Tuesday, March 24, 2015

The Road Leading To Destruction, Part C


Chapter 1, Part C
Understanding The Word Of God



The justification of sin under the guidelines of the government has already taken place, and one by one the organized church is being drawn in.  In a society based upon subjective morality, the people represented by the government reserve the right to define such things as, when does life began, the definition of marriage and even how one is separated from sin.  In exchange for funds churches are organized and are required to issue human rights statements that adhere to the standards set forth by the government. While the church and many minority groups danced in the street and proclaim it to be the works of God, The Human rights act of 1964 sets the stage for a direct attack on God's authority and again the church said, “amen.”

A church that once was noted for its message of, "It's Holiness or Hell” dumbed down its rhetoric in the face of adversaries and now proclaim, "God loves all of us."  A deviant interpretation of John 3:16.  This occurs when we surgically remove one verse from the supporting conversation or scripture and present it as a complete thought. From that same verse many teach that we are not to condemn those who walk in darkness.   “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:18-19)  If your life is a condemnation and the Bible says it, can I tell you?  If you are walking in darkness can I implore you to change directions?   In a political correct society the answer is no, we must refrain from moralizing the views and actions of others.

The earth is groaning under the pains of global warming, discord among the races, wars, and the erosion of godly values.   “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” (Romans 8:22) The president of the United States of America chose to publicly state, “America is no longer a Christian nation” as he advances his alternate lifestyle agenda.  In 1964 it seems as if the gates of Hell were flung open and the demonic forces of Hell were unleashed upon the world.  How long before it will be stated that America is no longer a democracy?   How long will it be before this country follows the path of other great empires? 

Our schools now can teach that man evolved from apes, but they cannot teach that man was created by God.  The Lord Prayer has been removed from the curriculum of our schools and morning devotional is soon to be an unheard of thing of the past.  The Ten Commandments that once held a sacred place in our courtrooms and served as the base of our moral and legal system has long since been removed.  Through all of the changes taking place, the world of Christendom dumbed down and accepted a position of adaptability and servitude as it sought to create a non-confrontational image and a non-confrontational God.  The new organized church is now enjoying a new status, not as a spiritual, but as a polluted and politically correct entity basting in subsides from the government.

At an early age, my first impression of God was that of an angry God who underwent periods of silence when dealing with his wayward creation.  God often vented his anger and frustration upon his creation, a fact that has been removed from our modern day interpretation of the scripture.  David understood and expressed the sentiment of God heart when he said, “God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.” (Psalms 7:11)  God’s wrath was poured out upon Adam and Eve and the generations that followed because of their sins.  Cain suffered the wrath of God because he chose to murder his brother.  God poured out his wrath in the form of a flood in Noah’s day and he continued to vent his angry when dealing with wicked nations who stood against his chosen people.  During the dispensation of the Law God’s judgment was often pronounced and swift.

When God’s anger peaked, he gave Israel, his bride, his chosen people a bill of divorcement.  “And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery, I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah (western civilization)  feared not, but went and played the harlot also.” (Jeremiah 3:8)  God then began to speak through his prophets concerning the final consummation of things.  After His prophecies were established God was silent until a time of fulfillment, then his Son came forth, not to broker a peace treaty, not to pave a road to prosperity, but to bring forth a plan of salvation whereby all mankind could be saved.  

There can be many flaws in the interpretation and application of the Holy Scriptures when we do not follow certain guidelines. The Holy Scriptures should not be treated as a systematic treatise on Theology, History, Science or any other topic.  The scriptures are a revelation from God, that set forth His Plan and Purpose down through the Ages, separated by dispensations, as pertaining to the earth and the human race. These revelations were given to us piecemeal "at sundry times and in divers manners.” (Hebrew 1:1)   Holy men of God spake, and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit during a period of 1604 years, extending from B. C. 1492 to A. D. 100. 
There are two ages spoken of in the Holy Scripture, before “Time” the "Alpha" or "Creative Ages," and after "Time" the "Omega," or "Ages of the ages." In "Time" there are three "Ages" and eight "Dispensations."   This is important if we are to “rightly divide the Word of truth.”
The "Ages" are 
1.      The Antediluvian Age.
2.      The Present Age. 
3.      The Age Of Ages. The "Third Age" is a "Dual Age," composed of the "Millennial Age" and the "Perfect Age."

The eight "Dispensations" are
1.      The Edenic,
2.      The Antediluvian,
3.      The Postdiluvian,
4.      The Patriarchal,
5.      The Legal,
6.      The Ecclesiastical,
7.      The Messianic,
8.      The Dispensation of the "Fullness of Time".

The difference between an "Age" and a "Dispensation" is that an "Age" stands for a period between two great physical changes in the earth's surface, while a "Dispensation" stands for a "moral" or "probationary" period in the world's history. For illustration, the "Present Age" began with "The Flood," and ends with the return of Christ to the Mount of Olives. "The Flood" caused such physical and climatic changes that the length of human life was reduced from 900 to 100 years;  all this will be reversed when Christ comes back, when the whole contour of the Land of Palestine will be changed (Zechariah 14:4-10; Ezekiel 47:1-12), and men shall live again for upwards of 1000 years (Isaiah 65:20). 

The problem with the interpretation of the scripture began when we attempt to combine the Dispensation of the Law and the Dispensation of Grace.  To do so is to deny the purpose of Christ's suffering and dying.  An analogy could be a farmer buying a truck and using a team of horses to pull it down the road.  When we take the Old Testament and the New Testament and combine them together without regard to Age and Dispensation we end up with a polluted form of the gospel that can neither be sustained through the Word of God or common sense.  When we search the scripture searching for a word or phrase to validate a vanity point, we are guilty of shaping the word of God.  
As the dispensation of the Law was giving way to the dispensation of Grace, God became silent and only spoke through his Son.  Unlike the days of Adam, Abraham, Moses and others when God engaged men in long drawn out conversations, the silence of God should be an indicator that his wrath is building up and being stored.  (Revelation 15:1)  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.  Jesus often referenced the Word of God in his messages, but contrary to popular belief, there is only two instances that I can find, (you might be able to find more) where the Father actually spoke in the New Testament scripture.   Both instances were a confirmation of his Son, in whom he was well pleased.  (Matthew 3:17) And lo a voice from heaven, saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.   (Luke 9:35)  And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son: hear him.  The words, “hear him” were addressed to Peter.  It seems as if the Father was overcome with anger when Peter had a desire to speak with, and learn from Moses and Elias.  This verse should speak volumes when seeking to understand God and the Word of God.


The Dispensation of the Law came to an end on the cross with the utterance of the words, “it finished.” The Dispensation of Grace began with the outpouring of the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit.  (John 14:26) But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, 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.” 

Sunday, March 15, 2015

The Road Leading To Destruction., Part B

Chapter 1, Part B
Understanding The Word Of God

When many of us consider the sin question we think of violations of the Ten Commandments.  Even then, we tend to think of murder and adultery as "major" sins compared with lying, cursing, or idolatry.   Under the dispensation of the law, certain sins carried an instant death penalty; therefore they were considered major sins.  Under the dispensation of grace, the attempt to separate sin as to major and minor often is just an attempt to justify sin.  Such as the homosexual who often state that its sin is no greater than those who commit adultery.  “All unrighteousness is sin...“ (1 John 5:17)   Paul, however, puts this in perspective when he said, “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.” (Romans 3:20).   To be conscious of sin, we must become aware of the feeling derived from sinning; therefore our reaction to sin is also based upon how it makes us feel.   If the Holy Spirit, an attribute of grace and not of the law, abides within our heart, the feeling that we derive from being in the proximity of sin should be disgusting.

The second point of 1st John 5:17 dissertation states that there is a sin that is not unto death.  This is based upon the contention of the Law that required an instant death penalty for certain sin, the chief commandment is faith and love. Therefore, the chief sin is that by which faith and love are destroyed.  “Verily I say unto you, all sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith whosoever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.” (Mark 3:28-29)  

What is blasphemy?  Blasphemy against God is equated with treason against the State.  Blasphemy is derisive language or any other insult against God, His character, and His system of proper worship.  It is addressed in Old Testament law through the third commandment (do not take the Lord's name in vain).  This should set the stage for a deeper understanding of sin. 

Jesus approach to sin under the presumption of Grace was different from that which was set forth by God under the law.   This should be an interesting line of study for those who insist on invoking the Law of Moses.  The Law says, “If a man be found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel. If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto a husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbor's wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you. But if a man finds a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her: then the man only that lay with her shall die.” (Deuteronomy 22:22-25)  The High Priest was to insure that this punishment was carried out.

The Scribes and Pharisees approached Jesus in an attempt to bring an accusation against him.  The foundation of their test was to determine if Jesus was following the Law of Moses.  The Law verses the presumption of Grace was a point of contention throughout Jesus’s ministry, and Paul sought to deal with it during the formation of the church.  “And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, they say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?” (John 8:3-5) 

“So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those, thine accusers?  Hath no man condemned thee?  She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” (John 8:7-11)

“I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.  If we do not believe in the Word of God and speak words of blasphemy against God, we shall die in our sins.” (John 8:24)

The road to the justification of sin began with allowing our emotions to play a role in determining what a sin is and what is not.  If we believe in God, then the Word of God should be the determining factor. Paul explained what happens when we remove the knowledge of God from our thought process and replace it with the knowledge of good and evil.  The knowledge of good and evil will blur the line that separate good from evil.

 “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.” (Romans 1:28)  Feeling good is subjective morality; it allows us to justify sin through a non Christian agenda.  The path of sin is marked with a simple truism, “God loves his children and he wants them to be happy.”

God wants us to recognize our sins. Even those who have not murdered or committed adultery will find themselves convicted of lying, or of worshipping false idols like wealth or power instead of God.  We have created new idols.  The worship of the ancient golden calf has returned in a new and ruthless disguise. It exists in the form of the idolatry of money, in the dictatorship of an impersonal economy within the church.  Worship services are designed to stimulate or excite the masses and are lacking a true spiritual purpose. 

So what is sin?  If you believe in God, this should be a no-brainer. Some things are wrong, some things are right, simply because God says so and He knows. But if you do not believe in God to become involved in a legalistic argument over what is right and what is wrong is pointless.  This argument will never be resolved.

 David speaking to a group of none believers was direct and on point.  "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God,   corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.” (Psalms 53:1)   David used the word "fool”,  this word is edited out of the modern text.  The attitude of a fool can be ascertained through words or deeds.  


Often the Bible is used by the fool to justify sin.  A small snippet of a verse will be surgically removed and quoted out of its context, “The bible says, there is none that does good”, the church agreed and said amen because it allowed for the justification of sin.

The organized church allowed itself to be drawn into an arena filled with contradictions and lies.  Vain an blasphemous promise is made in the name of God and God is not responding to these requests or promises.  The respect that should be given to God, the church and Christianity is fading because of this fallacy.  Many organized churches are becoming nothing more than a place of entertainment as a new and suggestive beat invades what once was a sacred worship service. A play on the emotions is taking center stage and the spirit of God is presented as nothing but an emotional expression. 

Men and women of dubious stature are demanding that they become respected as messengers of God when their message is tainted with subjective moralities. Leaders who practice to deceive are amassing fortunes selling a shaped message and goods designed to make the listener feel good, while they skillfully massage and manipulate the sinful nature of humanity.  Motivational speeches are not preaching the Word of God.  Practical living exposés is not expository preaching.  Pep talks and clever clichés have no power to save.  Wealth building is not a part of salvation. 

 “I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8)   This question put forth by Jesus deserves an answer.  Take a look around.  What do you see?  Do you really see the faith Jesus spoke of?  It is easy to go through life pretending.  Often we pretend to know the answer when we do not fully understand the question.    It is easy to pretend that we are something that we are not and often it is the pretenders that receive the greatest accolades.  Has our faith become like polluted water and we are guilty of pretending? 


To be Continued

Thursday, March 12, 2015

The Road Leading To Destruction, Part A

Chapter 1 Part A
Understanding The Word Of God

For I am the LORD, I change not. (Malachi 3:6)
There are many of us who hold the opinion that the future of humanity as we know it, is at risk because our system of values have become corrupt and the world as we know it is moraly bankrupt.  Even America, that glorious nation that was founded upon the concept of, “One nation under God”, seems to have lost its way and become engaged in the wiles of the Devil.  It’s people are becoming adrift in a sea of deliberate confusion,  as they seek to redefine the basic elements of their spirituality.  America, that once proud nation whose founders chooses to challenge the status quo and had the audacity to proclaim its existence was provided for by the grace of God, is now turning its back on God. 

This nation’s leaders has ripped apart the moral fibers of its collective consciousness and now proclaims itself a nation of many gods, cultures and beliefs.   The only consensus is the indoctrination of "In God we trust" has failed and like many nations of the past, the road being traveled bears the marks of a road leading to destruction. 

Nations once derived their value system from their culture and their culture derives their values from religion or the lack of religion.  The God of Abraham declared himself to be the God of the universe and proclaimed that, “I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:2-3)   The so-called Christian nations today embraces a new and permissive ideology.
In the ancient days God was known to judge nations harshly if they failed to honor him.  The ancient values of a God fearing society are now being cast aside and our culture is becoming a self defining entity that is now entertaining the ideology that there is no God.  If there is no God, then the definition of sin can no longer be  definitive.  

The concept of sin has become entangled in a legalistic argument of what is right and what is wrong.  The rules of marriage or even  abortion can no longer be argued within the context of the Word of God.  In the eyes of the courts, the true concept of God can no longer be injected into an argument because the burden of proof cannot be met from a legalistic point of view.  Christianity is struggling in the hands of the deceitful,  in a fatal attempt to prove its relevancy in any decision involving the sin question.    Christianity is engaged in a life and death struggling, it must come to an agreement on what is right and what is wrong  and it must be based upon subjective (man) morality rather than objective (God) morality.  In a political correct society it has become necessary to remove God from the equation and redefine sin as right or wrong as it applies to all mankind, regardless of their religious belief. 
  
A modern day philosopher of some sort has stated, "Right is that which is formed within a person's mind, which brings peace to his inner longing."  What's right for one may be wrong for another, this is an accepted norm.  Thus the rule of, "If it feels good, do it", has become one of the standards of determining right and wrong. A rather precarious way to begin a search for, or establish what is right and what is wrong.

The Bible tells us that, “every way of a man is right in his own eyes”. (Proverbs 21:2)  This is human nature, but God also tells us that He decides what right and what is wrong.  In today’s politically correct society are we really concerned about what God has to say?  Humanity has always been determined to live its life, its own way, the way that feels good, and as humanity follows its own path, it considers itself to be right in its decisions.  But this is a lie, because the very core and inner working of human nature is based on pride and selfishness, the self being first.  Whether we admit it or not, this basic nature is the cause of conflicts, arguments, dissension, envy, competition, hatred, wars, stress, and all of the things that makes for an unhappy lifestyle.

There are two basic ways to live life, one is to give, and one is to get.  Humanity, by nature lives by the way of getting, for this reason the Bible speaks of the need for a new nature imparted by God.  Only when we seek God’s help and allow him to change our nature, can we begin to find the true ways to peace through living a life of giving.  The world does not know the way of peace. This is evidenced in a bloodstained earth through 6,000 years of human history. A painful reality of life is to learn that the way of man is steeped in deception, lies and a knowledge that is not based upon the knowledge of God.
The Bible speaks of two sources of knowledge, the knowledge of God and the knowledge of good and evil.  In a culture that is infused with the knowledge of good and evil rather than the knowledge of God, there are two moralities at play, objective and subjective.  Objective morality recognizes God as the decider of right and wrong and its conclusions are guided by the knowledge of God.  Subjective morality gives man the final authority as to what is right or wrong and it conclusions are guided by the knowledge of good and evil.  Thus, with feigned and ambiguous words the learned philosophers have set the rules of debate, man decides what is right  for mankind.

The objective morality verses the subjective morality debate is really a Christianity verses atheist debate in disguise.  To engage in a meaningful debate, both sides must respect each other position, but Christianity has never been a religion that respected the position of the ungodly and the Atheist will never respect the values of Christianity. 

“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Proverbs 14:12)  The objective morals that once were promoted by the Western societies are being replaced by a subjective morality.  Christian values have become toxic and are being replaced with politically correct values.  Christianity is adopting a message of peaceful coexistence rather than confrontation.  It is conceivable that if Jesus or Paul were to preach a message in today's modern church they would be harshly chastised.  Imagine John the Baptist standing in the pulpit of a marvelous and richly endowed church screaming, "Oh ye generation of vipers, who has warned you to flee from the wrath of God." 

There is a sin question that is dominating the human agenda.  To proceed forward in the path that it has taken, humanity as a whole must come to a consensus as to what is a sin and what is not.   Once that door is open, it must also be decided whether sin is a relevant entity in a modernist society.  The sin question cannot be resolved if sin is nothing but a label applied to things that certain groups do not like. 

The real problem with deciding the sin question is that the moral principles that Christians often claim to be "objective" or of God usually coincide with what they "feel" subjectively to be true.      This feeling is often explained as the, "Holy Spirit within us”, but indoctrination also plays an important role here.  When pressed to provide justification, the person being questioned can be led to believe through skillful manipulation that its concept of sin, morality or even of God might not be objective, and the question of sin becomes a question of what one believe.  Without a proper knowledge of God our belief structure is contaminated,  many are easily manipulated and led astray.

The debate as to what is right and what is wrong can continue to the "N" degree, but the true question is, "Do the parties in the debate believe in the same God?"  If the answer is an unequivocal yes, and without doubt, then the question of sin is settled.  There is no reason for a debate.   If one or more parties do not believe in God or the Bible, or even have a different interpretation of God, then there can be no consensus on the question of sin, any discussion of sin is pointless.

Therefore, if we refuse to accept God as the Supreme Being, the Bible as the history of God interaction with his creation that tells how all of this began and how it will end, then we have nothing to add to solving the sin question.  Our acceptance or definition of sin becomes merely a perverse form self-gratification known as the justification of sin.


To be continued 
Part B