04/09/18 RETURN TO TRUTH
Neglected Truths:
Self denial; Holiness or hell;
Body Life (authority, unity, order);
God above State; non-violence.
TRUTH AND COUNTER TRUTH
These are some of the standard, foundational Biblical truths that have been neglected, rejected, forgotten and replaced over the years. Satan sweeps God's revelation under the throw rugs of legalism, "grace" (so called), "liberty" (so called), "love" (so called). "sovereignty" (so called), "justice" (so called). But when we read and believe the Bible we are confronted with the same truths taught by Jesus, and the writers of the New Testament.
SELF DENIAL
We are still called to, and accountable for, self denying discipleship. Regeneration, adoption, salvation, sonship does not negate self denial, death to self, sin and the world. The cross does not cover continued rebellion, because continued rebellion is the sign of disbelief, not faith, and that which is not of faith is sin and the wages of sin is death.
HOLINESS OR HELL
God wants all men to be saved, to be saved from sin, from rebellion, from inner corruption, from sin as an action and sin as a condition. The blood of Christ cleanses from all sin, if we walk in the light. God enables us to keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. Holiness of heart and life is God's way away from hell, judgment, torment. Without holiness, practical, livable, viable holiness, no man shall see the Lord, for only the pure in heart shall see God.
God will either separate us from sin or sin will separate us from God. God is a jealous God and anything or anyone who rules our lives, other than God Himself, is a false God and we are idolaters. There is no purity where there is perversion and pollution. God requires purity, holiness, righteousness in the inward parts as well as in the outward life. Holiness is not simply a way of life, it is a state of being. God will not only forgive our sins and justify us fully and freely, He will purify unto Himself a distinctive people, zealous of good works. In fact, we are saved from sin, from all sin, created in Christ Jesus for the purpose of doing good works.
Holiness of heart and life are not optional for the believer. In order to be a believer we must become partakers of Divine nature, conformed to the image of Jesus and walking in the Spirit rather than walking in the flesh, walking in the light rather than walking in darkness, walking in the day rather than walking in the night, walking in love rather than walking in selfishness. If we do not choose the way of God, we are choosing the way of Satan; we are not children of God, we are children of Satan. We are not going to heaven, but we are going to hell.
BODY LIFE
God has revealed to us His plan to make Himself known to the nations. God has chosen to live in His people, the individuals who are part of a larger body of believers, the Church. Not only does God have a plan for individual lives, He has a plan for the life of His C(c)hurch, His Body, His Building, His Bride. His revealed plan includes His ultimate Authority; His appointed authority (pastors and elders); His unity among believers through love and submission to revelation, to His Spirit, to His leaders, to fellow believers, to husbands, to fathers and mothers. God enables us to manifest the attitudes that make for unity and God reveals His steps to reach and reconcile those who have rebelled against His will and have blasphemed Himself, His will and His people. Church order, through discipline is redemptive and restorative, not ruinous or ravenous. Church discipline cannot be avoided when dealing with those who persist in their sins.
GOD ABOVE STATE and CHRISTIAN NON VIOLENCE
Jesus is only Lord, only Head of the Church. There is no human substitute and there is no government that takes His place. Though we are to obey legitimate law and order, we must always obey God rather than any man, who contradicts the word of God. The Church is given the sword of the Spirit (the Bible) to conquer spiritual forces, and the State is given the sword of steel to protect the righteous and punish the wicked. Since the time of the early Church, Christians have not fought flesh and blood and have not wielded the sword of steel. Uninformed people confuse the rule of God through His earthly kingdoms of the Old Testament with His spiritual kingdom of the New Testament. Christians are called to spill our blood ins service to God, rather than spill the blood of the enemies of the cross.
RECLAIM THESE TRUTHS
These truths have been lost to our modern, western, carnal society. Those who will follow God fully need to return to Biblical living rather than follow the revised and deformed teachings of errant teachers.
