenant with the angry God of the Old Testament that was
always judging and striking down sinners and all those terrible
bloody sacrifices. She has said she is glad that she knows the
loving and merciful Jesus.
This person has such a flawed and corrupt understanding
of Christ, the Gospel and the Father – I do not know where to
begin. “I and the Father are one.” “I can do nothing except the Father. .
.” For God (The Father) so loved the world . . .” God
help us. God help those who have been taught by this woman to
say and teach such things. God help us.
Instead of “jesting,” a favorite word of
the carnal in the 1970’s, or partaking in levity, frivolity,
telling jokes, and having fun, all of which are strangely absent
from the words of Christ and the Apostles. We instead see the
word Sober
in its various forms is used some 16 times in the New Testament.
There are two words in the Greek that are translated as Sober
Nepho – the opposite of being
drunk and partying, and Sophiron to have discretion, moderation and self-control.
1
Thessalonians 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others;
but let us watch and be sober.
1
Thessalonians 5:8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober,
putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet,
the hope of salvation.
1 Timothy 3:2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober,
of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
1 Timothy 3:10-12 And let these also first be proved;
then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in
all things.
Titus
1:7-9 For
a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled,
not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to
filthy lucre; But a lover of hospitality,
a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;
Titus
2 But speak thou the things which become
sound doctrine: That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate,
sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
Titus 2:4 That
they may teach the young women to be sober, to love
their husbands, to love their children,
Titus
2:6 Young
men likewise exhort to be sober minded.
1
Peter 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober,
and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto
you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
1 Peter 4:7 But
the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and
watch unto prayer.
1
Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the
devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may
devour:
The implication here is that a lack of soberness,
and a lack of vigilance allows the roaring lion to devour whom
he seeks.
Numbers 12:10-15 And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle;
and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron
looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous. And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my
lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have
done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned. Let her not be as
one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh
out of his mother's womb. And Moses cried
unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.
And the LORD said
unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she
not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let
her be received in again. And Miriam was shut out from the camp
seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought
in again.
These are hard words to be understood this
generation of believers that believers that God is out there
to serve them.
How much harder will it be when they are told by Jesus himself:
Matthew 7:22-23 Many will say to me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name
have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart
from me, ye that work iniquity.
God mocks those who mock others
Proverbs
1:25-27 But
ye have set at nought all my counsel, and
(ye) would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when
your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your
destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish
cometh upon you.
Proverbs
14:9 Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous
there is favour (of the Lord).
Galatians
6:6-8 Let
him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth
in all good things. Be not deceived;
God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he
also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall
of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit
shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. (What is the OT verse
here?)
This is a terrifying
promise of God for all those that would soil their garments
with the teachings of the prosperity Gospel: He
that soweth to the flesh shall reap corruption
– Corruption is a word that this frequently used of eternal
death. Jesus saidin Luke chapter 6: Woe unto you that are Rich, woe unto you that are full, woe unto you
that laugh now . . .” And
Christ relates all beliefs and qualities to being a false prophet
or conceivably to being one of their MANY followers.
2
Corinthians 1:17 When I therefore was thus minded, did
I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do
I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should
be yea yea, and nay nay?
The Lord shall laugh
to scorn those who treat with contempt
Psalm 22:6-8 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and
despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip,
they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him:
let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
Deuteronomy
32:19-20 And
when the LORD saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking
of his sons, and of his daughters. And he said, I will hide
my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they
are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.
2
Samuel 22:26-28 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, and with the
upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright. With the pure thou
wilt shew thyself pure; and with
the froward thou wilt shew thyself unsavoury.
And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but
thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them
down.
Psalm
18:25-27 With
the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright
man thou wilt shew thyself upright; With the pure thou wilt
shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.
For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but
wilt bring down high looks (the
haughty).
Proverbs 3:32 For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but His secret
is with the righteous.
Proverbs
8:13 The fear of the LORD is
to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the
froward mouth, do I hate.
Proverbs 17:20 He
that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath
a perverse tongue falleth into mischief.
Continuing
now with the repentance spoken of in:
2 Corinthians 7:9-11 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but (I do greatly rejoice) that ye sorrowed
to repentance. For ye were made sorry after a Godly manner,
that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. 10For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
11For behold (in) this selfsame thing, that ye
sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in
you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation,
yea, what fear yea, what vehement desire, yea, what
zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things, ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
2) WHAT CLEARING OF YOURSELVES IT WROUGHT IN YOU,
Not too long ago,
100 years ago to be more precise the fundamentalist church taught
what they called “The Second Definite work of Grace.” The first
definite work being salvation, and the second was called sanctification.
So that after one repented and came to Christ one would over
time discover a lack and then they would begin to seek God with
great earnest, spending weeks if not months repenting and seeking
inner cleansing and then when this event would occur in the
life of an individual no one needed to say they had been touched
by God, it was manifest to all around them. The sad fact is
that the salvation that is preached today does not clear anyone
of anything. The church is filled with believers that do every
sin known to man. Christ is put to an open shame every day of
the week by preachers and parishioners alike.
3) WHAT FEAR IT WROUGHT IN YOU
Paul is praising
these believers that through this prolonged repentance, and
prolonged crying out to God for forgiveness, for cleansing,
for sanctification that a substantial change was wrought in
their beings. Paul is saying that though this repentance that
the fear of God was awakened
in them. And Paul is really excited about this change of the
addition of the fear of God in their lives.
These
were not just any people this was the church of Corinth. This
is a church that had been founded by the apostle preaching salvation
in Christ. These people had been baptized, filled with the Holy
Spirit, and had received all manner of spiritual gifts and revelation.
BUT WITH ALL THAT there had not been a change wrought in their
beings.
This change was wrought
in repentance and Godly sorrow. Consider now the disciples point
of conversion between the ascension of Christ and the day of
Pentecost. It took the disciples weeks under the most ideal
conditions. Yet the validity of this is preached against, and
any prolonged repentance is declared as being “Condemnation”
and the work of the devil.
Paul talks a lot
about the fear of God. He talks about it in his life and his
sins of the past. Paul speaks of the fear of God in relation
to his ministry and his calling and Paul speaks of the fear
of God in regards to what he saw coming apostasy of the church.
This too is preached against the fear of God is spoken of as
Old Covenant, something apart from the Gospel Yet Christ and
Paul the Apostle preached the fear of God.
I am going to call the fear of God a fruit of the Spirit. For by this fruit – for by this outworking
of the working of Holy Ghost in the Corinthians hearts and lives
Paul the Apostle perceived a concrete change that had not occurred
upon Salvation, upon Water Baptism, Upon the Baptism of the
Spirit, upon the outpouring of Spiritual gifts.
And today in the
midst of all the high-minded claims that we in this day possess
all that there is in God, the fear of God has become a stranger
to the Church. There are two verses that the preachers of this
day use to overcome any thought of fear of God in the life of
a believer. Fear we are told is of the devil.
As an experiment
go to an online bible search engine in the KJV type in the words
“fear” and “devil” and see what scripture you find. And see
if the bible says fear is of the Devil.
2
Timothy 1:7 For
God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and
of love, and of a sound mind.
We are told that
Paul is telling Timothy not to fear God and not to fear the
devil but that by the power of the spirit and love and having
a unfragmented or a unified or integrated mind Timothy is to
overcome all fear.
Let us look closer
at this verse and see if Paul is really talking about this?
2 Timothy 1:6-8 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance
that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting
on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear;
but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony
of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions
of the gospel according to the power of God;
We see Paul instead is telling Timothy that
he has received a gift by the laying of hands and that this
gift Timothy has been suppressing has to with giving forth with
power the testimony of the Lord. The Spirit of Fear has to do
with Timothy pulling back from being a partaker of the afflictions
of the Gospel according to the power of God. Se we see here
the fear is specific the power is the power of God , the Love
is the love of God that He gave his only begotten son – in other
words the love is the giving forth of the testimony of Jesus
with out fearing for self in being made a partaker of His afflictions
In like manner in
1 John 4:18 There is no
fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear
hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
We are told that
the Apostle John is denying the words of his Lord and Master
Jesus Christ. And John is telling believers for all time that
there is no longer any need to fear God. That we should cast out fear (Like one would
cast out a demon.) That love casts out fear and that if we fear
God it is because of spiritual short comings.
So that by love we can supercede the words of Christ
and the words of Scripture. This is a very novel approach because
in 1 Corinthians 13 we are told of faith hope and love that
the greatest is love. So what is being said is that love is
greater than Christ, love is greater than scripture. So if we
walk in corrupted worldly selfish love we can blind God so that
we can do what we want and still be best buds with Him and Jesus.
Any fear of God even the smallest amount would prevent one from
thinking such a thing but in the absence of any conviction and
any fear of God a message of self-seeking self-serving love
can be passed on as humility and Godliness.
1
John 4:16-21 16And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God
is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God
in him. 17Herein is our love made perfect, that we
may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is,
so are we in this world. 18There is no fear in love;
but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment.
He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 19We
love him, because he first loved us. 20If a man say,
I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that
loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God
whom he hath not seen? 21And this commandment have
we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
Contrary to the current rant John the Apostle
says that he (the person) that
dwelleth IN God and God
Dwelleth IN him (in that
person.) John is saying this is what makes
our love perfect. This perfect love gives us boldness on the
day of Judgment because as
He is so are we in the world.
This passage is pointing to our preaching
the testimony of Christ to the world without fear. And I dare
say that if we have perfect love as Christ did towards us, then
we will disregard our lives and willingly lay them down that
others might by our life and by our testimony come to everlasting
life.
However if we fear
death, if we fear persecution we are not made perfect in love
and we will not love our brothers as Christ loved us. We will
not lay our lives down – He who seeks to
save his life shall lose it and he who seeks lo lose his life
shall save it. And the test of our faith and belief is in our love for our
neighbor not our love for the world and ourselves. This is the
essence of the Gospel, not rejecting the fear of God as is preached.
These ministries that use the words of John the void the words
of Christ have not the love of the father in them, they know
him not, they have never seen his shape of his voice – the are
tares only fit for burning.
Realize that there
are close to 100 verses in the bible concerning the fear of
God, describing in great detail what it is, and how god loves
those who fear him. (A more complete study of this can be found in a study on this
website that is titled “The
Fear of God.”) As much
as there is talk of an attack on the gift of tongues there is
a ten-fold attack on the fear of God and conviction and condemnation
of the Spirit of Sin, righteousness and judgment. Can you see
why the enemy has such stiff opposition to the things that work
real change in the life of a beliver.
Luke
12:4-5 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of
them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they
can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear Him, which
after He hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say
unto you, Fear Him.
Some
things that need to be considered in this verse:
1) To whom is Christ speaking to in these verses? Was Jesus
speaking to the unsaved multitudes? No. Was Jesus speaking the
120 or the 70 disciples? No, Jesus was speaking here specifically
to the twelve disciples.
2) So that when Christ said, “My friends?” this was not spoken
to the 70, to the 120 or to the multitudes. When God Spoke to
Abraham and called him His friend, and in Scripture it says
that God gave promises to Abraham and his seed we see Isaac
was loved of God Jacob was loved of God but how about the twelve
sons of Israel were they loved of God, were they indeed the
friends of God When Israel called them in before him he pronounced
curses upon several of the sons of Abraham. Did not God say
of Abraham and his seed that they could not be cursed. How is
it that Israel in his old age pronounced curses on several of
his sons -- it is because
they did not walk with God they were children of belial like
the sons of Eli were. They committed horrible sins against God
and against Abraham, But Joseph was a friend of God and beloved
of the Lord. We could argue that these sons of Israel that were
cursed did not have the fear of God. We could argue that they
were utterly selfish and self absorbed as most men are but Joseph
possessed great selflessness, and when He heard from God Joseph
feared, and when He heard from God like his father Abraham Joseph
was obedient and because of obedience Joseph obtain favor from
the Lord. The other ten son it did not matter what they confessed
as to the promises given to great grand father. The could have
quoted scripture till the cows came home and none of this would
have changed them from being cursed to being blessed and yet
this evil and perverse generation believes that they can select
promises and blessing that were never spoken to them and that
God is going to for the confession of their lips transform them
from the cursed children that they are into the sons of God.
Just as it is in Revelation that Christ will give individually
a new name to those that overcome that no other man knoweth
– so it is also that when Christ calls an individual his friend
that this man knows it and this designation from Christ’s lips
alone is not known by anyone else.
Yet
it is preached in virtually every church of this day that we
are all personal friends of Christ. This is part and parcel
of the fundamentalist doctrine that upon salvation we get it
all. Upon that instant of salvation we become saved, sanctified,
and filled with the Holy Ghost. But it is a sham salvation that
is without repentance, it is not a full surrender and an acknowledgement
that you have
been redeemed, You have been bought for a price as a slave in open market and ye are
not of your own, but Christ’s. And if you are still the Lord
of your life, which all are that preach themselves and a love
for the riches of this world than you can not possibly be owned
of Christ and Christ ’s servant alone in word and in deed.
And if so then you are neither known of him or can ever
possibly be called his friend.
This
distorted message was first preached beginning in 1910 to counter
the Pentecostal revival and inoculate future generations of
Fundamentalists from this Pentecostal Gospel of a manifest salvation,
manifest sanctification, and a manifest baptism of the Holy
Ghost. And what we mean by manifest is a Gospel that has substance
in the life of those who receive it that can be seen and felt
by others.
And
so a hollow salvation was preached and for generations now the
church has reaped the whirlwind of what they have sown and as become increasingly carnal and world
because there is no change that has been wrought in their converts,
their converts have no fear of God and so there is nothing to stop them from doing anything that is in their imagination.
Looking
once more at this passage in Luke 12: 4-5 And
I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the
body, and after that have no more that they can do. But
I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear Him, which after
He hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto
you, Fear Him.
When
Christ called the twelve disciples “My Friends,” you need to
know that they did not cease from being bought with a price
or being the servants or Disciples of Christ alone. Neither
did their cease from being the Apostles of Christ alone.
Paul
tells us that he and all of us were bought with a price. Not
one of the Apostles ever said they have gone beyond being a
disciple of Christ or being an Apostle.
Being
called “My friend” by Christ means that these men through obedience, acts of selflessness, and their learning the fear of God obtained greater favor with
Christ then when they first believed.
So
Christ being filled with Love calls the Apostles here “My Friends”
and in sharing this love and this new level of grace in Luke
12:4-5, what does Christ wish to Impart to these twelve men,
that they have not had wrought in their beings prior to this
point? The answer is
plain for you to read: The Fear of God.” Look at the verse and see that in this verse
Jesus says to those that he loves, that he called “My Friends”
to Fear God. And Jesus says this not once, not twice, but three
times. Now ask yourself, how many things did Christ repeat three
times in a single sentence?
Now I don’t know
about you but I tend to consider Christ somewhat more of an
authority than my church, my pastor, my bible school, and I
would say even myself. So that when my church, my pastor, my bible school or I myself say
or teach something that is in disagreement with the words or
the life of Christ, I have learned of late to err on the side
of the Lord rather than on my side, my pastor’s side of my denominations
side.
Look now at what
the Isaiah the Prophet spoke of the coming of Christ.
Isaiah 11:1-3 And there shall come
forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow
out of his roots: And the spirit of
the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and
of the fear of the LORD; And
shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD:
and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither
reprove after the hearing of his ears:
The servant
is not above the master. If the Spirit of the fear of the Lord
rested upon Jesus and we are to be Jesus’ disciples; then that
same spirit that rested on Christ should be in us or at very
least resting on us. And if it is not, we are none of His. If
the spirit of the fear of Lord does not dwell in us it is because
we are someone else’s disciple, and no doubt we have taken their
haughty spirit, their spirit of pride, and their spirit of self-will.
Hebrews 5:7-8 (Christ) Who in the days
of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications
with strong crying and tears unto him (The Father) that was
able to save him from death, and was heard (Of the father and Christ heard the Word that Proceedeth
from the father on that matter) in that He (Christ) feared; Though he were a Son, yet learned he
obedience by the things which he suffered;
The
error of
this day is so dire that the body of Christ is utterly perishing
before my eyes and it is more than I can bear. The Church has
become overrun with grievous wolves that preach themselves their
ministries and their own self-serving, self-exalting, teachings
and doctrines. Christ is the Corner stone of our faith, if and
when we are saved we receive of his portion not our own portion
or of some portion that supposedly belongs to the Church. Jesus
is still the door the gate and the way the truth and the life,
No man can come unto the father but by Christ. And those that
would are thieves and robbers. So I take a plumb-line in my
hand and hold it to Christ and a doctrine and see how it measures
up to Christ.
Consider now Peter’s words.
1
Peter 4:18-20 And if the righteous
scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them
that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping
of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
This does not sound like a good eternal security verse. This
not sound like good verse for those who want to live in careless
ease in Zion. This not sound like a good verse for those who
preach that it is not the will of God for a Christian to be
poor. This does not sound like a good verse for those who preach
that is not the will of God for us to suffer.
1
Peter 3:17 For
it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well
doing, than for evil doing.
It is better to suffer the momentary in this
life for doing the will of God than to suffer eternal damnation
for following after the pleasures and riches of this life.
I want for a moment to consider not only
when but to whom Peter wrote these words. From what I have read
the letter appears to have been written in 65-67 AD
Paul the Apostle been slain for the Gospel in Rome 3-4
years earlier. And now
Peter was possibly in Rome working his way through the Roman
judicial system to his death. So this puts this letter as having
been written about 30 years after Christ death and resurrection.
The audience to whom Peter is writing this letter are all churches
that were not only founded by the Apostles themselves, but these
were churches that the Apostles had repeatedly visited and had
taught not only the Gospel of Christ but the Doctrine of Christ
as well. So these people were under the best possible conditions;
not only to hear, to get saved, to get baptized in water and
to get baptized in the Spirit but then to follow on after Christ.
What then is my point?
My point is that if in the best possible conditions,
with the best foundation, and the best possible teaching, Peter
tells us that among those believers the
righteous are scarcely saved. Then we should be asking ourselves
were does that leave us some 1940 years later in a church that
has little or no foundation, a church that has more in common
with the Roman Catholic Church, Menno Simons, Martin Luther,
and John Calvin, than with Christ and the Apostles?
Hebrews 2:1-3 Therefore we ought to give the
more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at
any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken
by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience
received a just recompence of reward; How shall we escape, if
we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was
confirmed unto us by them that heard him;