One of the greatest hurdles we face growing into adulthood with optimism and peace of mind is overcoming the intellectual obstacles placed in our path along the way.  We tend to doubt what cannot be empirically proven, and are unable to trust our own predisposition of childlike faith that gave us unreasoned but tangible joy as children.  Inevitably, our innocence is confronted and most of our original assumptions about life are challenged by the culture we grow up in.  Such a challenge isn't necessarily bad.  Often, such challenges of our fundamental belief system is an incentive to reexamine ourselves, sort out and solidify that which should be retained, while leaving behind those ideas and concepts we recognize as invalid or counterproductive to our becoming a well-balanced and stable adult member of society. Great care and selectivity is crucial in adjusting our thinking and attitudes, and reason must guard against erroneously casting aside values and convictions simply because someone attacks them as invalid for any number of reasons…silly, ridiculous, archaic, outdated, childish.

     A dogma is defined as ‘a system of tenets, put forward authoritatively’.  Many such dogmas are associated with science and alleged scientific ‘fact’.  Still others are the brainchild of some religious body.  All tenets of this sort rely on the credibility of the body from which they originate, which assumes the authority to insist they be embraced.  The problem is, many such ‘tenets’,  long held to be true, either already have been or can be proven to be based on erroneously drawn assumptions,  often by a substantial body of contradicting evidence.  

     For example, Darwin’s ‘theory of evolution’, the central dogma of the ‘scientific community’ and used to remove God from the study of science, has recently been replaced in the reasoning of a growing body of scientists with the much more logical concept of ‘intelligent design’.  For very sound reasons, the idea of a ‘creator’ has returned to the thinking of many in the scientific community.  A number of ‘dogmas’ have for centuries been enforced on millions of Roman Catholics, only to be ‘dropped’ as no longer relevant to a given period, another example of the transitory nature of dogma.  Consequently, most people’s World View becomes a composite of doubt and uncertainty, riddled with false assumptions and a totally distorted concept of truth and reality.  Such a World View leads to dangerously erroneous ideas about life and to values that cannot work to make us productive members of a civilized society or provide the foundation for a saving relationship with God. 

     Under such circumstances, life becomes tedious, responsibility becomes drudgery, and we find little or no fulfillment in an existence devoid of discernible meaning or purpose.  Often, what we don’t know is much more destructive to our sense of tranquility and actual security than what we do know.  We are born with a basic need to be recognized, to belong, to be loved, and to be understood and appreciated by someone outside ourselves.  We need to be assured that we matter, that our existence is not without significance.  Such assurance is essential to our mental and emotional well being.  This is the social nature of the human spirit, the glue that keeps us together through the storms of life.  The confusion and pain we are often subjected to would at times overwhelm us, minus the anchor of that innate sense of self worth that sustains and assures us we embody meaning that transcends us and we do represent purpose which justifies the space we occupy on this planet. 

     It is imperative, therefore, that we come to a level of understanding about ourselves and the world we live in that provides a sense of the aforementioned meaning or purpose sufficient to satisfy our need for social identity and personal significance.  Recognizing the yearnings of the human spirit as I’ve just described them, serves to better understand the development of my own world view.  I previously mentioned the evolutionary nature of developing a ‘settled’ world view.  I said that many people come to a settled world view fairly early in their adulthood and more often than not that world view is badly skewed and out of sync with reality.  Now, I want to be specific about the evolution of my own world view, which I believe is not unique to me, but is probably common to a great many people with life experiences similar to my own.  The most important truth in this discussion is to recognize the fact that a sound worldview must be in complete harmony with the truth revealed in The Word of God, the Bible.  Otherwise it is invalid.

       Until I reached twenty eight years of age, my worldview was a composite of many invalid assumptions, based largely on the human logic of my own mind and reasoning I derived from others, all of it very much out of sync with truth and reality as I understand them today.  The month following my twenty eighth birthday I discovered an entirely new dimension of conscious awareness that transcends our natural being.  Following many years of confusion, nagging skepticism, self-doubt and conflicting ideas about truth and reality, I came to a crises moment of decision.  I found myself seriously doubting whether God was real, the Gospel was true and whether all I had been taught about religion was relevant to life.  The truth is, I had never fully understood 'the Gospel' message of Christianity, although for years I assumed that I understood it.                                                                                                                                

        At this point, skeptics will deny my credibility, saying my claims are ‘subjective’, based entirely on psychological and emotional factors that are mine alone.  They will say that the things I cite as “experiences” are unverifiable and therefore not credible.   That’s OK though, because I’m going to share my experience of discovery here anyway, hoping the truths I've discovered will make a difference to someone,  perhaps even help them to reach a realistic, life-altering world view.  I can tell you now, doing so can bring peace of mind and tranquility of spirit that cannot be produced any other way. This is my goal in writing, after all.  I’ve called it a crises moment of decision, but it was actually a lot more than that.  What I experienced was an undeniable ‘awakening’ to new understanding.  It was a moment in which I suddenly knew I was not alone in my confusion and despair, but that something or someone beyond myself  had taken note of my dilemma and had reached out and taken my hand—an ‘outside intervention’, that forever changed my perception of reality—my world view.

     Raised to believe in God and to respect Him as Supreme Sovereign over my life and destiny, in that crises moment I came to realize that I did not know Him, had never known Him and stood in serious danger going forward of not ever knowing Him.  This realization produced in my spirit a desperate sense of hopelessness and despair.  A feeling of condemnation and fear of God’s judgment overwhelmed me.  For the first time, I felt totally lost, alien to God and without anyone to intercede for me with Him.  For the first time, I knew I desperately needed a savior.  For years I had heard Jesus described as a ‘personal savior’, but had never really been able to relate to that terminology.  My understanding of  'accepting Christ' was that it simply involved a 'public' confession that I believed there was a historical Jesus, and that he had, in fact been God's special Son who died and was raised from the dead, and that I could not make peace with God until I acknowledged that--intellectually.  Suddenly, it was clear to me; I was lost and only Jesus could save me.  In that crisis moment, I cried out to him for mercy and He heard me! In my heart I knew He had touched me, supernaturally!

     Amazingly enough, I had retained enough Scripture through the years for God’s Spirit to press it into my consciousness and convict me with it.  I now understand this crises moment I’ve just related to you as God’s way of convincing me of my need for Him, and of causing me to recognize that Jesus was reaching out to take my hand and bring me into personal relationship with Himself.  This is exactly what happens to any person who recognizes his/her hopeless and helpless condition of alienation to God and who, seeking reconciliation, in childlike faith reaches out to Him.  Jesus referred to the result of this act of faith as being ‘born again’.  John 3:3

     In a conversation with Peter in which Peter acknowledged Him as his savior and Lord, Jesus declared Peter’s recognition of his own ‘lostness’, and of Jesus’ power to save him would become the foundation upon which He would build his church. The term—church—simply means “a called out body of followers” and has absolutely no relation to the various sects of “institutionalized” and extremely ritualized fraternities of religious practitioners which have come and gone over the past two thousand years, and which are still numbered in the hundreds today.  The “church” Jesus spoke of is extant in spite of the great numbers of organized “religions” which have tragically managed to mongrelize and all but destroy the true nature and life of discipleship to Jesus Christ and what being a “child of God” really entails.       

     It begins with mutual recognition.  The dynamic involved in Peter’s conversion was as follows: On the one hand Peter, when he recognized and embraced the truth of his spiritual bankruptcy, reached out to Jesus.  Jesus, recognizing Peter's attitude of repentance and seeking of redemption, reached back to take his hand in loving acceptance and forgiveness.   I call this the 'transaction of salvation'.   It has absolutely nothing to do with status, position, race, color or ‘religion’ of any sort.  Each of us has the opportunity to make it and it involves a literal encounter with God.  “Acceptance” is the vital activator that completes the transaction. The supplicant seeker of peace with God “accepts” the following tenets of the Gospel: That all men come into this world with a sinful nature, separated and alienated from God and are therefore lost, without the capacity within themselves to please and make peace with him.  That God, not willing that any should perish,  provided a Savior, Jesus Christ His only Son, whose death on the cross satisfies God’s wrath against sin, and activates the possibility of reconciliation with God.  That by accepting the gift of His Son, Jesus, and believing that God alone can cleanse us of our sin stains and has paid our sin debt with the blood of Jesus, we have assurance of salvation and peace with him when we accept Him as Lord.  Jesus, recognizing our repentance and surrender to Him as Lord, accepts us into His Family as an adopted Son, with full privileges as heirs to the promises of His Eternal Kingdom!  That IS the Gospel!                                                                                                        

     Incredible as all of this may sound, my encounter with Jesus was a very real ‘happening’ that has completely changed my life.  This experience led to total transformation of my view of reality, my understanding of myself and of the world around me.  I could never quite relate to terms like ‘conversion’, “new birth” or 'getting saved' in my various experiences of ‘religion’. Growing up, I was exposed to both Methodist and Baptist Sunday schools, a bit of Presbyterian and even some Catholic teaching but still never understood the Gospel.  I even had a close relative who was "one of Jehovah's Witnesses", as she liked to identify herself, but that raised more questions for me than it provided answers.  In none of these religious experiences did I ever grasp the message of The Gospel.  It simply was not taught in terms I could understand, and that is shamefully true of much of Christianity.

     I need to be clear about this; The word Gospel has been used in ways that unfortunately have obscured its meaning. The word, as it appears in the New Testament means, “good news”, but in some religious cultures,  the word gospel is used simply to refer to a particular portion of  New Testament Scripture, primarily Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  The deeper connotation of “good news” has been lost to many, because the elements involved in making it so have been obscured. 

     The truth is, ‘good news’ implies the revelation of previously unknown  information.  It is a revealing of heretofore unrevealed truth which allows overcoming of circumstances once seen as BAD news, due to the unavoidable consequence of a tragic and condemning status quo. We come into this world alien to God, without the resources within ourselves to correct that alienation, a truth that too often receives far too little attention in many churches.   Understand, I don’t use the word to describe a reading from one of the books of the New Testament.  I use the word ‘gospel’ in the way it was originally used, referring to God's good news, which provides salvation and full reconciliation to God from the condition of alienation and condemnation that fell upon all mankind with the curse imposed against Adam and Eve following their rebellion against God.  This great salvation is a 'gift' from God and is effectual now, once and for all, through the sacrifice of Jesus' life for anyone who believes it, repents of their alienation, and confesses their need of Him.  It is received by faith, which means you accept it as truth and act upon it with repentance and confession, seeking forgiveness and reconciliation with God.  When viewed in its entirety, the ‘Gospel’ of Jesus Christ embodies recognition of a fatal condition involving all persons and the process God has provided for correction of that condition.  Let me summarize again what The Bible teaches about the gospel. 

     Generally, these are the conditions and circumstances with which the Gospel concerns itself;

1.    As a result of Adam’s (and Eve’s) rebellion against God in the Garden of Eden, All Mankind is lost and alienated from God, whom we must face in judgment.  We are born with a sinful nature, and are unable to do anything within our self or by our self to save our self from God’s judgment.  This is the ‘bad news’ in search of some ‘good news’. 

2.    The ‘good’ news starts with this: God Himself gives us hope by providing a savior, His own Son. (See Ephesians Ch. 2 for a Biblical synopsis of these truths)

3.     Christ came at a time appointed by God, and paid the sin debt which is the cause of our alienation. By the sacrifice of himself on the Cross, the barrier to reconciliation has been broken down, making possible establishment of an intimate, personal relationship with God, something He wants to have with everyone. This is the very life and essence of true Christianity. By Christ’s intercessory and substitutionary death, we who were once lost and without hope of eternal life, are given the authority to become God's children, with full and free access to Him as our Heavenly Father! (See John 1:12) This relationship has absolutely nothing to do with the practice of “religion”, but is the reality central to a correct world view.

4.    Man is given the option of recognizing his lostness and the provision of payment for his sin debt by the blood of Christ. Then, by calling on Him to be included in his finished work on the Cross, one can thus be reconciled to God and become his child. (Ephesians 2:4)  Only through this process does one become a “child of God”, contrary to the often heard declaration that “we are all God’s children”.  Born the children of our human parents, we ‘become’ God’s children when we are born again, spiritually. Not before!

5.    There is an eternity ahead of us, in which ‘born again believers’ (Christ’s Church), will receive the rewards promised  them, and those who’ve rejected Him will suffer eternal separation from Him. The circumstances of that dread fate are described in the Book of the Revelation, while Jesus’ rejection of pretenders is described in Matthew 7, and is the theme of this book.

          So, The Gospel is the good news about the hope of reconciliation with God.  It reveals a process which first convicts us of our lost estate, then shows us God’s remedy and offers each of us the option of accepting freely the gift of forgiveness and salvation through faith in Christ’s finished work on the cross.  The shedding of Jesus’ blood on my behalf satisfied God’s wrath against the sinful nature I inherited from Adam, and the moment I accept and believe it, I am reconciled to the Father by my confession and surrender to Jesus for his saving work in me. 

      Following the crises moment I just described, when I fully recognized that I was lost and needed to be saved, literally acknowledging Christ as my only hope of salvation, I entered a new phase in the process of developing that settled World View which has been evolving ever since. It is extremely important that I make perfectly clear that I AM NOT SAYING I’VE BEEN LITERALLY MADE PERFECT AND WITHOUT SIN! That will not happen until I leave this world.  As long as I’m in this fleshly body, with the spirit of Adam still alive and well within me, I will be subject to the sinful influences of that Adamic Spirit, and will fail many times to allow God’s Spirit control of my behavioral tendencies. That is to say, I will remain an imperfect but redeemed soul, with an Adamic predisposition to SIN! The degree to which I manifest the Godly behaviors of the New Creation’s influence depend on the degree to which I am successful in submitting myself DAILY to God’s control of me. This continues to be an ongoing struggle I must deal with DAILY for the rest of my life. The Apostle, Paul explains this struggle in Romans 7:13-25, a very helpful concept to understand.

        It would be more accurate to describe my evolving World View as a process of spiritual ‘growth’.  Once my human spirit was married to the Divine Spirit in that supernatural moment I call the transaction of salvation, at that crises moment my entire perspective of life and eternity was launched into ‘transition’ mode.  According to Scripture, I became a ‘new creation’.  The original spirit I was born with, no longer controlled me and the new spirit that was quickened in me began to live in full awareness of the reality of God’s presence in my world and in my everyday life. (IICor 5:17-20)  I now understand it as a process of washing and regeneration, a renewing of the mind. (Titus 3:5)  Ever learning, always moving forward and upward, with each new experience, each encounter with the people and events God brings into my life.  Again, this is a summary of the facts related to my experience, described by Jesus as being ‘born again’.  (John 3:5-9)

          So, now you know.  My World View, and the understanding I've derived which is the foundation of all that I believe and accept as reality, has its genesis in that crises encounter with God a few weeks after my 28th birthday.  It was a moment of reconciliation and regeneration. From God's perspective it was a moment of new birth, forgiveness and adoption. Subjective claims, I know, but very, very real nonetheless.  I have since discovered many undeniable truths that reinforce and validate the reality of that crisis moment which, for me at least, leaves no doubt about the events I’ve described.  For one thing, there is an undeniable sense of quiet confidence,  or serenity of spirit—you could call it the peace of God that transcends human understanding— which now fulfills that basic human need I spoke about before. 

     I now understand who I am, where I came from, the meaning of life and the purpose of my own existence. These all become clear as we become involved with Scripture and a daily awareness of God's presence in our life. Thus, I am able to experience a level of satisfaction and peace of mind never before possible.  It’s a treasure beyond measure.  It brings unspeakable joy to my soul.  At this point, you might be thinking, “why you”?  Why did God intervene in your life in this way, and why doesn’t he do it in everyone else’s life”? The fact is, I can think of only one reason; He looked on my heart and could see that HE had become the most important thing in life to me.  NOTHING else mattered to me at that point as much as establishing relationship with Him and being forgiven and accepted by Him!  I think Jesus makes this clear in his statements about what it takes to be worthy of Him. (Luke 14:26-33)  (Matthew 10:37-39)  Nothing else can precede Him as a priority in our life.  I had literally come to that point in my own experience.  Knowing him and sensing His approval meant more to me than anything or anyone else. I believe that is the primary prerequisite for establishing a saving relationship with Him.

          Conversely, it is precisely this very understanding which has brought awareness of the destructive nature of a skewed World View and which now drives my concern for the welfare of those who continue to search or have given up hope of finding it for themselves. You see, I am now governed and motivated by a new and dynamic ‘life force’, different than the one I was born with.  It is called ‘agape’—Divine Love—an endowment of God’s Spirit energizing my spirit with a measure of the love HE feels for his Creation, especially those who are yet to become His children as described in John 1:12 referenced above, and which he now commands me to share my experience with others. (Mark 16-15) 

     This is only one of many changes to my World View that has shaped the person I am today.  I have no lingering doubt concerning what to believe or how to find meaning and purpose in life.  The absolute truth I once doubted even existed, I now recognize and joyfully embrace.  Once lost, I now am found.  Once blind, now I see by God’s generous enlightenment.  I have learned to respect God’s Word, the Bible, as true and reliable in all it affirms.  I fully accept its precepts and authority as God’s standard upon which to base a successful relationship with Him.  I have found its teachings to be true and uplifting.  I am encouraged and strengthened by the truth contained in its pages.  All confusion and uncertainty of what is true and questions about why the world is the way it is and people the way they are have been answered by learning the history of mankind from the inspired writings of Holy Scripture. 

     There are many things I can now be certain about, which once were uncertain concepts or complete mysteries to me. Likewise, I now can discern that which is contrary to God’s Truth and identify it as error and believe me, Satan has been very busy in providing plenty of that to confuse and obscure the simple Truth that can restore a broken relationship with God.  Because it is my intention to share some of these absolute truths with you who are still seeking Truth, it is important for you to understand this: the opening of my own understanding by the act of God and the influence of Scripture in development of a new perspective has given me the assurance of knowing  I have something of life changing importance to share with you and God has added to me the boldness necessary to declare it.  I can now validate what I say to you with, “So help me God!”.   I speak not from supposition, but with the authority of actual, personal experience.

       Having read the account of my very personal ‘encounter’ with God, you must decide if my story is one you can believe or not.  It is important going forward that you accept the truth I’m sharing with you as just that—truth.  Otherwise, you’re going to have a lot of trouble with accepting, even tolerating, some of the thingsI’m compelled to say as I continue.  It is precisely because I know that I KNOW what I know, and have received it as the result of a continuing process of spiritual growth, not of myself or any church dogmas or religious indoctrination of men, but as an outside intervention of Divine enlightenment, a gift of Holy Spirit doing the job Jesus sent Him to do, that I am now compelled by God’s love to continue at this keyboard.  It is not for myself that I write, because I have no need of further validation.  I know that I am going to say some things that will be very hard for some people to take. You may even find yourself wanting to throw this book against the wall, or into the fire at times, because you will find it hard to endure some of the statements I will make that may challenge your present belief system.

     It is common to believe that YOUR opinion is just as good as mine and you would be absolutely correct. But, beloved, it’s NOT about our OPINION!  It’s about what sayeth the WORD of GOD!  Opinion has NOTHING to do with it!  Opinions come from the Adamic mind and human reason neither of which is aligned with the Laws and Precepts God establishes in The Bible. In fact, our opinions more often than not are directly opposed to God’s truth.

          Before you read further, it would be helpful for you to read and try to digest I Corinthians Ch. 2, vs 1-16, which explains the prerequisite of a mind which has been regenerated and equipped by Holy Spirit to understand and correctly speak God's truth.  Sometimes, the truth can’t be articulated without offending someone, as Jesus himself would readily attest.  He spoke truth and they wanted to kill him for it.  No, I’m not comparing myself to the Lord in regard to the issue of offending, but the fact of the matter is, it was always the truth, boldly spoken by Jesus that brought the harshest and most violent reactions from his detractors.

        So, I know full well that truth isn’t always well received, especially when it challenges long held beliefs or OPINIONS that often were formed as a result of what was considered to be diligent reasoning employed in drawing conclusions which satisfied the mind about an issue being considered.  Beliefs developed that way are naturally the hardest to hear challenged by anyone or anything.  Unfortunately, until enhanced by Holy Spirit, human reasoning alone falls short of fully comprehending or explaining God’s deep eternal truths .  There is nothing quite so treasured by the ego of man as his beliefs, and he will fight hardest to defend them no matter who is challenging them.  Change of mind can be extremely hard, but a wise person will do so when it becomes clear that his settled beliefs, regardless of how derived or how highly cherished, can no longer be justified.  I confess that I have abandoned many ideas and beliefs I had held for years. God’s corrective enlightenment demanded nothing less of me. My OPINIONS had to be brought into harmony with God’s TRUTH and I can honestly say they have been.

        One thing I have learned while climbing the mountain of spiritual growth through the past fifty plus years, is that I have had to change my view or opinion or belief about some things in order to think with the mind of Christ in contrast with the carnal, limited, prejudiced, selfishly oriented, entirely human mind of the man I see in the mirror each day.  In fact, being able to learn and change my thinking has been one of the most rewarding elements of the process.  I’ve come to realize that healthy changes in my way of thinking, and the gaining of new perspective is an important part of becoming a more well adjusted person and a practicing disciple of Jesus Christ.   He teaches that total devotion to Him and obedience to his commandments are non-optional conditions of true discipleship. Those verses I quoted above (Luke 14:26-27 and John 14:21) are spiritual truths you seldom hear taught in most churches today and I fear few people are aware of them.

     Remember what I’ve said about world views and right or wrong perceptions of God and his design for us to know and have fellowship with him.  There are many alternate approaches to making peace with God being claimed in the world we live in, some very simple and others painfully complex. Many, especially in super ‘religious’ America constitute an insidious ‘easy believism’, employing a ‘works’ approach to God and totally disregard the recognition of our inherent ‘lostness’ which requires an intercessor, or Savior to put us right with God, which IS the Gospel.

      Finally, let me summarize:  Here's my view of reality--my world view:  God created the world, just as described in The Bible.  Humans are created to bring honor and glory to God, but because of the curse God pronounced following the Eden incident, we must be reconciled to Him before we can know him and become His children.  He has provided The Bible to guide us back to Himself, and His Holy Spirit dwells among us to aid in that process. Although many other ‘belief systems’, based on man- made ‘religion’ or ‘dogma’ have served to confuse and obscure God’s Truth, The teaching of Jesus Christ is unmistakably clear. He is not simply one among many optional ‘religious’ figures with a unique philosophy of how one may approach God. He did not come to establish another ‘religion’, but to demonstrate to us a RELATIONSHIP with God. 

     Christianity itself is NOT a religion, but a ‘relationship’ that is only made possible by the embrace of Jesus’ claim that ‘..no man comes to The Father but by me!” (John 6:44-47 and 14:6). Institutionalized ‘religion’ has nothing to do with it!  There is no religious system that can save anyone, and there never has been.  With these statements, Jesus claimed to be the one and only ‘begotten’ Son of God, (begotten means natural childbirth from a human mother) through whom and by whom, exclusively, authentic Salvation/restoration to fellowship and peace with God is possible.  All others, he said, are ‘thieves and robbers’, seeking to deceive and steal those seeking relationship with God.  Jesus claims that He alone is the fulfillment of God’s plan of salvation for fallen Mankind, making all other philosophies and religious teaching tools of Satan designed to draw men away from God and the rewards of eternal life promised to followers of Christ.  What this means is, all who embrace some ‘other’ religious system in an attempt to make peace with God are tragically rejecting God’s singular plan of Salvation when they refuse to acknowledge their alienation to God and accept Jesus Christ!

     Regrettably, this must include all who have forsaken Christianity for some other ‘more appealing’ belief System. Especially applicable in this regard are many in today’s world who have rejected Christianity and declared themselves to be followers of Mohammad!  (More about this later) Christ stands at the door of every human heart, knocking. (Rev 3:20) The choice to open that door and receive Him is ours to make. There is an eternity into which we will enter, either as God’s free children or as Satan's condemned captives.  The consequences of our choices are clearly explained in Scripture.  How we respond is up to us, and our response determines our eternal destiny!  And that, dear Reader, is the Gospel of Jesus Christ that CAN save you if only you will accept it, believe it, and respond in obedience to it!

       Having now declared my confidence in the authenticity and authority of the Bible, I will be using Scripture passages liberally throughout the remaining chapters.  I realize that some do not recognize the Scriptures as the infallible Word of God and my use of them will, therefore, be like pouring water on a rock.  Even so, I cannot apologize for speaking truth as I’ve experienced it, and I unashamedly attest that I find the authority to declare truth directly from the Holy Bible, the source that now defines me and makes me who I am.  Jesus himself said that God’s Word is truth.  (John 17: 17)       

     That is what I believe and affirm to you with confidence, knowing that my personal encounter with God fifty-plus years ago is the firm foundation of my reality in this life and my unreserved hope in the life to come.  The very faith that gives me that assurance is a gift from God.  I could not generate it from within myself.  God’s Holy Spirit interacting with my spirit is the power that feeds my faith.  It is truly amazing to know I am loved by my Creator, have intimate fellowship with my Savior and the certain hope of a continuing relationship with them both, now and throughout eternity (Jn.14:23).  Even though I consistently falter in behaving as His Disciple, He knows me, forgives my sinfulness and has granted me acceptance as his Adopted Son!  It doesn’t get any better than that!

     My final conclusion for this chapter has to be: DON’T ever be satisfied with your OPINION about any matter God has already stated HIS truth about, because UNLESS that OPINION is in full harmony with what God’s Word says, IT IS WRONG!      You will never make peace with God by stubbornly clinging to your own OPINION!  Matthew 6:33 is good advice.  Also Proverbs 3:5,6,12:15, 14:12 and Romans Chapter Six would be good to review regarding your cherished OPINIONS! Anything that gets in the way of your complete SURRENDER to God and HIS stated position on the behaviors of men, will KEEP YOU FROM EVER MAKING PEACE WITH HIM!

     Remember, what we are talking about here is avoiding having to hear Jesus say, "Depart from me….I never knew you!” when you stand before him on that day. You MUST surrender your OPINIONS to the absolute authority of the Word of God.  That most likely may require CHANGING them!  I’ve done a lot of that and have absolutely no regrets for doing so. Some of the statements you will read in this book may be repeated several times, for emphasis.

Chapter Two—Other World Views and the Errors In Them

      As I’ve indicated, my journey of Faith for over fifty years has been marked by continuous upward progression, moving from milk to meat in knowledge of The Word, and finding the Lord faithful in providing Holy Spirit guidance, just as He promised: 25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.  (John 14:25-26) ,  so that my growth in understanding has been continuous.  I have discovered many serious contradictions and grievous errors being propagated by various 'religions', sects and cults alike, each of whom insist that they are “Christians”, teaching ‘truth’.  When I make a statement like that, the first reaction is to ask, how can I be sure what is error and what is truth?  Who am I to determine that?  Well, I will tell you.  As I’ve already stated, I believe the Bible to be the infallible Word of God, accurate, equally trustworthy and authoritative, a reliable source for gaining knowledge and building on the ‘faith relationship’ I have established with Jesus Christ.  Many have been led to believe that there are no absolutes, that truth is relative and no one can be sure about anything. This concept is central to a world view native to the philosophy of “Humanism”.   Herein is Satan’s biggest lie, right behind his questioning of God’s motives. (Read the account of the first lies ever told in Genesis 3:1-5 and notice particularly Satan’s questioning of God’s motives, calling him a LIAR and a SCHEMER)

        From the earliest days of Christian history, men have almost maniacally sought to add their own flavor to ‘The Faith that Christ delivered, complete and in perfect form to His disciples’.  (A paraphrase of Jude 1:3)  Too many of the teachings and practices found in much of “traditional” 'Christianity' today are deviate forms and gross corruptions of that perfect Faith.  God’s enemies have concocted and continue to perpetuate false teachings, causing some to live in a constant state of fear and uncertainty, believing they will not know until the afterlife whether they will be part of God’s eternal kingdom.  Usually, such a belief system is associated with the equally destructive lie that we must ‘work our way to Heaven’ by good deeds and diligent adherence to certain prescribed rituals and dogmas of religion.  The fact is, the Bible is perfectly clear about this; NO ONE can ‘work’ their way into God’s good Graces, or ‘earn’ Heaven as a REWARD, although many have been taught that eternal life must be earned. But the Scripture says,"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Titus 3:5-6.  Those who think salvation is earned are offended by anyone who claims to be sure about his security with God, and who claims to know that he will be in God’s eternal kingdom.  After my own encounter with God, I was amazed to find such wretched world views, even within my own family. On the other hand, there  are those who have embraced one of the man-made religious ‘systems’, which Jesus warned can take them even farther away from the truth than they were before they became followers of one of those systems.  Here are the words of Jesus about that:

.15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!1For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering togo in. For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation!

(Matt 23:14-16 The New King James Bible.) 

Paraphrasing that first line, we hear Christ saying to the religious leaders who cling to their own traditions and inventions of religious ritual and dogma, “You are condemned, because you prefer your man-made religion and refuse to accept and promote the simple plan of salvation I have provided the world with my Gospel.  Not only so, but you withhold the truth that alone can result in the redemption of the lost and thus bring condemnation upon all those who, in ignorance of the truth, embrace your cultic belief system!” 

     In the highly anti-religious culture of today, the choices seem to be either bad religion or no religion at all.  But, there’s the common error:  it’s not about ‘religion’ at all!  It never was.   Keep that statement in mind as we continue.  Of even greater concern in the modern world are so called ‘Christian’ groups  who absolutely fail to teach and preach the ‘Gospel’ that Jesus gave us the command to go into the world and share!  (Matt 28:18-20) They talk about God’s love, presume if you believe in it you have become a Christ follower and are in fact a ‘Child of God’ destined for an eternity with Him. They emphasize ‘Praise’, while working very hard at hiding the ugly truth that makes the Gospel necessary. They avoid talking about SIN, which is what has separated us from GOD (Is. 59:2) and MUST BE REPENTED OF! (Lk 13:3) Positive thinking is their main theme, while ‘repentance’ and commitment are underemphasized or ignored altogether.  Being lost isn’t taught at all.  I fear most for those who’ve been insulated from the entirety of the Gospel message, which begins with being lost, needing a Savior, (Jesus being that Savior) and our acceptance of Him as Lord being the one essential for salvation and relationship with God!  It’s oh so simple, yet unpopular and therefore NOT taught, putting at risk the eternal destinies of thousands of precious souls!

      Concerning the circumstance of no religion; our culture has been digressing for a century or more, slowly and steadily becoming a ‘godless’ society.  There have been a great number of factors involved in this digression, from wicked, God hating politicians to atheistic educators who have successfully nationalized the country’s educational system, to the anti-Christ scientists, so called, who are determined to eliminate God from everything that once revered Him.  In one of his Newsletters, Tom DeRosa, Executive Director, of the Creation Studies Institute speaks about the decline of Christianity in America.  He finds that the public schools have had much to do with it:   “There is a dangerous and unseen war taking place in our society.  It is not being waged with guns, bullets, hand-grenades or loud bombs, but it proceeds unceasingly, daily, all around us.  This war is different.  While it leaves no visible bodies sprawled across the battlefield, it imprisons and endangers the eternal souls of millions every year.  I experienced this warfare first-hand as captive of our secular education system.” CSI Newsletter, Jan. 2012

        DeRosa tells the all too common story of being raised in a Christian home with all the usual Christian, Bible-based values taught at church and faithfully modeled–at least to some degree--by traditional Christian parents, only to have his faith and Christian World view challenged and eventually destroyed by diabolical, atheistic instructors.  He says many college professors project a contagious enthusiasm for ‘debunking’ traditional Christian beliefs.  This is particularly true of college level Biology instructors.  DeRosa says he was ‘mesmerized’ by the passionate devotion to scientific theory and discovery, so called, and displayed by his charismatic Biology professor:

          “..caught up in a whirlwind of ideas and information…I was challenged by new friends who questioned my intelligence for believing in the Genesis account of creation, Noah’s Ark, the Tower of Babel and the miracles of the Bible.”  He goes on to say, “Like so many others in the class, I was soon convinced that evolution was a settled fact, accepted by virtually everyone in the scientific community.  In just one month at college I was denying and even mocking my Creator, who sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for my sins.  Completely contrary to my 12 years of parochial religious education, I quickly found myself headed down the road to being a professed atheist.”

       DeRosa eventually became a public school science teacher and part time community college Professor where he, like his predecessor, prided himself in doing daily battle with the beliefs and convictions of Christian students in his classrooms, something that repeats itself thousands of times every day in public institutions across America.  Imagine the irony of well-intentioned parents spending thousands of dollars to send their precious kids off to college, only to have the very professors who instruct them destroy twenty years of devoted, loving instruction in the way to live a God honoring and productive life! 

DeRosa continues: “Utilizing our hard-earned tax dollars, they are propagating a godless world view, which includes evolution, sex before marriage, the so-called ‘gay’ agenda, and secular humanism (worship of man and the environment).  Parents, who have raised their kids to believe in Divine Creation, Jesus Christ and the teachings of The Bible, are having their Constitutional rights routinely violated by the very institutions charged with the responsibility of educating their youth.  Their faith has been censored out of America’s school rooms, being replaced by a godless agenda deeply imbedded in the curricula and teacher training”.

       I have lived long enough and began my academic studies far enough back to personally validate what Dr. DeRosa said, having witnessed for myself the gradual transformation of school curricula and the learning environment from traditional, uniquely “American based” perspectives to the current watered down world view of revisionist historians and young educators who have themselves embraced the “modernization” of our educational system.  This is certainly not a good thing for America’s future citizens, as has already been demonstrated by the current generation of high school and college graduates who’ve become the “New”, allegedly “progressive” liberal minded and anti-religious influencers of modern education and politics. They are correctly identified as ‘revisionist historians’ and the results of their indoctrination has become painfully obvious on our campuses and in our streets across America in recent years!

         The good news, concerning Dr. DeRosa, is that he eventually began to see through the lies and false assumptions upon which all the alleged ‘scientific’ evidence was based, and finding it woefully inadequate to support the test of true science, he rediscovered his original world view and values.  Returning to his roots in Faith and the teachings of The Bible. Dr. DeRosa has for the past twenty years been one of America’s foremost ‘Creation’ Scientists, writing books and conducting lectures on the fallacies of alleged scientific support for the theory of evolution. He is now a leading advocate of the growing ‘intelligent design’ view of a majority of the 'scientific community'.

       Considering the life experiences of Dr. DeRosa is a clear illustration of the importance world view plays in determining who we are and what we do with the lives we are given.  I want to state emphatically and unashamedly that the ‘Christian’ world view, in which God is recognized as Supreme Sovereign and Creator of the universe and everything in it, was deeply involved in the founding of America.  In spite of modern day claims to the contrary, in the beginning our nation was very much of ‘Christian’ orientation.  Originally, the Founders and leaders who formed and created The United States of America, with its Declaration of Independence, Constitution and unique Bill of Rights were themselves very much dedicated to the values and teachings of The Bible.  Even though some of them may never have thought about it, and some had faulty ideas about racial matters, they all shared a decidedly ‘Christian’ World View.  An honest and objective review of history and their writings confirms this conclusively in spite of what revisionist historians want their young charges to believe.

       This is not to say they were all ideal Christians, in the strictest sense of what that means.  Just as men today are imperfect, they too were at times less than true to their own standards, as many today are delighted to point out.  Nonetheless, that being said, they were all guided, generally by a ‘Christian’ World View.  The words of the founding documents clearly embrace the concept of God as Creator and Benefactor of men and the values and precepts of Scripture are everywhere present in them.  Listen to these lines from the Declaration of Independence:

          “We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are CREATED equal, and that they are endowed by their CREATOR with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Clearly, a strong reference to belief in God!

       Throughout the early history of America, and even up until the late forties and early fifties, the institutions of both Federal and State governments acknowledged The Deity and held the laws and statutes of The Bible in the highest esteem. This is clearly demonstrated by the very tone and tenor of most of the laws enacted by both Federal and State legislatures since America’s founding, many of them containing actual references to God.  It wasn’t until the last 45-50 years that we began to experience a steady decline in the Christian World View.  New ideas from the ‘scientific community’ and changes in our educational system both have played their part in corrupting America.  Even ‘mainline’ churches have been infiltrated by more liberal elements, influenced by the so called ‘Enlightenment’ coming from Europe, which seemed determined to cast doubt on the Divine origins of the Bible. So called ‘higher criticism’ of self-proclaimed scholars and theologians had their effect on the decline in reverence for the Scriptures and of belief in Divine inspiration of the Bible.  Many of the ‘churches’ in America, that once provided a united front for Godliness and the rule of law based on Judeo/Christian values taught in Scripture, have become so diverse and fractured that they turn people off rather than drawing them to Christ.  Sharp divisions between different ‘denominations’ are a constant barrier to those seeking stability and comfort from the Christian community.  Whereas it was once primarily a matter of sorting out the difference between Catholicism and ‘Protestantism’, there now are dozens, even hundreds of movements and ‘church’ congregations vying for the attention and allegiance of truth seekers today.  I will be dealing with “The Curse of Denominationalism” in the next chapter. 

    Early in the 1960s, I began to observe events and societal changes that marked an ever increasing antagonism for all things ‘religious’, which took hold and became a diabolical and widespread grassroots movement of the unchurched masses, designed to banish God and His Word from all public institutions, especially the schools and halls of government.  At one point in the late sixties, there was a jubilant claim by some intellectuals that God was dead!  Meaning, the  idea of a sovereign God was no longer an acceptable premise for a  ‘progressive’ America, one embraced only by fools and morons.  It was a liberating idea widely embraced by those seeking liberation from Biblical moral restraints. A liberalized culture became tolerant of sin, and sexual devience to ever increasing degrees!

     One of the greatest contributing factors to all this confusion and the fracturing of our once primarily Christian culture has been the tragic cultural upheaval brought about by radical, even diabolical decisions of our nation’s Supreme Court. The most destructive of many such Supreme Court actions was a ruling which has resulted in virtual removal of all “religious” influence in public life.  Most notably, the “separation of Church and State” crusades have all but destroyed the Christian World View that once provided a foundation for Government & Law in America.  Daniel L. Dreisbach, is a Professor of Justice, Law, and Society at American University in Washington, D.C.  He is the author of Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation Between Church and State (New York University Press, 2002).  Because I believe few Americans actually know anything about this drastic cultural change and how it affects people’s world view, as well as the very character of the nation, I’m going to share with you excerpts from an essay, based on his book.  It provides an outstanding summary of how the culture of America has been corrupted and religiously traumatized by what many Americans consider grievous judicial malpractice.  This information is not found in the curriculum of our nation’s public high schools or most colleges, although it certainly should be.  Let’s look, then at Professor Dreisbach’s  essay:       "The Mythical "Wall of Separation": How a Misused Metaphor Changed Church–State Law, Policy, and Discourse  By Daniel L. Dreisbach

No metaphor in American letters has had a more profound influence on law and policy than Thomas Jefferson's "wall of separation between church and state." Today, this figure of speech is accepted by many Americans as a pithy description of the constitutionally prescribed church-state arrangement, and it has become the sacred icon of a strict separationist dogma that champions a secular polity in which religious influences are systematically and coercively stripped from public life.  In our own time, the judiciary has embraced this figurative phrase as a virtual rule of constitutional law and as the organizing theme of church-state jurisprudence, even though the metaphor is nowhere to be found in the U.S. Constitution. (Emphasis Mine)  In Everson v. Board of Education (1947), the United States Supreme Court was asked to interpret the First Amendment's prohibition on laws "respecting an establishment of religion."  In the words of Jefferson, the justices famously declared, the First Amendment "was intended to erect ‘a wall of separation between church and State'...[that] must be kept high and impregnable. We could not approve the slightest breach."

     In the half-century since this landmark ruling, the "wall of separation" has become the locus classicus of the notion that the First Amendment separated religion and the civil state, thereby mandating a strictly secular polity. The trope's continuing influence can be seen in Justice John Paul Stevens's recent warning that our democracy is threatened "whenever we remove a brick from the wall that was designed to separate religion and government."[1]

     What is the source of this figure of speech, and how has this symbol of strict separation between religion and public life come to dominate church-state law and policy? Of Jefferson's many celebrated pronouncements, this is one of his most misunderstood and misused. I would like to challenge the conventional, secular myth that Thomas Jefferson, or the constitutional architects, erected a high wall between religion and the civil government.[2] (Emphasis Mine)

(Dreisbach Contd.)

Building a "Wall of Separation"

     Jefferson was inaugurated the third President of the United States on March 4, 1801, following one of the most bitterly contested elections in history. His religion, or the alleged lack thereof, was a critical issue in the campaign. His Federalist Party foes vilified him as an infidel and atheist.

     On New Year's Day, 1802, President Jefferson penned a missive to the Baptist Association of Danbury, Connecticut. The Baptists had written the President a "fan" letter in October 1801, congratulating him on his election to the "Chief Magistracy in the United States." They celebrated Jefferson's zealous advocacy for religious liberty and chastised those who had criticized him "as an enemy of religion, Law & good order because he will not, dares not assume the prerogative of Jehovah and make Laws to govern the Kingdom of Christ."

     In a carefully crafted reply, Jefferson endorsed the persecuted Baptists' aspirations for religious liberty:

“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion,or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.[3]

(Author Note: I must interject here: the very wording of the First Amendment itself makes it clear to any honest person that Jefferson’s answer to the Danbury Baptists was not intended to be a prohibition of any and all religious expression or recognition by literally all civil governments, from cities and counties to states and the Federal Government or any agency or branch thereof!  But, this is precisely how the great man’s words have been wrested from their context to virtually forbid any kind of religious statement, reference, expression or depiction. The anti-Christ, God haters of our beloved America have almost wiped God completely out of any form of public life that touches a governmental entity in the slightest way. (end Author’s note)

(Dreisbach Contd.)

     Although today Jefferson's Danbury letter is thought of as a principled statement on the prudential and constitutional relationship between church and state, it was in fact a political statement written to reassure pious Baptist constituents that Jefferson was indeed a friend of religion and to strike back at the Federalist-Congregationalist establishment in Connecticut for shamelessly vilifying him as an infidel and atheist in the recent campaign. James H. Hutson of the Library of Congress has concluded that the President "regarded his reply to the Danbury Baptists as a political letter, not as a dispassionate theoretical pronouncement on the relations between government and religion."[4]  (emphasis mine)

 Jefferson's Understanding of the "Wall"

     Throughout his public career, including two terms as President, Jefferson pursued policies incompatible with the "high and impregnable" wall the modern Supreme Court has erroneously attributed to him. For example, he endorsed the use of federal funds to build churches and to support Christian missionaries working among the Indians. The absurd conclusion that countless courts and commentators would have us reach is that Jefferson routinely pursued policies that violated his own "wall of separation." Jefferson's wall, as a matter of federalism, was erected between the national and state governments on matters pertaining to religion and not, more generally, between the church and all civil government. (emphasis mine) In other words, Jefferson placed the federal government on one side of his wall and state governments and churches on the other. The wall's primary function was to delineate the constitutional jurisdictions of the national and state governments, respectively, on religious concerns, such as setting aside days in the public calendar for prayer, fasting, and thanksgiving. Evidence for this jurisdictional or structural understanding of the wall can be found in both the texts and the context of the correspondence between Jefferson and the Danbury Baptist Association.[5]

     “In matters of religion, I have considered that its free exercise is placed by the constitution independent of the powers of the general [i.e., federal] government. I have therefore undertaken, on no occasion, to prescribe the religious exercises suited to it; but have left them, as the constitution found them, under the direction and discipline of State or Church authorities acknowledged by the several religious societies.”

     These two positions were, in essence, Jefferson's own commentary on the Danbury letter, insofar as they grappled with identical issues. Thus, as a matter of federalism, he thought it inappropriate for the nation's chief executive to proclaim days for religious observance; however, he acknowledged the authority of state officials to issue religious proclamations. In short, Jefferson's "wall" was erected between the federal and state governments on matters pertaining to religion.

The Wall That Black Built (Dreisbach Contd.)

     The phrase "wall of separation" entered the lexicon of American constitutional law in 1879. In Reynolds v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court opined that the Danbury letter "may be accepted almost as an authoritative declaration of the scope and effect of the [first] amendment thus secured."[6] Although the Court reprinted the entire second paragraph of Jefferson's letter containing the metaphorical phrase, Jefferson's language is generally characterized as obiter dictum.

    Nearly seven decades later, in the landmark case of Everson v. Board of Education (1947), the Supreme Court rediscovered the metaphor: "In the words of Jefferson, the [First Amendment] clause against establishment of religion by law was intended to erect ‘a wall of separation between church and State'.... That wall," the justices concluded in a sweeping separationist declaration, "must be kept high and impregnable. We could not approve the slightest breach."[7] Jefferson's words were woven neatly into the Everson ruling, which, like Reynolds, was replete with references and allusions to history, especially the roles played by Jefferson and Madison in the Virginia disestablishment struggles.

 (Dreisbach Contd.)

     Justice Hugo L. Black, who authored the Court's (1947) ruling, likely encountered the metaphor in briefs filed in Everson. In an extended discussion of American history that highlighted Virginia's disestablishment battles and supported the proposition that "separation of church and state is a fundamental American principle," attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union quoted the single clause in the Danbury letter that contains the "wall of separation" image. The challenged state statute, the ACLU ominously concluded, "constitutes a definite crack in the wall of separation between church and state. Such cracks have a tendency to widen beyond repair unless promptly sealed up."[8]

     The trope's current fame and pervasive influence in popular, political, and legal discourse date from its rediscovery by the Everson Court. The Danbury letter was also cited frequently and favorably in the cases that followed Everson. In McCollum v. Board of Education (1948), the following term, and in subsequ subsequent cases, the Court essentially constitutionalized the Jeffersonian phrase, subtly and blithely substituting Jefferson's figurative language for the literal text of the First Amendment.[9] In the last half of the 20th century, it became the defining motif for church-state jurisprudence.

     Another author’s interjection here: In my judgement, the ultra left-leaning,”progressive” Supreme Court of Hugo Black did more to damage the basic morality and character of America than anything before or since by elevating Jefferson’s metaphor to Constitutional status!  More evil has been unleashed on our exceptional nation resulting in destructive outcomes precisely because of the Court’s embracing of this awful mis-application of Jefferson’s metaphor.  In addition, the ACLU has played the role of chief antagonist to anything smacking of religion ever since, especially regarding the crusade to purge God from the American classroom.

(Dreisbach Contd. Last excerpts of his essay)

     The "high and impregnable" wall central to the past 50 years of church-state jurisprudence is not Jefferson's wall; rather, it is the wall that Black--Justice Hugo Black--built in 1947 in Everson v. Board of Education.  (Emphasis mine)

     The differences between the two walls are suggested by Jefferson's record as a public official in both Virginia and the nation, which shows that he initiated practices and implemented policies inconsistent with Justice Black's and the modern Supreme Court's "high and impregnable" wall of separation. Even among the metaphor's proponents, this has generated much debate concerning the proper dimensions of the wall. Whereas Jefferson's wall expressly separated the institutions of church and state, the Court's wall, more expansively, separates religion and all civil government.  (Emphasis mine)

     Benefits (such as education vouchers) for religious entities; and excluding religious citizens and organizations (such as faith-based social welfare agencies) from full participation in civic life on the same terms as their secular counterparts. The systematic and coercive removal of religion from public life not only is at war with our cultural traditions insofar as it evinces a callous indifference toward religion, but also offends basic notions of freedom of religious exercise, expression, and association in a democratic and pluralistic society.

     The "high and impregnable" wall constructed by the Supreme Court inhibits religion's ability to inform the public ethic and policy, deprives religious citizens of the civil liberty to participate in politics armed with ideas informed by their spiritual values, and infringes the right of religious communities and institutions to extend their prophetic ministries into the public square. Jefferson's metaphor, sadly, has been used to silence the religious voice in the marketplace of ideas and, in a form of religious apartheid, to segregate faith communities behind a restrictive barrier. (End, Dreisbach excerpts)

     Dreisbach’s essay illustrates exquisitely the consequences of “getting it wrong”.  Our once beautiful, innocent, noble America has been adversely affected in the extreme by this pathway to almost total secularism, something never intended by our Founders, and in recent years one notable cause for development of a badly skewed world view by most Americans.  In my opinion, the saddest thing about all this is that, for me at least, the First Amendment was never intended to reach farther than to prevent Congress from establishing a State Church.  This point was important to the Founders because the American Revolution was partly brought on by rebellion against the State imposed Church of England, required for English citizenship and which most citizens hated.  The Pilgrims are one example of people attempting to escape regimented religious dogma, desiring to read the Scriptures and form their own Churches without being forced into one created by the state.

     While America’s own Judicial System has been a primary source of decline in the inclusion of God in public life, The Church Itself has contributed to weakening of Christianity in America!  Simultaneous with the educational/judicial assaults on our culture, the proliferation of worldly entertainment became popular, even fashionable, as increasing numbers of ‘church’ people adopted a more secular World View.  Religion and church attendance became less highly regarded by an ‘open minded’ and liberated culture.   Cults and false sects of Christianity proliferated, as people began to search for relevance and meaning in a religious vacuum.  What once was considered obscene began to be looked upon as art.  Behaviors once believed to be sinful or ‘unnatural’ were embraced as simply ‘alternate’ lifestyles.  Today, countless lives and families are destroyed by the instant availability of hard core pornography that permeates the Internet and Cable TV everywhere, including the workplace and even our homes.        

      God saw this coming and forecast it in His Word.  I’ve witnessed all these changes and radical social upheaval with my own eyes, and watched its steady development, beginning in the formative years of my young life and continuing today at even more accelerated levels, affecting marriages, family life and whole communities.  Many public officials no longer consider God or Biblical principles to be an important element in the conduct of their office. 

     As a result of the decline in reverence for God and respect for our need of His influence in an orderly society, America is sick, really sick!  Our political system, once a model for the rest of the civilized world, has become corrupt in the extreme.  Once valued tolerance of differing ideas is now looked upon as unacceptable compromise by highly partisan shapers of policy and political practice. Partisanship at the top has filtered all the way down to every city and hamlet in America, dividing and generating resentment and hatred among neighbors and even individuals within families. Politicians at every level have so severely mis-used the power of their positions to enrich themselves that one has to doubt whether they can trust anyone in government anymore. The Federal beauracracy has mushroomed in size as more and more ‘captive’ voters are added to the Federal payroll, and it’s the same with many state governments.  When you have time, visit the website of openthebooks.com.  It will blow your mind! 

     Where once a sober reverence for the Word of God, the dignity, responsibility and serious nature of being a disciple dominated the thinking and atmosphere of Christian gatherings, members of various denominational fellowships today seem more inclined to favor an increasingly entertainment orientated meeting, with ‘praise’ music that no longer contains the Gospel message as hymns always did in previous years.

     The loss of respect for and irrelevance of the institutional churches in American culture has similarly been the result of deviate variances in Christendom caused by “denominationalism”, a subtle evolution of divisive variations and interpretations of Scriptures which has splintered Christianity and created rampant disunity in Christ’s Church.  Members have taken more interest in defending certain ‘doctrines’ and emphasizing specific practices and rituals than winning the lost to Christ.  This is the topic of the next chapter. 

     One of the greatest anti-Christ influences in American culture today are those who’ve been indoctrinated by intellectuals who think by re-evaluating the Bible and its relevance for a modern America they are being realistic and true to their own understanding of God and His Word.  Regrettably, their ideas are in complete disagreement with the Inspired Scriptures, and are leading many people astray.  These are some who will hear Jesus say, “Depart from me..workers of iniquity, I never knew you!”

Chapter Three—The Curse of “Denominationalism”

     With its almost kaleidoscopic “interpretations” and applications of Scripture, no one can honestly deny that while “denominationalism” allows a kind of “something for everyone” religious environment that conveniently provides some tolerance for diverse views, it most certainly is out of sync with Christ’s prayer for unity in his church recorded by John in Chapter 17 of his Gospel.  I’ve already alluded to some of the ‘doctrinal’ variations which plague Christ’s Church in today’s world.  I want to focus now on one particular body of theology which, I believe has been the root cause of great violence to Christianity since John Calvin introduced his system of religious belief and practice some 500 years ago. 

      I do not think my goals for writing this book would be served by allowing myself to get bogged down in a protracted discussion of Calvin’s teachings and how they have so badly mis-represented Scripture and bred confusion and error.  Having said that, I want to help seekers of truth who struggle to make sense of life and a confusing world, and I certainly don’t want to cloud a discussion of those issues with too much complex material.  For this reason, I will try to keep my overview of this topic as simple as possible. I do feel it necessary to at least make a general statement about my views on Calvinism, since it has become the foundational basis of many denominations within Protestantism today.  I have the utmost respect for the scholarship and spiritual motivation of John Calvin.  After studying his “Institutes of Religion” and giving prayerful consideration to the assumptions upon which he based his conclusions, I understand why his influence has had such a divisive effect on the Church of Jesus Christ through the years.                

      Looking closely at John Calvin's understanding/belief regarding God's sovereignty, I believe it was precisely a flawed assumption about that particular issue which became the basis of his five points, and were the foundations of his religious system.  Indeed, the assumption Calvin drew about the Sovereignty of God—if correct--required the conclusions stated in his “Five Points”.  What I’m saying is, I am convinced that one man’s erroneous assumption regarding God’s Sovereignty has generated hundreds of years of arguments and bitter fighting among Christians who accept his 5 point religious system, and those who find it to be scripturally unsound.  So, let me briefly offer a simple summary of “Calvinism”, as I understand it.  Let’s begin where Calvin did, assuming that God is sovereign-meaning that as Creator of the entire visible universe and everything in it, He has limitless power to know and do as he wills.  This basic assumption is true, unless you try to amplify it by ascribing to Him first cause responsibility for everything that happens!  Nowhere in Scripture is THAT taught about God!  But, poor Calvin, being the consummate scholar, reasoned that for God to be truly sovereign, he HAD to be exactly that and nothing less.  Years of prayerful, diligent, Spirit-led study of God's Word and living in a warm, loving and rewarding relationship with Father God has led me to conclude that in spite of his piety and devotion, John Calvin's view of the Sovereignty of God and how He chooses to exercise it was dreadfully wrong, and necessarily led to the other so called 5 points of his religious ‘system’.  Here they are, the so called T.U.L.I.P. Religious System:

          (1) Total Depravity

To John Calvin, that means simply MAN is hopelessly and spiritually DEAD and unless the totally sovereign God ‘elects’ him for salvation, he must go to Hell, he is without choice. God’s total sovereignty demands it. To believe this, you must ignore or re-interpret all other Scripture that clearly teaches God’s Grace is available to all, and that He invites all to receive His GIFT of Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

           (2)  Unconditional Election

       This means simply: God chooses to give some people eternal life, before any man or woman is born -- in fact, before the world was made -- God decided who would go to heaven and who would not. Before they did good or bad, God chose some to be His people and rejected others.  That’s the hallmark of a totally sovereign God, says Calvin, disregarding all other Scripture that describes God as unwilling that any should perish but calls all men to repentance and saving faith.  This notion is terribly hateful and totally contrary to the loving and long-suffering nature of God, whose invitation to receive Christ is open to ALL, but to Calvin, God’s absolute Sovereignty requires it for the ‘elect’!  They literally have NO CHOICE!

            (3)  Limited Atonement

        Christ made atonement for man’s sins with His death, but that ATONEMENT is LIMITED to the ‘elect’ of God. Every sin of every one of Christ's sheep (the elect) is paid for. Those sins and those alone have been paid for.  Everyone else is out of luck because the sovereign God has chosen to elect those he wills to save.  An assumption which requires gross denial of Scripture which teaches us about the loving, patient nature of God.  He patiently awaits our acknowledgement of our need of a savior, while gently persuading us of our alienation to him and his provision of redemption through Christ. He allows us the choice to accept it or reject it.

            (4) Irresistible Grace

     The fourth in the five points of Calvinism teaches that God's grace to save a person cannot be resisted. Grace brings him to heaven who naturally would end up in eternal hell. That grace is irresistible. That means that if God gives  grace to you, there is nothing in the world that you can do to resist it and thwart God's intention to take you to heaven. This line of reasoning is essential to the idea of a totally sovereign God.  Of course, all Scripture teaching the free will of man must be cast aside to believe this.

          (5) Preservation of the Saints

The last of the five points of Calvinism teaches that God preserves His people so they can never be lost. To put it simply, it means this: "Once you are saved, you are always saved."  To think otherwise would be blasphemy, by questioning the total sovereignty of God!  Sin before salvation requires salvation but sin after salvation does not count according to this tenet of Calvin’s religious system. To believe this one would have to discard a huge portion of Apostles Paul and Peter’s warnings against apostasy, teaching that turning from God and rejecting the Lordship of Christ is always a possibility, since God NEVER forces his Grace on us but allows us free will to serve Him with true devotion or to rebel against Him and return to our former life without Him. Their stern warnings picture the dread specter of one who allows the allurements of SIN to drag a child of God back into the mire of Godless atheism, resulting in Christ’s Rejection of him in the Judgement. (Heb 10:23-31 and II Peter 2:20-22 & others) I believe one dreadful result of this teaching has been an easy believism and  a libertine attitude about sin, which brings reproach on Christ and his Gospel.

      Let me be perfectly clear here: These 5 points of Calvinism demonstrate the total absurdity and gross error of man trying to analyze God, especially without Divine inspiration and the gift of Holy Spirit’s counsel!  (Read again 1 Corinthians 2:1-16) They were founded in Calvin's erroneous assumption that God actively exercises total sovereignty over everything, and is therefore the ‘first cause’ of all that happens. He made no allowance for the clear teaching of Scripture that God chooses to exercise Divine Sovereignty SELECTIVELY, thus Calvin’s entire system of Theology breaks down.  He created an image of God that is totally inconsistent with my personal experience of God in my own life.  I am not questioning whether Calvin was born again, only God knows that for sure.  I can say his intellect became a stumbling block for him in understanding God correctly, leading to some really tragic assumptions that have created schism in Christ’s Church rather than unity ever  since!

     Only by understanding that God must 'wave' (not exercise) absolute sovereignty when necessary to accomplish consistency between His Holiness, His Glory, His Plan of Redemption, His Grace and His judgment, can one rightly understand God.  Calvin's faulty understanding of God's Sovereignty and of the fact that He chooses when and how to exercise it, led to teachings that portray God in a manner CONTRARY to His character and purposes, as clearly taught in His Word and EXPERIENCED by thousands of "new creations", including MYSELF.

  The passages of Scripture that speak of 'predestination' have been interpreted by Calvinists to support his basic assumption regarding God's ABSOLUTE sovereignty, which insists that unless God exercises ABSOLUTE sovereignty in all things, at all times, and in all places, HE CANNOT BE SAID TO BE SOVEREIGN.  THIS SIMPLY IS NOT TRUE!  To attribute ‘first cause’ responsibility to God for everything is to make Him the author of SIN and confusion, pain and damnation and arbitrary selectivity, none of which is true of the loving, patient, gracious and tenderly intimate Heavenly Father I have come to know and love supremely!! 

One contemporary of John Calvin’s Reform movement, a religious scholar named Jacobus Armenius, found serious flaws in Calvin’s Scriptural assumptions, giving birth to the infamous, bitter Calvinism/Armenianism controversy that continues to this day. It has led to great confusion and schism in Christ's body.  It has given rise to numerous ridiculous notions about God’s involvement with the human race.  For instance, God is blamed for much that he has absolutely NOTHING to do with.  How often have we heard, “it must be God’s will” when it is nothing of the sort!?  To really believe that, we must believe as stated above that God is the author of Sin, confusion, pain, damnation and unjust arbitrary selectivity among other ugly negatives. This has produced weak and libertine minded Disciples, and probably caused many to flee organized religion completely. Countless others, unwilling or unable to accept Calvinism have tried to create alternate, more palatable ways to interpret Scripture and practice Christianity.

People such as Alexander Campbell (Churches of Christ), Mary Baker Eddy (Church of Christ, Scientist), Charles Russell (Jehovah’s Witnesses), Joseph Smith, (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), Albert Simpson (Pentecostalism), William Miller(Seventh Day Adventism), and dozens more sects and cults have evolved under a broad umbrella of “the Christian religion” and abound today, confusing and dividing the Body of Christ while turning seekers away in a state of uncertainty and confusion, in despair of ever finding certain truth.  It may also be a factor in the self-damning decision of many who’ve rejected Christianity in favor of other ‘religious’ systems, particularly Islam!  Remember, I’ve already explained that Christianity is NOT a religion, like other systems which are nothing more than religions created by men. Christianity is the exclusive God-created RELATIONSHIP made possible by the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross of Calvary.  This is the ultimate reality, the correct world view.  The most profound and eternally significant TRUTH which gives meaning to life occurs when our understanding of God becomes relational!

This proliferation of divisions within ‘Christianity’ is totally counter to the will and purposes of God.  One has only to revisit Jesus’ ‘pastoral’ prayer in John 17 to realize how far His followers have digressed from the unity He espoused and prayed to The Father for:

20Neither for these alone do I pray [it is not for their sake only that I make this request], but also for all those who will ever come to believe in (trust in, cling to, rely on) Me through their word and teaching, 21That they all may be one, [just] as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me.22I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one [even] as We are one:23I in them and You in Me, in order that they may become one and perfectly united, that the world may know and [definitely] recognize that You sent Me and that You have loved them [even] as You have loved Me. (John 17:20-23 Amplified Bible) 

      God The Father himself makes it perfectly clear that He does not approve and is in no way responsible for the disgraceful schism characterizing many who name the name of Christ today.  One of the Bible’s most prolific writers, Paul The Apostle, wrote;

33For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches ofthe Saints. (I Corinthians 14:33)

        So, here is one of the most important truths I am compelled to declare:  denominationalism as we find it in Christendom today, is NOT the work of God, and it is contrary to the will of God.  Its what many religious skeptics often refer to as “organized religion”.  Furthermore, it brings great reproach upon the Church of Christ, and does terrible violence to The Gospel.  A weak and anemic ‘family’ of Christians, some of whom are totally unaware that they are only pretenders to that relationship, along with thousands who are confused, misled and frankly ignorant of the meaning and responsibilities of Discipleship to the Lord Jesus, now labor in disarray and confusion.  Why?  Denominationalism divides the Church and makes it an agency of divisiveness rather than the engine of evangelism Scripture teaches Christ’s Church was intended to be.

     Ironically, some of the largest religious bodies ever to be formed in the name of Jesus are among the worst offenders, in terms of doctrinal peculiarities and other man-made distinctives that have detracted from rather than contributed to the cause of Christ.  I will cover three of the largest religious bodies I feel to be contrary to the unity Jesus intended, in subsequent chapters. While it is not my intention to condemn or criticize for the sake of being critical, or of exalting anything or anyone, save The Lord Jesus, I must practice total honesty and absolute candor while God continues to allow me to draw breath. 

     And what is my motive in highlighting the negative aspects of any ‘religion’?  Simply this; I know there are many good people who, like myself, have labored for most of their lives in one church or another, doing the best they can to honor God with their lives, all the while being limited in various ways that affect them now and most critically, will affect them in eternity.  Deeming themselves ‘religious’ and assuming, therefore they are in good standing with God they plod along ‘doing their best’.  The limitations of which I speak are the result of what I can only refer to as ‘bad’ religion, or unsound doctrine, which generates unnecessary obstacles, in terms of their capacity for real discipleship to The Lord Jesus.  If I see someone in danger I must ask myself, do I have the right to ignore what I see and allow them to proceed without the warning I could give them? 

     As a child of God, with a heart for His agenda, can I simply turn the other way while people continue down a road that I know will lead them further away from God, rather than building the bridge of faith that will allow them to find peace with Him or to be more effective Disciples, ever growing in knowledge and understanding of the relationship they have with him?

     Someone will protest, “Why can’t you just mind your own business and let people do as they please?”  The answer lies in Jesus’ command to ‘...go ye therefore, into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature..”. ( Matt 28:19). With that kind of marching orders from our spiritual leader, who is Himself God of very God, can silence be an option for me?  I hear Him say, “I’ve brought you to spiritual awakening, and allowed you to walk with me on the narrow road that leads to eternal life.  Now, you are responsible to share what you know with those you observe going in the wrong direction, on a wrong road that you know will lead to their destruction.” “If you want to be my Disciple, you must Obey me! I have charged you with the ministry of reconciliation!” II Corinthians 5:17-18

     I realize that many well-meaning souls will be offended by my ‘presumptuousness’ and prefer to be left alone, undisturbed by me or anyone else who might disquiet them.  After all, Jesus himself said to expect that.  He pointed out that He was rejected by men and therefore His disciples could likewise expect to be rejected.

Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.  (John 15:19-20)

     I know He does not want His disciples to simply look the other way when they see a precious soul for whom He died going in the wrong direction.  He gifts us with a measure of Divine discernment and sensitivity to His own heart when we encounter anything contrary to his agenda, the agenda of reaching out to every soul, with the goal of drawing them to Himself.

          “..for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)  His agenda MUST be MY agenda.  That’s what Discipleship is!

     The same principle that applies to steering erring souls in Christ’s direction applies to erroneous teaching, a stumbling block for well-intended souls seeking the narrow way that will lead them to Christ.  Although I’ve always tried to avoid causing controversy or saying something that could potentially be offensive, I think there comes a time when the danger of  offending is trumped by the greater threat of negative eternal  consequences posed by a destructive doctrine going unchallenged.  Truth frees the captives.  Bad doctrine enslaves precious souls, and regrettably, there are MANY FALSE TEACHERS out there, building their own followings, perverting the TRUTH of Christ for their own selfish motives!

          I realize there are those who believe that all it takes to please God is that one ‘do their best’, or be ‘sincere’ in their practice of ‘religion’.  While it is true that God is understanding and patient, it is equally true that He has provided only one way for individuals to make peace with Him. They aren't given the option to make up their own way.  I realize that the concept of exclusivity offends many, but it’s true nonetheless.  Jesus was unashamedly clear on this point:

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.(John 14:6)

      Please notice, He did not say “I am one of the ways”, or “I am a good way”.  Jesus said in no uncertain terms, “I am THE way”, singular, exclusive, distinctive.  All my life I’ve heard good people who mean well, say things like, “We’re all trying to get to the same place.  It isn’t really important HOW we go about it.  After all, it’s what is in the heart that really matters.”  I cringe when I hear someone say anything like that, because I know they haven’t met Jesus Christ yet, and if they continue to believe that way they will never know Him.  Jesus describes such persons in a very sobering statement recorded in Matthew 7:13, 21—it’s the theme of this book and you’re going to hear me say it several times in various chapters;

13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it". (NIV)

And; 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’23 And then I will declare to them,  ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’(NIV)

       Tragically, Jesus speaks of many ‘religious’ people who will be turned away in judgment.  The key phrase in this statement is, “he who does the will of my Father in heaven”.  It’s another way of saying, those who accept salvation on God’s terms, subjecting themselves to His plan for the Salvation of men, not attempting to design their own or pick one of someone else’s design.  Sad to say, man has never stopped trying to craft a ‘better’ plan, one that suits his own fancy, but one which cannot work because it is part of the broad road and wide gate that leads to destruction!

          The stakes are too high, dear Friend.  At the risk of offending, I must do what Jesus told His disciples to do: preach the gospel (the good news) as He did, uncompromised by the ideas, dogmas and OPINIONS of unregenerate men.  There is both a positive and a negative application to Jesus’ command.  Positively, a disciple delivers the message that God is both Creator and Savior of humankind.  The Bible warns us we are born under the curse placed upon the world when Adam and Eve chose to rebel against God’s authority in the Garden of Eden.  That curse positioned all men as aliens to God, separated from fellowship with Him by the SIN nature inherited from Father Adam.  The Prophet, Isaiah preached this message to his contemporaries.  Let me repeat it here:

“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:2)  (NIV)

       There is the alienation that separates us from God and requires his intervention to save us from damnation.  All other world views, even those based to some degree in Scripture, fail at the point of providing redemption and reconciliation.  At this point, I feel it would be appropriate to share some loving thoughts with those who’ve chosen to embrace a “religion” rather than embrace Christ and his ‘Gospel’.  I know people who defiantly declare themselves to be adherents to the traditional religious dogmas of Judaism, thinking that since it bases its beliefs and practices on the God of the Old Testament and his laws and statutes, they are certain to please God by being faithful to orthodox Judaism.  But, alas, the truth is that it is God who planned the way of redemption and salvation in the life and death of his only Son (Jesus, born of a woman by the direct, miraculous intervention of God, without a human father, all according to millennia of Prophecy concerning ‘Messiah’). 

In declaring themselves ‘orthodox Jews’, these have haplessly rejected their Messiah, the very means God provided for them to become his ‘children’, redeemed and prepared to spend eternity with him.  Being ‘good people’ and keepers of ‘the law’, while rejecting Christ was the mistake made by the Jews of Jesus’ day which finds them, even today, still at enmity with God.  Because Jesus did not fit the image the Jews held of ‘Messiah’, and because his teachings deviated from their religious traditions, they refused to believe he was their promised ‘Messiah’.  They crucified him as a malefactor guilty of blasphemy, precisely because of his claims of fulfilling all God’s promises regarding the Redeemer to come.

  Now, I offer some thought (lovingly and with utmost respect) to those who identify themselves as ‘Muslim’, or adherents to the teachings of Mohammed.  This would include those born into that culture as well as any who’ve chosen to ‘become’ or convert to the Muslim ‘faith’.  Many contemporary Muslims point to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as the originators of their basic belief system, declaring that the God spoken of in the ancient Hebrew Scriptures is the very God they call ‘Allah’, and that Mohammed was the final ‘Prophet’, whose authority was given to him by ‘Allah’ and whose calling was to affirm the monotheistic teachings and world view of their ancestors: that is, that ‘Allah’ is the only true God and Mohammed is his true Prophet.  Every Muslim you meet will proclaim that.

   These are the basic tenets of the ‘Muslim’ religion as seen by many well-meaning modern day Muslims.  These Muslims insist that Jesus was merely another ‘prophet’, a ‘good’ man and one of many who preceded Mohammed, worthy of mention and of respect for his devotion to the doctrine of monotheism. But this is in stark contrast with Mohammad’s teachings from The Koran and other early Muslim writings, which have been the basis of extreme hatred of Jesus and Christians through the centuries by extremist, radical followers of Mohammad.  One can easily see very sharp contrasts between the teachings of the Koran and the Bible, between Mohammed and Jesus and the other writers of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures that should cause serious questions for thoughtful followers of Islam. 

     For instance; love vs. wrath, peace vs. war, order vs. mayhem, Mercy vs. condemnation and fear, morality and regard for human life vs. plunder, rape and social terror/murder of innocents with total disregard for the sacredness of life and of individual worth. The contrasts are many and stark. It should be clear that the religion of Mohammed and the Deity of Islam, Alla, cannot be equated or compared to the Hebrew Scriptures and the relationship revealed between God (Jehovah) and the human race, especially those identified as ‘God’s people’ in the Old Testament then Jesus and God’s ‘Children’ in the New Testament. 

      Here are some facts to be considered regarding Christianity vs Islam in today’s world; Christianity is losing ground while  Islam is on the rise.  The deity they call "Allah", is NOT the true God of their ancestry, the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob who identified Himself as Jehovah the one and only, unchanging, loving Savior of a fallen creation. The God who declares he is NOT the author of confusion, and who declared his redemptive plan was finished some 500 plus years before Mohammed burst on the scene with his claims of being God's last prophet, despite the warning against adding to or taking from the closed book was given by John the Revelator 500 years earlier.

     Of course Muslims hate Jews and they hate Christians even more. They know and fear the truth that exposes their religion as a huge fraud and the most evil cult Satan ever vomited onto the earth. Their growth in followers has been aided by the weakening of Christianity which I’ve outlined in my previous discussions of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the various negative influences that have come against it. This is exactly why it is so important what we believe.  Truth gives life, while error condemns souls to an eternity separated from God. The Muslim religious system is a device invented by Satan to divide and counter the growth of the Christian Gospel in the world!  I’ve been puzzled for years as to why I was seeing a decline in traditional Christianity while Islam, the religion of Mohammed, seemed to be gaining ground worldwide.   I’ve been reflecting on this question a lot and have come to this conclusion: the shift in followers between the two belief systems is actually related to satan’s war against God and the Gospel, and the implications are terrifying! I believe Islam is on the increase precisely because of the mongrelization of traditional Christianity by many so called ‘Christian’ movements popular today who have obscured the GOSPEL from their prectice of Christianity.

     The history of humankind, as recorded in the Hebrew Scripture contains the complete story of God’s involvement with the universe, the creation and population of the earth and all it contains, including mankind, his earliest dealings with man after creating them and placing them in the Garden of Eden.  The very beginnings of the human race and its fall from Grace with God, followed by thousands of years of preparation and prophecy regarding the ultimate restoration of fellowship with Him are recorded by those He chose to write down what we are given to understand.  His prophets were inspired to speak of a time and person God would bring into the world who would become the means by which man would be able to again become friends with God.  That time came and the person associated with God’s redemptive process was none other than Jesus Christ.  In the years following his sacrificial death on the Cross as “The Sacrificial Lamb of God” paying the sin-debt of those who would ‘receive him’, his apostles and disciples were moved to write histories and instructional treatises concerning the story of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, the mission/instructions to his church in the years to come, including some enlightenment about God’s plan for Judgement and the end of the present world and beginning of a ‘New Heaven and a New Earth’.  At the very end of what God gave to the Church as His ‘Word’ (The Bible), Jesus instructed his writer (John the Apostle) to write the following:

          1The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,

2who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

3Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

4John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne,

5and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,

6and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”So shall it be! Amen.

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”  Rev 1:1-8 (NIV)

Notice that John identifies Jesus as “…the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood”.   Also, notice how John characterizes that which he is about to write: “1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.” 

        If one is to accept the Bible as the ‘Word of God’, and I do, then this has to be the most profound and attention grabbing Scripture in the New Testament. Why? Because, according to John, it is the very personal ‘revelation’ of Jesus Christ to his ‘Church’ about what “must shortly come to pass” regarding God’s plans for the ‘last days’ of the world and the fate of mankind.  It is also clear from the way John writes, that Jesus is the entire focus of his writing as well as director of what he writes.  Reading the entire book of the Revelation gives understanding of the end-time events and destinies of various beings who have been players in the history of mankind and his relationship to God.  I’ll get back to Revelation in a moment, but first a look back to some important dialog from Jesus earlier in his story.

      While Jesus was dying on the Cross to pay for my sins and the sins of the whole world, near the end of his life he said, “It is finished” speaking of God’s plan of salvation and redemption of the human race.  Just prior to his crucifixion, by the power of God he told his Disciples this:   

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” John 14:6-8. 

     Clearly, Jesus claimed to be one with the Father, God!  This is something no one else ever said, including Moses, or Abraham or anyone else.  One can only conclude that Jesus was much more than just another prophet, HE WAS AND IS, GOD!  In fact, it was this very claim that caused the Jews to crucify him!  But the fact of his resurrection is validation of that claim!  God validated all that Jesus said and did by raising him from the dead. This is the central truth which is foundational to our faith-relationship with Him!

         It must be noted that nowhere in the entire life of Jesus and in all the writings he ordained following his ascension back to the Father was it ever written that ‘another’ prophet could be expected before Jesus’ return to this earth.  Much is said about his return and about the acts of his Apostles and about the Church he established, but nothing about Mohammed or Joseph Smith or any other person who would come to validate once again that God was the one and only true God, which had already been firmly established by the Hebrew Scriptures which quoted God’s own statements regarding His singularity, even naming himself “The Lord” (Jehovah in Hebrew texts but not Allah see Deut: 32:36-39) and by Jesus Himself! Perhaps the most explicit Scripture declaring both the name and singularity of Jehovah is II Samuel 7:22: “Wherefore thou art great, O Jehovah God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God besides thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.” ASV  (These same principles that invalidate Islam apply to Mormonism as well, since Mormons teach the “Angel” Moroni , an invention of Mormon Founder, Joseph Smith, will come to Earth first, preceding the return of Jesus to redeem his Church.)

        Now, back to The Revelation:  The last chapter declares the close of God’s   written Word and warns against any and all future tinkering with it (adding to or removing anything from it) To wit: “12 Behold, I come quickly; and my [m]reward is with me, to render to each man according as his work is. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. 14 Blessed are they that wash their robes, that they may have [n]the right to come to the tree of life, and may enter in by the [o]gates into the city. 15 Without are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the fornicators, and the murderers, and the idolaters, and every one that loveth and [p]maketh a lie. 16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things [q]for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright, the morning star.17 [r]And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And he that heareth, let him say, Come. And he that is athirst, let him come: he that will, let him take the water of life freely”. (Notice also the reference to the free will given to us to choose God’s Savior or to embrace some other philosophy)

18 I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add [s]unto them, God shall add [t]unto him the plagues which are written in this book: 19 and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, [u]which are written in this book.  20 He who testifieth these things saith, Yea: I come quickly”. Amen: come, Lord Jesus.

        With this final statement I cannot, nor should any true believer in God ever accept the authority claimed by a false prophet who came onto the scene some 600 years after these warnings were issued, claiming to be God’s only legitimate and final prophet.  The final Words of God to the human race came directly from the mouth of the Son of God, who was and is the singular figure given authority to reconcile fallen human beings to the one and only Lord God Almighty (Jehovah), and who does so on an individual basis, establishing with all who sincerely seek Him a personal and everlasting relationship.  The loving and kind, patient and forgiving Heavenly Father has kept his promises to provide a redeemer and Savior to intercede for us with him; his ONLY begotten Son (born supernaturally of a human mother but without a human Father), Jesus Christ.

          Mohammed can reconcile no one to God and never could. Anyone who rejects Christ and embraces this false prophet has sealed their doom.  I pray any Muslim soul who reads this will realize the truth here and turn to Christ for Salvation. Especially those who have never heard it before.  May God bless you with his loving enlightenment.  I realize that to hear the truth which contrasts sharply with what you have been taught since birth is very hard to reconcile in your heart. But Jesus said that to know the truth is to be set free, then he identified himself as the truth men must embrace to be reconciled to the Father.  If you have a sincere desire to be in a genuine, eternal relationship with God, I urge you to seek the counsel of another Muslim who has embraced the Lord, Jesus Christ and listen to their testimony of their encounter with God that convinced them Jesus was the true Son of God who alone could reconcile them to God.  If any person sincerely seeks the truth, Jesus promised you would find it.

     Therefore, examine your heart and determine if you really want to know God’s truth and desire a personal relationship with him whom you have never really known.  God will keep his promise to anyone who earnestly seeks him with all their heart.  He promised that you will find him!  Trust him and reach out to him in earnest prayer, asking for his enlightenment.  He will not cast out anyone who approaches him in such a contrite manner!  Seek out other converted Muslims who will be happy to testify of their experience with Jesus and the resulting JOY they now possess!

     Listen to how tenderly and plaintively Father God pleads with wayward, self-willed human beings to reach out to Him to receive the salvation He has made possible for them:  “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me". (Proverbs 8:17)   “Ye shall seek me and find me when ye shall search for me with your whole heart.” (Jer. 29:13)  And, again; “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit”. (Ps.34:18)  Jesus said, “…him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” (Jn 6:37) 

     There are many other verses showing us, truly, Jehovah God is actively reaching out to all who will seek him from their sincere and contrite heart! His great love makes him open and available to all.  In the last book of the Bible, Jesus gives his invitation; “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me”. (Revelations 3:20)  I pray God will use this book to persuade someone to accept that tender, loving invitation, reach out to God from a heart that yearns for a saving relationship with Him more than anything in life.  He will respond in mercy and lovingkindness and your life will never be the same! I think it would be good to pause here and point out once again that a ‘simple prayer’ created lovingly by a well-meaning Christian leader or enthusiastic Disciple may be repeated every day for the rest of your life and if you don’ t realize the basic truths of the Gospel when you are reciting that prayer, and you are not aware of your alienated status IT AVAILS YOU NOTHING! 

     Here again are the elements of the Gospel; I came into this world LOST and therefore NEED a Savior, God sent his SON, Jesus, into the world to pay for MY SINS by DIEING ON THE CROSS, and I CAN HAVE MY SINS FORGIVEN AND MAKE PEACE WITH GOD BY CALLING ON JESUS TO SAVE ME, WHICH I NOW DESIRE MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE IN LIFE…if these basic truths are NOT understood, AND part of your state of mind and heart, it renders anything you say just words without meaning!!   

     YOU MUST understand your peril and alienation to God or you are NOT REPENTANT, AND WITHOUT REPENTANCE, THERE IS NO TRUE CONVICTION WHICH IS THE BASIS OF GOD’S OUTREACH TO YOU, INVITING YOU INTO FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM AS HIS ADOPTED SON!  These are essential elements of the Gospel and unless they are present, regeneration or New Birth is not possible.  Remember, your OPINIONS are WRONG if they do not harmonize with SCRIPTURE!

Chapter Four--Mega-Movements Hide The Gospel!

       Much of what is called Christianity today has taken a left turn from the Church of the New Testament.  What has evolved is a body of would-be Christians, practicing various forms of ‘religious’ activity, ceremony, disciplines and ritual which they believe endears them to God.  As I’ve already pointed out, corrupted versions of Christianity and ‘other’ Religions claiming a relationship with Deity are keeping the truth-seeking souls in Spiritual darkness rather than bringing them to the Light of Jesus Christ!  Because of this tragic fact, This chapter nessicerily becomes the longest chapter in this book, including some forty pages devoted to a single movement.  It all dovetails into the whole concept of erroneous church movements that will wind up hiding the truth of the Gospel and deceiving millions, who will hear Jesus’ terrible denial; “Depart from me…I never knew you”!  (Paraphrasing Matthew 7:23)

Although I don’t intend to examine the questionable teachings of each of the hundreds of religious groups who identify themselves as “Christian” today, there are at least three groups which I feel obligated to address, due to their growing and widespread popularity and the dangers they pose to obscuring the original doctrines and practices of the Christ-followers of the earliest days we read about in The Acts of the Apostles. These have done great violence to the application of Scripture and caused division and confusion regarding the purpose and scope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They have reduced the Gospel message to a religious philosophy or completely abandoned it in favor of shaping a religion of convenience and popularity.  In this chapter I intend to carefully examine the first, which I will introduce by asking the question: 

Is the Charismatic Movement Really the Missing Ingredient of the Church?  

       For years now, those who embrace the "Charismatic" view of the work and person of the Holy Spirit claim to have found the missing "ingredient" of the Church, the absence of which  (in their view) has rendered the Church sterile and stagnant.  These maintain that the "gifts of the Spirit"  evidenced in the life of the Christian by "speaking in tongues"  are still valid aids for "life in the Spirit", and that God means for them to be used to empower the Church and provide needed vitality.  Regardless of how we view the Charismatic's assessment of the condition of the Church and their approach to correction, we must agree with them that the Church has lost vitality since Pentecost and today is floundering in a sea of confusion.  It has digressed into something quite different from the Church described in the Acts of the Apostles as I’ve already pointed out.  These have virtually abandoned the GOSPEL!

     The problem, however, does not lie in the abandonment of the spiritual gifts.  Nor is the solution to revitalization of the Church to be found in restoration of their use.  I will prove that both the problem and its solution lie elsewhere.  I will also identify the true significance of the Charismatic philosophy as it relates to the Church of Jesus Christ.

     Let us analyze the Charismatic Movement by examining the glaring disunity within it's own ranks, and by making some observations about its effects on the Church today.  To begin with, the sharp divisions among scholars over the Charismatic philosophy should sound an alarm of question in the minds of thinking Christians as to whether a genuine move of the Holy Spirit would have such divisive results (I Cor.14:32 33).  If absence of spiritual gifts is the problem and restoring their use were the solution, as Charismatics claim, such division would not exist.  Instead, a real revival of spiritual fervor and unity among all brethren would follow.  Such, however, has not characterized the Charismatic "solution".   

     Within the Charismatic Movement itself, many "grassroots" Charismatics are being rebuked by their own scholars for blatant abuse of Scripture in their exercise of the so called "spiritual gifts."  For instance, Charismatic writer Chuck Smith says, "Some people say they have no control over their outbursts in tongues, and so many times they just start speaking in tongues, interrupting the sermon".  He then cites I Corinthians 14:32 which teaches that "the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets".  Smith then concludes, "there is no Scriptural basis at all for these types of interruptions.  When a person stands up and interrupts God’s messenger, he is putting the Holy Spirit in the awkward position of interrupting Himself".

     Such un-Scriptural use of the "gift of tongues", he says, is another form of what he refers to as "Charismania" (Smith 128)  Smith honestly admits that one of the greatest weaknesses of the Charismatic Movement today is its lack of sound Biblical teaching.  He says, "There seems to be an undue preoccupation with experience which is often placed above the Word.  As a consequence, Charismatics have become a fertile field for strange and un Scriptural doctrines proliferating their ranks".  He points out that when experiences are allowed to become the criteria for doctrine or belief, Biblical authority is lost and confusion results.

      While exposing such un Scriptural notions as “being slain in the Spirit”, exorcising of demons, preference of “tongues speaking” over the preaching of God’s Word, exploitation of the congregations for big offerings, the “what you say is what you get” teaching (“Name it and claim it”)  he still defends basic Charismatic philosophy as God’s answer for Church revitalization (113 114).  How can anyone so clearly see the abuses mentioned and continue to believe the source to be the Holy Spirit?  Incredible!      

       My first argument, then, is focused on exposing the confusion wrought in the Church by the Charismatic philosophy—a destructive fact graphically demonstrated, even within their own ranks.  Surely, such is not authored by God, who abhors confusion (I Corinthians 14:33).  It is not, therefore, His "gift of Power" to revitalize His Church.

     Let us now delve more deeply into the divisive aspects of the Charismatic philosophy..  Incidentally, it should be apparent to the reader that my use of the term "philosophy" relative to Charismatic belief is intentional, although I have not used quotation marks to so indicate.  This provides some indication of how I view this "movement" and its effect, which I shall discuss later.

     Writing on the "Pentecostal experience", Assemblies of God professor William G. MacDonald says, "We assert forthrightly, on the basis of Biblical precedent and our own experiences that all believers do in fact speak in tongues, subsequent to their being submersed completely in the Spirit". (italics mine)  He insists that their glossalalia is "evidence of what has taken place in them" (Perspectives on the New Pentecostalism Edited by Russell P Spittler page 65).

     Another Pentecostal professor, Dr. J. Rodman Williams, speaking of "Spirit Baptism" says, "It is an additional work beyond that of a new life in relation to Jesus Christ, and one that many Christians may not yet have experienced,   Hence, there are both Christians and Spirit Baptized Christians". (italics mine) Williams continues, "The emphasis on conversion is good and important, but there is particular need today to supplement this with the gift of the Holy Spirit" [Emphasis mine] (7-13 79).

     Do we not find in these doctrines of traditional Pentecostalism the seeds of divisiveness, presently perpetuated in the Charismatic phenomenon?  Human nature being what it is, the poor Christian brother or sister who has failed to experience such a marvelous "evidence" of Divine Blessing is left to conclude there is something wrong with him or her, else, they too would have "received the Baptism".  Conversely, the one so privileged cannot but think he is in some way superior to those having never had the "Pentecostal experience".  Such distinctions have led to a sense of "class" or levels of spirituality (more pious / less pious) resulting in pride and exulting in the flesh.  The Apostle Paul taught that we are all Baptized by one Spirit into one body and that all are equally significant in the economy of Christ's Church (I Corinthians 12).

     In the previous arguments, we have considered the confusion and the divisiveness of Charismatic philosophy in order to show that such cannot be God’s answer for the loss of vitality in the Church of Jesus Christ.  Another very solid argument for a problem and solution other than the "Charismatic" one is the weight of Scripture cited by numerous Scholars clearly invalidating Charismatic claims.  Of the many authors who might have been quoted to make this point (see Bibliography of Works Consulted), I have chosen the  comments of three of the most widely known and frequently quoted Scholars in the Christian world as representative commentary relative to Spiritual gifts.  First, The keystone of Charismatic philosophy: Herman Bavinck, Dutch Theologian—

   "When the Revelation of God in Christ had taken place, and had become in Scripture and Church a constituent part of the Cosmos, then another era began.  As before everything was a preparation for Christ, so afterward everything is to be a consequence of Christ.  Then, Christ was being framed into the Head of His people.  Now, His people are being framed into the body of Christ.  Then, the Scriptures were being produced. Now, they are being applied." (Quoted in An Evaluation of Claims to the Charismatic Gifts, page 37 from Douglas Judisch, speaking of “that which is complete" I Corinthians 13:10—)

   'We conclude that the "complete" thing of verse 10 is, specifically, the complete Revelation of God through the medium of the prophetic gifts that the Lord Jesus bestowed upon his thirteen Apostles.  And if the Apostolic revelation be complete, then prophesying, tongues speaking, and prophetic knowledge can no longer exist according to the Apostle Paul ... Holy Scripture, therefore represents the complete and final Revelation of God for the Christian Church to the end of time." (Judisch, 49)

        Perhaps the most insightful comment comes from the third Scholar quoted.  In his book,   “Tongues, Then and Now”, George W. Marston says this:

     "We recognize the sincerity of most of the professing Christians who engage in glossalalia, the fact that they really believe that they are (exercising the Biblical gift of tongues), also, that they find pleasure in the sense of euphoria it produces.   However, since the Holy Spirit ceased to give the Biblical gift of tongues at the end of the Apostolic Age, those who engage in this practice... have permitted Satan to delude them into substituting a non language for a real language as the medium through which God in Holy Scripture speaks to and through His people, and the media through which we are to draw nigh to God in prayer through Christ." (Marston, page 117)

     To these scholarly comments refuting the Charismatic philosophy, I offer now, using the King James translators, a summary of my own study of the word, "tongues", and a reasonable and completely harmonious exposition of some greatly misunderstood Scriptures which, because they were misunderstood, have become the foundation of error-riddled Charismatic thought. 

     Following is a word study on the word, TONGUE(S) as translated from Greek in the KING JAMES version of the Bible, followed with a commentary on select verses contained in Paul's discussion of Spiritual gifts found in I Corinthians, Chapter 14 and others.  I would point out that I have attempted to be completely objective in this work, both in the word study and in the exposition of Scripture-verses relating to the subject of study. 

       The word "tongue" (singular) is used 32 times in the N.T.

       The word "tongues" (plural) is used 27 times in the N.T.

   In the original, the same Greek word (GLOSSA) is used variously to indicate the organ of the mouth OR a human language.  Even though CONTEXT clarifies which made no distinction, translating it TONGUE(S) each time it appeared in the GREEK manuscript.  

FOUR times, the plural form is used to speak of the organ of the mouth  the INSTRUMENT OF COMMUNICATION (as indicated by the CONTEXT) cf I Cor. 14:21, a quotation of Isaiah 8:11 12 where the Hebrew word LAWSHOWN, describes the organ of speech.

22 times, the plural form is used in a CONTEXT clearly denoting language,  the  MEDIUM OF COMMUNICATION.

Once, it is connected with the prefix, HETERO, to specify "other", or foreign languages (Utterances of non Hebrew peoples)

THREE TIMES, (John 5:2; Rev. 9:11; 16:16) the word is connected with the qualifier,  HEBRAISTI, to specify the HEBREW LANGUAGE, making a distinction between Hebrew and any non Hebrew form of language.

In Mark16:17, the word includes a prefix denoting a "new", or "fresh" concept or perspective being COMMUNICATED.  FIVE TIMES, the Greek word, DIALEKTOS, was also translated "tongue" (Acts 1:19; 2:8; 21:40; 22:2; 26:14) where Hebrew is being identified as the LANGUAGE being spoken.

At least THREE TIMES (James 3:6; I John 3:18; Mark 16:17) the CONTEXT clearly has to do with what is said, the idea being conveyed, or, implication of the utterance.  Again, the GREEK word GLOSSA was used in the ORIGINAL.

     In every instance NOT referring to the ORGAN OF THE MOUTH (INSTRUMENT OF COMMUNICATION), either a language or a specific dialect (MEDIUM of COMMUNICATION), or the idea or the message BEING COMMUNICATED is referred to.  Notice that COMMUNICATION  transmission of understandable information, ideas, or concepts  is clearly in view when the CONTEXT is honestly considered.

     Based on the preceding word study, it is clear that there are NO INSTANCES in the New Testament in which the word, "tongue(s)", ever refers to an unintelligible utterance of ecstasy (Gibberish), or to some "Heavenly" language being spoken by the Holy Spirit using the mouth of the speaker.  To the contrary, the honest analysis presented above demands the honest conclusion stated in the previous paragraph.  In each instance where CONTEXT indicates a foreign language (human, always), the ORIGINAL GREEK manuscript only used a single word (translated "tongue(s)" in English). 

     There is a reasonable assumption as to why this was done.  Rather than writing out, for instance, "He that speaketh [in a language which he has never learned, and which those hearing do not understand, but which the Holy Spirit has enabled him to use], does not speak unto men  but unto God: howbeit in the Spirit he speaketh mysteries." (I Cor.14:2), the single word, (GLOSSA) was used in place of the bracketed material for the sake of brevity in writing. Parchments (writing materials of the day) were expensive, therefore, saving words was a way of getting the most out of them.   In all probability, the single word-term gained popular use in spoken communication for essentially the same reason-brevity.  Use of the word, GLOSSA, in reference to the Spiritual gift or its manifestations was understood to imply everything contained in the example above.  We use the term "saved" in much the same way today, to describe the entire process by which someone comes to a saving knowledge of Christ. We use a single word-term that conveys the entire process involved in Salvation.

      When we say someone was "saved" it should be understood that we are saying [the person came to a crisis moment in which he or she realized their alienation to God, became deeply repentant, and with great agony of spirit and deep contrition, in child-like faith, called out to God to forgive them of their sins, add their names to the Lamb's Book of Life and lead them forward into a life of service to himself.]  Properly understood, the word saved implies everything contained in the italicized material just presented.  The reason I say this is a reasonable assumption is because the King James Translators clearly understood it the same way. This is evident in the fact that they supplied the word, "unknown", for clarification.  There is no justification for interpreting their addition of this word to mean an unintelligible utterance, as has already been pointed out.  Charismatics grossly misunderstand the meaning of this Scripture. I Corinthians 14:2 simply enunciates the truth that God, who understands all human languages since he originated them (see Gen. 11:7 9) would understand any language being spoken, even if no one else present did - including those spoken by Divine enablement (the "gift of tongues").  If I speak in a language that no one present understands, then, in a sense, I am only speaking to God, since He is the only one present who understands what I am saying.  That is exactly what this passage means. If one spoke in a language they had not learned and no one present could understand, then of course God would be the only one who knew what was said.

   The word "mysteries", or its singular form is used several times in the New Testament in reference to once hidden truths which have now been revealed because Messiah has come (see Eph.3:1 10; Col.1:5 9; Heb.1:1 2).  It DOES NOT refer to an utterance no one could make sense of without interpretation.  The idea is, that even though a speaker verbalizes revealed truth, if he speaks a language that no one present understands, then his utterances cannot edify the hearers. (read, carefully I Corinthians14 verses 5-12)

The word, edification (Gk. OIKODOMID) and its derivatives refer to construction of a sound understanding, a "building up" process, in which a foundational knowledge was built upon until a complete "building" of understanding had been constructed.  The main idea of Paul's discussion of spiritual gifts is that they are meant to contribute to the edification process in believers.  In the "building up" of the body of Christ, the primary idea is adding to believer's knowledge and understanding of Spiritual truth. 

     Paul’s example of praying in a language he does not understand is hypothetical (vs 14).  Notice, he is not saying that he or anybody else does this; he is simply illustrating the truth he has already stated concerning UNDERSTANDING.  If, he says, he were to pray in a language he did not understand, his spiritual attitude would be one of prayer which is good but the utterance would have no meaning for him.  He would be mouthing words with no COMMUNICATION.  Of course, such is not possible, since prayer is an expression of the heart directed by the mind through the lips (if vocal), which involves the UNDERSTANDING.  Indeed, any utterance, if it is to have meaning,  must communicate the thoughts and ideas of the speaker in intelligible form.   Otherwise, the utterance becomes a meaningless sound, as Paul points out in verses 7-11.  Note: most of my remaining comments are based on I Corinthians, Chapter 14) 

       Paul brings the point home effectively by using himself and his own multi lingual abilities as an illustration.  In verse 18, he says he is thankful to be fluent in more languages than most of his readers, "Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding (that are understood) that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue" (language foreign to the hearers).  Thus, he shows the importance of COMMUNICATION for any utterance in the church..

     Considering the context, Paul's mention of his own command of foreign languages is not a reference to the "gift".  Clearly, it only refers to a natural multi lingual ability which Paul had acquired in his studies and exposure to various cultures.  Paul was truly a citizen of the world of his day, having traveled much and lived in many different places for various periods.  It is very likely he had learned at least five or six different languages or dialects by the time he wrote I Corinthians. 

     The main point we need to catch here is the lack of importance Paul places on his multi lingual capability.  The notion that the Holy Spirit takes control of the spirit of the speaker and speaks a "heavenly language" using his vocal apparatus has no Scriptural foundation.  Such a notion is absurd, because it places God in the position of talking to himself while the speaker is oblivious, with nothing whatsoever being contributed to his understanding or to anyone else’s.  Charismatics mistakenly use a mis-appropriation of Scripture to defend the notion of a "prayer language", which they insist "edifies and refreshes" them Spiritually. 

     This idea originates in an erroneous understanding of Paul’s statement in Romans 8:26.  The gist of this statement is clear in the original Greek construction.  What Paul is saying is that because God’s Spirit is in us, we have deep yearnings toward the consummation of his kingdom and our own bodily deliverance from this life into that eternal state which we can only anticipate now.  Paul says this (the consummation) is something we ought to pray for, only except for the “thy kingdom come” of what we call “the Lord’s Prayer”, we don’t know how to pray as we ought.  So, he says the (Holy) Spirit, knowing the deep yearnings which we find ourselves unable to verbalize in prayer adequately, intercedes for us with God, expressing our deepest yearnings to him about  that ultimate redemption, which will signal his deliverance of the church (his disciples) from the tribulations and limitations of this present world. Nothing at all is said in this passage that would justify the idea of the Holy Spirit's using our voice to speak a "heavenly" language to God in the process of his intercession for us.  The communication takes place in the mind of God as he discerns the mind of Him who makes intercession for the Saints.

     The simple explanation of the miracle gift of "tongues" is this: when those so gifted were prompted by the Holy Spirit to speak (communicate) his truth, he enhanced their understanding and inspired their thoughts.  Then, as they began to verbalize what they wanted to say, he caused the utterance to come forth in a language they could not otherwise have spoken a valid, human language which the speaker had never learned.  Paul guards against any misunderstanding of his meaning by the statement that the speakers (prophets Gk. PROPHETES), WHO WERE INSPIRED BY THE HOLYSPIRIT TO SPEAK (communicate something) to others, are in control of their own spirits and, therefore, of their utterances.  They were not entranced, but knew they were speaking and what they were saying. 

     Furthermore, even though they may not have understood their own speech, if they had not learned the language they were speaking, they would, nonetheless, have had full understanding of the thoughts being expressed, since all communications originate with ideas and thought processes of the mind.  Verse 32 is the key to clearly understanding this explanation.  (..and the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets".)  This explanation is also consistent with Luke’s account of the initial manifestation of the gift on the day of Pentecost (see Acts 2:4 11).  Notice, verse 4 says they spoke"as the spirit gave them utterance", that is, as he prompted them and inspired them to speak.  The fact that WHAT they spoke was intelligible, human language (albeit one many of them had not learned) is made clear by verse 11: "Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak IN OUR LANGUAGES THE WONDERFUL WORKS OF GOD." (Note,KJV uses "tongues" here, although LANGUAGES is undeniably the contextual meaning). 

     Also notice, the phrase "the wonderful works of God" indicates WHAT was being said, and that it was being UNDERSTOOD by the hearers.  The resulting communication was a mixture of  their own inspired thought processes and the language medium (language) selected by the Holy Spirit to be used in expressing those thoughts.  They were not simply a passive voice box for the Holy Spirit’s thoughts to be expressed, independent of the mind of the speaker.  This idea is completely absurd.  The whole point of what Paul is saying is this: any utterance resulting from the use of the gift of "other languages" (which is all "tongues" really means  vs. 21) is absolutely meaningless, valueless and even ridiculous unless it results in a valid COMMUNICATION.  He is actually rebuking some who had the gift for abusing it. These were merely using it to impress others even when they knew that no meaningful communication was taking place.  They were creating a carnival atmosphere, calling attention, not to the "wonderful works of God" revealed in the gospel, but to THEMSELVES.   (Much like that seen and heard in many Charismatic churches today)

      This gift, as the other gifts Paul lists in chapter 12, was "not without signification" (vs. 10 11).  That is, not without meaning, or purpose.  It was not given to serve believers in any way, especially not to provide them with an emotional thrill or "rush". Paul explains the purpose of this gift in the clearest possible terms beginning with verse 21, where he quotes a prophecy of Isaiah concerning God speaking to his people: "with men of other tongues and other lips...Wherefore tongues are for a SIGN, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not." he concludes in verse 22.  The reference is to Isaiah 28:11 12, and in that context, Isaiah is telling the stiffnecked Hebrews that at some future time, God would use non Hebrews or Israelites who spoke non Hebrew languages to speak his truth to them. 

     Paul is explaining that the gift presently being manifest is the fulfillment of that prophecy this was the SIGN Isaiah spoke of.  THIS WAS THE MEANING OR PURPOSE of the gift of "tongues"; God was confirming to the Jews that Messiah had come and that the gospel now being preached was true and was for them. Two things are clear in Isaiah's  prophecy: First, "speak" is the Hebrew word DABAR, meaning to COMMUNICATE.  In the context, the idea was to "entreat" or "plead" to appeal to them.  Secondly, through this miraculous form of communication, a clear "sign" was manifest regarding their promised redemption.  God was saying, in effect, "It is true, the arm of my salvation has been revealed in Jesus, whom ye slew.  Repent, therefore and believe the gospel". 

     In fact, Peter explained it almost exactly this way in his sermon at Pentecost, except he refers to a similar prophecy from the pen of Joel (See Acts 2:14 40).  Whereas, Joel spoke of various "signs and wonders" (which included the supernatural gifts of the Spirit) as marking "the latter days", Isaiah spoke more specifically of the gift of "tongues" as God would use it to preach to Israel the message of their salvation in Christ.  It is important to notice that Paul said this SIGN was not for believers, but UNBELIEVERS, those (mostly Jews) who ‘believed not’.

     Not only did this supernatural ability to speak another human language (or languages) provide communication of the gospel in the usual sense, it also communicated a strong validation of the message being preached by the Apostles because of the SIGN it provided the unbelieving Jews.  Believers needed neither the sign nor the message being spoken in a language they did not understand.  If the message was intended to be understood by those who could neither speak nor understand the language in use, the Holy Spirit enabled someone to interpret (another spiritual gift).  In fact, apart from the "sign" aspect, Paul acknowledges potential value for the use of the gift of "tongues" if, and only if, an interpreter were present to decipher the message so that all the hearers would be edified.  No interpreter being present, the gift was NOT to be used (vs. 27 28).  Nothing could be clearer.

          Concerning the "sign" aspect, it is important to notice that in the three instances where the gift is mentioned in the Book of Acts, either Jews or proselytes (Gentiles converted to Judaism) were present to witness the "sign"     (see Acts 2:4 12; 10:44 48; 19:1 7).   In the Acts 2 reading, at least fifteen different Nationalities are mentioned as having representation in Jerusalem for Pentecost.   Even so, this is probably not meant to be a complete list, for Luke says in verse five there were Jews present from "every nation under heaven".     Verse seven says the speakers were all Galileans who would ordinarily have spoken only Hebrew or, even more likely, Aramaic.  The emphasis here is that all of them heard and understood the disciples speaking, not their native Aramaic. but the languages of the foreigners present in Jerusalem for Pentecost.  Any skeptical Jews reminded of Isaiah's prophecy would have had to acknowledge this as its fulfillment.  Also, notice the words Luke uses in Acts 10:45: "the circumcised believers who had come with Peter...were astonished, for they heard them (Cornelius and hishousehold) speaking "with tongues" (other languages) and praising God." 

          It is obvious from this reading that these Caesareans, who would normally have spoken Greek, were speaking a language they had never known, or spoken.  The fact that those who accompanied Peter from Joppa to Caesarea were "orthodox" Jews make it obvious that the "sign" gift was manifest in this instance to confirm to them, and to Peter, that the Gospel was also to be the means of God's salvation for Gentiles, something they found hard to believe because of prejudice.  That the utterances "with tongues" were understood, human language is made clear by the fact they knew they were "praising God." If it had been "jibberish" they did not understand, it would not have been known what was said.  Quite possibly, some of these Greeks were speaking pure Hebrew!

    In each instance, we have converts to Christ either "praising God" or, "declaring his wonderful works" in languages they had not learned, but which were recognized and understood by other Jews or Jewish converts.  The gospel was thus being authenticated to them both by word and "sign", in fulfillment of prophecy.  The same principle is clearly involved with the incident at Ephesus, where Paul preached to 12 men who had not heard the Gospel.  When they were converted, the sign of "tongues" followed, authenticating their "new birth".  In this instance, Luke says they "prophesied" in languages they had not learned speaking God's truths as they were prompted, and with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  In each instance, the miracle convinced the Jews that God was saving Gentiles!

       Another significant truth already mentioned needs further development at this point.  As we have seen, the spiritual gift of "tongues" (other languages) fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah regarding the "sign" of God speaking to Israel through "other tongues and other lips" (Is. 28:11 12).  I briefly mentioned the distinction between Paul’s reference to Isaiah's prophecy of a "sign" and Peter's reference to Joel's prophecy of various events that would be characteristic of the "latter (last) days" (Joel 2:28 32).  I want to emphasize that Peter's reason for quoting Joel is to emphasize that the events of Pentecost (Acts 2) signaled the "beginning of the last days", adding greater urgency to the preaching of the gospel as well as responding to it.  This was an effective tactic in Peter's sermon, because the resultant response reaped three thousand converts (vs 41).

          The Lord Jesus himself alluded to the Gospel-validating purpose of this gift when he included it in a list of "signs" that would "follow them that believe" (Mark 16:17 18), all of which had been fulfilled by the end of the first century.  It is interesting to notice that these "signs" were mentioned in the context of our Lord's commission to preach the gospel in all the world.  The power of the gospel and His blessed presence were both to be confirmed by these signs, and they were.  Such confirmation is not necessary today. Prompted by the negative effects resulting from abuse of the gift of "tongues", as well as from the imitation of the gift by those attempting to gain attention for themselves,  Paul was compelled to prescribe guidelines for its proper use in the church (vs 26 33). 

          Notice his emphasis on the necessity of interpretation.  In fact, he says if no one can interpret a message delivered in a foreign language, the gift was not to be used at all (vs 28).    Communication of understandable information serves to "edification" (building up), while noncommunication only creates confusion  and God, he says, is not involved in such (vs 33).  He closes his discussion of the subject with the admonition, "Wherefore, brethren covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.  Let all things be done decently and in order." (vs 39 40)

      A note of explanation is in order concerning the above two verses.  Much of the first letter to the Corinthians consists of Paul's answers to the questions asked him in a letter from the Corinthian church (see Chapter 7 verse 1).  The orderly sequence and progression of thought concerning different subjects is clearly evident as Paul moves from topic to topic.  Certainly, one may infer something about the questions from the "answers" Paul gives. The fact that Paul uses three chapters (12, 13, 14) in explaining "spiritual gifts" implies a crucial need for a right understanding of the subject.  That this discussion is Paul's response to one of the problems the church wrote  to him about, is made clear in the way he makes the transition from his previous discussion of the Lord's Supper in chapter 11.  Notice how he begins Chapter 12:  "Now concerning spiritual gifts..."etc.  The continuity and progression of thought on the subject of spiritual gifts clearly encompasses all of chapters 12, 13, and 14 and culminates with verses 39 and 40 of Chapter 14.  (Chapter 14, contains most of the "corrective" material.)  It is clear then, that one of the Corinthian's questions concerning spiritual gifts had as its basis the confusion and "carnival atmosphere" being created by some in the Church who were abusing the gift of tongues, and by others who were imitating it, just as many Charismatics are attempting to do today.

     Based on Paul's answer, the question that was asked, probably was something on the order of "Should we forbid the use of this gift altogether, seeing it is so disruptive as it is now being misused?"  I draw this inference from the "critical" tone of Chapter 14.  It is logical, therefore, that Paul, after discussing the gifts in general and tongues in particular would close his discussion of the subject by giving them an answer based on that discussion.  He has shown that although the other gifts are of much greater importance and usefulness to the church, the gift of tongues does have a valid function if, and only if, it is used properly. Thus, verse 39 makes perfect sense as the answer, and verse 40 is a fitting admonition with which to close the discussion. Paraphrasing, Paul says,"No. don't forbid the use of this gift, but desire rather to be able to clearly speak forth the things of God."  (Read again, verses 11 and 12)

     A commentary on I Corinthians would hardly be complete without addressing the claims of some that, firstly, the gifts are still valid for use today, and secondly, that the gift of "tongues" was meant for all Christians.  I don't intend to make an in depth case, but I would like to make some observations regarding these two claims.  To begin with, I subscribe to the wisdom of scholars far more learned than I, who have made a distinction between those gifts which played a specific role during the apostolic beginnings of the church  (withdrawn when they had served their purpose), and those which, logically, were intended to continue thereafter.  Paul alludes to this principle in I Corinthians 13:8 10, where he speaks of the "passing" and "ceasing" of certain gifts "...when that which is perfect (complete) is come..". 

     I concur with the scholars who have understood "that which is perfect" to be a reference to the completed canon of Scripture, the Bible as we now have it.  The point here is that certain gifts clearly had a limited and specific function which coincided with the infancy of Christ's church when no Bible existed yet, whereas certain others would continue to be useful to the church until Christ's return.  When Divine revelation was still being given, the gifts of prophecy and special wisdom would have been essential.  Also, when the process of confirming the Gospel message and its power to save was still "in season", in the economy of God, "miracles" and "signs" were necessarily working in the church. The gifts of tongues, (ability to speak foreign languages) and the interpretation of tongues helped serve this purpose, as we have shown.  With the completion of Scripture, their purpose had been served and the Gospel message had been fully validated, therefore, they were withdrawn.

     Concerning the claim that the gift of tongues is meant for ALL Christians (or was, originally), let Scripture speak for itself.  In I Corinthians 12, where Paul begins his discussion of spiritual gifts, he speaks of them as being given "diversely", that is to say, different gifts were given to different members of the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit to the profit of all (vs. 4 11).  Then, beginning with verse 27 Paul lists some of the gifts given in the body of Christ in the order of their importance.  It is significant that the gift of tongues is LAST on this list.  Finally, Paul asks, "Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?  Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?"  Paul's obvious intent with this multi faceted question is to make the point that ALL were NOT intended even then, when all the gifts were active--to have or to receive the same gifts.  The implied answer to each of these questions is an emphatic NO.  Professor MacDonald's assertion  is proven totally absurd! Another point to note is Paul's statement in I Corinthians 14:5: "I would (be glad if it were possible) that ye all spake with tongues but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying".  ("greater", meaning of greater benefit to the Church.)    

     Three observations here will conclude this analysis.  First is the fact that by saying, in effect, that it would be nice if they all had the ability to speak foreign languages plainly implies that they DID NOT.  A second clear refutation of the claim that this gift was originally for ALL Christians.  The second point I want to make here is that what we have just seen also refutes the notion that "speaking in tongues" is the certain evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.  Otherwise, there would be thousands of Born Again believers in the Body of Christ, who have never been baptized in the Holy Spirit, another absurdity embraced by Dr J. Rodman Williams. Paul says no man can (know Jesus as Lord) "but by the Holy Spirit" (I Cor.12:3).  Also, the entire eighth chapter of Romans is a discussion of the person and work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, and verse 9 clearly says that anyone who does not have the Holy Spirit "is none of his."  We receive the Holy Spirt at conversion, and his indwelling becomes God's "earnest" to us of our union with Christ and of our present possession of eternal life! (II Cor 1:22, Eph 1:13-14)  Unquestionably, ALL Christians must have the Holy Spirit or they aren"t Christians at all.  I Corinthians 6:19 clearly says the Holy Spirit is in all who have been born again.  It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit within us that we are able to produce the fruit of which Paul speaks in Galatians 5:22, and by which we can know the Father intimately enough to cry "Abba, (actually, the endearing term, “Daddy) Father" (Romans 8:15).

      Finally, my third observation is the very one Paul himself is making: Prophesying, (speaking clearly the truths of God contained in the gospel) is of far greater value to the church than the gift of tongues, unless interpretation results in a valid communication.  The Baptism of the Holy Spirit spoken of in Scripture--the only Spirit "Baptism" there is--is that which Paul speaks of as the "washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost" by which, according to his mercy, he saved us (Titus 3:5).  No "second work of grace" taught here, simply Salvation and Holy Spirit Baptism irrefutably tied together by the great Apostle Paul!  One Holy Spirit baptism, not two!              

     Lest anyone complain that I have ignored the Scriptual admonition to "be filled with the Spirit", let me point out that this verse (Ephesians 5:18) clearly has the sense of continuous action, which is evident by the verb in the Greek.  What Paul is saying here is "Keep on being filled with the Spirit so that you will be under Spirit control." If you are full of wine, you are controlled by its effect, but if you are full of the Holy Spirit, you will be Spirit controlled.                 

     Reviewing then, we have established the following:

1.   The word "tongues" is used in a summary like fashion of this gift to simplify references to it.  It means, "the Divinely given ability to speak an unlearned language."  No verifiable evidence exists, proving Charismatic utterance to be any legitimate language known to man, although such claims are made by Charismatics to legitimize their utterances.  If challenged on this point, Charismatics will seek to identify their jibberish  as the language of "the Angels", or "the Heavenly" language.

2.   The languages spoken in the early church and which were referred to as "tongues", were fully human, and were being used by some national or ethnic group, somewhere in the known world during the first century.

3.   The gift was given for two basic reasons:

   a. To mark the beginning of fulfillment of Joel's prophecy concerning the  "last days". Peter emphasized this in his explanation of the gift (Acts 2)

   b. As a sign, primarily to unbelieving Jews, authenticating the gospel message and validating its power to save.  (even Gentiles)   It was definitely NOT given to Provide a moment of emotional ecstasy for the speaker, nor was it "the Holy Spirit speaking to God." using the vocal chords of the entranced speaker.

 4.  Given primarily as a "sign to unbelievers", the proper exercise of the gift   provided believers with additional communication and clarification of Divine truth.  For the unbelieving Jews, it validated that God's Salvation had been revealed in Christ, and that Christ’s work was intended to include Gentiles.

         5. The notion of a "heavenly" language, given for use by Christians to "talk to   God" has no foundation in Scripture.  It springs, rather, from a complete  misunderstanding, and misappropriation of Romans 8:26, 1 Corinthians 14:2   and verses 14 17, and 28.

       6. Edification (building up) of the church, was possible ONLY when use of the gift provided legitimate communication to the hearers. The term edification has two aspects: adding converts, and Spiritual growth, but Paul's main use of it was in reference to SPIRITUAL GROWTH.

7.   In terms of the language being spoken, unless he was also given the gift of  interpretation, the speaker knew only the basic ideas involved in his utterance  and it would be very difficult for him to try to translate the message exactly into his native language without doing violence to it.  For this reason, Paul forbade the use of the gift without an interpreter being present.

 8.   Paul's affirmation that "the spirits of the prophets are subject to the “prophets”  refutes the notion that those speaking under the inspiration of the  Holy Spirit were "entranced", or in any wise only the passive tools (voice boxes) of the Holy Spirit.  Although their thoughts were inspired, they had full control of themselves and could choose to speak or not to speak.

  9.  Paul's objective in writing I Corinthians 14 is three fold: First, to explain   the meaning and purpose of the gift of "tongues"; Secondly, to prescribe criteria for its proper use; and thirdly, to rebuke those who were guilty of abusing and misusing the gift.  He repeatedly emphasizes EDIFICATION as the only justification for its use.

10. Finally, the claims of some that all the spiritual gifts were intended to continue indefinitely, and that the language gift was meant for ALL are both clearly refuted by careful, honest analysis of the Scripture.  The same is true of the notion that Holy Spirit Baptism is always evidenced by "speaking in tongues", or, conversely, that "speaking in tongues" is the sure evidence of Spirit baptism.

       Since, as we have shown, the gift of languages (tongues) has served its purpose in the church and is no longer given, that which is called "speaking in tongues" today is nothing more than a form of "gibberish", at best an outburst of unrestrained emotion which has nothing whatsoever to do with the Holy Spirit.  True Holy Spirit Baptism occurs only once, at conversion, and the believer is urged to be continually "full of the Spirit", a euphemism for being under the control of the Holy Spirit, at all times and for the rest of their lives, something which is possible only through diligent attendance to our Spiritual growth!  (More on this, later)

         Space forbids additional illustrations, though many could be cited.  However, the point has been adequately demonstrated that both scholarship and the weight of Scripture brand Pentecostalism as a human notion and, therefore, it cannot be God"s answer to the problem of an ineffectual, anemic Church.

        When I began this exercise, my only purpose was to provide a scholarly study of this controversial topic.  The questions I have had and confusion I have both felt and seen in others regarding this phenomenon has exercised me more than any other topic related to Spiritual matters.  I have spent many hours in research, reading the Scriptures, and praying fervently for answers and for a correct understanding of the Spiritual gifts, and particularly the gift of tongues.  I am fully satisfied that God has been faithful in allowing me to gain a much sought after understanding, so that I might be able to share with others the truths that will set them free from confusion, just as they have set me free. 

       Honest and objective analysis of Scripture have led to the conclusions I've drawn, and I believe they are both reasonable, accurate, and true to Scripture.  I would not dare attempt merely to promote a personal prejudice, even if I had one.  My views must be based on sound reading of Scripture, otherwise they are only my opinions.  Far be it from me to employ preference for a certain doctrine or prejudice, or anything other than ‘rightly dividing the word of truth’ in attempting to shed Scriptural light on one of the most misunderstood and divisive subjects troubling Christ’s Church today.  I have not meant to be critical of any persons in this topic, but I did set out to correct error, which is having a negative effect on our Lord's agenda.  It is my sincere hope that some who read this chapter will find the answers they need to settle in their minds, once and for all, how they should understand these matters.

         If, as we have proved, the Charismatic philosophy and practice is not what it claims to be, what is it?  Just what role, if any, does it play in the Church of today?  In the opinion of this writer, it is simply another symptom of what is really wrong with the Church.  In his quest for relevance in religion and fulfillment as a Christian, the sincere Charismatic has simply reached out "into left field" for something to take his faith out of the abstract and make it relevant to everyday life.  It has thus, unwittingly, become a part of the very problem it tries so desperately to solve.  The Charismatic Movement, with its enthusiastic and sincere beginnings, has become and remains a tool of Satan in  promulgating confusion and division in the Church of Jesus Christ!  Sad to say, herein lies the real significance of the Charismatic philosophy (and make no mistake about it; it is only a man-made philosophy).

         It is with studied certainty and deepest conviction that I shall now address what I consider to be the real root cause of deadness in the Church, along with what I feel is the obvious means of revival and the only solution.  Simply stated; the gradual evolution of Church "form" and tradition (in other words, our “religion” and NOT pure Christianity) has obscured to us the perspective held by the earliest Christians, which formed their view of reality and was the source of their vitality.  This has been lost through centuries of changing Christianity into various forms of ‘religion’, all of which identify themselves with the label, ‘Christian’.

    Those living in Jesus’ day, who were making an honest attempt to serve God were hindered from doing so by the traditions of their religious background.  Misconceptions and false assumptions about spiritual realities which confronted the Lord Jesus did not spring up suddenly, but were the product of hundreds of years of evolving tradition.  The same is true of Christianity today.  The sense of urgency and the zeal for evangelism that characterized the first century church no longer provide the same motivation today.  Somewhere along the way, the very purpose and function of the Church have become obscured in the ‘practice’ of Christianity, while, at the same time, those in the Body of Christ known as "the laity" have been downgraded by tradition to little more than spectators at religious events.

       The sad truth is, our concepts of the Church, its mission, and our own identities as Christians have become confused and distorted.  The clear perspective of Biblcal reality which directed the earliest Christians has been lost!  That perspective must be restored,   otherwise, individual Christian lives will flounder, marred by immaturity, cursed by confusion, and fraught with frustration and fruitlessness.  As a result, fewer people are being attracted to Christ, and many who desperately seek relevance in their Christianity are giving up or drifting into deviate forms of Christianity.  It is my conviction that the problem of deadness in the Church stems from skewed perspectives, resulting from years of evolving Church tradition.  Spiritual immaturity runs rampant, and we've lost sight of who we are and what we are all about!  I will now move directly to what I see as the only real solution.

      The key to revival of a vibrant, growing Church is restoration of true, Bible based  DISCIPLESHIP!!  This will not be possible until Biblical perspective is first reintroduced and accepted by the Church.  The Divine purpose in Creation and Redemption and the nature and role of Christ's Church in eternity must, somehow, be communicated to a Church which has little or no understanding of such concepts.  They must be made to realize that the only valid expression of the Christian life, of genuine New Birth  is an actively growing, Christ loving Disciple whose prime motivation in life is lifting up the Redeemer to a lost Human Race!  The Christian Gospel has got to be relevant to life!   In other words, we must let God become real, rather than abstract in our lives.  Faith becomes meaningful only when we are fully Involved with the Eternal Reality.

      The key to success is allowing him to be the motivating force in our lives, and finding our purpose for existence in the Great Commission.  Such was the case with Paul, who exclaimed, "for me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21).  Paul's life and consummate devotion to Jesus Christ was a reflection of the perspective which motivated all true Disciples of his day.  Their lives were merely a natural response to New Birth, coupled with full appreciation for the implications of the Eternal plan for those who are Christ's, and, a sense of urgency to carry the Gospel to the lost. 

       Included in the perspective of the early Christians was the conviction that Jesus could return at any moment, ending this world as we know it (II Peter 3:10 18).  The early Christians were Christ"s "Disciples indeed" (see John 8:31). They took seriously Paul's inspired description of them as "new creatures", who had been given a Divine Ambassadorship and the "ministry of reconciliation", II Corinthians 5:17 20.  They took personally the words of Jesus concerning the conditions of Discipleship and His "ordination" of them to evangelize the world (see Luke 14:26 35; John 15:16; Matthew 28:19 20).   And, they responded to His plea for obedience (John 14:15,21,23).

      What this implies is, that the common "practice" of Christianity today and what we are doing in "church"  is really a "form of godliness, denying the power thereof" spoken of by Paul (II Timothy 3:5).  Living life for its own sake, while embracing a "Religion" we are comfortable with, has replaced true Spiritual growth and genuine Discipleship, which were at the heart of the early church’s vitality and effectiveness.  We are born into the Kingdom of God, with the potential for all things to "become new" (11 Corinthians 5:17).  Instead, we continue life as usual, simply dropping some old habits and picking up some new Christian ones.  Some of our attitudes may change as we take up our "new way" of living, but the truth is, we fail to recognize the most important truth of Discipleship, oblivious to the fact that when we embraced Christ, we took on a totally new identity, and our lives were given meaning and purpose with eternal implications.

       Somehow, we must be made to understand that life after conversion is truly "out of this world" that the true meaning of our existence is not the living of life for all the enjoyment we can squeeze out of it.   Rather, our new life in Christ involves us in an increasingly intense relationship with the Lord Jesus, resulting in our catching His burden for the salvation of the lost and committing ourselves to being His disciples, first and foremost.  When we read the Scriptures that speak about the "old man" of our "former conversations", we tend to think only in terms of the sinful ways of our pre conversion life.  What we fail to realize is that New life in Christ is more than simply positional, with only future implications (Eph. 4:17 24).  Putting off the "old man" also includes letting go of the value system of this world, focusing on the spiritual and devoting our energies to Spiritual Growth and the salvation of others.  Rather than devoting all our energy to improving our standard of living, our priority should be to grow in Grace and the knowledge of our Lord, while becoming more proficient in sharing our Faith with others. (II Pet.3:18).

          Peter, who understood before anyone else the implications of discipleship, provides the element of urgency to Christian perspective by reminding us of the very temporary nature of the present world (II Peter 3:10 18).  Paul told the Thessalonian believers the same thing (I Thessalonians 5:1 6; II Thessalonians 1:8 12).  The Lord Himself had much to say about the conditions of discipleship, as did James and John.

          (see Matthew 16:24 25; James 1:22 25; I John 2:15 17)

       If the key to revival is Discipleship, the key to successful Discipleship is Spiritual growth.  The absolute essential of Spiritual growth is demonstrated by comparing ourselves with the "fruit of the Spirit" passages in Galatians 5:22 24; Ephesians 5:9, and Colossians 3:12 17.  Our ineptness in the most basic of all Christian attributes—love-- tells us that we must grow!  Even the great Apostle Paul confessed his need of spiritual growth in Phillipians 3:10-15.  Those who apply themselves to Spiritual growth soon begin to experience the deeper joys of the Christian life with full consciousness of what is going on!   There is no need for a ‘second work of grace’.  Proper Christian growth is gradual and continuous, building stronger and more efficient disciples!

        To be a Christian, is to be a Disciple of Jesus Christ, not in any vague or abstract sense, but literally, daily, where we really live!  Such discipleship is impossible without Spiritual growth.  Not until he grasps the full implications of being Christ's disciple, will the Christian's true identity and life mission become clear to him.  But, this will only happen when we earnestly seek deeper levels of understanding and are willing to be taught by and obedient to the Holy Spirit.  With Spiritual growth comes development of Eternal Perspective which, according to Luke, resulted in Christ followers of his day "turning the world upside down" (Acts 17:6)

       God is beginning His final countdown.   He is calling those who are sincerely interested in following Christ to arise and be the Disciples they were born again to become.  Across denominational lines, he is inspiring his preachers with a common plea--"Dump the baggage of religious tradition and get on with the work of being Jesus' Disciples!  Away with religious formality and sanctimonious ritual!   Away with cheap, easy believism, and with shallow, empty emotionalism!  Give us a Church that is serious about God, separated from the world, motivated by the urgency of the hour and the value of souls, who will be obedient to the Great Commission!!"

     The task for God's people today is clear. We must renew our determination to give Christ top priority and rededicate ourselves to Spiritual growth.  If all born again believers would simply start doing what they are told in Scripture to do, we would see a revival of the sort not known since the days of Jehoiada, Hezekiah, and Josiah (IIChronicles 23; 29; 31; & 34). We would see a Church on fire for God like it was in the days of Peter, Paul and Barnabas!

      Without doubt, the Church needs revival, as even our Charismatic folk are aware.  But the root of the problem lies in an evolving Church tradition which has obliterated the Eternal perspective.  And the answer, the solution we all seek lies in a rediscovery of true Discipleship.   We must begin immediately to seek, not Spiritual gifts, but Spiritual growth, which comes not with a rush of emotions but by study and diligent prayer.  The gifts we need are already given.  Ours is but to discern and develop them.  More true Discipleship is what we need!  Only an awakening of the "Eternal Perspective" held by the First Century Church will restore the vitality they possessed, and produce the kind of results they enjoyed!  Only then will the world again be "turned upside down", as thousands embrace the Gospel and receive Christ! 

    Who knows, perhaps the awakening of which I speak, if it happens, just may be the mechanism God will use in the twenty first century to bring the present Israelite Nation to their Messiah in fulfillment of prophecy!  May it be so, Lord Jesus.  Let your sweet Holy Spirit descend upon us, correct us and teach us Discipleship!!

       The Second Mega-Movement I want to bring to your attention is related to the Charismatic movement and is notoriously problematic, for both new seekers of truth and many others who think themselves to be standing on a firm foundation of understanding and knowledge, but who just may be deceived. This is the topic of discussion in the next chapter.

    Chapter Five—“Name it and Claim it” the Prosperity gospel

        I have avoided making this an expose of many of the main players in Denominationalism, only touching on a few of the most destructive religious movements that I recognize as being very much a part of the general spirit of ‘anti-Christ’ that is at work in Christendom today, and which are being used by Satan to do great violence to Christ’s followers and many would-be followers who are seeking fulfillment and peace with God and being confronted instead with many confusing and contradictory doctrines.   There are books available that go into much greater detail, explaining the various ‘religions’ which have evolved out of Christianity and which now serve to promote their own versions of religious belief and practice. One growing and troublesome religious movement I’m only going to mention is led by none other than Opra Winfrey.  It is a kind of mixture of ‘New Age’ and watered-down Christianity but is DEFINITELY NOT CHRISTIANITY! However, in my own quest to promote truth and expose error I cannot avoid pointing out the fallacies and destructive effects on the Church of Jesus Christ that the ‘Prosperity Gospel’, or ‘Word/Faith’ movement is causing.

          Teachers and preachers who espouse the views of this brand of Christianity are primarily interested in numbers—higher attendance, more givers, bigger and more elaborate edifices and memberships in the thousands.  Generally speaking, these bodies have somewhat evolved from once ‘Charasmatic’ groups who’ve found the ‘supernatural’ flavor of their services to be waning in popularity.  Some still retain a bit of the ‘hocus pocus’ flavor for the sake of those who cling to that, while they’ve modified their approach to ‘worship’ with heavy emphasis on music and ‘praise’ songs.  All of which seems innocent enough, but the problem arising from that is the Gospel becomes obscured and in some cases is left out altogether. It pains me to see so much non-productive ‘religious’ activity (in terms of people not hearing the convicting truth that generates true, life-changing repentance) being carried on in Jesus’ name each week.  Even when dozens are added to church rolls and some of them are baptized to symbolize their ‘commitments’ to Christ, the question must be asked, do they really understand what they are doing and are all of them truly being ‘saved’ in the Biblical sense?   Only time will tell, I suppose, and Christ himself will ultimately be their Judge. I am writing this book in an effort to bring much needed light to that most important question.

     I fear that at least some of these same souls will be among those who, when they seek entrance into His eternal Kingdom, citing their religious lives, will hear Jesus say, “I never knew you! Depart from me, you who work iniquity”! It is this uncertainty and Jesus’ warning that I am responding to with this book. Too many will hear those dreaded words from the lips of our Blessed Lord, explaining why he said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate; for Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.  Because straight is the gate and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it”!  Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23  I repeat, it is exactly this warning and the narrow scope Jesus attributes to those who will enter into His eternal Kingdom that has motivated me to write this book. The word “FEW” haunts me constantly as I consider the status of the MANY who occupy the religious masses, so many of whom are deceived as to their own relationship with God! The false sense of security they feel is based on inadequate teaching and mis-guided teachers. What you need to know is that Satan’s number one priority is to deceive and entrap.

     The Apostles themselves were apparently deeply concerned about the very thing I’m talking about, even in the earliest days of evangelism.  For example, Paul warned the Colossian Church, “Beware less any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of this world, and not after Christ”! (Collosians 2:8 KJV) In his letter to his own fellow Christian and companion in ministry, Timothy, Paul wrote, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away”! (IITimothy 3:1-5 KJV)

     There are many similar warnings throughout the New Testament and from all the God-inspired writers, admonishing their readers to be on guard against false teachers and erroneous doctrines that could corrupt their delicate and vulnerable hearts, destroying their devotion to Christ and to the truth the Apostles taught as they went about preaching the Gospel and making disciples.  Even in those earliest days of the Church there were many evil men at work, seeking to exploit the innocence and instability of baby Christians, telling them things contrary to sound doctrine and attempting to recruit them to into their deviate religious movements motivated by gaining wealth and fame.  The Apostle Peter warned those to whom he wrote, “And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not”. (2 Peter 2:3 KJV)

     It is exactly what we see at work all too often in today’s religious maelstrom, with thousands of sincere seekers of truth being led astray with false and appealing doctrines that are pleasant to the ear and appealing to some of our more human instincts.  If I tell you God wants all his Children to be rich and successful, getting pretty much anything they can ever imagine or wish for, and all you have to do to make that a reality is to say it, believe it and expect it, and assume that God is going to make it so……Well, you can see how popular I would become, especially if I presented myself as a minister of that philosophy and showed you the wealth and success God had heaped on me as proof! Actually, this approach appeals to the gambling spirit in the natural man!  Getting a lot of something by investing a  token amount of something. ‘Sowing seed’ to ‘harvest God’s blessing’.

I don’t need to name names here, because those false teachers who are even today making themselves rich in this manner are known by most to be charlatans and false prophets. It is truly amazing how many gullible people are led into such ‘ministries’, making the leaders richer every year.  Both male and female, they are easily recognizable by the massive ministries they are responsible for, with expensive mansions—often more than one—and luxury all around them…cars, airplanes, jewelry and the finest clothes money can buy!  Many of these false teachers pastor mega-churches with literally thousands of members, who think supporting them and their ministry is the doorway to certain success, both in terms of financial security and securing their eternal relationship to God.  Some of these sheep-like followers will be among those who will hear Jesus say, “I never knew you!  Depart from me, ye that work iniquity!” (Matthew 7:23)

      I must say, some of the largest churches in the world are led by this kind of false prophet and are being fed false doctrine in every message. The worst offense, in my opinion, is ‘hiding’ the true Gospel.  One must be very vigilant in selecting a body of believers to attach themselves to with attendance and financial support. That should go without saying. No one wants to be exploited for money and especially to become part of a false ministry spreading false doctrine. The Bible says if we say ‘Amen’ to evil, we make ourselves a part of it. “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not ….., neither bid him God speed. For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds”. (2Jn. 9-11)

     If you are reading this, and you are sincerely seeking understanding and knowledge of God, I would advise you to approach your quest with a healthy level of trust in God’s Holy Spirit to perform his job regarding the directional leadership you need to avoid fellowships that are counter-productive to Christ and which may prevent you from exposure to the ‘saving’ Gospel you must embrace to become a true Child of God.  When he was nearing the end of his ministry and  preceding  his crucifiction, Jesus promised to send ‘another comforter’ who would guide his followers; “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26-31 KJV. 

     The key to a successful search for a legitimate ministry lies in leaning on God for direction.  He is trustworthy and faithful and will not lead you astray. So, if you haven’t tried Him yet, begin your journey of Faith by developing the habit of praying (which is simply assuming His presence and talking to God about whatever is on your mind).  The ultimate objective for someone seeking truth and an active relationship with God is to reach the conviction that you NEED Him in your life and MUST make peace with Him ON HIS TERMS! This entire process has been thoroughly explained in previous chapters of this book. If it somehow escaped your attention, I recommend you go back and re-read pages eleven through sixteen. Don’t forget to pray for God’s guidance as you seek understanding of how you make peace with God.  He will always honor the sincere prayers of those who seek Him.  The Bible says,”And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart”. (Jeremiah 29:13-15 KJV)      It is important to remember why Jesus commanded his Disciples to go into all the world and preach the Gospel; And he said unto them, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16-15 KJV. 

     It was Jesus’ mission to both reconcile the lost to God and to teach those who were seeking to know God exactly what the Gospel message was and is.  In the last ten or so years, I have not heard the Gospel message preached clearly from most of the leaders and teachers of those congregations that offer only music and “good tidings” of God’s love and generosity.  If that is the only message ever preached, how are the lost supposed to know they are lost and learn how to be saved?

     In previous chapters I have attempted to provide in clearest possible terms the fundamental truths that must be understood to bring a seeking soul to an awareness of himself that is prerequisite to making peace with God and becoming a Child of God. I’ve also tried to expose some common pitfalls found in ‘religion’ that hinder that from happening.   In this chapter, we are looking at specific examples of human interference in God’s plan of redemption by those who have embraced ‘religion’ as an attempt to please God, and remain unaware of the TRUTH about the Gospel, and His requirements for becoming a true child of God.  Remember what I’ve said about world views and right or wrong perceptions of God and his design for us to know and have fellowship with him.  There are many alternate approaches to making peace with God being proffered in the world we live in, some very simple and others painfully complex. I repeat; Many, especially in super ‘religious’ America constitute an insidious ‘easy believism’, employing a ‘works’ approach to God that totally disregards the recognition of our inherent ‘lostness’ which requires an intercessor, or Savior to put us right with God. That is the core truth of the Gospel!

       A prime example of what happens when fidelity to the Gospel is compromised and a substitute ‘religious philosophy’ that becomes popularly accepted is the mega church of Joel Osteen in Houston, Texas. His televised sermons are seen by more than 10 million viewers in the US and several million more in over a hundred countries weekly.  Osteen has written several best-selling books based on his religious philosophy of believing in yourself and your ability to succeed in life by simply trusting that “God wants you to be successful!”  That’s a popular idea alright, but IT IS NOT THE GOSPEL!! Not even close.  Just imagine the power and reach that Osteen’s ministry could have in building Christ’s Church and making strong disciples if only the TRUE GOSPEL was being preached!

Some traditionalist Christian leaders familiar with Osteen’s themes have even declared him to be a “false Prophet”.  Personally, I believe him to be one who actually believes his approach ‘encourages’ people to be ‘better’ equipped to cope with the trials of everyday life, but fails to recognize the ABSOLUTE eternal essential that he preach the truth contained in the Biblical message of the Gospel.  He NEVER mentions the Gospel, sin, Salvation, Heaven or Hell, repentance or anything that might make anyone uncomfortable.  Unfortunately, you can’t preach the Gospel as a genuine messenger of God without including those themes! Jesus never taught any of the things Osteen speaks about and I’m deeply concerned for all those who follow his ‘sunshine and roses’ approach to having a relationship with God. People must recognize their lostness or they can’t be saved.  An alien topic in an Osteen message.  I realize it is a very popular method of preaching and through the years I have seen this style of preaching adhered to by a number of different pastors in various denominations. People like hearing that positive thinking and self-assured attitudes can bring them a lot of peace of mind and optimism. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables!” (IITimothy 4:3-4)

      In almost every case, where that is the common theme of the sermons, the churches grow quite large and seem to prosper.  Today, some of these actually carry the positive thinking theme to an extreme as in the ‘Prosperity Gospel’ I talked about in the last chapter.  Think it and make it happen!  Make no mistake about it; all the positive thinking in the world cannot SAVE anybody without realization of alienation, repentance and being BORN AGAIN and that must involve awareness of SIN and JUDGEMENT to come, both integral parts of the GOSPEL!  Again I ask, how can one be saved without knowing he/she is LOST? It’s a natural progression; I become convicted of my alienation to God, I REPENT, (soul-wrenchingly sorry for that circumstance), BEING RIGHT  with GOD becomes the MOST IMPORTANT PRIORITY IN LIFE, I CALL OUT TO JESUS TO SAVE ME (because I know I CAN’T save myself), GOD ACTS SUPERNATURALLY TO REGENERATE ME! (THE NEW BIRTH) AND  I BECOME A CHILD OF GOD!  THAT’S THE PROCESS, BELOVED. The whole GOSPEL in a few brief sentences. NO CANNED PRAYER OR WORDS RECITED OFF A CARD CAN DO THIS, UNLESS THESE ELEMENTS ARE A PART OF IT.  EASY BELEIVISM WILL NOT MAKE US RIGHT WITH GOD! But, it WILL keep us from HIM!

A church that minimizes or hides the facts that ARE the Gospel, I charge  with failing Christ and promoting religion instead!  Religion will get no one to Heaven, because it isn’t religion that brings us into relationship with God.  It’s hearing and responding to the Gospel, which tells us we are lost and Christ is our Savior, and we must REPENT and ask Him to save us if we expect to receive forgiveness and Salvation!  If you don’t understand you’re LOST, a simple carefully worded prayer will NOT SAVE YOU!  I believe the failure of many of our churches today to emphasize the Gospel message may be part of the reason Jesus had to issue the warning we’ve discussed about the MANY and the FEW!  (Matthew Ch. 7) If all I have is religion, I don’t have Salvation!  Remember, Salvation creates a new FIRST TIME relationship with God where NONE existed before.  Religion doesn’t do that. All anyone gets from ‘religion’ is a temporary and artificial sense of security that falls short of producing real and permanent peace and relationship with God.  Think about what I’ve already said about true conversion and how it affects the life of the believer.  The Bible says we become a ‘new creation’.  Old ideas, attitudes and values pass away and new ones take their place.  We have a fresh, spiritually enhanced mind, and God’s Spirit lives in us!  We become aware of the Divine presence in our lives and KNOW we are in relationship with Him!  I nearly jumped out of my chair when I first read Paul's statement in

 I Corinthians 5:17-20.  Allow me to paraphrase the passage for you; “When one literally enters into relationship with Christ, his old ways of thinking and assessing value fades away and it all becomes NEW and it is all based on a newly created understanding of God and a new and vibrant relationship with God, who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation!  That is, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, forgiving their sins and making them ministers of his Grace. So, now we are ambassadors for Christ, obeying God and sharing His plea with you as Christ’s voice; Be, therefore, reconciled to God”  (II Corinthians 5:17-20) 

Now, THAT is what I consider exciting!! That identifies for us the meaning and purpose of Life! It is the substance of our significance and justification for our being! The results of truth prevents a false hope not supported by Scripture and only hanging on emotion and false teaching of the doctrines of men! 

     Not only do we attain peace with God, assurance of Salvation from Hell and the promise of Eternal Life with Jesus in his Eternal Kingdom, we are entrusted with the most precious and meaningful message of God’s LOVE and FORGIVENESS to share with others along with HIS instructions to SHARE it.  We actually become His AMBASSADORS!!  That makes us SOMEBODY VERY SPECIAL!!

 Chapter Six—The Original Cult Hides The Gospel

     There is a third major religious body which I must point out that has for many years obscured the saving Gospel with religious ceremony, rituals and dogma, or commandments of men NOT called for in the Bible, when correctly understood. I have met many precious souls who’ve come to Christ late in life after spending many frustrating years and hundreds of hours trying to find relevance and inner peace through the teachings and authoritarian rule of their Church and its ever changing, man-made dogma. I’m speaking of the oldest organized body of Christian believers identifying itself as The Holy Roman Catholic Church! 

Now, I plead with those of you who come from a Catholic background—hear me out before you decide that I’m a hopeless heretic who hates Catholics.  I don’t.  That said, however, please understand, since I’ve been a follower of Christ, I have become sensitive to error of various kinds which I can clearly discern to be  contrary to sound doctrine and therefore, an impediment in the advance of the Church Jesus Christ created for his followers. As I’ve already pointed out, men have a tendency to read what they want into teachings of Scripture they have not been equipped to correctly understand. Sometime after the beginning of the early Church, religious leaders began to appear in the Christian movement who were religious and even well meaning, but who failed to correctly understand the Gospel message.  These began to institutionalize the Christian movement, changing it from  the simple truths Jesus taught concerning how men could have a real, living relationship with God through teaching and practicing the Gospel.  This message was too simple and mundane for them, so they converted it to a Religion, complete with a Pope and lower hierarchy, pomp and ceremony, majestic buildings they felt worthy of God and a plan to assume complete authority of all matters religious in the world of their time. It was due to misunderstanding of God’s plan for the redemption of Humankind and erroneous assumptions that were responsible for hiding the simple truth of God’s love, vividly expressed by Jesus as Savior and Redeemer.  The simple truth about these matters was what Jesus brought to light, and was the truth He revealed with His life, death and resurrection.  In identifying this truth as ‘the keys to The kingdom of Heaven’.  Jesus was simply saying, ‘the truth I bring, when taught by you, and embraced by those you teach, will open the door to eternal life for them, because The Lord Jesus, preaching the good news to a Jewish leader explained that He had been sent by God to save individuals who would acknowledge their lost estate and accept God’s exclusive remedy.  He then identified Himself as that very remedy:

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life..17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.    (John 3:16-18 New King James) 

        The term ‘whoever believes in Him’ is a euphemism for a much more profound truth.  In this context, it means, ‘believes the truth of His identity as God’s singular, exclusive means of salvation for all who will embrace him to be saved.  Please understand, there is much more involved here than a mere intellectual assent that there was a historical Jesus who led a religious movement during the first century. The Apostle, Paul, explains the entire matter to the Roman Church in such a way as to make the Gospel very clear;

Ch3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Ch 6:23 …the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord…Ch5:8   But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Ch 108 But what does it (the Gospel) say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus (that Jesus is God’s Savior) and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”                                  

       Obedience to this command is the foundation for and the only valid response to being Christ’s Disciple.  Having once been added to the Church of Jesus Christ through the conversion experience, a person finds themselves to be a ‘newborn’ in the family of God.  They are even referred to as a “new creation” and as a ‘babe in Christ.

 “ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” II Cor. 5:17- (NKJV)

…as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,” 1 Peter 2:2-(NKJV)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

     It is important to note Peter’s urgent admonition to the ‘newborn’ in Christ to immediately begin a steady diet of God’s Word (The Bible) so that they will grow and not become stunted disciples.

        Lest it be forgotten, I will revisit and declare an extremely important truth I touched on earlier.  There are keys found in Scripture which God put there to make certain that our understanding of His Word is complete and accurate.  The first of these is the statement which alerts us of the ‘Spiritual’ nature of Divine Writings. The Bible warns us that Scripture cannot be correctly understood by persons who are not enlightened by the Spirit of God.  This is an act of God upon each person who submits to God’s arresting Spirit, and is “Born Again”.  One of the results of a ‘regenerated’ man is an illuminated heart and mind, enabled to understand the things of God that he was formerly unable to grasp with only his natural intellect at work. The Amplified Bible does a good job of laying out this very important truth.

14But the natural, nonspiritual (unregenerate) man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are (must be) spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated. (clearly understood by spiritual enlightenment) 15But the spiritual man (one who is ‘born into’God’s family by the process of repentance, faith and regeneration, then endowed with indwelling Holy Spirit) tries all things [he examines, investigates, inquires into, questions, and discerns all things], yet himself cannot be put on trial and judged by the unregenerate [he can read the meaning of that which is Divine, but no one can properly discern or appraise or comprehend where he is ‘coming from’.

16For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge.  But we have the mind of Christ and hold within ourselves the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart.   I Corinthians 2:14-20 (AMP)   The key or determinate verse in this reading is verse 16, which makes it clear that the person who has been ‘born again’ has actually been endowed with a new capacity for correctly understanding ‘spiritual matters’, precisely because he/she now has ‘the mind of Christ’, with which to think, analyze and find meaning in Scripture.This principle clearly teaches that Spiritual regeneration (New Birth is prerequisite to true and accurate understanding of Bible teachings.  Men, acting alone and apart from the supernatural enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, inevitably err. Tragically, many, having only an intellectual capacity for understanding have presumed that their reading of Scripture is sufficient to give them valid knowledge and ability to interpret Scripture.  Instead, this false assumption has led to enormous error and gross abuse of authority through the ages by men who claim to know the truth and to be teachers whom others should follow.  In every case, without the Spirit of God to enlighten them, they have badly misinterpreted Scripture, causing all manner of mischief and many erroneous and hurtful concepts about God and His intentions with regard to our relationship with Him and our lives as disciples of Jesus Christ in the present world. (Because I feel it important that the reader has a more complete understanding of God, I will devote a subsequent chapter to the book, devoted to clarifying the personality and character of God as Scripture reveals him)  The egocentric intellect of men has also led to the advent of many people declaring themselves to be teacher/preachers called of God to evangelize the world, but are actually either lying or are deceived by Satan and many of whom are only ‘in the religion business’ to enrich themselves by ‘making merchandise’ of those who follow them!  (II Peter 2:2-3)  That bold and exclusive statement of Jesus we visited earlier reinforces this principle;

“Wide is the gate, and broad the way that leads to destruction, and many are they who follow it.  But, small is the gate, and narrow the path that leads to everlasting life and few are they who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14) 

     This was one of the Bible verses which haunted me for years while I was ‘trying’ to be a Christian.  Like so many others, I needed to learn that being a Christian isn’t a matter of my trying, struggling, being religious, practicing high standards of morality or any other human effort on my part.  It is, rather, a matter of realizing my own inadequacy to measure up to God’s standards through my own resolve or power, and confessing my need of the loving intervention of Jesus to save me and make possible a growing relationship with Him.  It is a process, initiated by God’s Spirit and brought to pass by God’s Spirit as we respond to His ‘wooing’ of us.  At the risk of being repetitious, let me again explain how the transaction of salvation works: He convicts us of our lostness. We respond in contrite repentance, recognizing our alienation to Him, and by faith reaching out to embrace Him as Savior in complete surrender and absolute commitment to Him as Lord.  Let me be quite clear; surrender and commitment are the two dynamics essential for making peace with God.  We may come to them in different ways, but these two elements are the key factors in establishing a real relationship with God.  The mere practice of pious behavior, charity toward others or the doing of good deeds and being ‘religious’ simply cannot create a right relationship with God, ever!  The truths that identify error and lead men to a valid Salvation experience were referred to by Jesus as ‘the keys’ to His Kingdom: “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven" Matthew 6:18-20 

     This statement of Jesus has been commonly misunderstood for centuries and has been the source of much damaging and erroneous teaching.  The reason: it was first wrongly interpreted by men who were ‘religious’ to be sure, but who lacked the enlightenment of a regenerated spirit I discussed earlier.  When He made the statement about keys, Jesus had in view a common Jewish euphemism for ‘answers’ to solve a problem.  Another way of identifying solutions.  What he was telling Peter was simply this: ‘Your work of evangelism on Earth, empowered by Holy Spirit, will bear the fruit of many being accepted into Heaven.’ Catholic teaching uses this verse to justify establishment of a Papacy, which was never Jesus intent or meaning.  He never advocated a church hierarchy to govern believers and invent ‘dogma’ or religious ceremony and ritual to be followed as ‘commandments’. Matthew 15:9-11 King James Version (KJV). “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”As I’ve said, the constantly changing standards and religious mandates of the Catholic Church should speak for itself regarding the reliability of their teaching.  Truth is constant and immutable. (UNCHANGING)  What kind of Deity would our God be if He was constantly modifying the principles by which he expected us to live in order to accommodate the changing times? He has told us that he is not the author of confusion   “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace” (ICor. 14:33). So, it should become clear when a church keeps changing the standards/doctrine they are the commandments of changing men and not of God. “For I am the Lord, I change NOT” (Malachi 3:6)

       I say all of this with full awareness of the ‘works’ approach commonly taught in the Catholic discipline, indeed in much of the ‘religious world’.  The bottom line is, we must engage in the  process of getting real with ourselves and getting right with God.  Then and only then will He recognize our sincere longing to make peace with Him and respond by embracing us.  His agape (Divine Love) cannot be fully extended in salvation to the unrepentant, self-sufficient soul who believes he can clean himself up and make himself acceptable to God by his own efforts.  In this effort he is actually rejecting Christ as his savior. God imposes Himself on no one, however I assure you, according to the Word of God, His Grace (undeserved favor) is available to all men, and He desperately wants all men to come to repentance about the first truth of the Gospel, their lostness, and reach out to Christ,who alone has the authority to save them (the second fundamental truth of the Gospel).  “God is not willing that any should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance.”  (II Peter 3:9)

        It is faith alone in Christ alone as revealed in the Holy Scriptures alone that is the foundation of a saving relationship with God.  The ever changing teachings, dogmas, rites and rituals practiced by the Roman Catholic Church for centuries cannot and will not save anyone and assure them a place in God’s Eternal Kingdom.  As harsh as that may sound, I’m sorry, but it’s the TRUTH!  I am not saying that there are no SAVED Catholics, but if any person who identifies first as Catholic IS TRULY SAVED, it is IN SPITE of their Catholicism and NOT because of it, and I find it hard to understand any SAVED person remaining in the Catholic Church, considering all the FALSE teachings they promote that are entirely the inventions of men and their absolute HIDING of the TRUE Gospel!

     Some of the most egregious errors are the Papacy and hierarchal system, the deification of Mary, calling priests “Father”, doctrine of purgatory, the Eucharist practice of pretending the wafer actually ‘becomes’ the body of Christ and many other totally man-made ‘doctrines’ that have NO basis in Scripture and do nothing whatsoever to affect a genuine, Biblical Salvation experience!  I have many dear friends and Brothers or Sisters in Christ who testify of their lost years in the Catholic Church.  They praise God for his Holy Spirit’s work in drawing them out of Catholicism and into the light of the Gospel.  Catholicism was and is the original religious CULT!  For centuries, the Roman church kept the Scriptures from the masses, telling them that only the church leaders had enough spiritual knowledge to interpret and understand them. They knew that if allowed to read Scripture for themselves the people would start questioning the church’s dogmas that cannot be supported by correct application of Scripture.  Church authority would have been threatened and its control diminished. Once that concept had been established, most Catholics accepted all Church teaching without question. The concept of Mary remaining a virgin following the birth of Jesus is exclusively an idea invented by the Roman Church to justify the deification of Mary, but Catholics can’t know that because they simply believe what they’ve been taught.  I recently had a conversation with a young person who was raised Catholic and who had just had a saving  encounter with Jesus in a summer evangelical meeting. I knew she had truly been born again, because God’s Spirit was so dominant in her demeanor.  She displayed absolute astonishment when I showed her in Scripture that Jesus had brothers and sisters! (Matt 13:55-56)  And that, Dear friend is WHY I’m writing this book.  To be certain that you HEAR the truth of Scripture, disregard all easy religious systems that may confront you and become convicted by the TRUE GOSPEL.

     Concerning the practice of addressing Priests as “Father”, Jesus himself forbad this from his very own mouth: “and call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in Heaven!” (Matt 23:9)  I’ve already explained how Church “Fathers” mistakenly used Jesus’ conversation with Peter about the process of mutual recognition in the transaction of Salvation to justify the concept of a Church hierarchy and the Papacy.  The Catholic notion of “Purgatory” is strictly out of sync with Scriptural teaching concerning death and judgement.  Chapters 9 and 10 of the Book of Hebrews go into great detail to explain the nature of Christ’s sacrifice of Himself to cover our sins and in so doing totally debunks the Catholic notion of Purgatory. “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement; So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Hebrews 9:27-28) 

     Jesus’ declares “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by Me” (Jn 14:6) debunking Catholic teaching about the essential need of Church tradition and dogma to be right with God! Neither the Church, nor its rituals and teachings play a part in becoming a Child of God!  Instead, they just get in the way and make it harder for people to know him and serve him.  I will say again what I’ve repeated several times in this book; salvation is a process and a transaction between God’s Holy Spirit and a human being, in which the person recognizes his alienation to God, repents of that circumstance, and reaches out to God in faith, accepting the offer of forgiveness made possible by the finished work of Christ on the Cross…period! That’s it.  No ceremony, no ritual, no intercession by a clergyman, Priest, Vicar, Pastor, would-be Bible Scholar or anyone else!  All those things are creations of men practicing ‘religion’ and NOT involved in God’s perfectly designed plan of Salvation! 

        Men insist on muddying up the clear teaching of God’s Word and creating a ‘religion’ that obscures the straight and narrow way Jesus said leads to eternal life! Jesus did NOT come into this world to establish a new and ‘perfected’ religion.  As I’ve said before, Christianity is NOT a religion!  It is a Divinely perfected RELATIONSHIP reestablished and facilitated by the Holy Spirit upon our surrender and commitment to Jesus as our Lord and Savior.   A very simple concept, and one which gets obscured when so much religious gobbledy gook is shoved in front of  it by men trying to be ‘religious’.  God never asked for any of that, only simple faith and a willingness to be governed by His Holy Spirit. In fact, I believe there is good reason to believe that God is offended by men’s foolish attempts to establish relationships with him, using religious nonsense to do it.

          Hear Jesus again: “Seek to enter in at the strait gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and MANY there be that go in thereat. Because strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leads unto life, and FEW there be that find it”! (Matthew 7:13-14)   Religious error is part of that broad way Jesus is talking about.  The bottom line I want you to be most concerned about is Jesus warning a few verses later: “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven. Many will say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? And in they name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me ye that work iniquity!” (Matthew 7:21-23).  Soberly then, you must consider substitute doctrines of religion you may have been deceived by and consider whether you truly ARE IN THE FAITH!  Paul sternly warns, “Examine yourselves, whether you be in the Faith…” II Cor 13:5

      Eternity is at stake here!  YOUR eternity!  It is no small matter to trifle with.  I have been wrestling with this somber question and Jesus’ alarming warning for far too many years, almost my entire life, worried that people are going merrily along with life, having assumed that their ‘religion’ has secured their eternity with God, when the truth is, they may not truly know God at all, because somehow they’ve believed a LIE! If the truths I’ve shared in this book results in even ONE person coming to the realization they are NOT in a saving relationship with God, and causes them to repent and be BORN AGAIN, it will be worth it all!!  Every hour, every thought, prayer and word that went into writing this book will have been a validation of God’s work in my own life and his supreme compassion and tender care he feels for yours.  Remember, God’s most distinctive attribute is LOVE.  He proves it by the multiple ways he has revealed Himself to us, through nature, the written Word and the ULTIMATE gift of SALVATION through Jesus, his SON!

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should NOT perish, but have everlasting LIFE!” (Jn 3:16)  I will develop this concept of Divine Love more fully in Chapter 8.

 Chapter 7—Comparing Human Assumptions to God’s Truth

     Human beings have been given certain innate characteristics that naturally tend To draw them toward recognition of God.  They are curious, inquisitive, self-aware and given to reason.  Perhaps, more than this they tend to seek a fuller understanding of the strange and wonderful world they find themselves in.  Ultimately, and in virtually every culture that has existed since time began, men have felt a need for some form of ‘religion’ that fills their natural hunger for relationship with a force beyond themselves, which justifies and explains many of their basic questions, such as “who am I, how did I get here, and what is the meaning/purpose of life”? 

     Certain scientific minds have concluded that our basic drive to be religious and believe in a creator is simply a result of our childish ignorance.  However, many things that we can see but can’t explain compel us to conclude there must be a higher power.  Well, guess what?  The fact is, God himself made us to observe and react in this way!  He has given us this inquisitive appetite precisely so that he can reveal himself to us and cause us to seek him.  Nature itself gives compelling testimony to the reality of God;…“The heavens declare thegloryofGod; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.( PS 19:1 KJV)

       The result of our natural ability to observe, think and reason (which are also attributes of God we will examine in the next chapter through the centuries have led to a plethora of assumptions about the existence and nature of a “higher power”.  Conjecture and speculations about this continue to this day, even though God himself  has already given us most of the answers through the inspired writers of the Holy Scriptures.  Truth in our quest for knowledge and understanding is essential, because of the awful consequences of errant assumptions.  For this reason, it is my conviction that God made certain we were given nothing less than true and accurate information upon which to build complete and valid assumptions to form the basis of our world view, and our view and understanding of God in particular.  Time and time again history records the catastrophic results upon the cultures of mankind due to erroneous assumptions and unsound actions.       

     This is the reason for the unending rise and fall cycles of great civilizations since the beginning of time.  It should be pointed out that those cultures that have survived the longest and developed the most are those which have founded and governed their culture on the truths found in the pages of The Bible.  The USA is doubtless the prime example of the truth of that statement.

      The Apostle Peter, teaches us how eager God is to embrace every soul as they turn to Him in repentance:  “9The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people's conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but (rather willing) that all should turn to him in repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) Amplified Bible (AMP)

     Three very important truths emerge from this statement of Peter:  The first is that God created a Plan with the potential of providing Salvation for everyone, desiring that all souls would avail themselves of His extended hand of mercy and accept the gift of forgiveness He proffers by embracing Christ as Savior. Secondly, it is a salvation promised to those who turn to Him in repentance.  To ‘repent’ in this context, implies recognizing the fact of being lost, a consequence of being alienated to God and unable to do anything about it.  Thirdly, it is also clear that He has given us the CHOICE of receiving or rejecting that gift and He clearly intends to respect our choice.  By Calvinistic logic, (since God is in all things Sovereign) all men would be saved because God’s will is that “no one should perish…but…that all would turn to him in repentance”.  This one example alone debunks Calvin’s tragically erroneous assumptions about God’s Sovereignty and how He chooses to exercise it.  God strives to affect our choice by gentle persuasion while NOT imposing Himself on us.  To do otherwise would be to violate our free will and rob Him of the glory He naturally receives each time a choice is made by a wretched human who recognizes his lost estate and calls out to Jesus for mercy and Grace.

      As I’ve pointed out in previous chapters, men refuse to trust the Scriptures to  teach us what we need to perfect a relationship with our Creator, God.  They have always worked almost diabolically to interpret, twist, misappropriate or otherwise wrest the clear Scriptures God has given us, trying to make them fit the strange ideas and religious concepts their carnal minds inevitably conceive.  In so doing, men have manipulated and distorted the Word of God so severely that God’s own purpose in preserving the writings we know as the Canon of Holy Scriptures has again and again been obscured in some system of religious practice and has literally obliterated Scriptural truth God intended for our benefit.  This is especially true of some so-called ‘modern’ and progressive thinkers today who absolutely reject the Bible as the unchanging, authoritative Word of God!

     I must say again, the truth Jesus came to reveal was not the framework for a new and perfected ‘religion’.  I can’t emphasize that enough.  Rather, it was to reveal and demonstrate the true RELATIONSHIP of LOVE and DEVOTION God designed for us to enjoy with HIM. Using examples from our present world, I’ve tried to make clear how men have embarked on various religious experiments, creating all kinds of isms and systems designed to satisfy our religious appetites and erroneous assumptions about God and make him conform with our faulty understanding about Scripture.  Most of it has been a foolish exercise in attempting to remake God in the image we have created for him that is totally inconsistent with the way he reveals himself to us in Scripture, rightly understood and which we will examine in the next chapter. As far as I’m concerned, it is very important that you attain some degree of understanding about God and his character in order to begin to recognize the truth and impact of the Gospel message.

     Unfortunately, some people inject their own human reasoning into their outlook and world view regarding God, putting ‘two and two’ together to draw their conclusion.  What I’m referring to is the assumption ‘I’m OK according to the following logic: I believe in God. I’m a good person. There is a related idea that should be included in this discussion;  ‘God is merciful and just and would never send me to Hell for a few indiscretions, so I’m just fine.’ Such a line of reasoning is based on a hodge podge of assumptions made on incomplete knowledge of the Biblical history of God and his dealings with mankind.  It ignores what it does not understand regarding the Gospel message of the Bible, and it allows the ego to override any thoughts or awareness of guilt. 

     This is a sure fire way to wind up on the outside looking in on judgement day!  Man’s basic assumptions, not enlightened by the truth of God through knowledge of the Bible cannot bring anyone to a saving relationship with God. Only a complete fool would rely on his human reason to determine his eternal destiny! I talked about this in my discussion of World Views in Chapter One.  God has done more than anyone could ever expect to reveal himself to us and give us a desire to know him and the understanding necessary to bring about a saving relationship with him. It’s up to us to respond to him by seeking to know him personally and making that our number one priority in life! Anything less cannot meet God’s standards of faith!

     The Apostle James spoke about this kind of easy believism and how it cannot be effective in establishing a right relationship with God.  Teaching that a saving faith in God results in a relationship with him that naturally produces the righteous works of that relationship.  He develops that thought by questioning the regeneration (going from alienation to relationship) of someone who claims to be right with God but manifests no life-changing behavior that is consistent with faith.

          “What does it profit…though a man say he has faith and has not works? Can a dead faith save him? Show me your faith without works (evidence) and I will show you my faith BY MY WORKS” (proof).  You believe there is one God and that’s good.  But, the devils also believe and tremble in fear of his judgement!  But know this, oh VAIN man, that faith without works is DEAD!”  (a paraphrase of James 2:14-20) This shows that simple intellectual assent to certain truth is NOT enough to produce a saving relationship with God!  Knowledge begets hunger for more knowledge and produces greater levels of understanding as we endeavor to learn.  This is one of the attributes that God has endowed in humans to encourage us to pursue Him.  So, we are without excuse to simply and lazily trust our basic intellect to carry us through this life and into the next, expecting to enter eternity having the good will of God on our own merits of religiousness!

          Regarding that assumption about God being just and merciful and doesn’t send anyone but the worst of the worst to hell: The fact is, anyone who winds up on the wrong side of judgement does NOT so so because they were SENT but due to the fact they rejected the truth about their need of a savior and God’s loving offer to SAVE them. (This can only happen IF they will REPENT and turn to him for SALVATION!) In other words, those in hell will have only themselves to blame! God is faithful in doing his part to bring alien humans to a saving relationship with him, but he never forces himself on anyone.  Again, I reject Calvin’s notion that God ELECTS those who WILL BE SAVED (and who will be lost).  His only ELECTON is his decision to SAVE those who surrender to him for salvation, confessing themselves to be LOST.  They are the ones that God saves in eternity.  They are not PREDESTINED to be saved but God PREDESTINED to SAVE all those who come to him, confessing their SIN sickness that rendered them LOST and alienated from God on the day they were born! Our sin debt came with us and MUST be paid!

     A related erroneous religious assumption most people make is often heard, even in many non-religious contexts, but needs to be addressed.  I have heard so many people say, and obviously believe it to be true, “We are all God’s children”, or “He, She or they are God’s children after all”, referring to the presumed relationship between God and ANY and ALL humans.  But this broad, generally accepted concept is SIMPLY WRONG and is a great source of error which could provide a stumbling block to part of the Gospel message.   I’ve talked about this before, but it’s important enough for me to give it more detailed attention, because those believing it could easily fail to grasp the truth of The Gospel they MUST understand in order for them to be SAVED!  The fact is, human beings, while they are the creation of God in the natural sense that they are part of his Created world,  they only BECOME His children AFTER they are ADOPTED into His family by the supernatural process Jesus described as being BORN AGAIN, which I’ve discussed previously! (Jn. 3:3-6)

     John makes clear that ONLY CHRIST FOLLOWERS BECOME Children of God AFTER they RECEIVE JESUS.  In chapter one of his Gospel he tells us;

    “..he came to his own (the Jews) but his own received him NOT. but as many as received him, to THEM gave He the right TO BECOME THE CHILDREN OF GOD!” (Vs 12)  Receiving Christ means to embrace him fully as LORD and SAVIOR!  To believe His message of REPENTANCE and respond to it with a genuine change of heart!  In doing so, John makes it perfectly clear that we BECOME the children of God, and Scripture further makes clear that this is achieved by the process of ADOPTION, which Paul explains to the Galatian Church this way: “…God sent forth his Son,..that we might receive THE ADOPTION OF SONS”!  (Galations 4:4-5)

        I hope this chapter has helped clear up some of these misunderstood concepts.  In the next chapter, I will allow Scripture to describe for you the God we all seek to know and to serve, both now and in ETERNITY!  Too much erroneous teaching has clouded the TRUTH of the Gospel and obscured the most important message  ever to be given to Man.  That message is vital to be preached and understood, otherwise, we are without hope of finding a saving relationship with God!  One must sincerely and earnestly SEEK for the truth that can set us FREE from the SIN that separates us from God and unless forgiven will prevent our entrance into that straight and narrow gate to Heaven that Jesus spoke of in Matthew Chapter seven.  Because of His great love, God has faithfully provided every possible bit of the understanding necessary for our Salvation.  It’s up to us to SEEK for it.  Jesus promised, “Seek and ye shall find! Ask and it shall be given you!”  Matt 7:7

          Having read this far, you are probably beginning to wonder if there is ANY CHURCH that can actually be called THE TRUE CHURCH, or even if such a Church body exists at all.  I want to say, I DON’T KNOW, but there may be some who’s statement of faith and practice come closer than others, and whose actual practice and teachings about Christianity may be similar to the New Testament Church that Luke wrote about in his Acts of the Apostles.  I will share with you a few paragraphs I copied from a document I opened some years ago from the Internet that I think speak clearly about WHAT the TRUE CHURCH of Jesus Christ IS.  Regrettably, I did not document where this clip came from, I just thought it an exceptional description and copied it for personal reflection and must share it “author unknown”.

Question: "Which church is the true church?"
Which church—that is, which denomination of Christianity—is the “true church”? Which church is the one that God loves and cherishes and died for? Which church is His bride?

Answer:

The answer is that no visible church or denomination is the true church, because the bride of Christ is not an institution, but is instead a spiritual entity made up of those who have by grace through faith been brought into a close, intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8–9). Those people, no matter which building, denomination, or country they happen to be in, constitute the true church. (Emphasis, mine)
       In the Bible, we see that the local (or visible) church is nothing more than a gathering of professing believers. In Paul’s letters, the word church is used in two different ways. There are many examples of the word church being used to simply refer to a group of professing believers who meet together on a regular basis (1 Corinthians 16:9; 2 Corinthians 8:1; 11:28). We see Paul’s concern, in his letters, for the individual churches in various cities along his missionary journey. But he also refers to a church that is invisible—a spiritual entity that has close fellowship with Christ, as close as a bride to her husband (Ephesians 5:25, 32), and of which He is the spiritual head (Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 3:21). This church is made up of an unnamed, unspecified group of individuals (Philippians 3:6; 1 Timothy 3:5) that have Christ in common.
       The word church is a translation of the Greek word ekklesia, meaning “a called–out assembly.” The word describes a group of people who have been called out of the world and set apart for the Lord, and it is always used, in its singular form, to describe a universal group of people who know Christ. The word ekklesia, when pluralized, is used to describe groups of believers who meet together. Interestingly enough, the word church is never used in the Bible to describe a building or organization.
      It is easy to get ensnared by the idea that a particular denomination within Christianity is “the true church,” but this view is a misunderstanding of Scripture. When choosing a church to attend, it is important to remember that a gathering of believers should be a place where those who belong to the true church (the spiritual entity) feel at home. That is to say, a good local church will uphold the Word of God, honoring it by faithfully holding to its precepts, preaching the true gospel steadfastly, and feeding and tending the sheep. A church that teaches heresy or engages in sin will eventually be very low on (or entirely bereft of) those people that belong to the true church—the sheep who hear the voice of the Shepherd and follow Him (John 10:27).  These will not long abide false doctrine and practice.
       Members of the true church always enjoy agreement in and fellowship around Jesus Christ, as He is plainly revealed in His Word. This is what is referred to as Christian unity. Another common mistake is to believe that Christian unity is just a matter of agreeing with one another. Simple agreement for the sake of agreement does not speak the truth in love or spur one another on to unity in Christ; rather, it encourages believers to refrain from speaking difficult truths. It sacrifices true understanding of God in favor of a false unity based on disingenuous love that is nothing more than selfish tolerance of sin in oneself and others.
       The true church is the bride of Christ (Revelation 21:2, 9; 22:17) and the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12; 1 Corinthians 12:27). It cannot be contained, walled in, or defined by anything other than its love for Christ and its dedication to Him. The true church is, as C. S. Lewis put it, “spread out through all time and space and rooted in eternity, terrible as an army with banners.” (end of Author Unknown)

In the next chapter, I hope to effectively portray the marvelous Fatherly affection for us that prompted God to provide a plan for our reconciliation with Him in the ADOPTION process that makes us His Children and assures us a place in His Eternal Kingdom. 

 Chapter 8—Understanding the Character and Attributes of God.

         While it is certainly true of Almighty Jehovah that he is in very fact God and identifies Himself to be the ONE AND ONLY GOD, Mankind has for centuries INVENTED many other concepts they enthusiastically identify as “god”, creating entire religious systems around totally human-conceived deities. It is not my purpose in this chapter to list and try to describe these ‘other’ (false) gods whom Satan has used religious zealots to invent and promote in order to create problems for Jehovah.  What I will do instead is attempt to share with the reader what the Bible has to say about the character and attributes of the ONE TRUE GOD.  I remind the reader that I am a total believer in the AUTHORITY AND RELIABILITY of The Holy Scriptures, which God Himself inspired select people to write through the centuries so that we would have answers to every important question needed for us to know Him!  Listen:  “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of this Scripture has any private interpretation.  For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (II Peter 1:20-21)

     I will not attempt to present an in-depth description of all the Bible tells us about God, there is way too much to try and cover it all, but a few of his significant characteristics that somewhat explain His relationship to created beings should be clarified.  First, He tells us His Name is JEHOVAH, also known by the Hebrew name YAWEH. We read of God speaking his own name for the first time in the Scriptures, as he speaks to Moses in Exodus 6:3: “I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them.”  Psalm 83:18 says: “…that men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth.” 

     Names make individuals personal, having identities so they can be known that way, personally and individually.  This is true of the Deity we call “God”.  Truly, He is God and we say that rather than saying he is ‘a’ God, because he claims for Himself exclusivity. “For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited), “I am the Lord, and there is none else.” (Isaiah 45:10)  Again, “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me.” (Isaiah 44:6.)  and, “That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other.” (Isaiah 45:6) and finally, “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other.” (Isaiah 45:22)  There are many other Scriptures we could include here but I think these make the point adequately: Jehovah is GOD and he is the ONLY GOD according to His own statements.

     I’ve heard people ask, “Why am I said to be a ‘sinner’ and NEED a Savior?  I came into this world innocent didn’t I?” “How did Jesus dying on the Cross pay for everybody’s sins and make things right with God, as Preachers declare?”  And, that brings us to the most significant attribute we need to understand about God: God LOVES!  In fact, his very essence is LOVE! This is good reason to study His Attributes enough to understand the dynamics involved with the Gospel we are trying to make sense of.  The Gospel story actually takes us all the way back to the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. 

     Sin was introduced into the world and into the lives of human beings when Satan convinced Eve to doubt God’s integrity and his honesty and to defy Him by eating the forbidden fruit. Because of SIN and SATAN, both Adam and Eve rebelled against God, resulting in His Curse of them and the Earth they occupied.  It was that curse that brought about the need of a Savior for every human descendent of Adam and Eve.  You can read the entire tragedy in Chapters 2 and 3 of Genesis.

     Amazingly, the Curse itself contains the promise of Salvation of the tragic estranged relationship between fallen man and Holy God.  In verse 15 of Chapter Three,  God’s great love is revealed in his promise to ‘put enmity’ between Satan and Eve, saying that Eve’s children would eventually be restored to relationship with God by one who would bruise the head of the Devil even as He was being bruised.  This was a veiled reference to Christ as he defeated Satan’s control over humans by paying the price required for SIN (DEATH) by his own death, acting as our SUBSTITUTE on the Cross!  The ultimate act of LOVE!  Later in the history of Israel, the Prophet Isaiah issued one of many Old Testament prophecies of God’s ‘Redeemer” who would come to pay the penalty for our SIN so that we could be reconciled to God.  “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. (BTW, this refers to being healed from the curse of sin, and NOT our sicknesses in life)  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”  (Isiah 53:5-6)  A clear reference to Jesus Christ, our Savior.

     The extent and reach of God’s LOVE is fully revealed in the New Testament accounts of the Birth, Life, Ministry and Death of Jesus Christ.  I think Paul summed it up very well with this statement, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. (Romans 5:8)

     Another of God’s character attributes I think we need to be confident of is his IMMUTABILITY, which I’ve already referred to.  God doesn’t change! Once he has established a principal—His position on anything-- that principle becomes ETERNAL! These passages make this perfectly clear:

“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”  (Numbers 23:19)

“For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6)

“The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart from generation to generation.” (Psalm 33:11) While it is true that some of God’s prohibitions of certain behaviors are originally applied to people and circumstances that existed in Old Testament culture, there are principals involved with some of them that should be recognized by true Disciples of Jesus as valid reflections of God’s unchanging attitudes where principals of ‘righteousness’ are in view. 

     A good example of this “tension” between New and. Old Testament is God’s clear prohibition of ‘tattoos’.  In context, God is prescribing behaviors he approves of because they will ‘set the Hebrews apart’ from the ungodly tribes who dwell in the land and who behave in ways that God considers sinful.  Likewise, he lists some of the sins common to the original inhabitants of the land and forbids the Hebrew people from doing those things.  “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead nor print any marks upon you; I am The Lord!” Leviticus 19:28  Both these customs were apparently common to the natives who occupied the land God had brought the Israelites into, and God wanted to be sure that His people did not indulge in similar behaviors. Careful analysis of this section of Scripture makes it clear that God’s intent is to ‘sanctify’ His people by asking them to honor Him in obeying his laws and statutes.  He made them unmarked and it was a dishonor to Him to ‘mutilate’ their bodies to suit themselves or to comply with the customs of those NOT his people.  It cannot be written off as ‘harmless’ for people today to abuse their God-given bodies by altering them through cuttings and markings they were not born with, just to satisfy a fancy or go along with customs that dishonor God. To do so, makes a statement of defiance against God which says, “I’m NOT satisfied with how God made me, I will therefore modify my body with alterations that better suit ME!” It’s a matter of attitude toward God as our Sovereign.

     As Disciples of Jesus Christ, we soon learn that there are some behaviors clearly prescribed in Scripture, while other behavior is just as clearly forbidden or at least to considerable degree advised against by men writing under the guidance of The Holy Spirit.  Those statements that are clear present little difficulty for the Child of God, since they are clearly spelled out as ‘do’s and don’ts’ or sometimes ‘aughts’ and ‘best nots’.  But, God has not left us clueless regarding those areas that are not so clearly defined.  When the Bible says nothing specifically about a question of ethical behavior versus permissible behavior, how are we to deal with such issues?  Can we judge ‘rightness’ and ‘wrongness’ in such cases?  I believe we can make sound decisions about even the issues not clearly covered by Scripture if our heart is truly devoted to pleasing God and not ourselves. 

     One of the most precious doctrines of Scripture is ‘Christian Liberty’, which Paul expounds in the fifth chapter of Galatians. Here, he tells us we are no longer obligated to the duty of Law-keeping, but are under direct influence of The Holy Spirit, who allows us to choose right behavior as our loving response to God.  Instead of being obligated to observe some written law for every eventuality we face, Christian morality and ethics must be rooted in general principals based in the laws of God as we understand and obediently respond to them.  As ‘born again’ Children of God, our basis for righteous behavior springs from a ‘new heart’ filled with love for God and His righteousness and no longer needs to be specified by written law.  Read II Corinthians 5:17 to understand this principle.

     So, the Child of God, being a ‘New Creation’ of God and being in Spiritual ‘Oneness’ with God, has the literal power of His Holy Spirit to persuade us to live in a manner that we know is pleasing to Him, and that brings honor and glory to Him.    The first general principal for living a Holy life, is keeping the ‘Greatest of all Commandments: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy mind and with all thy soul”  Matthew 22:37-58.  Doing this, should govern all our decisions.  Our New ‘Natural’ behavior pattern will be to do what is right, according to our LOVE for God!  This implies that we are willing to forgo any kind of behavior or activity that His Spirit within us reacts to negatively.  To violate this principal by defiantly indulging in anything we sense would displease Him becomes unnatural for the truly ‘Born again’ Child of God!  Jesus taught that when we regard anything so highly that his Lordship becomes secondary in our priorities, we are unworthy of Him, and we cannot be his Disciples! (See Matthew 10:37-38 and Luke 6-46 and 14-33 to learn of Jesus’ standard for Discipleship)

     Anything we do that associates us with the God-hating and Anti-Christ world around us, puts us in agreement with unbelievers and is contrary to the will of God!  This principle is highlighted in Psalm 1:1-2: “Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the Law of the Lord, and in His Law doth he meditate day and night”. Those today who insist on twisting the truth of Scripture to justify their own wickedness are equivalent to the scornful in these verses!  True followers of Jesus are sensitive to this kind of Satanic reasoning and refuse to submit themselves to it.

     Jesus said, “Ye cannot serve God and Mammon” Matthew 6:24.  Paul put it this way: “Ye cannot drink of the cup of The Lord and the cup of Devils; Ye cannot partake of the table of The Lord and the table of Devils!”  I Cor 10:21

He also said, “..be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers”  (I Cor 6:14)

     Later, I will spend some time making you acquainted with your worst enemy and  God’s, Satan, The Devil who hates God and His Children and is the original deceiver and “the father of Lies”, who is ever present in our lives to defeat and to destroy God’s control over our lives.  Some today are being deceived by Satan’s gargoyles who protest that much of God’s Word is no longer valid for us today, and that God never intended for some of His ‘rules’ to apply forever, therefore are subject to be cast aside or at least ‘modified’ to account for changing times. It is a diabolical LIE, and will condemn many to hear those dreadful words from Jesus, “Depart from me, ye who work iniquity!  I never knew you”!  Matthew 7:23

     John warned that Christians are NOT to stand in agreement with false teachers who pervert the Word of God and neutralize the Gospel truth.  He said, “…bid them NOT Godspeed, for he that biddeth them Godspeed is partaker in his evil deed!” 2nd Jn 10:11.  The principle involved here is saying “amen” to evil.  Support of anything that distracts the mind from faithfulness to God or perverts righteousness already established by God and promotes unwholesome ideas or glorifies a godless lifestyle is rebellion against God in the highest degree, and is a clear indication of what Jesus referred to as “working iniquity”. Matt 7:23  He carries this idea even further with the statement, “he that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth” Matthew 12:30  If anyone or anything we allow space in our lives and thoughts tends to weaken or obscure our relationship with and obedience to Christ, or to doubt and question the authority of God’s Word, it is wrong for us and we must turn away from it with firm resolve! Otherwise, we become the pawns of the Devil and inevitably dishonor God with our lives!!

     One of Jesus’ promises to his Disciples is the Holy Spirit to comfort and guide us in all things that pertain to our ‘Sonship’ to God.  We are not left to our own devices with no resource for help when we are tempted. “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you ANOTHER Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of Truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him; but Ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you and shall be IN you”!  John 14:16-17 

     Is it right? Is it wrong?  Sometimes these questions aren’t spelled out clearly for us in The Bible. But we can deal wisely and prudently with every question of Judgement and Morality on the basis of these general principles found in Scripture and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit we will continue to manifest our Love for Jesus and devotion to God in righteous and Holy lives that bring glory to God.

     I have singled out LOVE and IMMUTABILITY first because of the relationship they have to the Gospel.  We need to know and be confident of God’s consistency when considering his offer of SALVATION! And understanding the POWER of His Divine LOVE is essential to understand the GREATNESS AND DEGREE OF LOVE that is involved in the transaction of the New Birth He offers us.  Generally, here are a few Scriptures that speak of God’s LOVE: First one from the Old Testament, “May the Lord your God be praised because he favored you by placing you on his throne as the one ruling on his behalf! Because of your God's love for Israel and his lasting commitment to them, he made you king over them so you could make just and right decisions."  (2 Chron 9:8) NET

Then, there are these from the New Testament:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”      (John 3:16)  probably the most often quoted Scripture of all time demonstrating God’s great LOVE!

“Such hope [in God’s promises] never disappoints us, because God’s love has been abundantly poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:5)

“nor [things] above, nor [things] below, nor any [other] created thing will be able to separate us from God's love [for us], revealed through Christ Jesus our Lord [Note: The idea of this passage is "Regardless of what happens to us, we must not forget God still loves us"]. (Romans 8:39)

“may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love,” (Ephesians 3:18)

Another important attribute of Jehovah God is his HOLINESS, meaning He is righteous and pure from any taint of EVIL. “Your way, O God, is holy: what god is so great as our God?  (Psa 77:13)

“Exalt ye Jehovah our God, And worship at his holy hill; For Jehovah our God is holy” (Psa 99:9)

“…for I the Lord, who make you holy, am holy.” (Lev 21:8)  God’s holiness demands that he punish SIN and not simply let it go without punishment.  “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.”  (Ezekiel 18:4)  This is another reason Jesus had to die on the Cross; SIN had to be punished and by dying FOR US, Jesus paid the price for SIN, which God had said was death.  So, for us to ever have a chance to make peace with God, He provided a perfectly sinless SUBSTITUTE in His Son, Jesus, and BECAUSE OF HIS GREAT LOVE FOR HIS CREATED HUMANKIND, allowed Jesus to suffer execution by crucifixion as the payment for our sin-cursed souls.  

     The GOSPEL (good news) is that we are no longer indebted to God for our sins when we accept Christ’s gift of his own death on our behalf.  I hope this answers the question for those who have never really quite understood WHY Christ died on the Cross and HOW that death absolves us from the punishment we deserved for our SIN.  Jesus paid our redemption price, and in doing so, made possible our reconciliation with God.  All that is required for this miracle to happen is that we fully acknowledge our alienation to God due to the curse of sin, be deeply sorry for that circumstance and turn with our whole heart to Christ for forgiveness and restoration to fellowship with Father, God.

     While it is true that God is Supreme, above all that lives and breathes on the Earth, He does not want us to be in mortal fear or dread of Him. His LOVE and Compassion make him one who also desires a warm and tender fellowship with His Children.  In fact, Paul reminds us of the personal intimacy into which we have entered with our Heavenly Father: 14 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the Sons of God. 15  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, ‘Abba’, Father.” (Romans 8:14-15)  The term ‘Abba’ is equal to our human term of endearment to our Fathers when we refer to them as, “Daddy”. The ultimate recognition of intimacy and tenderness God has made possible by Adopting us.

     Again, teaching about our intimate relationship with God created by His adoption of us as His children, Paul writes to the Galatian believers, “But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the Law, to redeem them that were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.  And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father”. (Galatians 4:4-6)

     There are a great number of ‘attributes’ of Jehovah that are sufficient in number to justify an entire study on just that topic alone. However, for the purposes of this book, I will only deal with those Attributes of God that I feel have a relationship directly to the Gospel and God’s Plan of Salvation through the death, burial and resurrection of His Son, Jesus.  Those individuals who sincerely hunger for a ‘right’ relationship with God need to understand the characteristics and attributes of God that directly affects their quest to know Him.  Such knowledge is the best defense against FALSE assumptions about God that can and often DO become a tragic stumbling block in finding Peace with God.

      A more comprehensive study of God and all that pertains to Him is certainly worthy of more extensive study after one has established a saving relationship with him. Such related topics as God’s Existence and the many proofs He provides that speak to that, the Nature of God and His Supernatural Attributes; Omniscience—all knowing, Omnipotence—All powerful, Omnipresence—Present everywhere and at all times, Eternal—Is, was and will be existent forevermore, and his Immutability—DOES NOT CHANGE (also relative to his Righteousness) are all important to fully enable us to appreciate how truly Great and powerful Jehovah God is, and to enhance our respect and adoration of Him as Creator and Savior of Mankind.  And, of course we must eventually understand the Moral attributes of God to truly know Him in every aspect of His being, something I am convinced that God Himself very much wants us to fully know and recognize.

     These moral attributes include the two we’ve already looked at above—LOVE and IMMUTABILITY—and His Holiness—He is totally free of all sin, Righteousness—which speaks to His behavior toward others, Angels and humans, and Justice—absolutely FAIR in all his judgements, Mercy—treats humans with undeserved tenderness, and Loving-Kindness—Supernaturally predisposed to treat his Children as precious and treasured to Him.  These round out the basic characteristics that give unique identity and distinctive qualities to Jehovah, God.  Truly, there is no other like him, and knowing Him is life’s greatest blessing and fulfillment! He is both knowable and wants to have a relationship with those who earnestly seek Him.  One of the most profound truths found in Scripture is that statement Jesus made about the trustworthiness of our Heavenly Father:  “but seek ye FIRST the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness, and He will provide your basic needs!” My interpolation of  Matthew 6:33.  In his final sermon, Jesus told the Churches, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock!  If any man will hear my voice and will open the door to me, I will come in to him, will sup with him and he with me!” Rev. 3:20 , a message He intended for us to share with unbelievers.  Truly, God is a loving, forgiving Father who wants to adopt those who earnestly seek a right relationship with Him, and the choice is entirely ours, notwithstanding poor John Calvin’s confusion about God’s sovereignty and how he chooses to use it.  His Loving-Kindness is the basis for His Plan of Redemption!

     I sincerely hope that my discussing these profound truths will influence you to take stock of the quality of relationship you have with God, or even question whether you actually have established any relationship with Him at all.  Remember, Eternity is at stake. Your Eternity! Paul, even advised those of his day who were identifying themselves as ‘followers of Christ’, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?  2 Corinthians 13:5  God gave me a mirror to force me to do that: a wonderful Christian man whose life made it clear to me THAT I WAS NOT!  Nothing pleases Satan more than being able to give people false confidence that they have a saving relationship with God when, in fact, they DON’T!!  You can rely on God to show you if you diligently seek His fellowship and have NOT yet found it. 

 Chapter Nine--Knowing Your Enemy, Satan!

     Satan hates God and he hates God’s Children!  I would be remiss in my goal of providing truth to help seeking souls to find a happy, saving relationship with God without making sure to at least alert you to the unfortunate fact that you have an enemy who wants to destroy you and condemn your soul to the fires of Hell prepared for the Devil and his Angels and all those whom he can deceive and steal from God!  Being a child of God definitely gives us the upper hand in doing battle with this diabolical character, but we must ever be on guard and vigilant in quick recognition of his clever ploys to ensnare us in negative actions that tend toward a sense of hopelessness and defeat. 

     Whether it is constant attacks on our health or temptations to rebel against God’s ‘rules’, or the influence of wicked people willing to serve his priorities to wreck the lives of Christians by intellectually overwhelming them just as Satan himself did with Adam and Eve in the beginning, we must be aware of the unceasing efforts of the Devil to destroy us, any way he can. This, of course, is all part of what it means to be a Child of God, needing the protection and oversight of our beloved Heavenly Father.

          First, it is important to realize that Satan exists, Jesus himself alludes to him as a real entity in his parable of the sower in Matthew 13: “Then cometh the wicked one…the enemy that sowed them is the devil.”   John the Brother of Jesus and one of the twelve original Apostles writes:  “The devil having now put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him…” John 13:2   Other texts that clearly support his existence are Acts 5:3, 2 Cor 11:3, 14; 2 Pet. 2:4; and Jude 6, 8,   Paul, in the 2 Cor 11:14 passage, refers to the fact that satan was once an angel of light!   John 8:44 quotes Jesus as saying to the Pharisees, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar and the father of it.”   Paul calls him ‘the god’ of this world; “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not”  2  Cor 4:4.  He is not only the object of the sinful world’s worship, but also the inventor of its godless activities.  Scripture makes it clear that satan is a fallen Angel, the source of all evil, a liar and the Father of lies!  Not a figment of someone’s imagination but a real being.

          Clearly, the unsaved world, the domain of satan, is predisposed to evil and wicked ways; it’s the natural circumstance with human beings since the fall of Adam and Eve and means that these are souls he already owns, so to speak. It is precisely WHY they are in desperate need of a SAVIOR; they are LOST and disconnected from God because of SIN.  It is not, therefore his primary work to pursue them or to try to destroy them.  Rather, satan’s primary objective is to fight God by tormenting His Children and trying to get them to turn on God. I’ve stated that satan is the enemy of God’s Children, and Scripture says as much: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour; whom resist steadfast in the faith.” I Peter 5:8,9.  I also said that God’s Children have an advantage in their war with satan; James the Brother of Jesus and one of the original Apostles advises: “Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:7-8.  This was NOT written to the NON-BELIEVERS but to Christ followers, the Born Again Believers to whom James taught Discipleship.

          The truth is, all Father God is to us in a positive and blessed relationship, satan is the opposite; our mortal enemy, determined to discomfort, discourage, deceive and DESTROY our relationship with God.  This explains some of the confused Calvinist’s notion that God intentionally allows satan liberties of temptation and torment just to test the devotion and dedication of BELIEVERS. God, in his very personal role as our “Daddy” doesn’t play such hurtful games. To the contrary, Paul tells us, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation will also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it”. I Cor 10:13  (That means overcome it, Dear ones!)  In his letter to the Church at Ephesus Paul warns, “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (speaking of satan’s cunning and trickery used against Believers). 

     My point is that although satan is our mortal enemy, and God’s, we have been given a special godly authority over him by Father God!  We are never alone and powerless in our battle with him!  It is important for Christ followers to understand this truth.  Otherwise, it has no value.  My object here is both to expose satan as the mortal enemy of Born Again Believers, and highlight the loving-kindness and protective provisions God has given to His Children to empower them to do battle with the devil.  Truly, we can see our Heavenly Father’s extraordinary love and devotion to us in this matter of dealing with satan’s quest to defeat God and destroy His Children. But, I must point out that even though He wants to protect us and prevent us from turning away from Him, God NEVER at any time circumvents our FREE WILL to be loyal to Him or to REBEL against HIM.  To do so would make us automatons fully under God’s control and unable to Glorify Him with a willing, submissive spirit! I cannot understand why Calvinists cannot see that principle, pushing instead their doctrines of Unconditional Election, Irresistible Grace, Predestination and Perseverance of the Saints, all necessary to support Calvin’s insistence that God’s Sovereignty requires that He be the First Cause of everything.  But, I’ve already covered that subject in a previous Chapter so I won’t go back there.

     In a world with that kind of image of God, it is little wonder that so many well-intentioned people have a destructively distorted image of the very God who loves them and wants them to find a saving relationship with Him.  This is why I consider it so important that you understand our Heavenly Father as Jesus demonstrated Him and as true Believers NEED to KNOW Him!  I believe it should be a strong motivator in every man’s quest to make peace with God, when they realize His very Personhood is behind the invitation to seek and find Him.  That Personhood including, His Grace, Long-suffering, Loving-Kindness and the Greatest LOVE known to man! The very fact that Father God acknowledges the existence and danger of satan to His Children, and provides His supernatural assistance for us to use against him speaks volumes of his tender affection for his Children.

          So, take satan very seriously, but do not allow him to overcome you with his lies and deceptions designed to cause you to doubt and be untrusting of Father God.  Growing in Scriptural knowledge and spiritual maturity is the best assurance we have that we will overcome satan’s wicked acts against us motivated by his hatred of us!  The more you know and come to understand from the Word of God, the stronger you will become in dealing with him.  Peter advised, “As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby.” I Peter 2:2  And, speaking of growing by reading God’s Word, Paul wrote to his convert Timothy, “…from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto Salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.  All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that Man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” II Timothy 3:15-17.  Both First and Second Peter contain some of the richest truth God has given us and every Believer must read them to gain the wisdom and expanded understanding Peter provides!  A broad range of knowledge and understanding is contained in those two short books. 

          Yes, satan is mean, vicious, crafty and extremely deceptive and MUST be respected as our number one adversary in living out the Christian life.  He has an entire army of  human followers, many of whom don’t even know they are the unwitting servants of satan.  Others, who live lives of iniquity and lawlessness in open defiance of God and His written laws and statues, constantly labor for their own ambitions and pleasure, seeking to destroy the faith of those they encounter who appear to love God, which causes them to sense their guiltiness.  Satan rules the darkness and has an agenda to embarrass and harass God by tormenting God’s Children (those who have been Born Again and have thereby BECOME His Children), but he can only succeed in his evil intentions IF WE ALLOW HIM TO! So, take advantage of  God’s special gifts to fight him and let God be your protector and defender.   He is the only one we can rely on.  Other people will almost always let us down or at best will simply NOT be able to help us very much.  Never hesitate to call upon God for help.  He wants us to do that! 

          23 Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord. Jeremiah 9:23-24 

      No theories or any philosophy of man can change the truth.  Someone recently said to me: 'Maybe God intended it as an eternal struggle for man to truly know his destiny!". I want to share my response with you, because this idea is contradictory to God's revelation of himself to us.  Destiny is an interesting subject and its meaning elusive. The fact is, the word has different meanings to different people. Like the word fortune, the word destiny is used in various ways.  We say of a man, "It was his destiny to..." and we plug in something the man did, or something that happened to him which turns out to be that for which he is best known. Often we assign a role in history to a single human life and say it was his destiny to play that particular role in the unfolding of the human drama.  Sometimes, we ascribe Divine or cosmic influence to the life of persons whose lives affected millions. In fact, we tend to do this so much that we almost deny a destiny to anyone who lives a quiet, unassuming, ordinary life, and dies mourned by few outside their own family. It is as though we want to reserve that word for some great, monumental, earth-shaking accomplishment that sets someone apart as a figure to be remembered in the history books.

     Filtered through that cultural concept of the word, I think each of us tends to seek meaning for our lives that acknowledges at least a degree, however small it may be, of real and abiding significance to our having lived. The concept of "greatness" and the attaining of it motivates some people to achieve far more than others in whatever field of endeavor they have chosen to direct their energies. Still others, motivated only by their curiosity or their imagination coupled with creativity simply do what they enjoy and greatness follows. In this context, I speak of greatness as it is measured by men of the particular culture in which they live out their lives. I think this pretty well describes the world view of one who would say "'Maybe God intended it as an eternal struggle for men to truly know his destiny". Buried somewhere in that statement is the notion that God has a purpose for every human life, but that he does not intend for us to find it easily, if at all. The assumption is understandable, in light of the previous commentary on the human perspective of destiny, and it does ascribe to God a role, if only remotely, in the process.

    If you will indulge me, I want to share with you a different perspective of destiny. One which carries the importance of that concept far beyond this brief life, extending it, literally, from here to eternity. You are correct to assume that God has a role to exercise in the individual lives of human beings. That role is in harmony with his agenda, and is a reflection of his purpose for creating the human race in the first place. Usually described in terms of his will, God's agenda and his purpose for our existence are actually only different sides of the same coin. Without going into a deep Theological exposition of Scripture to justify my assertions in this regard, let me just summarize it this way; God has an agenda, which is to vindicate his righteousness and justice in casting Satan out of his presence because of his rebellion. Satan accused God of unrighteousness, claiming that it was at least partly God's fault that he rebelled, since God gave him a free will. Satan assumes that no creature, if given a free will, will serve God faithfully out of choice and love for him. Satan challenges God to prove him wrong with the life of Job, and Job, by his life and unwavering faith proves that a creature with a free will, even under the harshest possible circumstances, can and did choose to remain loyal to God.

      It is my conviction that the human race was created to demonstrate multiplied thousands of times that very principle. Thus, God is vindicated and shown to be righteous in his judgement of Satan in his rebellion. I am saying, therefore, that God's agenda--to vindicate his righteousness--is very much linked to the human race generally, and to individual lives particularly! I am convinced that his purpose for creating us, and therefore our purpose for existing, is to prove by our lives of devotion and dedication to him that he is righteous in rewarding them that diligently seek him, and in judging those (including Satan) who reject his authority and rebel against his sovereignty! He has given us sufficient information in his Word to understand our position (depraved, sinful and totally without merit of our own to offer him), and our judgement (to be eternally separated from him in a place of terrible punishment), and our only hope of salvation (regeneration, and Spiritual rebirth, resulting from our faith in and surrender to Jesus Christ!). 

        So, you see, life does have a purpose: to bring honor and glory to God who created us.  Additionally, recognizing our purpose and exercising ourselves thereto, gives meaning to our life..eternal meaning!  From the eternal perspective, then, our destiny is ultimately related to the decisions we make regarding God's revelation mentioned in the previous paragraph. Truth is, we are eternal creatures, made in the image of God. That carries with it life without end; after being judged, we will spend eternity somewhere, fully conscious of our condition.  In this context, we can determine our own destiny by the choices we make. Will we live life for its own sake and for all the pleasure we can squeeze out of it, selfishly indulging ourselves and continually ignoring God?  Or, will we recognize the truth he has provided us, believe his warnings, diligently seek him, confess our moral bankruptcy, plead for mercy, receive Christ's gift of salvation and reap the rewards promised to his Adopted Sons!? (and Daughters)

      It is probably true that most of us have no real "destiny" to achieve in this life, insofar as the way the world views the word. While God does use some people in a more notable way than others, and their notoriety may bring great fame and be considered "greatness" by the world, in God's economy even the least known soul alive, if he has come to Christ, broken and contrite, and lived out his life in faithful devotion to God, has achieved greatness. And great will be his reward! To have discovered the truth, the eternal truth, and to have acted on that truth by faith, brings a freedom and potential for fulfillment and serenity of spirit that no earthly attainment can be compared to. Sad, but true: many, while pursuing some elusive "destiny" related only to this life, will fail to realize their true purpose for existing, and will miss the real meaning of life with its accompanying rewards. Their "destiny" then, will be to spend eternity regretting the way they wasted their lives on trivia, forfeiting the greater joys of knowing God!

 Chapter Ten—The Simple Truth, Simply Explained,

         With my final appeal for response.

     God wants to have a relationship with His Created world that produces beauty and brings glory and honor to Him.  This truth becomes clear as one reads the Scriptural accounts of His interaction with Mankind since the very beginning.  He especially longs for the affection and worship of Human Beings, unique creatures that he created to possess some of His own characteristics in their basic nature.  This isn’t speculation or superstition, its revealed very clearly in Scripture.  In the Creation account, God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…”  “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them” Genesis 1:26-27. 

     The Bible further teaches that God is Spirit and the ‘likeness’ spoken of here refers to ‘personhood’, or the characteristics that produce personality and makes us superior to all the other  animals in nature.  God has ‘personhood’ which is the pattern we are created from.  I’m talking about the capacity to think, reason, draw conclusions, make calculated decisions, aspire, plan, execute actions to achieve goals, love, hate, regret, rejoice, empathize, gain knowledge, obtain and exercise wisdom.  These are the ways we resemble God and what he was referring to as being ‘made in his likeness’.

          According to Scripture, Adam and Eve were created innocent and without knowledge of good and evil.  It was satan, the Devil, who introduced them to that through his tempting them to disobey God.  In listening to satan and disregarding His warning NOT to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, they SINNED and fractured the relationship of trust they had with God.  Because of their rebellion, God cursed the human race and the world they lived in, creating the need for a Savior to reconcile them to God.  As time lapsed through centuries, God demonstrated the contrast between Holiness and unrighteousness by giving them the ‘Law’ to clarify and differentiate between right and wrong, good and evil and to show them their shortfall in meeting His standards. He used selected individuals to communicate to them his displeasure with their sinfulness and the consequences they must endure because of it. 

          Through many centuries of shameful and destructive history, God revealed by prophecy that He intended to provide an ‘intercessor’ and Savior who would come into the world and affect a work to redeem them from the alienation that prevented them from having a harmonious relationship with God.  Dozens of prophecies were given regarding this Savior, describing his birth, ministry, death and even his resurrection from the dead, all of them fulfilled perfectly in the thirty three years of Jesus Christ on the Earth.

          During the centuries while the interaction between God and Man was recorded by those God appointed to author the Scriptures, man proved to be given to superstition and religious inclination almost without limit.  In fact, the very framework of the ‘Priesthood’ that God directed they create to administer the practice of His Laws and Precepts given to distinguish them from the heathen cultures of the world, became a highly legalistic ‘religion’ that ensnared them in traditions and rituals that became burdensome and fruitless, failing to create a  harmonious and personal relationship with God.  No one could keep the Law!

       When God was ready to initiate His redemptive plan, Jesus was born and according to the Scriptures, He fulfilled all the prophecies of the ‘redeemer’ that had given hope of restored fellowship with God.  According to God’s plan, those to whom Jesus first presented himself, rejected him as fulfillment of the prophecies regarding ‘Messiah’, the Jewish term for the Savior God had promised.  He then offered himself and His redemptive power  to any and all who would receive Him.  This is where and how the Gospel was introduced to the world, and which is described in detail by those whom God inspired to write the New Testament.

          Whereas, the Jews and others had developed a ‘religious’ approach to establish a relationship with God, Jesus showed and taught that God was not interested in ‘religion’, consisting of ritual, form and ceremony based on a strict adherence to certain ‘laws’.  Rather, Jesus emphasis was on depicting God as “Our Father, which art in Heaven” and one who wanted a personal relationship with every individual who was willing to seek such a close relationship and who was willing to accept the Gospel message of Jesus on a personal level. 

     In earlier chapters, I have tried to make perfectly clear just what the Gospel is and how it is essential for us to find and enjoy that personal relationship.  I have also attempted to show that Christianity is NOT, nor has it EVER BEEN just another RELIGION!  Christianity is in fact the RELATIONSHIP God has always intended should exist between Himself and Mankind!  Jesus, teaching and proving himself as REDEEMER and Savoir was intended to demonstrate to us just what God required of us to make that relationship a reality.  This is the Gospel message that Jesus brought and taught His Disciples, and which he commanded those who accepted his Lordship to go into all the world and teach others.  “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you…”  Matthew 28:19-20

          It is imperative that you understand, Jesus was NOT about religion!  Religion is Man’s futile attempt to reach God.  It is always a failure, because it was never ordained by God, and people who ONLY have religion DO NOT HAVE SALVATION, no matter how religious they may be!  That’s the most important truth that must be understood by anyone who is pursuing a right relationship with God.  Religion, and the zealous practice of it’s most charitable manifestations, is NOT going to suffice!  Repentance and turning to Christ for His gift of salvation and forgiveness is the one and only way to be BORN AGAIN!

          The Bible teaches that God possesses ‘personhood’, and Jesus characterized Him as “Our Father”.  A Father loves his children and desires relationship with them that produces pleasure and satisfaction.  A Father craves the love and respect of his children and dotes on blessing them with the best he has to give.  A Father receives honor and fulfillment when his children show him love, respect and obedience to his training.  It is the same with GOD!  He does not want children who are ‘religious’, He wants children who seek to know and relate and interact at a personal level with Him!  That’s Christianity! AND, ALTHOUGH VERY FEW PEOPLE SEEM TO KNOW IT, THAT’S ALSO THE GOSPEL…The GOOD NEWS.  The ‘person’ we refer to as ‘God’ doesn’t want a complex, ceremonial, well organized and regimented ‘RELIGION’, full of pageantry, and based on ritual, rules and regulations.  He, in his ‘Personhood’ wants to be obeyed, respected, reverenced, and LOVED by His Children. The reason Jehovah gave the Law and the Priesthood to Israel was to show them how far away from God they actually were!  No one EVER was able to keep the Law until Jesus came into the world and He FULFILLED The LAW!

          The central core of the LAW God gave to Moses was the promise of  one who would come and pay the SIN-DEBT of everyone willing to receive that GIFT on the merits of Jesus Christ’s perfect righteousness.  Those who do, BECOME Children of God through the process of ADOPTION!  Involved in that process was and continues to be FORGIVENESS OF SIN, NEW BIRTH INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD, LITERAL, ONGOING AND TANGIBLE GOD-AWARENESS AND A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM THAT ENERGIZES THE SOUL AND BRINGS FAITH AND CONFIDENCE TO THOSE ADOPTED!  Now, if that sounds like a lot, it is.  But, that IS what the GOSPEL entails, and what those who become BORN AGAIN BELIEVERS experience.  The first prerequisite for that to happen is acceptance of the TRUTH that we are LOST and ALIENATED from God.  The second is to be deeply SORRY for that circumstance.  That’s known as REPENTANCE.  Third is to turn BY FAITH TO GOD, CONFESSING your hopeless estate to Him, SEEKING FORGIVENESS and RECONCILIATION TO GOD BY THE SUBSTITUTIONARY DEATH OF JESUS ON THE CROSS.  How long did it take to read those six lines?  How deep and complex are those simple truth components of the ‘transaction’ of Salvation?  The answer is obvious;

          The Gospel is so simple that THERE IS NO justification NOT to accept it and become a Child of God!  But, incredibly, according to Jesus’ statements in Matthew, Chapter Seven, only a FEW will become beneficiaries of that truth!  One must ask, WHY?  The answers are many.  The ONE force that will determine who does NOT find the ‘strait and narrow’ way that leads to EVERLASTING LIFE, is SATAN and his work to hide the Gospel, and deceive the masses with FALSE RELIGION, DISTORTED SCRIPTURE AND FALSE PREACHERS AND TEACHERS!!  That, Dear Friend, is why I have written this volume.

     I am not the first person to write about Jesus’ somber statements in Matthew Chapter Seven.  He pulls no punches in telling his followers NOT to trust their religious background, their relationship to Abraham and Moses, their acts of piety and charity or any other qualifications they think they may possess as certain entitlements to entrance into God’s Eternal Kingdom! NO, indeed, others have written of these statements from the lips of our loving Lord, Jesus, a couple of which I want to share with you.

       First, I refer to these comments from the great Biblical Scholar, Matthew Henry regarding his thoughts on Matthew, Chapter Seven. Henry was a profound thinker and most of all a deeply dedicated Disciple of Christ whose heart was powerfully fixed on his Master’s agenda to seek and to save that which was lost.  With that in mind, please indulge Matthew Henry’s rather lengthly exposition of this very important part of Christ’s teaching: (Resources Matthew Henry's Commentary Matthew Seven Verses 21–29)

     "We have here the conclusion of this long and excellent sermon, the scope of which is to show the indispensable necessity of obedience to the commands of Christ; this is designed to clench the nail, that it might fix in a sure place: he speaks this to his disciples, that sat at his feet whenever he preached, and followed him wherever he went. Had he sought his own praise among men, he would have said, that was enough; but the religion he came to establish is in power, not in word only (1 Cor. 4:20), and therefore something more is necessary. (Author’s note: Mr. Henry uses the word “religion” here as was common in his day to refer to all that pertained to piety and God as “religion” as one might think of a genre’, and is not intended by Henry to imply he believed Christ’s work was simply to establish the perfect ‘religion’.  I believe he understood, as I have affirmed, Christ’s mission was NOT about religion, but about establishing the relationship with God that had been intended from the beginning.)

I. He shows, by a plain remonstrance, that an outward profession of religion, however remarkable, will not bring us to heaven, unless there be a correspondent conversation, Matt. 7:21-23. All judgment is committed to our Lord Jesus; the keys are put into his hand; he has power to prescribe new terms of life and death, and to judge men according to them: now this is a solemn declaration pursuant to that power. Observe here,

1. Christ’s law laid down, Matt. 7:21. Not every one that saith, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, into the kingdom of grace and glory. It is an answer to that question, Ps. 15:1. Who shall sojourn in thy tabernacle?--the church militant; and who shall dwell in thy holy hill?--the church triumphant. Christ here shows,

(1.) That it will not suffice to say, Lord, Lord; in word and tongue to own Christ for our Master, and to make addresses to him, and professions of him accordingly: in prayer to God, in discourse with men, we must call Christ, Lord, Lord; we say well, for so he is (John 13:13); but can we imagine that this is enough to bring us to heaven, that such a piece of formality as this should be so recompensed, or that he who knows and requires the heart should be so put off with shows for substance? Compliments among men are pieces of civility that are returned with compliments, but they are never paid as real services; and can they then be of an account with Christ? There may be a seeming importunity in prayer, Lord, Lord: but if inward impressions be not answerable to outward expressions, we are but as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. This is not to take us off from saying, Lord, Lord; from praying, and being earnest in prayer, from professing Christ’s name, and being bold in professing it, but from resting in these, in the form of godliness, without the power.

(2.) That it is necessary to our happiness that we do the will of Christ, which is indeed the will of his Father in heaven. The will of God, as Christ’s Father, is his will in the gospel, for there he is made known, as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: and in him our Father. Now this is his will, that we believe in Christ, that we repent of sin, that we live a holy life, that we love one another. This is his will, even our sanctification. If we comply not with the will of God, we mock Christ in calling him Lord, as those did who put on him a gorgeous robe, and said, Hail, King of the Jews. Saying and doing are two things, often parted in conversation of men: he that said, I go, sir, stirred never a step (Matt. 21:30); but these two things God has joined in his command, and let no man that puts them asunder think to enter into the kingdom of heaven.

2. The hypocrite’s plea against the strictness of this law, offering other things in lieu of obedience, Matt. 7:22. The plea is supposed to be in that day, that great day, when every man shall appear in his own colours; when the secrets of all hearts shall be manifest, and among the rest, the secret pretences with which sinners now support their vain hopes. Christ knows the strength of their cause, and it is but weakness; what they now harbour in their bosoms, they will then produce in arrest of judgment to stay the doom, but it will be in vain. They put in their plea with great importunity, Lord, Lord; and with great confidence, appealing to Christ concerning it; Lord, does thou not know, (1.) That we have prophesied in thy name? Yes, it may be so; Balaam and Caiaphas were overruled to prophesy, and Saul was against his will among the prophets, yet that did not save them. These prophesied in his name, but he did not send them; they only made use of his name to serve a turn. Note, A man may be a preacher, may have gifts for the ministry, and an external call to it, and perhaps some success in it, and yet be a wicked man; may help others to heaven, and yet come short himself. (2.) That in thy name we have cast out devils? That may be too; Judas cast out devils, and yet was a son of perdition. Origen says, that in his time so prevalent was the name of Christ to cast out devils, that sometimes it availed when named by wicked Christians. A man might cast devils out of others, and yet have a devil, nay, be a devil himself. (3.) That in thy name we have done many wonderful works. There may be a faith of miracles, where there is no justifying faith; none of that faith which works by love and obedience. Gifts of tongues and healing would recommend men to the world, but it is real holiness or sanctification that is accepted of God. Grace and love are a more excellent way than removing mountains, or speaking with the tongues of men and of angels, 1 Cor. 13:1, 2. Grace will bring a man to heaven without working miracles, but working miracles will never bring a man to heaven without grace.

There are others who hear Christ’s sayings and do them not; their religion rests in bare hearing, and goes no further; like children that have the rickets, their heads swell with empty notions, and indigested opinions, but their joints are weak, and they heavy and listless; they neither can stir, nor care to stir, in any good duty; they hear God’s words, as if they desired to know his ways, like a people that did righteousness, but they will not do them, Ezek. 33:30, 31; Isa. 58:2. Thus they deceive themselves, as Micah, who thought himself happy, because he had a Levite to be his priest, though he had not the Lord to be his God. The seed is sown, but it never comes up; they see their spots in the glass of the word, but wash them off, Jas. 1:22, 24. Thus they put a cheat upon their own souls; for it is certain, if our hearing be not the means of our obedience, it will be the aggravation of our disobedience.  Those who only hear Christ’s sayings, and do them not, sit down in the midway to heaven, and that will never bring them to their journey’s end. They are akin to Christ only by the half-blood, and our law allows not such to inherit.

2. These two sorts of hearers are here represented in their true characters, and the state of their case, under the comparison of two builders; one was wise, and built upon a rock, and his building stood in a storm; the other foolish, and built upon the sand, and his building fell.

Now, (1.) The general scope of this parable teaches us that the only way to make sure work for our souls and eternity is, to hear and do the sayings of the Lord Jesus, these sayings of his in this sermon upon the mount, which is wholly practical; some of them seem hard sayings to flesh and blood, but they must be done; and thus we lay up in store a good foundation for the time to come (1 Tim. 6:19); a good bond, so some read it; a bond of God’s making, which secures salvation upon gospel-terms, that is a good bond; not one of our own devising, which brings salvation to our own fancies. They make sure the good part, who, like Mary, when they hear the word of Christ, sit at his feet in subjection to it: Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.

(2.) The particular parts of it teach us divers good lessons.

[1.] That we have every one of us a house to build, and that house is our hope for heaven. It ought to be our chief and constant care, to make our calling and election sure, and so we make our salvation sure; to secure a title to heaven’s happiness, and then to get the comfortable evidence of it; to make it sure, and sure to ourselves, that when we fail, we shall be received into everlasting habitations. Many never mind this: it is the furthest thing from their thoughts; they are building for this world, as if they were to be here always, but take no care to build for another world. All who take upon them a profession of religion, profess to enquire, what they shall do to be saved; how they may get to heaven at last, and may have a well-grounded hope of it in the mean time.

[2.] That there is a rock provided for us to build this house upon, and that rock is Christ. He is laid for a foundation, and other foundation can no may lay, Isa. 28:16; 1 Cor. 3:11. He is our Hope, 1 Tim. 1:1. Christ in us is so; we must ground our hopes of heaven upon the fulness of Christ’s merit, for the pardon of sin, the power of his Spirit, for the sanctification of our nature, and the prevalency of his intercession, for the conveyance of all that good which he has purchased for us. There is that in him, as he is made known, and made over, to us in the gospel, which is sufficient to redress all our grievances, and to answer all the necessities of our case, so that he is a Saviour to the uttermost. The church is built upon this Rock, and so is every believer. He is strong and immovable as a rock; we may venture our all upon him, and shall not be made ashamed of our hope.

[3.] That there is a remnant, who by hearing and doing the sayings of Christ, build their hopes upon this Rock; and it is their wisdom. Christ is our only Way to the Father, and the obedience of faith is our only way to Christ: for to them that obey him, and to them only, he becomes the Author of eternal salvation. Those build upon Christ, who having sincerely consented to him, as their Prince and Saviour, make it their constant care to conform to all the rules of his holy religion, and therein depend entirely upon him for assistance from God, and acceptance with him, and count every thing but loss and dung that they may win Christ, and be found in him. Building upon a rock requires care and pains: they that would make their calling and election sure, must give diligence. They are wise builders who begin to build so as they may be able to finish (Luke 14:30), and therefore lay a firm foundation.

[4.] That there are many who profess that they hope to go to heaven, but despise this Rock, and build their hopes upon the sand; which is done without much pains, but it is their folly. Every thing besides Christ is sand. Some build their hopes upon their worldly prosperity, as if they were a sure token of God’s favour, Hos. 12:8. Others upon their external profession of religion, the privileges they enjoy, and the performances they go through in that profession, and the reputation they have got by it. They are called Christians, were baptized, go to church, hear Christ’s word, say their prayers, and do nobody any harm, and, if they perish, God help a great many! This is the light of their own fire, which they walk in; this is that, upon which, with a great deal of assurance, they venture; but it is all sand, took weak to bear such a fabric as our hopes of heaven.

[5.] That there is a storm coming, that will try what our hopes are bottomed on; will try every man’s work (1 Cor. 3:13); will discover the foundation, Hab. 3:13. Rain, and floods, and wind, will beat upon the house; the trial is sometimes in this world; when tribulation and persecution arise because of the word, then it will be seen, who only heard the word, and who heard and practiced it; then when we have occasion to use our hopes, it will be tried whether they were right, and well-grounded, or not. However, when death and judgment come, then the storm comes, and it will undoubtedly come, how calm soever things may be with us now. Then every thing else will fail us but these hopes, and then, if ever, they will be turned into everlasting fruition.

[6.] That those hopes which are built upon Christ the Rock will stand, and will stand the builder in stead when the storm comes; they will be his preservation, both from desertion, and from prevailing disquiet. His profession will not wither; his comforts will not fail; they will be his strength and song, as an anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast. When he comes to the last encounter, those hopes will take off the terror of death and the grave; will carry him cheerfully through that dark valley; will be approved by the Judge; will stand the test of the great day; and will be crowned with endless glory, 2 Cor. 1:12; 2 Tim. 4:7, 8. Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord, when he comes, finds so doing, so hoping.

[7.] That those hopes which foolish builders ground upon any thing but Christ, will certainly fail them on a stormy day; will yield them no true comfort and satisfaction in trouble, in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment; will be no fence against temptations to apostacy, in a time of persecution. When God takes away the soul, where is the hope of the hypocrite? Job 27:8. It is as the spider’s web, and as the giving up of the ghost. He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand, Job 8:14, 15. It fell in the storm, when the builder had most need of it, and expected it would be a shelter to him. It fell when it was too late to build another: when a wicked man dies, his expectation perishes; then, when he thought it would have been turned into fruition, it fell, and great was the fall of it. It was a great disappointment to the builder; the shame and loss were great. The higher men’s hopes have been raised, the lower they fall. It is the sorest ruin of all that attends formal professors; witness Capernaum’s doom. Resources Matthew Henry's Commentary Matthew Chapter Seven, vs 21-29   

Pretty powerful, eh?  Ever heard anything like that in your own Christian learning experience?

           The Second resource I must mention is much closer to the present time period, and to me even more blunt in its assessment of Christ’s words;

      We read this from IVP New Testament Commentaries regarding Matthew Chapter Seven; “Within this chapter, verses 1-12 fit together somewhat loosely, but the paragraphs in verses 13-27 make more sense together. Most first-century Jewish people believed they were saved by virtue of descent from Abraham (3:9). Yet Jesus regards the assumption of salvation as a deception; most of his contemporaries were unsaved (7:13-14). Those who led them showed by their lives that they were not God's true representatives (vv. 15-20); indeed, many professing servants of Jesus will themselves be banished from God's presence in the judgment (vv. 21-23), for only those who truly obeyed his teaching will stand (vv. 24-27). When one compares the great numbers of people today who cavalierly identify themselves as Christians yet never consider the claims of Christ, one shudders to realize how deadly such deception remains. May we present Christ's radical claims boldly so that more professing Christians may reckon with the reality of his lordship.  Jesus' image of the narrow way should have made sense to his hearers (v. 13). Greek, Roman and Jewish writers often employed the image of the two paths in life … those particularly concerned with the future judgment especially employed the image of the two ways, the narrow one leading to life and the broad one to destruction (as in 4 Ezra 7:3-16, 60-61; 8:1-3;…

      Some people's assurance of salvation is a delusion (Mt 7:13-14). To enter the narrow gate of the kingdom we must knock, that is, request that God make us citizens of his kingdom (vv. 7-8).The difficulty of Jesus' way includes embracing by repentance both persecution (5:10-12) and the ethics of the kingdom taught in the Sermon on the Mount. (emphasis mine)

     Most Jewish people in Jesus' day were religious; respecting God and keeping his commandments were an important part of their culture. These would be the many people of whom Jesus' hearers would think when they heard him. Yet Jesus, like a few contemporaries who were particularly scrupulous (4 Ezra 7:45-61; 8:1-3), declared that most people were lost.

 (Emphasis Mine)  Jesus intends his words to jar us from complacency, to consider the genuineness of our commitment to him.

       One wonders how many members in our churches today assume that they are saved when in fact they treat Jesus' teachings lightly-people who give no thought to their temper, their mental chastity, their integrity and so forth during the week (compare 5:21-48), then pretend to be religious or even spiritually gifted in church. Do we have the courage to communicate Jesus' message as clearly as he meant it to be conveyed, to warn ourselves and others that it is possible for people to assume they are saved and yet be damned? Some texts in the Bible provide assurance to suffering Christians that the kingdom is theirs; this text challenges "cultural Christians," those following only Christian tradition rather than Christ himself, to realize that they need conversion.” Resources: IVP New Testament Commentary Series Matthew THE ETHICS OF GOD'S KINGDOM (5-7) Appropriate Judgment (7:1-27)  The Narrow Way (7:13-14)

        These comments and the actual Scripture text of Matthew Chapter Seven are not just challenging and deadly SERIOUS, they are downright SCARY!  I am sure this is WHY you seldom, if ever, hear these statements taught or preached directly from most pulpits. Personally, in over fifty years of my Christian life, I don’t know of one instance of these Scripture statements being included in a Sermon or Church Sponsored Bible Study.  Furthermore, I have never read an article in a Christian publication, book or periodical that focused on these deadly serious passages. This is not to say it hasn’t happened, but to make the point that for the most part these gravely serious truths are obscured and avoided in the Christian Community! That’s BAD, Dear Reader, and EXACTLY WHY I am writing this book!  I have crafted this chapter to serve as somewhat a summary of the main themes I’ve tried to develop in “I NEVER KNEW YOU!”.   Again I say, if only one precious soul reading this book is moved by God’s Spirit to make that Salvation-dependent commitment to Christ, be BORN AGAIN and become a CHILD of GOD, it will all have been worth it!

          Jesus spoke of ‘keys to the Kingdom’ in his conversation with Peter that tragically gave rise to an entire system of religion that has obscured the Gospel from thousands of its adherents for almost two thousand year.  ( Matthew 16:19) which I spoke about in Chapter Six.  Think for a minute about the function of a Key.  It is for opening, unlocking and giving access to that which was NOT accessible until the Key was applied, right?  So, I suggest to you that just as Jesus provided to Peter the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, I am attempting in my own humble way to provide those same keys again by reviewing His statements about them.  As a concluding appeal, I want to highlight for one last time a few statements Jesus made that don’t get very much attention nowadays, if they ever did.

          Firstly, consider the statement Jesus made to Nicodemus, the pious Pharasee who came to Him privately at night to inquire about his teaching. (John Chapter Three) Jesus knew why Nicodemus came to him and cut to the chase with this profound statement: “Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless a man be BORN AGAIN he cannot see (understand or experience) the Kingdom of God”   First Key: To be included in God’s Eternal Kingdom Jesus said you MUST be BORN AGAIN! Elsewhere in the New Testament, the Bible speaks of the true Disciple of Christ, the Child of God as having been ‘made new’, regenerated, Born Anew.  The key is understanding that the ‘newness’ spoken of is of a Spiritual, supernatural nature.  If it happens, you KNOW it because the changes that it brings about in a person are nothing short of miraculous!

          Secondly, another Key is the statements of Jesus concerning what it costs to REALLY be His Disciple: Read Luke 14:25-35  and the more general parallel statement in Matthew 16:24-25.  What Jesus tells us in these two readings is that if we consider ANYTHING of greater importance in our lives than BEING RIGHT WITH GOD AND THE DISCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST, then WE CANNOT BE HIS DISCIPLE NOR CAN WE BE RIGHT WITH GOD!!!

          Finally, I think the exclusive statement Jesus made making HIMSELF the sole intercessor between man and God should be considered a Key:  “I (Jesus Christ, exclusively) AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH and THE LIFE! NO MAN    COMETH UNTO THE FATHER BUT BY ME!!!” John 14:6.  What Jesus is clearly telling us here is that HE alone can intercede with God for us, and in fact PAID for our transgressions and bought our PARDON for SIN from GOD with his suffering and death on the CROSS of CALVARY!! It’s DONE, Beloved, there’s not one thing left for us to do except ACCEPT it as His GIFT of LOVE and embrace Jesus with our WHOLE HEART!      

      I have been a Believer and Disciple of Jesus Christ for over FIFTY years now, and I have never been satisfied with MOST of the traditional practice of ‘institutionalized’ Christianity.  Basically, there are at least three BIG negatives that I feel have crept into Christianity, rendering it far less effective in producing NEW followers of Jesus, and robbing the ‘Church’ of its power to WIN the hearts and minds of those who earnestly SEEK to KNOW God!

          Firstly, the CURSE OF DENOMINATIONALISM, with all its divisive variations of doctrine and inconsistent renderings of the Word of God! This was the subject of Chapter Three.  Secondly, neglect or even HIDING of The Gospel by those entrusted to promote it! So much of that which identifies itself as ‘Christian’ has devolved into nothing more than ‘RELIGION’, having little to do with preaching the Gospel!  There are literally dozens, perhaps hundreds, of would be ‘Churches’ claiming to have the basic mission of Jesus Christ as their reason to exist, while failing to follow His commission to “PREACH THE GOSPEL, AND MAKE DISCIPLES”!!  The beautiful truth that God LOVES US, ALTHOUGH WE ARE HOPELESSLY LOST AND GUILTY OF SINS THAT HAVE ALIENATED US FROM HIM, AND HAS PROVIDED A PLAN OF SALVATION FOR US SO THAT WE CAN BE SAVED AND BECOME HIS CHILDREN!  Thirdly, even in church circles that DO preach the Gospel, few of them EVER teach or emphasize the SECOND half of the Gospel; GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES!!  Second only to the prerequisite of BECOMING A CHILD OF GOD THROUGH THE FORGIVENESS OF SIN AND ADOPTION OF SONS, IS THE ESSENTIAL OF BECOMING AN ACTIVE, DEDICATATED, AND ENTHUSIASTIC DISCIPLE OF THE LORD JESUS!!  A true convert to Jesus Christ is supposed to begin a lifelong process of spiritual GROWTH and maturation that leads him or her to be involved with His AGENDA, which is Kingdom-Building by sharing the Gospel with those we meet and become friends with, just as Jesus Commanded us!  (Matthew 28:18-20,  Mark 16:16)

          Fellowship and corporate worship with other followers of Christ is important, of course.  In fact, the Bible even tells us, “Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as some have done!”  Hebrews 10:23-24.  Most fellowships of  Believers have set up some level of ‘together’ time for sharing the ‘oneness’ and unity of their ‘Faith families’ through hearing the Word of God preached, testimonies shared and singing praises unto the Lord, all of which is good.  But, unfortunately, it is my observation that almost none of these emphasize the essential of spiritual growth and learning required to become effective Disciples of Jesus.  Most people today who consider themselves to be Christ Followers have come to believe attending church and living a Godly life is all there is to Christianity, and that’s a tragedy! In every instance where this kind of image of ‘Christian Life’ is common, that body’s leadership has failed their members most grievously, denying them the full experience and JOY of being a Disciple of Jesus Christ!  I can say that with authority because I was Born Again for eighteen years before I found out what true DISCIPLESHIP is and the JOY it produces when pursued in earnest.

It is in active Discipleship that the Christian finds his meaning and purpose for living.  It is his biggest source of personal fulfillment and his foundation for peace and JOY! Having a supportive ‘life partner’ and becoming a successful parent and husband or wife has a high level of satisfaction in life, but the absolute greatest level of happiness and life fulfillment is attained in becoming a mature Disciple, sharing the Gospel and bringing others into a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus!  Without this element, Christianity falls short of being all Jesus intended it to be.  It fails to serve its intended purpose and is reduced to just another ‘religion’, and that is tragic! 

   The truths I’ve just shared with you in the last few pages, were absent from my understanding, as I mentioned, for at least the first eighteen years of my experience of being a Born Again Christian!  Why?  Because the church body I joined after my encounter with God, FAILED TO TEACH ME THE FULL MEANING OF BECOMING A DISCIPLE OF Jesus Christ!  The other half of the Great Commission simply was NOT taught!   Oh, I found a lot of satisfaction in teaching Sunday School, and being in the Choir and a member of the men’s quartet.  But, somehow I never quite felt I had truly found what was in the Center of God’s will for me.  So, the feeling that I was NOT where I was supposed to be as a Christian drove me back to College, to learn WHO I was in Christ.  Thank God, it was there in a Christian Bible College I finally was exposed to the concepts of Discipleship and Evangelism, both of which are supposed to be vital parts of the Christian Life!  I discovered that the reason for my lack of complete fulfilment those first eighteen years was due to the fact my Spiritual Growth had been stunted and I had for the most part remained a ‘baby’ Christian all that time!  Tragically, I’m afraid this is the case with most of the churches in operation today!  Learning what I had not previously known, I found a new level of Christian Joy and fulfilment that I never knew was possible.  Not only that, but with the new perspective of Discipleship as the natural lifestyle of a Christian, came a new purpose for occupying space on Planet Earth; sharing the Gospel with people the Holy Spirit brought into my life and  sharing with other ‘baby’ Christians what I had discovered about Discipleship to help them GROW!

        If there is anything we DON’T NEED in today’s ‘religious’ world it‘s MORE CHURCHES!  There are already too many of them in existence now and they all compete for members, each with it’s own particular flavor or approach to ‘doing church’.  We do need a simple plan to give Jesus’ friends a means of evangelizing and obeying the Lord’s “Great Commission” to make disciples.  This includes growing them after they are brought to Christ.

This led me to create a curriculum for Bible Study to teach my Brethren back in my Home Church.  My enthusiasm for sharing this newfound knowledge with them was a really powerful motivator that gave me new energy and a sense of meaningful opportunity in ministry. For those who sincerely desire to grow in their Christian lives and are eager to move forward in Spiritual maturity, I will share this Bible study with you in the final Chapter.  It is my adaptation of the materials contained in the book “The Essentials of Discipleship”, by Francis Cosgrove, which was used in the class, ‘Discipleship’, I took in Bible College.  I contacted Mr. Cosgrove and requested his permission to use my adaption of his Bible Study to teach from and received his enthusiastic approval.  I used some of his outline topics and added much of my own narrative and Scripture research to create what I feel is an effective Bible Study on the subject of being Christ’s Disciple.  One of the most important elements of the Christian’s walk with Christ is LEARNING ABOUT HIM AND FROM HIM, which He encourages His followers to do!   “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”  Matthew 11:29  

In His famous prayer to Father God for his followers in John 17, Jesus commends the Word of God as our source for Spiritual Maturity: “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy WORD is TRUTH!” John 17:17   The word, ‘sanctify’ means to purify and set apart.  So, one primary goal in my version of the Essentials of Discipleship is Scripture familiarity.  I’ve constructed it in such a way that it requires the Bible student to get heavily into the Bible, learning to find information relative to the principles being emphasized.  That way, not only do you learn truth necessary for successful growth, you become more knowledgeable of the Bible itself as a tool for advancing your knowledge and understanding of all things pertaining to God, your world and the Lord Jesus, whom you serve.  One of the Scriptures about Scripture I’ve mentioned already is Paul’s admonition to his young convert, Timothy; “Study, to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth”! II Tim 2:15.

Also, Paul told Timothy: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”  II Tim 3:16-17.

           So, if you have truly had that life changing encounter with God I’ve spoken about early on, and you know you have become a Child of God as I’ve described more than once in preceding chapters, a Bible Study to enlighten you more fully about your exciting new relationship with Jesus should be very helpful in your process of Spiritual Growth and Maturity as Jesus’ Disciple. Knowledge of all things involving God and His Word are truly essential for effective, meaningful Discipleship, and my Cosgrove Bible Study adaptation will be a helpful tool for you.  May God bless your studies, is my prayer as I make this the final chapter of the book.  In my opinion, it is an excellent tool for Spiritual Growth, even if I did play a part in creating it.  I seek no praise for it.  My reward will be to know it has served Jesus’ agenda to ‘grow disciples’.  I truly believe it has that potential.

           Additionally, my pleading may have made you wonder, does this writer actually think NO existing body of Christ followers is presently functioning after the pattern described in the ACTS?  The truth is, I don’t know.  But I believe there are measures that can be included in the ministry of ANY person or an entire body of believers that would more nearly reflect the ACTS model of church practice in carrying out Christ’s Great Commission.  I even conceived of a plan I called “Friends of Jesus” which I believe would be a giant step in the right direction. For those who may be interested in such an undertaking, I offer that plan as I originally wrote it in the following Chapter.

Chapter 11--Friends of Jesus--Getting back to Basics

     Jesus made the following statement near the end of his sojourn on this Earth: 15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.  (John 15:15-16) 

   After covering in some detail what I consider a near apostasy of the Church left to His Followers by The Lord Jesus Christ, I want to zero in on a plan of action to reverse the digression from Jesus' original intent in creating His Church. In that exchange with Peter we looked at earlier: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18) Jesus seems to be saying that His Church—the one he established and commanded to “Go into all the world and Preach the Gospel...” Mark 16:15-- must still exists today, at least in some sense. Variations in form and practice and teaching for doctrine the commandments of men has so disfigured the TRUTH that Jesus said would make men free I think it is most important to consider returning to the BASICS of the Gospel and HOW we go about sharing it with the seeking world around us. I encourage anyone who is truly determined to be Jesus' Disciple to consider means of actually PRACTICING the work of the original Churches as revealed to us in The ACTS of the Apostles.

          After much prayer and soul searching I conceived of a plan to return the followers of Jesus to a basic practice of their Faith that would more accurately reflect the way early believers practiced it.  Reading the Acts of the Apostles from the Bible, I tried to bring what they did into an adaptation to the realities of the Twentieth Century that would work today. For any Bible believing and Christ honoring groups that may be looking for a way to more nearly capture the spirit and methodology of the early Church, I am offering the following as one possible way to get back to basics.  Anyone who truly desires to be a friend to Jesus, regardless of their church affiliation or denominational identity could participate in this evangelical plan and with enough persons from various churches doing so, independent of the churches they belong to, I believe would restore the purpose Jesus intended for his followers and help build His Church as He originally meant us to do.

     Friends of Jesus-An evangelistic Plan for Twentieth Century Practice of faithful Followers of Jesus Christ.

The Concept

     Given the cultural realities which characterize our times, I believe

we must analyze our culture with an eye toward trying to identify new methodologies for reaching the lost. We must be on the alert for outreach opportunities available to us which may be considered a break from “tradition”, but which may very well prove to be effective tools of evangelism in our modern culture.  Whereas various forms of “visitation” have had some positive results in the past, I am convinced this traditional method of outreach should be reserved primarily for visiting the sick and infirm to minister to their spiritual needs. I say this because I believe this type of ministry is now and always will be an appropriate application of visitation, while evangelism isn’t.

      There are several reasons I believe this to be true.  Statistically, it has been proven that “cold call” canvassing is the very least effective in terms of actually winning new people to Christ! Even calling back on prospects who’ve visited the church and filled out visitor cards, while a nice gesture and a way of communicating genuine concern for people, still ranks very poorly as a means of getting the gospel message to those who need to hear it. For some churches, these two types of outreach are the only things they have ever done or even considered doing, other than inviting friends and neighbors to church. The rationale, I suppose, is that these forms of contact will attract the lost to the church where theoretically they will hear the gospel from the pulpit and be saved. And, while this may have happened to some extent 20, 30, or 50 years ago, I am convinced that a new primary focus of evangelistic effort is needed today, if we hope to reverse the existing trend of stagnation and even declining membership in what may be considered fundamentally sound churches.

     In essence, I believe we must adapt our mission of evangelism to

the conditions that exist in present day society. People live increasingly busy lives, ful1 of activity and responsive to the motivational influences of the times. Materialism and leisure top the list, while entertainment and pleasure run a close second. Consequently, most attempts to approach them on their own turf to talk to them about “religion” is viewed as an unwanted intrusion on their privacy. More often than not, such unsolicited contact has a negative rather than positive effect and most of the time people resent it.

     Even so, I believe there still exists in such people the seed of discontent and underlying sense that there is more to 1ife, and a fulfillment to be found which pleasure and affluence cannot give.  For this reason, I believe the Holy Spirit could find fertile ground to work in the hearts of such people, if they were given a chance to investigate and examine Christianity on their own terms and in their own time. What I am referring to is the concept for “Friends of Jesus”, a  form of evangelism whose time I believe has come.                                       

         The Friends of Jesus Plan

1. Re-educate those in the church who are genuinely born again

regarding the implications and responsibilities of discipleship.

(The Essentials of Discipleship Lessons would help with this)

2. Offer training in effectively sharing your testimony and using Scripture to present the gospel to seekers of truth.

3. Plan and implement loosely structured ‘informational’ meetings

designed to attract the lost to investigate the claims of F.O.J. ( loosely structured and informal so as not to appear to be “Church” meetings in disguise. )  Attempting to secure neutral meeting sites may even be worthwhile. Some people may come to a Holiday Inn meeting room to find answers whereas they might not dare come to a Church.

4. Recruit and screen disciples from various churches who believe

in the philosophy behind F.O.J., and who want to be involved with

the effort. Meet with Pastors to acquaint them with the concept.

5. Prepare for distribution printed materials explaining F.O.J'

the Christian motivation behind it and a condensed form of what

the Bible teaches about man’s need of salvation. Also, offer an

explanation of terms frequently used by Christians relative to

their faith and teachings, and an appointment form to fill out

indicating the time and place a visit would be desired and convenient

for more detailed information/instruction.

6. Assign pairs of disciples to keep appointments and provide

additional helps for use in explaining the gospel and answering

other questions about the Bible and Discipleship lifestyle.

7. Advertise each meeting and instruct selected participants in

ways to extend non-threatening invitations to those they come in

contact with, providing brochures explaining the program.

The Friends of Jesus Meeting

I. CaIl to order

2. Greeting & Introduction to F.O.J., explaining who we are and why we have called the meeting. (to obey our Lord by sharing our faith and by teaching others what we have come to understand about the gospel )

3. Sharing of testimonies (at least 5 or 6 (no more than 3 minutes each) These should be chosen in advance to promote good communication.

4. A concise Gospel presentation of ten to fifteen minutes, using Scripture following an outline such as:

   a. The position of man

   b. The provision of God

   c. The promise of Christ

 5.  Invitation/dismissal offer of literature/appointments.  This time is critical and must be done in a non-churchy manner.

 Example of a close: “Now that you have had a chance to learn about the Friends of Jesus, if you want additional information or would like to speak to someone from our group, we invite you to remain for a few minutes and we will be happy to speak with you and provide you with printed materials that will be of help to you. If you don’t own a Bible and would like to have one, we have a copy of the New Testament we would be happy to give you.”

The group sponsoring the meeting should acquire a good supply of sturdy copies of the Bible to hand out to those asking for one.

  Friends of Jesus Glossary of Christian Terminology

        as defined in the Bible. (a handout for those interested)                                      

Christ: the Greek form of the Hebrew term, Messiah, which was

a term applied to the person the prophets of the 01d Testament

had foretold would come to restore the broken relationship between

sinful, selfish humans and the Holy, Righteous  God.

Christian: One who has heard and understood the gospel, believed

the gospel message and turned to Christ by faith for salvation.

Conversion: The Divine process of change in a person who obeys

the gospel and calls upon the Lord for salvation.

Conviction: An awareness of oners alienation to God, and sense of

desparation and hopelessness as we recognize that only Christ can

reconcile us to God, and then only if we call upon him with our

whole heart.

Convert  (the noun): One who has experienced the miracle of conversion

Convert (the Verb) The act of sharing the Gospel to encourage a person to exercise saving faith and commitment to the Lord, Jesus.

Disciple: A Christian whose daily practice of life acknowledges the Lordship of Jesus Christ and whose worldview includes the eminent return of Christ for his Church. A Disciple of Jesus is growing in his faith and knowledge of the Word of God and eagerly shares his faith with those he encounters who show interest.

Born again: The condition of the convert; so new and totally

different than before, that, in a spiritual sense, he or she has

just been “born”.  God’s Spirit is activated in his human spirit.

Faith: (the verb) Believing I am Lost, that I can be saved, and

that Christ is the only one I can reach out to and know that my

sins will be forgiven. Then, acting on my belief by reaching out

verbally in a prayer of confession and surrender.

Faith: (The Noun) Refers to the relationship between a Christian

and his Savior, Jesus Christ. If you are “in” Christ, you are

“in” The Faith.

Lost: A term descriptive of all human beings who have not yet

responded to the gospel message and become Christians. Implies

an alienation to God which will result in spending eternity apart

from him in a place reserved for the wicked, and unbelieving.

Repentance: A deep and Godly sorrow resulting from conviction.

Implies a determination to turn from sin and separation to faith

and devotion to God until we die.

Saved: A term descriptive of the position of a Christian in relation

to God’s revealed plan of judgement upon the wicked.

Peace of God: Tranquility resulting from becoming a Christian and making peace WITH God.

Word of God: The Bible, Genesis thru Revelation, consisting of 39

books in the OId Testament and 27 books in the New Testament. The source that Christ himself considered to be God’s statement of TRUTH. John 17:17

Friends of Jesus-Statement re-our teaching about the person and work

of Jesus.  Basically means to be his actively engaged disciple, sharing our understanding of the Bible’s teachings about Jesus Christ’s Gospel.

Jesus: is the unique son of God. Unique in that he had a human mother,

Her conception  induced by God himself  without a human father. This is referred to as the virgin birth, and fulfills prophecy regarding a very special person God would bring into the world to make peace between God and man. The Old Testament prophets, under Divine inspiration, had characterized mankind as alienated from God because of sin. God impressed them to prophecy of one whom God would send to provide a means of reconciliation between God and man.  Jesus acknowledged God as his Father and identified himself as the promised Savior. Every aspect of his existence, from the miraculous details of his birth, to his brief earthly ministry, and his arrest and cruel death at the hands of his enemies can be connected to one of the prophecies regarding him.

To validate his ministry and demonstrate satisfaction with Jesus’ sacrifice of himself on behalf of all mankind, God raised him from the dead. Jesus then ministered to his disciples for a time before allowing them to witness his departure to return to the Father - They saw him literally rise into the clouds and disappear.  Before leaving them, Jesus commissioned his followers to go out and make disciples, teaching new believers the principles of discipleship, just as he had taught them.  It is in obedience to these parting instructions of Jesus that FOJ. now provide this venue for your information and enlightenment. It is our sincere hope that some who find their way to our meetings will discover as we have, that coming to Jesus Christ is the way to know God, to learn the truth that brings freedom from the consequences of SIN, and is the source of a truly abundant life.

Handout explaining the Friends of Jesus

Friends of Jesus is a group of individual disciples who have banded together for the purpose of sharing our faith and experience of salvation with all seeking souls who will listen to our testimonies and consider the claims of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  If you desire further information or instruction regarding God’s plan for your life and how to become a disciple of Jesus Christ, we urge you to stay for personal, one-on-one interaction with one of Jesus’ Friends.  At the bottom we have  attached a request form for a future visit by a pair of Friends at a time and place convenient for you.

NOTE: Friends of Jesus come from a variety of fundamental Christian congregations, and are dedicated only to Jesus Christ and his agenda of calling the lost, confused  and dejected to himself for comfort and salvation.  We do this believing it was his command for us to do so.  In this effort we have laid aside all denominational ties and form to focus exclusively on sharing our faith with others. We pray God’s blessings on our endeavor.

Sample Printed Media Advertisement for F.0.J. meeting.

______________________________________________________

THIS MAY BE THE MOST IMPORTANT AD YOU WILL EVER READ! ! ! ! ! !

A song from the sixties asked, ”Is that all there is”.  Many people have concluded that this life is all there is--that when you die, that’s it. Well, it isn’t!!! We know better, and we know what the future holds!!! Better still, we want to share our hope of tomorrow with you!

Hello! We are Friends of Jesus, a group of individuals who share

a common experience of regeneration and transformation, made possible by our faith in the claims and promises of JESUS CHRIST.  As a result of our life-changing experience, we’ve discovered the answers to the age-old questions, “Where did I come from?”, “Why am I here?” and “What is the meaning of Life?” Jesus said, “If you know the truth, the truth will make you free!” We have discovered the truth of which he spoke and now we are free!! Free of doubt, confusion and uncertainty about our lives, free of fear and of guilt for the evil we have done! Our lives have meaning and purpose because our understanding has been opened.

We want to share our discovery with you at an informational meeting

to be held ...at ……………………………………….on……………..

This will be very informal, so come as you are and bring only an open mind and searching heart. You will not be embarrassed in any way. We are not selling anything and we promise you won’t be asked for money. Just come and hear us out and you too may discover the answers you have been searching for!!! It doesn’t cost anything to attend but might well be the key to a more abundant life for you!! Just Come and hear the testimonies of others like yourself from various walks of life and backgrounds who have found happiness and fulfillment through a newfound relationship with the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.

(More, Handout)   Friends of Jesus is not a church, but a group of individuals who have banded together to share the message of Christ with those who are hurting and searching for an anchor for confused, unstable lives. Many of us have suffered greatly in lives of desperation, despair and unhappiness before finding our way to the one who said of himself , “I am the way, the truth, and the life….come unto me all you who struggle and are loaded down, and I will give you rest!” Only HE can do that! Please, do yourself a favor and tear out this ad and keep it near you to remind you of our invitation to come and hear for yourself  how Jesus has changed our lives, and how he can change yours!! Our only agenda is to share the good news that no matter what kind of life you have lived and no matter how scarred and battered you may be from heartaches and troubles, you can find peace and happiness in Jesus Christ! !

If you want more information about Friends of Jesus, or need transportation, please call at …………………..

NOTE: Refreshments could be included or even a full blown meal may be considered by a progressive Friends group. 

Chapter 12—Essentials of Discipleship—Spiritual Growth Plan for the seriously engaged Church

_____________________________________________________

Living Life God’s Way-A Study of the Essentials of Christian Discipleship  Based on “The Essentials of Discipleship” Cosgrove--NavPress-1980 (by permission and conditioned on the promise that this material NOT be sold or offered for sale)

                               Curriculum Description

Purpose: To promote the (Church Name) mission of developing spiritually mature and fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

Objectives: To help believers …

         1. Gain a full understanding of “Discipleship”--What                                                                                                         being a disciple of Jesus Christ entails.

         2. Discover the true “Identity” of a Disciple, based on

             applying principles learned in the first objective.

         3. Understand the disciplines that assure success in living

             as the Lord’s Disciple and sharing Christ with others.

         4. Become more familiar with the Scriptures and the use

             of the Bible as God’s ’roadmap’ of faith and practice and,

         5. Develop a fully “Christian” worldview.

Course Length: Twelve Weeks

Sessions: 90 Minutes  (Ideally, to allow for adequate examination of the Scriptures and time for discussion)

Curriculum: Each lesson consists of an introduction and Scriptures to read, with questions to answer before class.  The questions will be discussed in class following a leader’s review and commentary of the week’s topic. Topics are taken from twelve Statements given which describe the “Biblical Profile of a Disciple”.                                                                                                             

Materials--Workbook Binder containing 12 Lessons

Note: (if your church can afford to bear the cost of these materials, it would be appropriate to offer them free.  If, on the other hand, doing so would be a financial burden, it would also be appropriate to request a nominal charge to cover the cost of the binders.)

                                  INTRODUCTION

     Two major things must happen before any ‘believer’s Faith Relationship with the Lord, Jesus Christ becomes discipleship.  First, total surrender of our will to His will.  Realizing Jesus alone holds the key to an authentic relationship with God, we confess that to him, ask his forgiveness and give him total control of our lives.  Second, we commit ourselves to being his person, recognizing His rightful ownership of us and all that pertains to us.  Surrender and commitmentare the first prerequisites of Discipleship.

Often, a person will take these two steps, initially, when they pray to receive Christ, only to let the principles they started out with slip away over time.  We lead very busy lives, and it isn’t easy to maintain a spiritual focus.  This study, is designed to help you refocus on these first two steps of Faith, then to move forward in your growth process, until you achieve a level of understanding and maturity that will assure you success in living out the commitment you’ve made to The Lord, Jesus.  (II Peter 1:5-11)

The Bible is God’s “handbook” for establishing a Faith Relationship with Him.  Understanding its teachings is absolutely essential for being Christ’s Disciple.  A Child of God, without a growing knowledge of Scripture, remains just that--a Child.  A ‘disciple’ is defined as a ‘learner’…one who sits at the feet of his teacher and learns from him.  However, true Biblical discipleship to Jesus Christ demands more than that.  We also assume His burden for the lost, and become champions of His Agenda.  This requires us to fully understand the nature of that agenda, who we are as Disciples, and what Discipleship to Jesus requires of us.

It is our hope that this series of studies will help you to make a major step forward in understanding your identity and obligations as a disciple of Jesus Christ.  It is our prayer that God will use your faithful attendance and diligent study to draw you closer to Him, while increasing your devotion to his Dear Son.  By looking up Scripture, you not only learn what the Bible says, you will begin to see it as a cohesive whole, the complete Word of God.   To get the most out of this class, you should read each lesson ahead of time, look up all Scriptures cited, and answer the questions before you come to class.  In this way, more class time can be given for sharing and discussion, which is where the excitement of learning is best experienced.

                              How to use your Materials

1.  Before beginning each lesson, Pray for the Holy Spirit to open your mind to a more complete understanding of His Word, and of your identity as a Disciple of Jesus.

2.   Plan to take notes about your observations and be sure you write down questions that arise as you study.  They make excellent class discussion.

3.  Mine for principles contained in the Scriptures cited, and write down the principles you discover, that support the ‘Profile Statement‘ for the week.

4.  Read the commentary for each lesson carefully, looking up and meditating on the Scriptures quoted.  Note new truth you discover.

5.  Don’t be afraid to change your mind or beliefs, if you find them to be out of line with new truth you are learning.  Remember, study of the Bible often exposes some long-held beliefs and attitudes as being incorrect, and our refusing to let them go becomes a serious barrier to being Jesus‘ Disciple.  Willingness to change is critical to spiritual growth.

6.  Answer the lesson questions from the Scriptures given for each one.  Think about how these principles apply to you.

7.  Be prepared to share your answers and observations, as well as questions that come up, with your class.  Participation is encouraged for this class.

8.  Plan to keep your notebook and all your notes, so that you can review them in the future.  This can be a very helpful resource for you later on.

Remember, this series of studies will benefit you only if you sincerely apply yourself to growing, spiritually.  Through prayer and diligent study, asking questions and sharing your discoveries with others in the class, you will find this class to be a powerful source of growth and strength.  The core of our study is the Word of God, your “Roadmap for Life” and source of spiritual wisdom.  It is in Scripture you find out who you are in Christ.   Discovery of your own identity as Christ’s Disciple is foundational to your success in life.

                 A Biblical Profile of a Successful Disciple

1.  A Disciple is a Learner, open and teachable.  (Prov. 9:8-10; Matt 4:19; John 6:60-69.)

2.  A Disciple puts Christ first in all areas of his life.  (Matt 6:9-13; Luke 9:23; 14:26-35; John 13:13; II Cor. 5:15.)

3.  A Disciple is committed to a life of purity, and endeavors to avoid sin.

(I Cor. 6:19-20; Eph. 4:22, 5:15; Col. 3:5-10; I Thess. 4:3-7; Titus 2:12-14)

4.  A Disciple demonstrates interest in Spiritual matters, and a desire to learn and apply the Word of God to his life.  (John 8:31; Acts 2:42; 17:11; Col. 3:16; II Tim. 2:15)

5.  A Disciple has a daily devotional time, and is developing in his personal prayer life.  (Ps. 27:4; 42:1-2; Mark 1:35; Luke 11:1-4; I Thess. 5:17-18; James 1:5-7; 5:16)

6.  A Disciple has a heart for witnessing, gives his testimony clearly, and shares the Gospel with increasing skill, as the Holy Spirit gives opportunity.  (Matt. 28:18-20;  Acts 1:8; 5:42; 14:21-23; 22:14-15; Rom. 1:16;  I Cor. 15:3-4; I Thess. 2:4)

7.  A Disciple attends church regularly to worship, feed on God’s Word, find encouragement and validation from other believers, and to contribute something to the Body of Christ.  (Ps. 122:1; Acts 16:5; I Cor. 12:12-27; Col 1:15-18; Heb. 10:25)

8.  A Disciple fellowships regularly with other believers, displaying genuine love, brotherhood, and a spirit of unity.  (Jn 17:22-26; Acts 2:44-47; 4:31-33; Eph. 4:1-3;

Heb. 10:24; I Jn 1:1-3)

9.  A Disciple demonstrates a servant heart by helping others in practical ways.

(Mark 10:42-45; Acts 6:1-4; II Cor. 12:15; Phil. 2:25-30; I Thess. 2:8-9)

10. A Disciple gives regularly, honoring God with his/her finances.  (Haggai 1:6-9;

Malachi 3:10-11; I Cor. 16:1-2; II Cor. All of Chapter 8, especially vs. 7-12)

11.  A Disciple demonstrates the “Fruit of the Spirit” by staying “connected to Christ”, and focusing on His Agenda.  (John 15:1-5; Acts 16:1-2; I Cor. 13:4-7; Gal. 5:22-23;

I Pet. 2:18-23; II Peter 1:5-8)

12.  A Disciple develops a Christian worldview and recognizes himself to be God’s “purchased possession” (I Cor. 6:19-20) and Christ’s Ambassador (II Cor. 5:17-21).   A resident of this world, he/she is not ‘of’ this world, but becomes one whose purpose is to glorify God.  All that pertains to life in this world becomes merely ‘incidental’ to his/her ‘eternal’ identity as Christ’s Disciple.   King Solomon, known as the wisest man who ever lived, after recognizing that all his earthly pursuits and success had been ‘vanity and vexation of spirit‘, came to a very profound conclusion…you could say, his ‘worldview’.  Read Ecclesiastes sometime, then take special note of what he says in Chapter 12:13-14.

Other Scriptures that speak to who and what we are, and the purpose for which we exist:  (Lk. 14:26; Gal. 2:20, 6:14; Eph. 1:5-6, 12; I Jn. 2:15-17).

How to “Mine for Principles”

To get the feel for ‘principle mining”, we will examine the first statement: “A Disciple is a learner.”  Three Scripture passages are cited for this statement.  Let us mine them for the principle we have in focus.

          First, Proverbs 9:8-10.  Reading these three verses we find, (1) the wise man desires correction, (2) When given instruction, he increases in wisdom by applying to his own life the instruction received, (3) True wisdom has at its foundation the ‘fear of the Lord”, and (4)Knowledge of God and his Word is the only valid source of understanding about things eternal.  Clearly, one must be a learner to be a Disciple of Jesus.            

          Second, Matthew 4:19.  Here, Jesus tells us the main objective of being his Disciple--that we become “fishers of men.”   This is what gives our lives true, eternal purpose, and is the focus of the “Great Commission” (Matt. 28:18-20)  Clearly, one must learn something of the rudiments of fishing if he is going to be an effective fisherman--even to fish for fish.  Learning, therefore, is even more important to the enterprise of effectively fishing for men!

          Thirdly, John 6:60-69 is cited.  Jesus teaches that his words are the source of eternal life and that spiritual things are of greater value to us than things pertaining to our present, earthly existence.  Should we not then be concerned about learning from him and his Word?

As you study each statement in the profile, write down the principles you find in each passage cited.  One by one, you will begin to see the profile of a Disciple develop.  You will also begin to see some areas of your life that you may  need to adjust, or even to change altogether.  This may especially impact old beliefs and assumptions.  Be open to change.  Change is the first natural bi-product of spiritual growth!  Sometimes, our long held assumptions and beliefs are difficult to let go of.  To grow as a Disciple of Jesus Christ, we must be willing to accept HIS truth, even when it means abandoning our former thinking.  Realize this: until Christ came into our lives, our mind was not capable of understanding Spiritual things correctly, therefore our ideas and beliefs were based on the human intellect alone, without the benefit of Divine wisdom…the clear teaching of I Corinthians 2:5-16.  (Go ahead and read it now, if you’re browsing this Profile.  It will explain a lot of things.                                                                                                                       

Essentials of Discipleship--Lesson One

                                    A Disciple is a Learner

This first lesson should acquaint you with some basic principles, and create a desire for further understanding of the nature of Christian Discipleship.  This topic, “A Disciple is a learner” will set the tone for the remaining eleven “Profile Statements”.

In our explanation of “Mining for Principles”, we examined Proverbs 9:8-10 and found that the wise person loves correction and increases in wisdom by making application of new understanding to his own life.  One who thinks he needs no further instruction is unwise.  It is dangerous to assume we have little left to learn in our Christian life!  One who stops growing spiritually is assured of mediocrity and frustration as a child of God.

The man or woman who would follow Christ with complete dedication, must always be a learner, open and teachable.  There is much about ourselves we must learn if we are to become an effective Disciple.  Few of us really know ourselves as we should.  As Jesus responds to our sincere quest for learning, and our meek, teachable spirit, He enables us to see ourselves more realistically…more like he sees us.  An enlightened understanding of ourselves is prerequisite to spiritual growth and effective learning.  Willingness to face our own need for improvement and to learn what we must do to really be God’s person is the first step in becoming a productive Disciple.

 To be a Disciple of Jesus, we must be a follower of Jesus.  This involves acquiring knowledge, perceiving spiritual concepts, developing Biblical perspective, and making these the basis of our lives.  Our view of reality (Worldview-Lesson 12) is ultimately translated into the character we present to the world.  By following our Lord, we become more Christ-like.  When Disciples are functioning as they should, Jesus said that men would recognize them as his Disciples (John 13:35).

We must take personal responsibility for developing a more Christ-like character.  This is impossible without learning.  Notice Jesus’ statement in Matthew 5:16.  It is through learning that we gradually become a vessel God can use to attract the unsaved to Christ, which is precisely what we are being equipped to do through the process of spiritual growth.  One who resists growth and refuses to change, fails to fulfill the purpose of his calling, and misses the blessing of fulfillment and joy that comes with obedience.  As a learner and follower of Jesus, his Disciples will be committed to developing character that will reflect Jesus to others.  This requires knowing his mind, sensing his passion for the souls of lost men and women, and being obedient to his commands.  It also involves recognition of our own weakness and our need of spiritual nourishment to equip us for coming alongside others.

Questions For Lesson One: A Disciple is a Learner

(1)  What concept does Paul teach in I Thess. 4:8? (rejecting instruction is resisting  God)

(2)  A Disciple learns by following his teacher.  According to I Cor. 11:1 and

      Hebrews 13:7, whom should we follow?

(3)  Read II Cor. 3:18.  What happens over time as we follow our Lord’s example? What does Romans 8:29 say about this?

(4)  What example does Christ set for us in Mark 7:37?

(5)  Read Matthew 4:19.  If we are to be followers of Christ and obey the

      Great Commission, what must we learn to do?

(6)  According to Hebrews 13:7, what should be our attitude toward those           God provides for our learning?                                                  

(7)  When we learn something, what should be our response?  Read Phil. 4:9 and James 1:21-25 before you answer.

(8)  What is the teaching of Proverbs 1:29-33 concerning learning and responding to Instruction?  (remember our “Principle Mining” example?)

(9)  Study Proverbs 10:17 and 13:18.  Where is the obedient learner, and what is said of the one who refuses correction?

(10)  According to Luke 6:40 and Romans 8:29, who does a mature Disciple

         resemble?

(11)  Analyze the following Scriptures and write down the quality of Discipleship taught in each.

          A. Luke 9:23-25_____________________

          B. Luke 9:46-48_____________________

          C. Luke 9:61-62_____________________

          D. Luke 13:34-35_(embracing/ Submitting to Jesus as God’s Savior)

          E. Luke 14:12-14_(Charity with no expectation of being recompensed)

           F. Luke 14:33_______________________

(12)  Which are the hardest qualities for you, and why do you think that is?

(13)  Compare Luke 9:23 and 14:27.  What does Jesus mean by the terms, “take up” and “carry?”  To what does the “cross” refer in these verses?

Questions: Lesson 1 (Continued)

(14)  Describe the blessings of Discipleship listed in Luke 6:20-23.

(15)  According to Luke 12:27-31, what should be our priority and why?

(16)  According to Matthew 28:18-20, what is the Disciple’s responsibility?

(17)  What assurance does this passage contain to encourage us as we endeavor to obey the Lord’s Command? 

(18)  Jesus gave this command to ALL who are willing to be his Disciples.  Read I Cor. 2:12-16.  Why does it take a Disciple to make Disciples?  What principle

 do you  see here, relative to a Disciple being a learner?

(19)  Read John 15:16.  What 2 amazing truths do we learn from Jesus’ statement in this verse?

     Jesus has ________ us.  B. Jesus has __________ us. 

What does this verse Imply about the principle of being a learner?

What does Jesus say is his PURPOSE  in choosing you?

(20)  Read Eph. 1:4-6.  According to these verses, what was God’s primary reason for saving us?

In the space below, contrast old perspectives and concepts with new ones you have gained from this study.  Include any changes in attitude you have derived.  You are encouraged to share this with others in the class.

Essentials of Discipleship--Lesson Two--Practicing Lordship

                        A Disciple puts Christ First, in all areas of his life

            Subjection to the Lordship of Jesus in a believer’s life is the most crucial issue in Christian living.  It is absolutely necessary, and it is foundational to true discipleship.  In fact, the degree to which we actually practice the Lordship of Christ and seek to be his servant determines our usefulness to God.  Jesus makes this quite clear in Luke 14:26-35.

          To practice the Lordship of Christ--as opposed to just saying that he is Lord, involves a total change in our approach to life.  It means daily submission and surrender of our entire being to the authority and leadership of Jesus.  As we recognize his sovereign right to rule preeminently over us, we respond by removing ‘self’ from the throne of our life and enthroning Jesus in self’s place.

          All our aspirations, blessings, and joys of the Christian life are absolutely dependant on our submission to him as Lord.  We cannot experience the abundant” life he promised his disciples, until we commit ourselves unreservedly to his Lordship.

          To be clear, this is not a ‘one time does it’ experience.  It requires a daily decision to make Jesus Lord for that day.  Why?  Because he designed it this way.  Jesus desires that we be involved with him daily, by our own choice. See Luke 9:23 and John 15:4. Involvement with Him is the fruit of a relationship with him.

          The admonition of Romans 12:1-2 should be understood as something to be done daily; for any day we fail to acknowledge Jesus as Lord with sovereign right to rule us, we deny him access to ourselves for that day.  For that day, we have robbed him of his right to his blood-bought possession, ourselves.  See I Cor 6:19-20; I Peter 1:18-19.

          The primary reason that a disciple must acknowledge and practice the Lordship of Christ is simply this: he IS Lord!  The Scriptures clearly teach that Jesus Christ is sovereign Lord of all Creation.  No other conclusion is possible in light of such passages as Colossians 1:15-19; Jn. 1:1-5; Matthew 28:18; Phil. 2:5-11; and the entire first chapter of Hebrews.

          By his life, he established himself as Lord over nature (Lk. 8:24-25); Lord over sin (I Tim 1:15); Lord over sickness (Lk 5:24); Lord over death (Jn. 11:43); Lord over Satan, (Lk 4:8); Lord over demons (Mark 5:1-8), and over the natural laws (Mat 14:25-26).

          In the natural order, only Man is not made involuntarily subject to the Lordship of Christ.  Man is given a free will, and must willingly put himself in subjection to Christ.  Many people acknowledge Jesus as Lord with their lips, yet few actually practice the Lordship of Christ in their daily lives.  This kind of ‘lip service’ Christianity results in wasted lives of mediocrity and uselessness to God.  Most tragic of all, Jesus has clearly established the conditions of Discipleship and the results of such ‘lip service‘ (Matt 7:21-23 and10:32-33;). 

          The true Disciple of Jesus Christ develops a whole new perspective and completely rearranges his priorities.  Doing this involves the abandonment of our selfish pursuit of self gratification and focus on earthly goals.  Values of a Disciple become associated with ‘things eternal’, rather than with personal ambition and the quest for material affluence.  These lose their importance, while the things of God become the supreme source of motivation.  As Jesus rules our thinking, his burden becomes our burden and his passion, becomes our passion   Love for Jesus and his agenda become the ‘treasure’ we focus on, and apply our energy to.

          A growing Disciple--one who is developing a deeper relationship with God--will find his concept of reality enhanced by eternal perspective.  More and more, seeing the world through the eyes of the Lord Jesus causes a change in our attitudes about ourselves and about others.  Seeing others as people Jesus died for--the same as he died for us--is one of the changes that mark the Disciple’s newfound devotion to Christ.  The more completely a Disciple submits to the Lordship of Jesus over his life, the more clearly he understands that his ’purpose’ for living is to bring glory to God through his life.  This is the basis of a ‘Christian’ worldview, and we will be discussing this more fully in lesson twelve.

          The goal of a Disciple is to reproduce.  His offering to Jesus is himself and all he may possess.  His true expression of love is diligence.   His proof of devotion is obedience, and his highest aim is to hear the Lord say “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.“  The ultimate experience of the Christian life is growing into the disciple you were born again to become!  To be a complete Christian is to be a Disciple, and to be a Disciple is to surrender totally to the Lordship of Jesus Christ!

Questions Lesson Two--Practicing the Lordship of Christ

(1) Using the following verses as a basis, write a definition of Lordship.  Luke 6:46; John 13:15; II Corinthians 5:15

(2) Which phrases of the “Lord’s Prayer” (Matthew 6:9-13) requires our

 submission to the Lordship of Christ?  Hint: relate this to Acts 1:8.

(3) Read Colossians 1:15-18.  What things are listed over which Christ is Lord?

Why is he Lord over these?  If Christ is Creator and Lord over Creation, what position should he, therefore, have in your life?

(4) Read Acts 2:36 and Philippians 2:8-11.  What do these verses tell you about Jesus’ position in your life?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

(5) Jesus himself set the standards of true Discipleship.  Read carefully Matthew 10:37-39 and Chapter 16:24-25.  What do you think Jesus is asking for here?

(6) Read Luke 6:46.  What is the test for Lordship here?

(7) Analyze Jesus’ speech in Luke 14:26-35.  Notice the “cannots” of verses 26, 27 and 33. These are hard sayings.  What do you think Jesus is telling us about our priorities?

(8) Do you agree with this statement, “Jesus Christ is either the Lord of all, or he isNot Lord at all”?  Read Matthew 6:24 before you answer.

(9) According to this verse, why is it impossible to serve two masters at the same time?

(10) What are the two masters mentioned in this verse?  G______  and

        M__________.

(11) Mammon refers to this world’s system of life and values.  List three of the

’masters’ that people commonly serve from ’mammon’.

(12) Can you recall trying to serve two masters yourself?____With what results?

(13) Describe a choice you are facing involving Christ’s Lordship now.

(14) According to Romans 7:21-23, why is submitting to Christ’s Lordship so hard?

(15)  Which of the following statements applies to you?   (be totally honest)

          a. I have not made a conscious decision regarding Christ’s Lordship.

          b. I have experienced some victories and some defeats in my attempts to

              Submit to Christ’s Lordship.

          c. I am fully submitted to Christ’s Lordship in all areas of my life.

          d. With God’s help, I am resolved to begin practicing the Lordship of Christ In every part of my life.

(16)   How could the promise of Jeremiah 29:11-13 help you as you deal with the issue of Lordship?

(17)  Has this lesson changed your understanding of Lordship?_____Comments?

Lesson Two-Application: Becoming an Authentic Disciple

(18) If your understanding of the full implications of Christ’s Lordship in your life has changed, what changes are you going to make in your attitude and daily walk?  Use the space below to outline any areas of your life which you now realize you have not subjected to Christ’s Lordship.  After each, write a statement of what you will do to correct this.

(Example: “I have not been obedient to the Command of II Timothy 2:15 (Bible Study),.  I resolve to faithfully take an extra twenty minutes each day to read the Word of God and pray for him to show me his truth in it.”

Essentials of Discipleship--Lesson Three--Purity of Life

A Disciple is committed to a life of Purity, and earnestly endeavors

to avoid SIN.

          The greatest contrast between believers and unbelievers is in their lifestyle.  If the Christian is walking with Jesus as a true Disciple, then he is living a life of purity that is in sharp contrast with those who are not living for Christ.  If you acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Master of your life, then you will have a pure life.  No one can say that Jesus is Lord and continue living in sin.  A disciple will learn how to conduct himself in a Godly manner.  The responsibility for doing so rests squarely on the disciple himself, but God knows we cannot do this by ourselves. God has promised to help us in making right choices and living a Godly life. (Matt. 28:20; James 4:7-8; John 14:26)

          The repentance that brings the Christian to Christ in the first place, demands Purity of life.  To repent means to turn around, to make an about face,

to go in the opposite direction.  Repentance should produce a drastic change in the Disciple’s life, according to Ephesians 2:10.  The repentant sinner is sorry that he has offended a Holy God and is determined to change.  Conversion always involves true repentance and when we repent of sins and turn to God, genuine conversion will produce the desired change, supernaturally.  (II Corinthians 5:17-21)  

          Those of us who have truly repented have been “born again”, into God‘s family (John 3:5-6). We are set apart by his Spirit to live a Holy life.  We must consciously separate ourselves from those influences that would drag us down and prevent our life from being a clear reflection of the change Jesus Christ has made in us.  We pursue the things of the Spirit, rather than the things of the world because his Spirit in us keeps us alert to the unrighteousness and temptations that come against us. (I John 3:1-10; II Cor. 6:14-18)

          Repentance brings change in our attitudes on the important issues of life.  A true child of God will have a change of attitude about God.  No longer is God an abstract “force” out there somewhere, but when we know him as Savior and Lord, he will actually become the ultimate reality of our immediate experience.  (John 14:23)

          There will also be a change in our attitude about sin.  God’s Holy Spirit in us sensitizes us to the hatefulness of sin, and we no longer desire to indulge in sinful behavior or hold on to unwholesome habits.  We consciously avoid anything that we sense is offensive to God.  Even daily activities are affected by the Disciple’s new attitude about sin.  Issues such as cheating on his income tax, keeping the change when a cashier makes an error in his favor and what he watches on TV should all be impacted by our awareness of God’s desire for us to live a Holy life. 

There will also be a change of attitude about values.  We are no longer preoccupied with the pleasures of the world or even with our basic needs, but we become more and more interested in living for God and in doing everything we can to promote his agenda. We learn to trust God to provide what we need, and more than anything else,  we desire to please him  (Matthew 6:31-33).

          In our culture, there are millions of people--rich and poor alike--who are preoccupied with materialism.  Many are concerned solely with self and the pleasure they can get out of life.  Such selfish ambitions change when a person comes to Christ and truly becomes his Disciple.  Before conversion, we are not interested in the ways of God, we do not care about the Bible or being involved with Christian people.  Church attendance is something we do (if we do it at all) that has no real relationship to who we are.

          All this changes when Christ becomes the Lord of our life.  We become keenly interested in his Word, we enjoy being in the company of other Disciples, and all of life becomes centered in God.  He becomes our main focus and everything else becomes incidental to our relationship with him.  We recognize sin as something that separates us from God, and subject ourselves to the moral absolutes of the Bible, including Hebrews 10:25, which reveals God’s mind on church attendance.

          Another sign of repentance and the quest for purity of life is that we end our involvement with old amusements and relationships that served to keep us from coming to a healthy relationship with God.  As we grow in our knowledge of Christ, our circle of friends includes more and more Christians.  God does not want us to abandon all of our non-Christian relationships, because of the potential impact our changed lives may have on them.   He does want us to discontinue doing the sinful things we once did with them, so we will not be drawn back into a worldly life that brings shame and disgrace on our Savior and destroys our witness with them.

          The Disciple’s new way of life has no place in it for compromises with the allurements of sin.  We need to minister the gospel to our non-Christian friends, but keep ourselves pure while doing it.  It isn’t easy to live a pure, separated life in the midst of a sinful and corrupt world.  We are all on common ground in the battle for purity--we all endure similar temptations.  As you have already seen, God faithfully provides Power necessary to say no or to take action that enables us to resist Satan.  Other Scriptures that confirm this: I Corinthians 10:13; Romans 7:18-25.

          The Bible clearly tells us that when we receive Jesus as Savior and Lord, God’s Holy Spirit enters our life, making our very bodies his ’Temple’.  (Romans 8:5-14; and II Corinthians 13:5)  The entire sixth chapter of Romans deals with the moral implications of our new relationship with God.  Every time we are tempted, the Spirit of God is right there to give us strength to overcome it.  We can live victoriously if we just obey the Holy Spirit.  He always warns us at the approach of sin.  All we have to do to avoid the practice of sin, is listen and follow his leading.

          Although God has given us the enabling power to live a Holy life, He does not force such a life on us.  It is our responsibility to want a Godly, righteous life and to make the effort to live in obedience to Biblical precepts.  Purity is something we must ever be developing, as we live out our newfound Christian life in our various relationships.  We have powerful resources to fight sin (I Cor 10-13; James 4:7-8).

Questions--Lesson Three—The Disciple endeavors to avoid

the sinful practices of the unbelieving world around him.

(1) According to I Thessalonians 4:7, why would purity of life be important?

(2) Read Titus 2:11-14, and describe the kind of life we should live.  How is Christ’s Redemptive work Related to our purity?

(3) Read Galatians 5:16-18.  Why is it hard to maintain Godliness?  What is our source of strength to overcome our former natures?

(4) What are the goals of our new natures, according to Ephesians 4:22 and 5:1-5?

 (5) The impure habits of the old nature are found in Galatians 5:19-21; Col 3:5-10; and I Corinthians 6:9-11.  List them in your notebook and realize that these are behaviors/attitudes that God expects Christians to discard.

(6) According to I Corinthians 6:15-20, sexual sin is committed with and against the body.  Why shouldn’t we sin against our own bodies?  (note verses 15 & 20)

(7) Read I John 1:8-10.  How should John’s teaching here be applied in our battle for purity?

(8) Paraphrase each instruction you find in Prov 4:23-27.  Will a wise person allow impurity in his life?  Explain your answer.

(9) Has this lesson caused any changes in your attitude about the issue of purity?

(10) Is there any area of your life in which you have been slack in maintaining purity?  If so, why do you think you have fallen short in this area?  Analyze your failure in light of the Scriptures you’ve read in this lesson.  Write down what you plan to do in response. it doesn’t just happen automatically.  But, we are given the power we need to accomplish it.  Use the space below to write a statement of your own plan to accomplish the kind of lifestyle that will help you to grow, spiritually while having a positive impact on others, building a believable testimony that is supported by Christian purity and fidelity to God’s principles of righteousness.

Essentials of Discipleship--Lesson Four--The Importance of the Bible

         A Disciple demonstrates interest in Spiritual matters, and desires to learn and apply the Word of God through hearing it taught, reading it frequently, Bible Study, Scripture memorization, and meditation in the Scriptures.

          The object of this section of study is to increase our understanding of the importance of the Bible to the Disciple of Jesus Christ.  If we know the reasons God gave us the Scriptures, it will improve our appreciation of them and make us more effective in making use of the Bible, as God intended.

          The Bible is one means by which God has revealed himself to mankind.  It contains everything we need for faith and practice.  It is God’s final word to man about living in this world with the realization that we are citizens of another.  It is through the Word of God that we recognize and acknowledge our need of a Savior from the penalty, the power, and ultimately, from the presence of sin.  The Holy Spirit uses the Scriptures to reveal to people their alienation to God, to correct erroneous ideas about God, and to present Biblical concepts of life and reality.

          The ‘new birth’, which brings us into the Family of God, is brought about by exposure to the truth of the Scriptures (Rom. 1:16).  This is why the heart of evangelism is the ‘plan’ of salvation contained in the Bible.  The Bible tells us that everything we need to cultivate our relationship with God is there, within its pages (II Tim. 3:16-17).  It reveals our desperate need of a Savior, and explains how to be reconciled to God.  No one can sit down with his Bible, read it carefully, earnestly seeking truth, and not experience the ministry of the Holy Spirit dealing with him about his spiritual condition, the sin in his life, and his need to take action to become reconciled to God.

          One reason so many Christians are unfruitful is that they lack the ministry of God’s Word in their lives.  The most tragic result of failure to search the Scriptures (which Jesus admonished us to do), is a Christian who remains a ‘baby’, spiritually stunted, and totally inadequate to the task of sharing Christ with others.  After all, this is why we exist--to point others to Christ.  This is impossible apart from a growing familiarity with the Bible.

          If you are normal, you probably have problems with undesirable attitudes or habits you are not proud of.  The remedy is to get into the Word of God, and let the Word of God get into you.  Regular Bible study, Scripture memorization, and application of God’s Word to your life will transform a weak, immature, and ineffective Christian into a strong, zealous, productive Disciple!  A regular diet of the Word of God enables the Holy Spirit to do his work in and through us.  Through increasing familiarity with the Bible, the Holy Spirit is able to perfect us in our commitment to being Christ’s Disciple.

          As you have already seen, the Christian MUST grow spiritually, or he becomes stagnant and counterproductive to the cause of Christ.  Our spiritual growth depends on regular intake of our ‘spiritual’ food..the Word.  All who would be Disciples of Jesus--especially those who are new believers--need the “milk” of the Word in order to grow (1st Peter 2:2-3).  We are built up, and progress in our spiritual growth in direct proportion to the time we spend feeding on God’s Word.

          The Disciple looks to the Bible for guidance concerning doctrine, teaching us to distinguish between truth and error, and for direction concerning the will of God.  God has promised to lead us, but in order to know what God has for us and what he expects of us, we must be in his book!  Knowledge of the Word enables us to live the life of a Disciple.  Doctrine (teaching) becomes the basis of our attitudes, beliefs, values and the conduct of our lives. 

          “Sound” teaching, based on the truth of God’s Word, leads to the development of Godly concepts and perspectives.  False teaching can produce very negative results by ‘skewing’ the values and perspectives which are foundational to good citizenship.  Worse yet, bad doctrine frequently stands in the way of someone actually coming to a saving knowledge of the Lord.  Because our lives are shaped by the teaching we receive, it is imperative that the teaching received by Christians comes from the Word of God, as His Spirit reveals it to us!  (John 14:26)

          Another reason the Bible is important to the Disciple, is because it is our source manual for learning how to effectively witness for Christ.  We can never be effective in leading people to a knowledge of the Savior unless we familiarize ourselves with the Scriptures.  We must have something to say to unbelievers that explains our perspectives and actions, otherwise, we cannot expect to attract anyone to Christ.  Bible familiarity makes us effective in witnessing for our Savior.

Questions for Lesson Four: The Importance of the Bible

            As we begin the questions for this lesson, let’s make some comparisons with the time we spend doing various things in our lives, and see just how we prioritize the time we spend in becoming familiar with the Word of God.

(1)  To evaluate the portion of your life given to the intake of God’s Word, list the amount of time spent feeding on the Word in these ways:

          a. Hearing it Preached or taught                          Time Weekly_________

          b. Reading the Bible-devotionally                         Time Weekly_________

          c. Bible Study-Personal or Group                         Time Weekly_________

          d. Scripture Memorization                                    Time Weekly_________

          e. Meditating on God’s Word                               Time Weekly_________

TOTAL TIME SPENT TAKING IN THE WORD                            _________

 (2)  Now, add up the time you spend weekly in these activities:

          a. Exercise                                                              Time Weekly________

          b. Sports Activity-Participant                                Time Weekly________

          c. Sports-Spectator                                                Time Weekly________

          d. Recreation-(boating, fishing, hunt etc.)           Time Weekly________

          e. Relaxing-Napping, lying down, reading,

              Listening to music, etc.                                      Time Weekly________

          f. Watching TV (Uh-Oh!)                                      Time Weekly________

          g. Hobby (Craft, flowers, collecting etc)               Time Weekly________

          h. Visiting/socializing                                              Time Weekly________

TOTAL TIME SPENT DOING WHAT YOU WANT TO DO             _________

          If you are like most church members today, this self evaluation of the ways you spend your time will show that time given to activities listed under the second group is at least 30 times greater than the time you spend taking in the Word of God.  Is it any wonder then, that so many of us are spiritually weak and anemic, frustrated and fruitless, unable to consistently produce the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) and the fruit of Discipleship, which is other Disciples!

(3)  What does the above evaluation tell you about the importance of God’s Word in YOUR life?

(4)  What should you do about this?  Consider reevaluating your priorities and Adjust the amount of time you spend taking in the Word.  Pray about this.

(5)  Read Job 23:12 and Jeremiah 15:16.  Describe their attitude toward God’s Word?

(6)  According to Matthew 22:29, what risk do we take if we don’t know the    

 Sriptures?

(7)  What relationship is there between knowledge of Scripture and knowing God?  See Romans 1:16, and John 5:39

(8)  In the commentary for this lesson, you were directed to II Timothy 3:16-17.   Be sure you study this passage to discover the source of Scripture, and to 

Understand the four ways we profit by reading it. Let’s look closely at these:

          a. Doctrine=Teaching (reveals the truth of God)

b. Reproof=Rebuke (exposing and identifying sin and harmful          behavior)

           c. Correction=(Exposes faulty thinking and concepts; puts us back on

              course with a correct understanding of God‘s agenda.

          d. Instruction in righteousness=(Practical precepts for Godly living)

(9)     What is the goal stated in verse 17?  (Spiritual completeness)