A Forsaken Church

A Forsaken Church.

Revelation 3:14-22

Revelation 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

If we truly believed in the Bible, we would accept the Book of Revelation as the testimony of Jesus Christ, a message to the churches. This is a profound statement in itself because many religious groups no longer include the Book of Revelation in their Bible study. One reason being, this book does not present a picture of smiling masses, "dancing and prancing in the sunshine" and enjoying the sellable attributes of blessing and favor of God. The Book of Revelation depicts a time of great turmoil and Judgment It does not present the fodder for a motivational and spiritual uplifting message filled with earthly blessing that so many of us are in search.   The Book of Revelation addresses a church or organism in its final state of apathy.  The church of the Laodiceans as depicted in the Book of Revelation possessed no spiritual value, it was a church that gloried in its earthly possessions.  

Usually when I attempt to deliver a lecture on the fallibility of the church there is an attempt to dilute the message by one group that says, the church is not an organization, it is an organism.  Now the stage is set for one group to say, "He knows what he is talking about", and another group to say, "He don't know what he is talking about."   The church as defined in the Greek language is an assembly that makes up the Body or Bride of Jesus Christ.  The English interpretation provided the latitude to convert an organism into an organization.  As we well know an organization can have many different independent branches, but a body or organism cannot survive with independent branches.   The major question we should be asking is the church has morphed into an organization, how will all of this be reconciled with the Kingdom of God?

The emergence of new doctrines based upon sculptured biblical verses, surgically removed from the context in which they were spoken has allowed for the proliferation of the word of God at an alarming rate.  This type of broad interpretation allows for ministers to contradict each while each claiming to have a fresh new message from God.   There is a definite question that the indoctrinated few need to address.  As long as this question is not addressed and the knowledge of good and evil continue to increase, Christianity will find itself to be a victim of its own irrationality acts.

When asked about the Book of Revelation, the religious elite will quickly respond that it is a dated Book and John was writing to the churches that existed in his lifetime. Some even have the audacity to question the veracity of the Book, indicating that it should not have been included in the Holy Scripture.   Yet, to the simplest mind, Revelation is Jesus message to the churches and it gives us a chronological view of the church from conception to its final moments here on earth.   The acceptance of the symbolic and simple message of Revelation is often contradictive to the amplified view of man's perceived purpose and his idea of the final conclusion of things.  Revelation presents a view of Heaven that is different from many excepted ideas of Heaven.  

In the beginning of the Book of Revelation, Jesus addressed his message to the seven churches. The English word is church, in the Greek it reference a group or assembly.  Here again, we can spend a great amount of time to no avail debating the relevancy of the use of the word, "church".  It is easy to disregard these letters based upon the fact that these churches no longer exist. If we apply the symbology of the Bible, seven being God's number of completion, we would readily see that the seven churches represent the churches throughout the church age. The question that we should seek to answer through Bible Study, is what church age are we living in today?

Careful documentation has shown the progression of the church as an organism, the body of Christ, down through the ages.  The most adherent students of the Bible will conclude that the church as a body has split into many different organizations.  What was documented in the Greek has been amplified in the English forming many different organizations that lack the possibility of forming a cohesive body in Heaven or on Earth.  Thus the church as we know it today is a contradiction in its self.  Many religious scholars have concluded that we are living in the age of the church of the Laodiceans., the seventh church age. 

Revelation 3:14-22 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 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. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

At this juncture, I like it invoke the story of, "The Emperor's New Clothes". it is a short tale by Hans Christian Andersen about two weavers who promise an Emperor a new suit of clothes that is invisible to those unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent. When the Emperor parades before his subjects in his new clothes, a child cries out, "But he isn't wearing anything at all!"   It was not because they were blind that they allowed themselves to be deceived.  They were more concern about being looked upon favorably by their peers.  It was their desire to be a part of the organization.  Those that were close to the Emperor did not want to appear unfit for their position.  Too often, in the church we are willing to go along with anything as long as someone says, "God said it."

In the news, natural disasters are raging, fires, storms, mudslides and even the seas are casting it did upon the beaches worldwide.  Our national leaders have instituted programs that are leading the world down a path of moral decay.  Mass murder and suicide are a steady diet in the news media.   New churches are being built, new ministers are coming forward and more people are said to be praying than ever before, and God is not answering these prayers.  Like the little boy said about the emperor, "But he isn't wearing anything at all!"   Like Jesus said to the church, "... and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: "

The foundation of the church and the Bible is becoming more and more divided. The foundation of most  ministries is how to get stuff from God.   The foundation of the Bible is the preparation for the return of Jesus and the establishment of his Kingdom.  The individual church as an organization attempt to establish itself as a sacred institution of God, yet it fails to adhere to the rules and regulations set by God.  One person in set up as the supreme ruler of God's people, a thing Jesus frown upon is the preferred order.  Men setting themselves up as rulers of God people is a travesty.  Revelation 2:6  But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

Often there are organizations within a church organization whose sole purpose is to collect money for another group higher up the pyramid.  The blessing and favors, the tools of indoctrination are used and no one dare question it.   How many people have the gall to openly state, "I ask God for a car and he didn't give it to me?"  In a pyramid scheme the individual that fail to reap the promises of the group will often blame themselves.

In a pyramid scheme, an organization or church compels individuals to make a payment and join. In exchange, the organization promises its new members a return on its money through favors and blessings. The directors of the organization or the head of the churches (those at the top of the pyramid) also receive a share of these payments. For the directors, the scheme is potentially lucrative -- whether or not they do any work, the organization's membership has a strong incentive to continue recruiting and funneling money to the top of the pyramid.  This is defined as the blessing of God.

Such organizations seldom involve sales of products or services with real value. Without creating any goods or services, the only ways for a pyramid scheme to generate revenue are to recruit more members or solicit more money from current members. Eventually, recruiting is no longer possible and the plurality of members is unable to profit from the scheme, thus the organization collapses.

My God, My God Have You Forsaken Us

Earl Gillespie

My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Us

There have been times when I have prayed and prayed for God to do something for me, I have cried and cried, God will you just speak to me.  In the midst of my struggle, in the midst of my pain it seems as if God was silent.  I went to my brother, I asked my mother, I read the Holy scripture, I was assured that God was always there, but to me God was silent.  The message from the pulpit was, "God love you."  Knowing all of this did nothing to alleviate my condition of anxiety, nor did it address any of the issues that I was facing.

 There are moments when the storm is raging I am compelled to cry out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me".  I wonder if there is anybody who can relate to what I am talking about.   But when the storm has all but subsided and in the midst of death and destruction there is always the testimonies  of those who survived will proclaim that God has not forsaken us yet.   Somehow, sometime it is a little hard for me to reach out and wrap my mortal sense of thinking around that concept.

Yet, to be forsaken by God is an idea or a concept that we as Christians do not wish to entertain, but when Jesus was hanging on the cross, he was reported by Matthew and Mark as quoting from Psalm 22:1.  My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?  A simple statement, Jesus, nor David said, "I feel like you have forsaken me."  Modern Thelogicians interpret this as a moment of weakness of the flesh that caused Jesus to ask why had God forsaken him thus to many it become explainable in the context of the frailty of the natural man.  The question was first asked by David and later asked by Jesus himself seems to indicate that it is possible in the context of Job that God will forsake us for a reason and a season.  

To acknowledge the feeling of being forsaken by God is not acceptable in today's religious arena.  We are indoctrinated to feel that God is always working with us every step of our journey.  To those that escaped the storm God worked a miracle, but to those that are close to those who perished the consolation is, God knew what he was doing.  Following this line of indoctrination  has caused many to become frustrated  and run from the established religious order.   Cute cliches will no longer sustain the faith.  We might be better off looking at examples of our faith, Jesus Christ, the apostles,  Stephen, Paul and many others.  They all preached the Gospel of the Cross, of Jesus suffering and dying, of his resurrection and ascension.  All of these men, according to the scripture was full of faith, and did great miracles among the people.

Dottie Peoples rendition of, When God is silent", a song that was shunned by some religious entities, served as a pillow of support when I was struggling, she said, when God is silent, he is giving us more time to pray. This did not settle my questions and problems, but it was a start in the right direction.  In the words of the song, it was an acknowledgment that God was silent.  If we look closely at the scripture, there are many periods of time when God was silent.  According to my learned friend there is a four hundred year period of time between the prophecies of the Old testament prophecies and the fulfillment of the prophecies when God was silent.  Yes, he was silent, but he was listening.

 If we step backward in time, Exodus 12:40  Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.  During the time of their sequester they prayed for deliverance.   No stretch of the imagination is required to know that during that time there were false messages going out, each one claiming to have a fresh new message from God.  Stepping forward to Jesus time, he warned his followers to be aware of the false prophets.

The Gospel of the Church has superseded the Gospel of the Cross.  The Gospel of the Church caters to a person in search of instant gratification.  We go to the supermarket to get our groceries, we go to church to get our blessings, in each instant we want to get what we came for and get on our way.  Fast food restaurants are doing a booming business,  we are not conditioned or indoctrinated to standing in line, at best we  prefer to drive up to the window and have it our way.  Now imagine the children of Isreal, God's chosen people begging and pleading in the slime pits of Egypt, "Lord send a deliverance".  Four hundred and thirty years passed before God honored his promise to Joseph concerning his chosen people.

Now lets look at the forty years they spent wandering in the wilderness, God was speaking but he was not delivering.  They were wandering or (lost) because they had sinned.  It is interesting to note that only two of the original cast finally entered into the promise land.  The rest  (forsaken by God) died waiting for the fulfillment of the promise.

The progress of Christianity has introduced what is known as a "God culture", God is hanging around to hand out blessings. Preachers preach all you got to do is step up and claim your blessings.  There is a constant clamor to claim a blessing from God.  Some even become belligerent and demand, "I want my blessing." There are those who are selling the concept that everything that happen God has some ulterior motive or purpose.   This is a sellable attribute of the church.   There is possible much truth in this, but we must acknowledge that much of our suffering is caused by our own action and it is not the design of God.  It was not the design of God for the child of Israel to wander in the wilderness forty years, it was the result of sinning against God.   If you can tell me how to get something for nothing, then I am interested, we will pay money for that information. 

On any given Sunday there are thousands of messages emulating from the pulpit, many claim to be a fresh word from God and many of these messages are conflicting with the true Word of God.  These messages promise wealth and happiness and in return they ask for a financial donation.  New churches are being built and  the so-called word of God is spreading.  According to the social media more people are praying and God is speaking more than he has ever done in any generation.  The masses are even paying good money to hear the Word of God.

In my struggle to hear God speak, I realized that to reap the benefits of knowing God, I do not need to hear God speak, he has already spoken.  To see God, why should I pray for a vision when all I have to do is open my eyes and see him all around me.  When the Stephen was being stoned to death God.  Wouldn't it have been nice if he had gotten a message from God saying they will not be able to lift their hands or stand against you?   Maybe our desire to hear God speak has more to do with our faith in God, rather than receiving a new message from God.  Maybe there is no fresh or new message from God, maybe God is just waiting and everything is proceeding according to the Book of Revelation.  The time of Judgment is at hand.

Election, Predestination and Salvation, Part #2

Earl Gillespie

The Election of God
Doctrine Freedom of the Will
Part #2

The "Doctrine of Election" is taught in the Scriptures, and that it applies not only to "service," but to "salvation."  The Doctrine of Election  means that God has chosen some to be saved and others to be lost, yet this is not acceptable to many as they teach that the Scriptures clearly state that all men are lost. "For there is no difference: for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Roman 3:22-23.  Does the use of this verse and the above statement present an accurate representation of the truth or does this present an irreconcilable difference in the interpretation of the scripture? Paul says, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."  He did not say, we all are lost.  Moses and David were elected by God to serve a particular purpose in the establishment of his Kingdom, yet they sinned.  

Based upon a particular and pointed interpretation, there are  many irreconcilable differences in the scripture, such as the age of the earth, the creation of the different races, or even what day of the week Jesus was crucified, just to name a few.   During the season of Easter the question is often revisited,  "If Jesus was buried on Friday and resurrected on Sunday, how is that three days?"   The increase in the knowledge of good and evil causes man to question, even his creation.  Many are able to base their beliefs upon one segment of the scripture which is a contradiction in itself, then there are Bible students who have stepped away from the indoctrinated views and are seeking to find a deeper understanding of God and his Word. 

It is undeniable, The Election of God is seen all through the Scriptures. God chose Abel instead of Cain, Shem instead of Ham and Japheth, Abraham rather than Nahor, Jacob, the trickster rather than Esau the generous-hearted, Ephraim the younger is preferred before Manasseh the elder, and so all down through the Old Testament we see the selecting hand of God, not only in the choice of individuals but of kings and nations. As proof texts we have "For He said to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy." Romans 9:15-16. "Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth." Romans 9:18. As a young child in Bible Study  I was well aware that Pharoah was ready to give up the fight, but God said to Moses, "I will harden his heart."  "Hash not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?" Romans 9:21. "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you." John 15:16.   

Simply put, the “elect of God” are those whom God has predestined to salvation. They are called the “elect” because that word denotes the concept of choosing.  From these scriptures we see that God has "elected"  a group of people even before the foundation of the world. Some were selected for salvation and some were cast aside.  This concept does not set well within the church and it very well shouldn't as we will attempt to explain later.  The concept of God's chosen people is first found in the Old Testament. God chose Israel as His special people. "And because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them; and He brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power" (Deuteronomy 4:37). "For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth" (Deuteronomy 7:6 // Deuteronomy 14:2).  Now for a point to ponder, Paul was not chosen because he was actively seeking repentance for the deeds he was doing, he was elected to be a spokesperson for Jesus.   If we rephrase the statement made in the opening of this paragraph to say the elect of God is those whom God are predestined to fulfill a specific purpose in the  in the Kingdom, a window of illumination should appear.   In the makeup of a Kingdom there are many different positions, some are selected, some elected and some are filled based upon a person's desire to be of service to the Kingdom.  

Now, on the other hand, we have the "Doctrine Freedom of the Will" as taught by the church.  "All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37. "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16. "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the Sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." John 1:12. "Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." John 5:40. The last call of the Bible is a general call. "And the Spirit (Holy Spirit) and the bride (the Church) say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Revelation 22:17.  Jesus final message to the church in the Book of Revelation was, “whosoever will let him come.  

How are we to reconcile these seemly apparently contradictory statements of Scripture?  First lets establish a few guidelines, without these guidelines our dissertation will digress into nothing more than an overworked fairy tale. There are many different groups mention within the Bible, angels and demons, the Jews, the Gentiles and the church.  Of these groups, some are earthly bodies and some are spiritual bodies, the church is a spiritual body.  Problems have arisen because the existing church as a spiritual body on a natural plateau became overly possessive and began to claim the blessings of Abraham.  The blessings of Abraham are earthly blessings never intended for the church. If the church, the bride of Christ is a spiritual body, then it blessing are of a spiritual nature.  Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:32  teaches us that we should, "Give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:" These three groups are mention in one statement or verse, indicating that they are separate entities and each having their own special makeup, they must remain separate, one does not supersede the other.   The church is the 'Bride of Christ', the Jews will forever remain the 'Bride of the Father', who for the present he has divorced.

What would happen if we began to shape the scripture so that the directives that applied to the children of Israel applied to the church, or even the gentiles?  We would have a polluted and non-sustainable gospel.   In the beginning of Jesus ministry, the disciples were cautioned not to go into the way of the Gentiles.  As with the teaching in parables, he was being selective in his message.  Prior to the formation of the church, the message of the Kingdom was to the Jews only.  The church, the bride of Christ, did not replace the Jews.  The church, or the 'Saints of God' have a special mission as the Holy angels of God.  


The second step to reconciling the perceived difference in the scripture is that we must be aware of the difference between ages and dispensations within the Holy Scripture.  We also  must be conscious of who is talking, what is being talked about and who is being spoken to. Whether it is a message to the Jews, a message to the Gentiles, or a message to the Jews and the Gentiles which make up the church.  In most instances the message is different.  In 2 Timothy 2:15 Paul admonition is, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."   To claim the message to Moses is a message to the church the scripture is quoted, Matthew 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.   It is easy for the pious elite to preach that this mean we must do everything that is written in the Bible, yet even the presentation is a contradiction and violation of the established order set forth by God in the Old Testament.  Paul explained it this way in 2 Timothy 3:16,  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

The third step is understanding the concept of the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven or just plain simple Heaven.  To simplify I will just use the word Kingdom, Jesus often spoke of the Kingdom, indicating that it was his intent to establish his Father's Kingdom here on earth.  The watered down concept of Jesus coming back is,”I just want to be ready when he come” does not speak to the makeup of the Kingdom.  The watered down version of Heaven is a cloud hopping, sprouting angel wings, sitting on a cloud concept that has regressed to the beliveability of a good fairy tale.   It is the place that we want to go, but life here on earth is so much better. 

Remember James and John come to Jesus with a special request?  Mark 10:36-40  And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you?  They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory (Kingdom). But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? And be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.  Those that it was predestinated even before the world began.  

The kingdom of God does not appear as a peripheral topic in Scripture.  Both testaments speak of God’s kingdom. Students of Scripture must be taught and understand the kingdom in order to properly apply its truths and understand its implications. Too often the readers of Scripture, and many churches in  particular, tend to limit the topic of the kingdom of God into a discussion merely of the earthly Messianic kingdom of one thousand years duration. In the same fashion, the discussion, too often addresses the matter of the future land of Israel alone. On the other hand, many pastors and church members automatically assume that the kingdom of God refers only to greater spiritual realities with reference to salvation and either ignores or deny outright the reality of a literal and an earthly kingdom being established here on earth.  

Next

Part #3

Doctrine Freedom of the Will and  Foreknowledge'

Election, Predestination and Salvation, Part #1

Earl Gillespie

A Study of Election, Free Will, Predestination and Salvation
Part #1
Introduction

My mother was a great encouragement to me to study and restudy the word of God.  I remember one morning at the breakfast table, she asked me, " Why did Jesus often speak in parables?"  I quickly responded with a cliche that I had heard from my youth. "Jesus spoke in parables to make his message so plain that even a farmer could understand it." "That's what I thought and taught for many years", she said.  She suggested I read Matthew 13:10-13  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? And he answered and said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables; because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.  

I then read Mark 4:11-12,   And he said to them, To you is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to them who are without, all things are done in parables, that beholding they may behold and not see, and hearing they may hear and not understand, lest it may be, they should be converted and they should be forgiven.  What began to come clear was some was selected to hear and understand the parable and some was not.

Such has been the dispensation of divine truth in all ages of the world, that the higher spiritualities of religion, though accessible to all who really seek them, are covered by a veil from the open gaze of the profane. It is so down to the present hour. Many listen to the preaching of the gospel all their life, to whose minds any actual conception of the nature of redemption from sin, by the Son of God, never penetrates. Divine Providence seems designedly so to arrange the dispensation of truth, that, seeing, sinners may, if they choose, not see, and hearing, not hear.  Thus, it seems as if some were selected to hear and some are not.

In Luke 8:10  And he said, To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest in parables, in order that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

That seeing they might not see, that is, that while enough is exhibited to them to invite their attention, they may still be left at liberty to shut their eyes to the truth, if they choose. There is nothing more striking in the government of God, than the reserve in the communication of religious truth, which seems to have marked the divine administration in all ages of the world. The higher spiritualities of religion are not forced upon the attention of unwilling minds; there is a veil which conceals the sacred interior from all, excepting those who find in their hearts an honest desire to know and do the will of God, which leads them in.

One of the things that stood out clearly was that Jesus was not using parables to open up their understanding, he was teaching in such a manner that, "Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given..."   And interesting context should be applied here, was Jesus promoting the message or was he cloaking the message?   Validating the subject of this blog, it seems as if some was selected or "elected" to hear, see and understand and some were not. Considering both possibilities allowed for my mother and I to hold many spirited discussions. 

In her final days her mind would sometimes play tricks with her, in the middle of her conversation she would begin quoting segments of Matthew 7:13-14  Enter ye in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby. For narrow is the gate, and straitened the way, that leadeth unto life, and few are they that find it.  She would conclude by saying, "I just want to make it in."

Let us take a closer look at her favorite verses; Verse 13. Enter ye in at the strait gate. Christ here compares the way to life to an entrance through a gate. The words straight, and strait, have very different meanings. The former means not crooked; the latter pent up, narrow, difficult to be entered. This is the word used here, and it means that the way to heaven is pent up, narrow, close, and not obviously entered. The way to death is open, broad, and thronged. The Saviour here referred probably to ancient cities. They were surrounded with walls, and entered through gates. Some of those, connected with the great avenues to the city, were broad, and admitted a throng. Others, for more private purposes, were narrow, and few would be seen entering them. So says Christ, is the path to heaven. It is narrow. It is not the great highway that men tread. Few go there. Here and there one may be seen  travelling in solitude and singularity. The way to death, on the other hand, is broad. Multitudes are in it. It is the great highway in which men go. They fall into it easily, and without effort, and go without thought. If they wish to leave that, and go by a narrow gate to the city, it would require effort and thought. So, says Christ, diligence is needed to enter into life. See Lu 13:24. None go of course. All must strive to obtain it; and so narrow, unfrequented, and solitary is it, that few find it. 

The religious community should spend more time teaching us how to die rather than teaching us to get stuff.   The educational institutions are doing a great job teaching those who apply themselves how to survive.  I would much rather employ my faith in God expecting and preparing for the hereafter rather than trying to get stuff from God here on earth when all I have to do is use my God given skills to make my own way. 

This truth is contrary to what many teach.

This brings us to the first word of our subject, "Election".  As we have illustrated in the above verses Jesus spent many precious moments explaining to those who had, "ears to hear", the concept of the Kingdom of God.  There were those who was elected to hear and understand and there were those who just didn't get it  The lack of understanding when it comes to the Holy scripture is that many does not understand  the concept or the reality of 'Kingdom of God'.  There is a somewhat childish concept of Heaven that has permeated down through the ages.  Heaven is a beautiful place, when I get to Heaven I won't have nothing to do but walk around Heaven all day.  There is the one that says we will sprout wings and fly around the throne of God shouting Holy, Holy all day long.  The social media has created a Heaven where we are assigned a cloud to sit on and watch over our love ones.  It most definitely would seem as if Heaven was a disorderly and boring place without a purpose, just a place where we live forever.  

To help set the stage for part #2 of this discussion, I refer to the question asked by the Sunday School student concerning election and predestination.,  I later realized I stumbled badly trying to answer her question and the pastor did nothing to help me out.  She wanted to know, "If God knew in advance who was going to be saved through a process of election and predestination, then there is nothing could be done about it, what is the point of trying to live a save life?" The question in Bible context, "does the election mean that God has chosen some to be saved and others to be lost?"  

Matthew 24:22  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

There is no question but that the "Doctrine of Election" is taught in the Scriptures, and that it applies not only to "service," but to "salvation." It is equally true that the "Doctrine of the Freedom of the Will" under certain conditions is also taught. We may not be able to reconcile the "Sovereign Will of God," with the "Freewill of Man," but that is no proof that they are not reconcilable. They are the corresponding halves of the Doctrine of Salvation, "Election" is the Godward side, and "freewill" the manward side. The perversion of the "Doctrine of Election" leads to the "Doctrine of Inability" or Fatalism, which denies the freedom of man's choice, and therefore his accountability or responsibility for his salvation.

Ephesians 1:4-5  According as he hath chosen us (elect)  in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

To be Continued in

Part #2

Election and Freewill

You are invited to post your comments.

Living in Denial

Earl Gillespie

A Country In Denial

A Church In Denial

There is a strange feeling of impending doom that permeates the world.  If not by the hands of God, then by the hands of world leaders or even the president.  This country is going through really rough spiritual and economic times.  Prices are up, wages are down.  People are losing their jobs.   Business after business is going bankrupt, cutting back, laying off, reducing hours. Stocks/investments, people’s life savings/retirement funds are tumbling.  Perhaps we’re in a recession, or even worse in a depression.  

Our schools have become a haven for knives, guns and drugs.  Many of our young people are becoming nothing but a drain on society and we keep looking to God to straighten out what our families and community leaders have messed up. The family structure was dismantled by the government long ago and new ideologies are being adopted. Many churches through special funding entered into a partnership with the government, thereby rendering themselves irreverent as a spiritual body.  As in the days of Constantine, the government and the church joined hands as become mired in a rut of self-importance, self-indulgence and false piety.  This relationship created an erosion that was instrumental in the decline of the Roman Empire and it became the catalyst that led to the destruction of the British Empire.  

This country was founded upon a strong belief in God.  In God we trust was printed on currency and documents and the tribe of Judah once more began to call upon the God of Abraham.  The concept of one God, the Hebrew God as the spiritual backbone, was paramount in the establishment of rules of order and conduct.  In our society God was allowed to roam freely as a separate entity without the restraints of the government.  In our schools the Bible was accepted as a guiding light and the bases of our Laws in the Halls of Justice was the Ten Commandments.  Men in their infinitive wisdom, decided that the laws created by this great nation to protect Christian values should be used to destroy Christian values.  

In todays society, God is being stripped out of our everyday activities and cast aside. Whether man likes it or not, his corrupt nature is the cause of the problems the world is experiencing. Man's nature is the cause of conflicts, arguments, dissension, envy, competition, hatred, wars, stress, and unhappiness in life.  Man, by nature, lives by the way of getting. Only when humanity begins to seek God’s help to change their nature, can they begin to find the true ways to peace. The man that God created whose nature was corrupted by the Devil simply does not know the way of peace. This is evidenced in a bloodstained earth through 6,000 years of human history.

It is hard for most of us to believe that this world is about to enter or has already entered the time of destruction that was prophesied in the Book of Revelation,  which will ultimately end 6,000 years of man’s government—man’s self-rule.   God is moving toward the seventh day, a thousand years of rest when he returns and establish his own rule.  When we see the dark clouds rising, strange weather patterns, earthquakes and destruction throughout the land, It should be clear we are dealing with an angry God.

The destruction that God has pronounced upon man-self rule is a stored up wrath, that he is waiting for the proper time to bring forth.  God gives the analogy of a woman in labor pain to show how these events will unfold. As labor begins, the contractions are farther apart and less intense; but as time between contraction decreases, the intensity of those contractions grows. Such is the reality of labor pain, and such will be part of the proof of what is written in the Book of Revelation.  

The church has already entered into its final state of apostasy as depicted in the seventh letter to the churches in the Book of Revelation.  We are definitely in the seventh church age.  Within the last decade a strange transformation began to take place, the God of our salvation was trivialized and now what once was considered unholy is now acceptable as Holy.  Worship services are drifting further and further away from the once acceptable standards, play acting is a part of, "getting our praise on" as the night club atmosphere invaded the church and respect for  the House of God diminishes as showing off and performances take center stage.   

Do we ever find oneself asking the question, "What is the purpose of all of this"?  Maybe we should do a study on the evolution of God.   Is to know God is to have someone to blame all of our failures on?  Better yet, God is a tool that slick motivational preachers use to make you want to give money so you can get more money.  

God’s purpose for creating human life goes far beyond anything man has ever imagined, even in fiction; and so it can be very difficult to believe the truth.  The truth is deeper than  what some obnoxious religious opportunists will tell you about prosperity and walking in God's favor.  God purposed from the beginning that human life was to be temporary. His design and purpose is that we be changed from mortal to immortal, from temporary life to eternal life. This transition is something that God will offer every human as a matter of choice. God’s ultimate purpose for creating man is that he is to become a part of the very Family of God, in the Kingdom of God.   This is not your life, this is the test. 

When asked, “Why didn’t God simply create us as spiritual God beings and immediate members of His Divine Family?” The answer is: God does not create righteous character in individual beings because living according to God’s righteousness must be and is a matter of choice.  Remember what happen to Lucifer and a third of God's angels that brought destruction upon the earth?  In Geneses 1:1 God began a restoration process, then he created man.  Man failed the first test, but God so loved man that he gave him another chance.  The testing of man's character has been going on for six millennia, God has been patient toward man’s unwillingness to listen to Him through His prophets. His Son, and His Ministers. 

When God delivered the Children of Israel and established them as a nation God reigned as king in Israel and the people were dissatisfied. They wanted to be like everybody else around them.  That sounds strangely familiar today.  We still have a tendency to want to be like everyone around us, even when that is not a good choice.

God, let  them have their way, and have an earthly king, Saul.  But he was a great disappointment and God replaced him with a man after his own heart, David, who was then followed by Solomon.  At Solomon’s death the Kingdom divided, North and South: Israel, with 10 tribes in the North – all of their kings were bad.  Judah composed of 2 tribes in the South, MOST of their kings were bad, too. 

The Book of Joel can be outlined into 3 easy points,            

The locust plague and drought calling the people to repentance

The Day of the Lord with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit

The glorious future of Judah and Jerusalem

1:1-4 It’s a mighty plague of locusts, of unparalleled magnitude, there were locusts everywhere.  Those then living, have never seen anything like it.  People would be talking about this plague be for generations to come.  Apparently, the plague was contemporary with Joel’s prophecy.  It was then and there, happening, Joel’s eyewitness account: Unimaginable ruin and destruction.

In verse 4, there are 4 different Hebrew terms to describe the invading insects — which probably refers to the various stages of the locust life cycle — each stage being more destructive than the one before.  The female locust deposits her eggs in the moist soil, and when conditions are right millions , billions of eggs are laid — on the order of 70,000 eggs per square meter.  Soon these hatch into grubs or larval stage — and the grubs  eat.  Next comes  the pupa or hopper stage, the nymph stage in which small wings appear — and they eat even more. Finally the full-fledged flying locusts — the swarm — which eat all the vegetation in sight.  All told the maturation process goes through 5 molts, and can take up to 3 years.  All the while devastating the vegetation — stripping the fields bare.

The Dec. 1915 issue of National Geographic recounts a similar plague of locusts which struck against Jerusalem — area wide devastation. 

v. 7  — the grape vines are destroyed, the fig harvest is gone.

v. 8  — once the leaves and fruit are eaten, the locusts are still ravenous and eat the bark right off the trees, leaving them white.

v. 9  — There is no grain for offering before the Lord.  No wine for the drink offering.  The food the gone.

Devastation, famine, hunger.

v. 10 — The wheat is destroyed, the barley fields are bare.

And yet the locusts still come, millions, perhaps billions in huge waves.  The sky turns black (2:10)  as they descend like an army, chap. 2.

2:3 — Though the land was rich, fertile, and green — like the Garden of Eden before the plague.  Once the hungry horde descends, only a desert waste is left behind.  

2:5 — As they descend upon Jerusalem it sounds like a chariot attack, rattle, rumble, and roar — as their wings buzz and they strip the vegetation bare.

2:9  — The insect army run along the city wall, invading the houses.

2:11 The plague not is simply allowed by God— we see here that the Lord himself heads up this army of devouring insects.  He leads the attack upon the city.  It was his way to call the nation to repentance.  Now, as to exactly what their sins were, Joel does not say.  Yet whatever they were, it was time for the nation as a whole to turn back to God. 

So we see in Scripture that hard times, bad times, hungry times — are used by God [even sent by God / led by God] — to call a nation back to its senses.  And maybe — in fact, I think very likely, that’s what our current economic crisis is all about: Maybe God is calling our churches and nation back to its spiritual senses.   Then agan, maybe we are running out of time.

If you can accept the God is love concept, then you must accept the angry God concept. 

And yet throughout it all, God is in control.  And if we (as Christians) really believe that our citizenship is in heaven (Phil.3 :20), that we’re only strangers on the earth, just passing through (Heb. 11:13), then the trauma of economy doesn’t affect us nearly so.

Are We Playing With God.

Earl Gillespie

Are We Playing With God?

John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

God is a spirit. This is one of the reason men should worship God in spirit and in truth. By this it is meant that God is without a body; that he is not material or composed of parts; that he is invisible, in every place, pure and holy. This is one of the first truths of religion, and one of the sublimest ever presented to the mind of man. Almost all nations have had some idea of God as gross or material, but the Bible declares that God is a pure spirit. As he is such a spirit, he dwells not in temples made with hands (Act 7:48), neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things, Matthew 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Act 17:25. A pure, a holy, a spiritual worship, therefore, is such as he seeks--the offering of the soul rather than the formal offering of the body--the homage of the heart rather than that of the lips.

The seriousness of religion and true worship has been offset by what many members of generation x refer to as play acting.  Spiritual emotions have been merged with natural emotions.   If we can accept that God is a spirit, we also must accept that man is composed of two natures. There is the natural man and there is the spiritual man.  There are two types of emotions, there is the natural emotions and there are the spiritual emotions.   It has been said, what God does in the spiritual, the devil mimics in the natural.  The devil seeks to control the natural man through his natural emotions and the natural environment, but God deals with man on a spiritual level, he looks at the heart.  1 Corinthians 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.  The line that separated the natural from the spiritual has been blurred and worship services have taken on all of the elements of natural expressions and natural emotions are are being redefined as the Spirit of God. 

There is this picture of a suitcase full of money making its way around the social media.  The caption says, "believe and click "like, God will give me the money."  Sadly, many people buy into this concept of God.   Based upon the successes of giant pyramid schemes and multi-level-marketing scheme is proof that a promise of money sets the stage for indoctrination and manipulation, whether in or out of the church. 

Despite having one foot in Generation X, I tend to identify most strongly with the attitudes and the ethos of the millennial generation, and because of this, I am not impressed with the play acting that is taking place in the religious arena.  The natural emotions that are displayed and expressed in the entertainment arena such as the nightclubs, the football games and those things that we react to through the five senses are finding their way into the sanctuary.  These new ideas are accepted as a new form of worship designed to draw the millennial generation, that lost generation  back into the church.   The pious elites are praying, but our young people are not rushing to church.  

What is the driving force of getting up in the morning and going to work?  The driving force behind Christian worship is getting a blessing.  Wants and excess have become tools of indoctrination within the Church of God.  The emphasis is, God is going to dump wads of money in your lap.  This is to sustain a natural belief that a blessing is coming our way.  This creates a natural high that will sustain most believers for a whole week, then we rush back to church on Sunday praying for that same blessing.   God is a spirit, maybe we should be praying for the fruit of the Spirit.  Throughout the week we are praying for money, jobs, cars better working conditions and other natural wants.  If we believe in God, what do these things have to do with the Kingdom of God?  The indoctrination  and the programming of the believers once was effective because we were told, "You can have this, all you got to do is...", and blindly we followed in search of the Gold, then the indoctrination failed and the millennial generation began to walk away from God.   Generation X has become guilty of making a play toy out of the God of our Salvation. 

The spiritual aspect of Christianity has taken a back seat and the natural desires of humanity are amplified. There is a question that I struggle with from day to day.  "Why is God changing." The one thing in life that was supposed to stay the same is changing and many remain in a state of denial as sacred services take on a whole new flair and flavor.  The performers and the participants are impressed but there are those lost sheep who are standing outside, they are not impressed.  

According to a recent survey, conducted by the Barna group on behalf of the American Bible Society, young adults, between the ages of 18 to 29, (Millennials) are becoming more disrespectful and hostile towards Biblical teachings than ever before.

Is the millennial generation losing its religion?  This is a question that is often asked by the media as the attendance drop and the number of church closings skyrocket.  The so-called effective pastor now must explore new methods of attracting this new generation who is attracted to the new morality.  

The survey showed that while 79% of all adults believe the Bible should be regarded as being sacred, only 64% of Millennials felt the same way and although only 13% of all adults believe that there is no sacred book, more than 19% of Millennials, believe this to be true.

Time and again, the assumption among Christian leaders, and evangelical leaders in particular, is that the key to drawing Millennials back to church is to make a few style updates, crossover music with a big beat, more casual services, come as you are, a pastor who wears skinny jeans.  But here’s the big thing: Having been advertised to our whole lives, we as members of the Generation X and Millennials group have highly sensitive "BS" meters, and we’re not easily impressed with consumerism or performances.

I would agree and argue that church performances is just one more thing driving many away from the church, and evangelicalism in particular.  Many of us, myself included, are finding ourselves increasingly drawn to high church traditions – Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, the Episcopal Church, etc. –Precisely because the ancient forms of worship seem so unpretentious, so unconcerned with being “cool,” and from a spiritual aspect, we find that refreshingly authentic.  I mean God is a Spirit.


What Millennials really want from the church is not a change in style, but a change in substance  
The indoctrination has failed, our young people are not running to the church, they are leaving in droves