“This book has shocked me to the core. No wonder the writer warns that ‘if you are not willing to have your Christianity seriously examined do not read this book. Spare yourself the trouble of having your Christian life turned upside down!’ Wow. I think this book just took my Christianity to a whole new level of understanding! I am shell shocked that I did not know any of this. Every Christian should read this book. If they dare.” Karen Cochran
Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola and George Barna
“The Christian faith was born in believer’s homes, yet every Sunday morning, scores of Christians sit in a building with pagan origins that is based upon Pagan Philosophy”.
“We somehow have been taught to feel holier when we are in ‘the house of God’ and have inherited a pathological dependency upon edifice to carry out our worship to God”.
“We are doing great damage to the message of the New testament by calling man made buildings ‘churches’.
“The order of worship includes threefold structure: (1) singing, (2) the sermon, and (3) closing prayer or song. This order of worship is viewed as sacrosanct in the eyes of many present-day Christians. But why? Again, it is due simply to the titanic power of tradition. And that tradition has set the Sunday morning order of worship in concrete … never to be moved”.
“As Will Durant, author of The Story of Civilization put it, Pagan isles remained in the spreading Christian sea. This was a tragic shift from the primitive simplicity that the church of Jesus Christ first knew”.
“We so easily forget that the early Christians turned the world upside down without them”.
“Our study of the liturgical history of the Lutheran (sixteenth century), Reformed (sixteenth century), Puritans (sixteenth century), Methodists (eighteenth century), Frontier-Revivalists (eighteenth to nineteenth centuries), and Pentecostals (twentieth century) uncovers one inescapable point: For the last five hundred years, the Protestant order of worship has undergone minimal change”. Pg.73 .
“As one author put it, ‘The Reformers accepted in substance the ancient Catholic pattern of worship…the basic structures of their services were almost universally taken from the late medieval orders of various sorts'”. pg 74
“In the end, then, the Reformers reformed the Catholic liturgy only slightly. Their main contribution was in changing the central focus. In the words of one scholar, ‘Catholicism increasingly followed the path of the (pagan) cults in making a rite the center of its activities, and Protestantism followed the path of the synagogue in placing the book at the center of it’s services’. Unfortunately, neither Catholics nor Protestants were successful in allowing Jesus Christ to be the center and head of their gatherings. Nor were they successful at liberating and unleashing the body of Christ to minister one to another in the gathering, as the New Testament envisions”. pg 74
“Because of the Reformation the Bible replaced the Eucharist and the Pastor replaced the priest. But there is still a directing of God’s people, rendering them as silent spectators. The centrality of the Author of the book was never restored. Hence, the Reformers dramatically failed to put their finger on the nerve of the original problem: a clergy-led worship service attended by a passive laity. It is not surprising, then, that the Reformers viewed themselves as reformed Catholics”. pg. 74
“Not only is the traditional order of service unscriptural and heavily influenced by paganism (which runs contrary to what is often preached from the pulpit), it does not lead to the spiritual growth God intended”. pg 75
“The Protestant order of worship represses mutual participation and growth of Christian community. It puts a choke hold on the functioning of the body of Christ by silencing its members. There is absolutely no room for anyone to give a word of exhortation, share an insight, start or introduce a song, or spontaneously lead a prayer. You are forced to be a muted, staid pew holder! You are prevented from being enriched by the other members of the body as well as being able to enrich them yourself”. pg 75
The Protestant order of worship strangles the headship of Jesus Christ. The entire service is directed by one person. You are limited to the knowledge, gifting, and experience of one member of the body- the Pastor. Where is the freedom for our Lord Jesus to speak through his body at will? Where in the liturgy may God give a brother or sister a word to share with the whole congregation? The order of worship allows for no such thing. Jesus Christ has no freedom to express Himself through His body at his discretion. He too is rendered a passive spectator”. pg 76
“Every Sunday you attend the service to be bandaged and recharged like all the other wounded soldiers. Far to often, however, the bandaging and the recharging never takes place. The reason is quite simple. The New Testament never links sitting through an ossified ritual that we mislabel “church” as having anything to do with spiritual transformation. We grow by functioning, not by passively watching and listening”. pg 77
“Let’s face it. The Protestant order of worship is largely unscriptural, impractical, and unspiritual. It has no analog in the New Testament. Rather, it finds its roots in the culture of fallen man. It rips at the heart of primitive Christianity, which was informal and free of ritual. Five centuries after the Reformation, the Protestant order of worship still varies little from Catholic Mass-a Religious ritual that is a fusion of pagan and Judaistic elements” pg. 77
“In fact, when the church functions as she should, she is the greatest evangelism known to humankind. When God’s people are living in authentic community, their lives together are a sign to the world of God’s coming reign”. pg. 82
“Remove the sermon and you have eliminated the most important source of spiritual nourishment for countless numbers of believers (so it is thought). Yet the stunning reality is that today’s sermon has no root in Scripture. Rather, it was borrowed from pagan culture, nursed and adopted into the Christian faith”. pg. 86
“The New Testament letters show that ministry of God’s Word came from the entire church in their regular gatherings. From Romans 12: 6-8, 15: 14, 1 Corinthians 14:26, and Colossians 3:16, we see that it included teaching, exhortation, prophecy, singing, and admonishment. This “every-member” functioning was also conversational (1 Corinthians 14:29) and marked by interruptions (1 14:30). Equally so, the exhortation of the local elders were normally impromptu.
In Short, the contemporary sermon delivered for Christians consumption is foreign to both Old and New Testaments. There is nothing in Scripture to indicate it’s existence in the early Christian gatherings”. pg. 88
“The Christian sermon was borrowed from the pagan pool of Greek culture”! pg. 89
“The sermon was conceived in the womb of Greek rhetoric. It was born into the Christian community when pagans-turned-Christians began to bring their oratorical styles of speaking into the church. By the third century, it became common for Christian leaders to deliver a sermon. By the fourth century it became the norm”. pg.101
“Nevertheless, despite the fact that the contemporary sermon does not have a shred of biblical merit to support it’s existence, it continues to be uncritically admired in the eyes of most present-day Christians. It has become so entrenched in the Christian mind that most Bible-believing pastors and Laymen fail to see that they are affirming and perpetuating an unscriptural practice out of sheer tradition. The sermon has become permanently embedded in a complex organizational structure that is far removed from the first-century church life”. pg. 102
“The first-century church planters had a deep and profound revelation(or insight) of Jesus Christ. They knew him, and they knew him well. He was their life, their breath, and their reason for living. They, in turn, imparted that same revelation to the churches they planted. John 1: 1-3 is a good example of this dynamic .
Paul of Tarsus preached a message of Christ that was so profound that it caused immoral, blood-drinking pagans to become full-fledged Christians in love with Jesus Christ in just a few short months. (These new believers made up the churches of Pisidian, Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea (Acts13-17). Paul shared the depths of Christ with them in such a way that they knew that they were holy in His eyes and that they could know Him internally, for Christ indwelt them. This profound, personal understanding of the indwelling Christ affected how they gathered together and what they did in those gatherings.
Furthermore, Paul typically spent several months with these new converts then left them on their own for long periods of time, sometimes years. And when he returned, they were still gathering together, still loving one another, and still following their Lord.
What kind of gospel did he preach to cause this kind of remarkable effect? He called it “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8) To put it another way, he submerged them in a revelation of Jesus Christ”. pg.103
“THE PASTOR. He is the fundamental figure of the Protestant faith. So prevailing is the pastor in the minds of most Christians that he is often better known, more highly praised, and more heavily relied upon than Jesus Christ himself!
Remove the pastor and most Protestant churches would be thrown into a panic. Remove the pastor, and Protestantism as we know it would die. The pastor is the dominating focal point, mainstay, and centerpiece of the contemporary church. He is the embodiment of Protestant Christianity”. pg. 106
“With the fall came an implicit desire in people to have a physical leader to bring them to God. For this reason, human societies throughout history have consistently created a special caste of revered Religious leaders. The medicine man, the shaman, the rhapsodist, the miracle worker, the witch doctor, the soothsayer, the wise man, and the priest have all been with us since Adam’s blunder. And this person is always marked by special training, special garb, a special vocabulary, and special way of life”. pg.108
“Up until the second century, the church has no official leadership. That it had leaders is without dispute. But leadership was unofficial in the sense that there were no religious “offices” or sociological slots to fill. New Testament scholarship makes this abundantly clear.
In this regard, the first-century churches were an oddity indeed. They were religious groups without priests, temple, or sacrifice. The Christians themselves led the church under Christ’s direct headship. Leaders were organic, untitled, and were recognized by their service and spiritual maturity rather than by a title or an office.
Among the flock were the elders(shepherds or overseers). These men all had equal standing. There was no hierarchy among them. Also present were extra-local workers who planted churches. These were called the “sent ones” or apostles. But they did not take up residency in the churches for which they cared. Nor did they control them. The vocabulary of the New Testament leadership allows no pyramidal structures. It is rather a language of horizontal relationships that includes exemplary action”. pg.110
“Because the presbyters were the ones administering the Lord’s Supper, they began to be called priests. More startling, the bishop came to be regarded as the high priest who could forgive sins! All of these trends obscured the New Testament reality that all believers are priests unto God.
By the fourth century, this graded hierarchy dominated the Christian faith. The clergy caste was now cemented. At the head of the church stood the bishop. Under him was the college of presbyters. Under them stood the deacons. And under all of them were the Laymen. One-bishop rule became the accepted form of church government throughout the Roman Empire. (During this time, certain churches began to exercise authority over other churches-thus broadening the hierarchical structure)”. pg.115
“Strikingly, only three passages in the New Testament tell us that elders were publicly recognized. Elders were acknowledged in the churches in Galatia (Acts 14: 23). Paul had Timothy acknowledge elders in Ephesus (1 Timothy 3:1ff). He also told Titus to recognize them in the churches in Crete (Titus 1:5ff).
The word ordain (KJV) in these passages does not mean to place into office. It rather carries the idea of endorsing, affirming, and showing forth what has already been happening. It also conveys the thought of blessing. Public recognition of elders and ministries was typically accompanied by the laying on of hands by apostolic workers. (In the case of workers being sent out, this was done by the church or the elders).
In the first century, the laying on of hands merely meant the endorsement or affirmation of function, not the installment into an office or the giving of special status. Regrettably, it came to mean the latter in the late second and early third centuries.
During the third century, ordination took on an entirely different meaning. It was a formalized Christian rite. By the fourth century, the ceremony of ordination was embellished by the symbolic garments and solemn ritual. Ordination produced an ecclesiastical caste that usurped the believing priesthood.
From where did Christians get their pattern of ordination? They patterned their ordination ceremony after the Roman custom of appointing men to civil office. The entire process, down to the very words, came straight from the Roman civic world”. pgs.124-125
“The contemporary practice of ordination creates a special caste of Christian. Whether it be the priest in Catholicism or the pastor in the Protestantism, the result is still the same: The most important ministry is restricted to a few”special” believers.
Such an idea is as damaging as it is nonscriptural. The New Testament nowhere limits preaching, baptizing, or distributing the Lord’s Supper to the “ordained”. Eminent scholar James D. G. Dunn put it best when he said that the clergy-laity tradition has done more to undermine New Testament authority than most heresies.
Since church office could only be hold through the rite of ordination, the power to ordain became the crucial issue in holding religious authority. The biblical content was lost. And proof-texting methods were used to justify the clergy/laity hierarchy. Perhaps the best-known example is the early Catholics’ use of Matthew 16 to justify the creation of a papal system and the doctrine of apostolic succession. The result: Ordinary believers, generally uneducated and ignorant, were at the mercy of a professional clergy”. pg.127
“The New Testament word for minister is diakonos. It means ‘servant’. But this word has been distorted because men have professionalized the ministry. We have taken the word minister and equated it with the pastor, with no scriptural justification whatsoever. In like manner, we have mistakenly equated preaching and ministry with pulpit, sermon, again without biblical justification”. pg.136
“The unscriptural clergy/laity distinction has done untold harm to the body of Christ. It has divided the believing community into first and second-class Christians. The clergy/laity dichotomy perpetuates an awful falsehood-namley, that some Christians are more privileged than others to serve the Lord.
The one-man ministry is entirely foreign to the New Testament, yet we embrace it while it suffocates our functioning. We are living stones, not dead ones. However, the pastoral office has transformed us into stones that do not breathe.
Permit us to get personal. We believe the pastoral office has stolen your right to function as a full member of Christ’s body. It has distorted the reality of the body, making the pastor a giant mouth and transforming you into a tiny ear. It has rendered you a mute spectator who is proficient at taking sermon notes and passing an offering plate.
But that is not all. The modern-day pastoral office has overthrown the main thrust of the letter to the Hebrews-the ending of old priesthood. It has made ineffectual the teaching of 1 Corinthians 12-14, that every member has both the right and the privilege to minister in a church meeting. It has voided the message of 1 Peter 2 that every brother and sister is a functioning priest”. pg. 136
“But there is something more. The contemporary pastorate rivals the functioning headship of Christ in his church. It illegitimately holds the unique place of centrality and headship among God’s people, a place that is reserved for only one Person-the Lord Jesus. Jesus Christ is the only head over a church and the final word to it. By his office, the pastor displaces and supplants Christ’s headship by setting himself up as the church’s human head”. pg. 137
“The contemporary pastor is the most unquestioned fixture in the twenty-first century Christianity. Yet not a strand of Scripture supports the existence of this office.
Rather, the present-day pastor was born out of the single-bishop rule first spawned by the Ignatius and Cyprian. The bishop evolved into the local presbyter. In the Middle Ages, the presbyter grew into the the Catholic priest. During the Reformation, he was transformed into the “preacher”, “the minister”, and finally “the pastor”-the person upon whom all of the Protestantism hangs. To boil it down to one sentence: The Protestant pastor is nothing more than a slightly reformed Catholic priest. (Again, we are speaking of the office and not the individual.)
Catholic priests had seven duties at the time of the Reformation: preaching; the sacraments; prayers for the flock; a disciplined, godly life; church rites; supporting the poor; and visiting the sick. The Protestant pastor takes upon himself all of these responsibilities-plus he sometimes blesses civic events.
The famed poet John Milton put it best when he said, “New presbyter is but old priest writ large!” In other words, the contemporary pastor is but an old priest written in large letters! ” pg. 141
“Leading up to the sermon, those who “lead worship” select the songs that are to be sung. They begin those songs. They decide how those songs are to be sung. And they decide when those songs are over. Those sitting in the audience in no way, shape, or form lead the singing. They are led by someone else who is often part of the clerical staff-or who has similar stature.
This is in stark contrast to the first-century way. In the early church, worship and singing were in the hands of all of God’s people. The church herself led her own songs. Singing and leading songs was a corporate affair, not a professional event led by specialists”. pg. 158
“In 1962, a group of dissatisfied British church musicians in Dunblane, Scotland, tried to revitalize traditional Christian songs. Led by Congregational minister Erik Routley, these artists were influenced by Bob Dylan and Sydney Carter. George Shorney Jr.of Hope Publishing Company brought their new style to the United States. These new Christian hymns were a reform, but not a revolution. The revolution came when rock and roll was adapted into Christian music with the coming of the Jesus movement. This reform set the stage for the revolutionary musical changes to take root in the Christian church through Calvay Chapel and the Vineyard.
The origin of the worship team goes back to the founding Calvary Chapel in 1965. Chuck Smith, the founder of the denomination, started a ministry for hippies and surfers. Smith welcomed the newly converted hippies to retune their guitars and play their now redeemed music in church. He gave the counterculture a stage for their music in church .He gave the counterculture a stage for their music-allowing them to play Sunday night performances and concerts. The new musical forms began to be called “praise and worship”. As the Jesus movement began to flourish, Smith founded the record company Maranatha Music in the early 1970s. It’s goal was to distribute the songs of these young artists.
In due time, the guitar replaced the organ as the central instrument that led worship in the Protestant church. Although patterned after the rock concert of secular culture, the worship team has become as common as the pulpit”. pg. 166
“I (Frank) am no theoretician. For almost twenty years I have gathered with churches where every member has been trained to start a song spontaneously. Imagine: Every brother and sister free to lead songs under the headship of Jesus Christ-even to write his or her own songs and bring them to the meeting for all to learn. I have met with numerous churches that have experienced this glorious dynamic. Someone starts a song and everyone joins in. Then someone else begins another song, and so worship continues without long pauses and with no visible leader present.
This is exactly how the first-century Christians worshipped, by the way. Yet it is a rare experience in the modern-day institutional church. The good news is that it is possible and available for all who wish to experience Christ’s headship through song in a church meeting. The singing in such churches is intensely corporate rather than individualistic and subjective”. pg 167
“Tithing is mentioned only four times in the New Testament. But none of these instances apply to Christians. Tithing belonged to the Old Testament era where a taxation system was needed to support the poor and a special priesthood that had been set apart to minister to the Lord. With the coming of Jesus Christ, there has been a “change of the law”-the old has been “set aside” and rendered obsolete by the new (Hebrews 7:12-18, 8:13
We are all priests now-free to function in God’s house. The law, the old priesthood, and the tithe have all been crucified. There is now no Temple curtain, no Temple tax and no special priesthood that stands between God and man. You have been set free from the bondage of tithing and from the obligation to support the umbilical clergy system. May you, like the first-century Macedonian Christians, give freely, out of a cheerful heart, without guilt, religious obligation, or manipulation… generously helping those in need (2 Corinthians 8:1-4; 9:6-7)”. pg. 183
“In the early church, converts were baptized immediately upon believing. One scholar says of baptism and conversion, “They belong together. Those who repented and believed the Word were baptized. That was the invariable pattern, so far as we know.” Another writes “At the birth of the church, converts were baptized with little or no delay.”
In the first century, water baptism was the outward confession of a person’s faith. But more than that, it was the way someone came to the Lord. For this reason, the confession of baptism is vitally linked to the exercise of saving faith. So much so that the New Testament writers often use baptism in place of the word faith and link it to being “saved”. This is because baptism was the early Christian’s initial confession of faith in Christ.
Baptism accompanied the acceptance of the gospel. For example, when Lydia heard Paul preach the gospel, she believed and was immediately baptized with her household (Acts 16:14-15). In the same way, when Paul led the Philippian jailor and his household to the Lord, they were immediately baptized (Acts 16:30-33). This was the New Testament pattern (see Acts 2:41, 8:12, 35-37). Baptism marked a complete break with the past and full entrance into Christ and His church. Baptism was simultaneously an act of faith as well as an expression of faith.” pgs. 188-189.
“Through our tradition, we have evacuated the true meaning and power behind water baptism. Properly conceived and practiced, water baptism is the believer’s initial confession of faith before men, demons, angels, and God. Baptism is a visible sign that depicts our separation from the world, our death with Christ, the burial of our old man, the death of the old creation, and the washing of the Word of God.
Water baptism is the New Testament form of conversion-initiation. It is God’s idea. To replace it with the human-invented sinners prayer is to deplete baptism of its God-given testimony.
In the same vein , the Lord’s Supper, when separated from its proper context of full meal, turns into a strange, pagan-like rite.The supper has become an empty ritual officiated by a clergyman, rather than a shared-life experience enjoyed by the church. It has become a morbid religious exercise, rather than a joyous festival-a stale individualistic ceremony, rather than a meaningful cooperate event.
As one scholar put it, “It is not in doubt that the Lord’s Supper began as a family meal or meal of friends in a private house… the Lord’s Supper moved from being a real meal into being a symbolic meal…the Lord’s Supper moved from bare simplicity to elaborate slender…the celebration of the Lord’s Supper moved from being a lay function to a priestly function. In the New Testament itself, there is no indication that it was the special privilege or duty of anyone to lead the worshipping fellowship in the Lord’s Supper”. pgs 196-197
“In the minds of most Christians, formal Christians education qualifies a person to do the Lord’s work. Unless a Christian has graduated from Bible College or seminary, he or she is viewed as being a “para”-minister. A pseudo Christian worker. Such a person cannot preach, teach, baptize, or administer the Lord’s Supper since he or she has not been formally trained to do such things…right?
The idea that a Christian worker must attend Bible college or seminary to be legitimate is deeply ingrained-so much so that when people feel a “call” of God on their lives, they are conditioned to begin hunting for a Bible College or seminary to attend
Such thinking fits poorly with the early Christian mind-set. Bible colleges, seminaries, and even Sunday Schools were utterly absent from the early church. All are human innovations that came hundreds of years after the Apostles’ death.
How, then, were Christian workers trained in the first century if they did not go to a religious school? Unlike today’s ministerial training, first-century training was hands-on, rather than academic. It was a matter of apprenticeship, rather than of intellectual learning. It was aimed primarily at the spirit, rather than at the frontal lobe.
In the first century, those called to the Lord’s work were trained in two ways:(1) They learned the essentials lessons of Christian ministry by living a shared life with a group of Christians. In other words, they were trained by experiencing body life as nonleaders. (2) They learned the Lord’s work under the tutelage of an older, seasoned worker.” pgs.199-200
“The teaching of the New Testament is that God is Spirit, and as such, He is known by revelation ( spiritual insight) to one’s human spirit. Reason and intellect can cause us to know about God. And they help us to communicate what we know. But they fall short in giving us spiritual revelation. The intellect is not the gateway for knowing the Lord deeply. Neither are emotions. In the words of A.W.Tozer: “Divine truth is of the nature of the spirit and for that reason can be only by spiritual revelation…God’s thoughts belong to the world of spirit, man’s to the world of intellect, and while spirit can embrace intellect, the human intellect can never comprehend spirit.
…Man by reason cannot know God; he can only know about God.
… Man’s reason is a fine instrument and useful within its field. It was not given as an organ by which to know God.” pg. 206
“Instead of offering the cure to the ills of the church, our theological schools worsen them by assuming ( and even defending) all of the unscriptural practices that produce them.
The words of one pastor sum up the problem nicely: “I came through the whole system with the best education that evangelicalism had to offer-yet I really didn’t receive the training that I needed… seven years years of higher education in top-rated evangelical schools didn’t prepare me to (1) do ministry and (2) be a leader. I began to analyze why I could preach a great sermon and people afterwards would shake my hand and say, ‘Great Sermon, Pastor.’ But these were the very people who were struggling with self-esteem, beating their spouses, struggling as workaholics, succumbing to their addictions. Their lives weren’t changing. I had to ask myself why this great knowledge I was presenting didn’t move from their
heads to their hearts and their lives. And I began to realize that breakdown in the church was actually based on what we learned in seminary. We were taught that if you just give people information, that’s enough!” pg. 218
“WHY IS IT THAT WE CHRISTIANS can follow the same rituals every Sunday without ever noticing that they are at odds with the New Testament? The incredible power of tradition has something to do with it As we have seen, the church has often been influenced by the surrounding culture, seemingly unaware of it’s negative effects. At other times, it has, quite properly, recognized overt threats- such as heretical teachings about the person and divinity of Jesus Christ. But in an effort to combat those threats, it has moved away from the organic structure that God wrote into the church’s DNA .
But there is something else- something more fundamental that most Christians are completely unaware of. It concerns our New Testament. The problem is not in what the New Testament says. The problem is in how we approach it.
The approach most commonly used among contemporary Christians when studying the Bible is called “proof texting”. The origin of proof texting goes back to the 1590s. A group of men called Protestant scholastics took the teachings of the Reformers and systematized them according to the rules of Aristotelian logic.
The Protestant scholastics held that not only is the Scripture the Word of God, but every part of it is the Word of God in and of itself-irrespective of context. This set the stage for the idea that if we lift a verse out of the bible, it is true in it’s own right and can be used to prove a doctrine or a practice.
When John Darby emerged in the mid-1800s, he built a theology based on this approach. Darby raised proof texting to an art form. In fact, it was Darby who gave fundamentalist and evangelical Christians a good deal of their presently accepted teachings. All of them are built on the proof-texting method. Proof texting, then, became the common way that we contemporary Christians approach the Bible.
As a result, we Christians rarely, if ever, get to see the New Testament as a whole. Rather, we are served up a dish of fragmented thoughts that are drawn together by means of fallen human logic. The fruit of this approach is that we have strayed far afield from the practice of the New Testament church. Yet we still believe we are being biblical”. pgs 222-223
“Seminaries and Bible college students alike are rarely if ever given a panoramic view of the free-flowing story of the early church with the New Testament books arranged in chronological order. As a result, most Christians are completely out of touch with the social and historical events that lay behind each of the New Testament letters Instead, they have turned the New Testament into a manual that can be wielded to prove any point. Chopping the Bible up into fragments makes this relatively easy to pull off.
.We Christians have been taught to approach the Bible in one of eight ways. See how many that apply to you, you can tick off with a pencil:
.You look for verses that inspire you. Upon finding such verses, you either highlight, memorize, meditate upon, or put them on your refrigerator door.
.You look for verses that tell you what God has promised so that you can confess it in faith and thereby obligate the Lord to do what you want.
.You look for verses that tell you what God commands you to do
.You look for verses that you can quote to scare the devil out of his wits or resist him in the hour of temptation..
.You look for verses that will prove your particular doctrine so that you can slice and dice your theological sparring partner into biblical ribbons. (Because of the proof-texting method, a vast wasteland of Christianity behaves as if the mere citation of some random, decontextualized verses of Scripture ends all discussion on virtually any subject).
.You look for verses in the bible to control and /or correct others.
. You look for verses that “preach” well and make good sermon material. (This is an ongoing addiction for many who preach and teach).
.You somethimes close your eyes, flip open the bible randomly, stick your finger on a page, read what the text says, and then take what you have read as a personal “word” from the Lord.
Now look at the list again.Which of these approaches have you used? Look again: Notice how each is highly individualistic. All of them put you, the individual Christian, at the center. Each approach ignores the fact that most of the New Testament was written to corporate bodies of people (churches), not to individuals.
But that’s not all. Each of those approaches is built on isolated proof texting. Each treats the New Testament like a manual and blinds us to its real message. It is no wonder that we can approvingly nod our heads at paid pastors, the Sunday morning order of worship, sermons, church buildings, religious dress, choirs, worship teams, seminaries, and a passive priesthood all without wincing.
We have been taught to approach the Bible like a jigsaw puzzle. Most of us have never been told the entire story that lies behind the letters that Paul, Peter, James, John, and Jude wrote. We have been taught chapters and verses, not the historical context.
For instance, have you ever been given the story behind Paul’s letter to the Galatians? Before nodding, see if you can answer these questions off the top of your head: Who were the Galatians? What were their issues? When and why did Paul write to them? What happened just before Paul penned his Galatian treatise? Where was he when he wrote it? What provoked him to write the letter? And where in Acts do you find the historical context for his letter? All of these background matters are indispensable for understanding what our New Testament is about. Without them, we simply cannot understand the Bible clearly or properly”. pgs. 229-231
“What do we mean by first-century styled church? It is group of people who know how to experience Jesus Christ and express Him in a meeting without any human officiation. Such a group of people can function organically together as a body when they are left on their own after the church planter leaves them. ( This does not mean that church planters never return. There are many times when they are needed to help the church. But after planting a church, church planters should be absent more than they are present.)
The one who plants a first-century styled church leaves that church without a pastor, elders, a music leader, a Bible facilitator, or a Bible teacher. If that church is planted well, those believers will know how to sense and follow the living, breathing headship of Jesus Christ in a meeting. They will know how to let Him invisibly lead their gatherings. They will bring their own songs, they will write their own songs, they minister out of what Christ has shown them-with no human leader present! What is described here is not an armchair philosophy. I (Frank) have worked with churches that fit this bill.
To equip people to do that takes a lot more than opening up your house and saying, “Come, let’s have Bible study”. pg. 234
“Unlike Christians today, the early Christians did not share Christ out of guilt, command, or duty. They shared Him because He was pouring out of them, and they could not help it! It was a spontaneous, organic thing-born out of life, not guilt.” pg.237
“We do well to pay attention to the way that churches were raised up in the first century. I believe that scripture holds for us enduring principles on this score. If you count all the churches mentioned in the New Testament, you’ll find about thirty-five. Everyone of them was planted or aided by a traveling church planter who preached only Christ. There were no exceptions. The church was raised up as a result of the apostolic presentation of Jesus Christ.” pg. 238
“Jesus was never a rabble-rouser nor a ranting rebel (Matthew 12:19-20). Yet He constantly defied the traditions of the scribes and Pharisees. And He did not do so by accident, but with great deliberation. The Pharisees were those who, for the sake of the “truth” as they saw I, tried to extinguish the truth they could not see. This explains why there was always a blizzard of controversy between the ‘tradition of the elders’ and the acts of Jesus.
Someone once said that ‘a rebel attempts to change the past; a revolutionary attempts to change the future’. Jesus Christ brought drastic change to the world. Change to man’s view of God …. Change to men’s view of women. Our Lord came to bring radical change to the old order of things, replacing it with a new order. He came to bring forth a new covenant – a new Kingdom – a new birth – a new race – a new species – a new new culture – and a new civilization.
As you read through the Gospels, behold your Lord, the Revolutionary. Watch him throw the Pharisees into a panic by intentionally flaunting their conventions. Numerous times Jesus healed on the Sabbath day, flatly breaking their cherished traditions. If the Lord wanted to placate His enemies, He could have waited until Sunday or Monday to heal some of these people. Instead, he deliberately healed on the Sabbath, knowing full well it would make His opponents livid.
This pattern runs deep. In one instance, Jesus healed a blind man by mixing clay with spittle and putting it in the man’s eyes. Such an act was in direct defiance of the Jewish ordinance that prohibited healing on the Sabbath by mixing mud with Spittle! Yet your Lord intentionally shattered this tradition publicly and with absolute resolve .Watch Him eat food with unwashed hands under the judgmental gaze of the Pharisees, again intentionally defying their fossilized tradition.
In Jesus we have a man who refused to bow to the pressures of religious conformity. A man who preached a revolution. A man who would not tolerate hypocrisy. A man who was not afraid to provoke those who suppressed the liberating gospel He brought to set men free. A man who did not mind evoking anger in His enemies, causing them to gird their thighs for battle”. pgs 244- 246
“For most Christians, this is a side of Jesus Christ they have never known before. Yet we believe it explains why exposing what is wrong with the contemporary church so that Christ’s body can fulfill God’s ultimate intention is so critical. It is simply an expression of our Lord’s revolutionary nature. The dominating aim of the nature is to put you and me at the center of the beating heart of God. To put you and me in the core of His eternal purpose – a purpose for which everything was created.
The early church understood that purpose. They not only understood God’s passion for His Church, they lived it out. And what did such body life look like?
- The early Christians were intensely Christ-centered. Jesus Christ was their pulse beat. He was their life, their breath, and their central point of reference. He was the object of their worship, the subject of their songs, and the content of their discussion and vocabulary. The New Testament church made the Lord Jesus Christ Central and supreme in all things.
- The New Testament church had no fixed order of worship. The early Christians gathered in open-participatory meetings where all believers shared their experience of Christ, exercised their gifts, and sought to edify one another. No one was a spectator. All were given the privilege and the responsibility to participate. The purpose of these church meetings was twofold. It was for the mutual edification of the body. It was also to make visible the Lord Jesus Christ through the every-member functioning of His body. The early church meetings were not religious “services”. They were informal gatherings that were permeated with an atmosphere of freedom, spontaneity, and joy. The meetings belonged to Jesus Christ and to the church; they did not serve as platform for any particular ministry or gifted person.
- The New Testament church lived as a face-to-face community. While the early Christians gathered for corporate worship and mutual edification, the church did not exist to merely meet once or twice a week. The New Testament believers lived a shared life. They cared for one another outside of scheduled meetings. They were, in the very real sense of the word, family.
- Christianity was the first and only religion the world has ever known that was void of ritual, clergy, and sacred buildings. For the first 300 years of the Church’s existence, Christians gathered in homes. On special occasions, Christian workers would sometimes make use of larger facilities (like Solomon’s Porch) {John 10:23, Acts 3:11} and the Hall of Tyrannus {Acts 19:9}. But they had no concept of a scared edifice nor of a spending large amounts of money on buildings. Nor would they ever call a building a “church” or the “house of God.” The only sacred building the early Christians knew was the one not made with human hands.
- The New Testament church did not have a clergy. The Catholic priest and the Protestant pastor were completely unknown. The church had traveling apostolic workers who planted and nurtured churches. But these workers were not viewed as being part of the a special clergy caste. They were part of the body of Christ, and they served the churches (not the other way around). Every Christian possessed different gifts and different functions, but only Jesus Christ had the exclusive right to exercise authority over his people. No man had that right. Eldering and Shepherding were just two of those gifts. Elders and Shepherds were ordinary Christians with certain gifts. They were not special offices. And they did not monopolize the ministry of the church meetings. They were simply seasoned Christians who naturally cared for the members of the church during times of crisis and provided oversight for the whole assembly.
- Decision making in the New Testament church fell upon the shoulders of the whole assembly. Traveling church planters would sometimes give input and direction. But ultimately, the whole church made decisions under the lordship of Jesus Christ. It was the church’s responsibility to find the Lord’s mind together and act accordingly.
- The New Testament church was organic, not organizational. It was not welded together by putting people into offices, creating programs, constructing rituals, and developing a top-down hierarchy or chain-of-command structure. The church was a living, breathing organism. It was born, it would grow, and it naturally produced all of what was in its DNA. That would include all the gifts, ministries, and functions of the body of Christ. In the eyes of God, the church is a beautiful woman. The bride of Christ. She was a colony from heaven, not a man-made organization from earth.
- Tithing was not a practice of the New Testament church. The early Christians used their funds to support the poor among them, as well as the poor in the world. They also supported traveling itinerant church planters so that the gospel could be spread and churches could be raised up in other lands. They gave according to their ability, not out of guilt, duty, or compulsion. Pastor/clergy salaries were unheard of. Every Christian in the church was a priest, a minister, and a functioning member of the body. (elders who labour in the word and doctrine to feed and equip Christ’s sheep are to be thought worthy of “double honour” which means sufficient financial compensation – 1 Timothy 5:17-18; 1 Corinthians 9:1-14, etc.)
- Baptism was the outward expression of Christian conversion. When the early Christians led people to the Lord, they immediately baptized them in water as a testimony to their new position. The Lord’s Supper was an ongoing expression whereby the early Christians reaffirmed their faith in Jesus Christ and their oneness with His body. The Supper was a full meal which the church enjoyed together in the spirit and atmosphere of joy and celebration. It was fellowship of the body of Christ, not a token ritual or a religious rite. And it was never officiated by a clergy or special priesthood.
- The early Christians did not build Bible schools or seminars to train young workers. Christians workers were educated and trained by older workers in the context of church life. They learned “on the job.” Jesus provided the initial model for this “on-the-job” training when He mentioned the Twelve. Paul duplicated it when he trained young Gentile workers Ephesus.
- The early Christians did not divide themselves into various denominations. They understood their oneness in Christ and expressed it visibly in every city. To their minds, there was only one church per city ( even though it may have met in many different homes throughout the locale). If you were a Christian in the first century, you belonged to that one Church. The unity of the spirit was well guarded. Denominating themselves ( “I am of Paul,” ‘I am of Peter,’ ‘I am of Apollos’) was regarded as sectarian and divisive (see 1 Corinthians 1:12).
We believe this is God’s vision for every church. In fact, we have written this book for one reason: to make room for the absolute centrality, supremacy, and headship of Christ in His church. Fortunately, more and more Revolutionaries today are catching that vision. They recognize that what is needed is a revolution within the Christian faith-a complete upheaval of those Christian practices that are contrary to biblical principles. We must begun all over again, on the right foundation. Anything less will prove defective.
And so our hope as you finish this book is threefold. First, we hope that you will begin asking questions about the church as you presently know it. How much of it is truly biblical? How much of it expresses the absolute headship of Jesus Christ? How much of it allows the members of His body the freedom to function? Second, we hope you will share this book with ever Christian you know so they too can be challenged by its message. And third, we hope you will pray seriously about what your response should be to that message.
If you are a disciple of the Revolutionary from Nazareth… the radical Messiah who lays His axe to the root…you must eventually ask a specific question. It is the same question that was asked of our Lord’s disciples while He walked the earth. That question is: “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?” (Matt 15:2)”. pgs 246-250
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Apostasy
Why Did God Give Us His Word? [podcast]
The 4 Pillar Purposes for the Holy Scriptures
There are 4 reasons detailed in 2 Timothy 3:16 for the Holy Scriptures being given to us by God. Under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, the apostle Paul wrote:
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” 2 Timothy 3:16
According to this verse, the Bible, God’s very Word, has been given to the people of God for 4 reasons: Doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. Let us take a brief look at these 4 reasons for the written Word so carefully presented here concerning the very purpose of the Bible.
Doctrine – (Gr. DIDASKALIA): that which is taught; teaching, instruction. An individual’s doctrinal body of truth consists of that which he has been taught and holds to be true.
Reproof – (Gr. ELEGMOS): proof, proving, test. As the noble Berean believers demonstrate and John commands, to test every doctrine that comes from the mouth or pen of men, against the holy Standard – the Scriptures. This is, in part, what is being spoken to us by the Holy Spirit in this verse at hand. Therefore, we conclude that we have been given “All scripture” in order to exercise “reproof,” or the testing of men’s doctrines against Holy Writ and to test every notion of belief we currently hold against the divine standard of the written Word which is final divine authority (Acts 17:10-11; 1 John 4:1).
Correction – (Gr. EPANORTHOSIS): a restoration to an upright state or right state. The Scriptures are “given by inspiration of God” to bring correction into our own hearts, and into the hearts of all who heed the divine message (James 1:21-25).
Instruction in Righteousness – (Gr. PAIDEIA): training in righteousness is what is meant here. The Bible is given to train us in the ways of the One who inspired the same. The divinely given Precepts of life can never fail anyone who would search out and do its commands (Isaiah 34:16). All of life’s answers, as pertains to man, are found within its pages (2 Peter 1:3-4; Psalms 119:128a). Millions of godly pilgrims, journeying through this earthly life, has found the perfect divine will and direction by studying the words of Holy Scripture (Psalms 119).
The verse following this monumental 16th verse, v17, also reveals to us another reason for the Scriptures – “That the man of God may be perfect (mature), throughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.” This maturity will come as a result of the workings of God as we walk with Him. He will teach our hearts His doctrine, His correction, His reproof, and instruct us in righteousness.
In review, what are the 4 reasons that God gave us His Word in written form?
- doctrine
- reproof
- correction
- instruction in righteousness
The Bible was written to CHANGE you – TO CORRECT FALSE THINKING – and not to accommodate the lies you believe. Are you washing your mind of every false notion – by daily study of God’s Word, OR are you backslidden? (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 5:26) Repent now and conform to Christ by learning, embracing, adhering to, searching, studying, and obeying His truth (2 Timothy 3:16-17). WHY DID GOD GIVE US HIS WORD? WHAT are the stated 4 reasons God gave us His Word? Do you know this truth, and are you ready to share it with others?
You are obviously saved when you are putting God’s Word as final divine authority of your life and that’s pleasing to the LORD (John 8:47). When we allow God’s Word to correct us, we prove He is authentically the LORD of our lives (2 Timothy 3:16).
SOFT-PEDDLING, HALF-TRUTH preachers are Satan’s agents. No conviction, no cross, no holiness, no repentance, no readiness for the return of Christ, no judgment to come, no hell, no lake of fire! RUNNNNNN
WHY did God give us His Word? It was to establish His truth in and to protect His people from the many deceivers – “them that seduce you.”
“These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.” 1 John 2:26
God gave us His Word so that we may be established in him and kept safe from the “Many false prophets” He so often warned us about. He provided His written Word, his tangible revelation, so that we may fear Him (Deuteronomy 4:10), and so we can know Him (John 5:39). As you study Scripture, be on the look out for the many divinely stated reasons our LORD gave us His written Word.
Beloved saint, will you now teach these Bible truths to others? Share this.
Memory Verse: 2 Timothy 3:16
God gave us His Word in written format so they’d be no confusion and also, no excuse on Judgment Day (John 12:48; Romans 2:16; 1 Corinthians 14:33; 2 Timothy 3:16-17, etc.). The Word of God is the basis by which the LORD shall judge each of us.
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15
“Read your Bible for yourself. Please. A YouTube sermon clip is not enough. A podcast is not enough. Your favorite preacher is not enough. Know your Bible.” Biblical Man
“Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail…” Isaiah 34:16
Read God’s Word itself, yourself (KJB). THAT is God speaking. Every time you read His Word, God is speaking to you.
In Christ’s Love.
PASS IT ON
Memory Verse: 2 Timothy 3:16
LET’S LEARN GOD’S WORD TOGETHER – ONE TRUTH AT A TIME: Are you tired of reading Scripture or hearing a good message from the Word and not retaining any of it for yourself and to help others? This message was sent out to each person on our Moments For My Master email devotional list. We would love to add you and have the privilege of nourishing your heart with God’s Word (1 Tim. 4:6). Sign up here.
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Apostasy
If it’s not the Word, it’s Waste [podcast]
Nourished Up in God’s Word [podcast]
Christ’s true followers are known in that they love Him truly and therefore hear and are corrected and guided only by His voice, His written Word (John 8:47).
“He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.” John 8:47
God will Never Anoint and Bless Us to do our Own Thing! Watch this Closely …..
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matthew 28:18-20
Did you catch what Jesus just said? – That God is with His people to the end of the world to help them do what He said – teach His Word to all!
LOTS of people on social media claiming and preaching their own visions and dreams and not the Gospel! Beware.
When I hear someone speaking live or in a video, if the Word is not coming from their mouths, I soon close it out and unfriend. What is it that we don’t understand about the divine command to “Preach the word”? (2 Timothy 4:2) Wolves entertain goats while true under-shepherds of Christ feed sheep. Beware.
IF we stick with God’s Word, if we do things His way and no other way, we will be involved in the preaching, the teaching – dissemination – of His Word (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20).
“That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. 7 For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother.” Philemon 1:6-7
“The bowels of the saints are refreshed” when God’s people communicate His Word!
The Waste of the Modern Church World
If you are born again and abiding presently in Christ, you have “mansion” in glory awaiting you! (John 14:1-6) Did you know that you also have an “account” in Heaven? Now, what’s in that “account”? Is it empty or full?
“Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.” Philippians 4:17
Paul, Christ’s apostle, wanted to see the heavenly accounts of God’s people full!
God is not going to reward you good for not contributing to that which He stated is most important.
ANY leadership curriculum that isn’t literally the Scriptures – and learning THEM – is a scam! (Psalm 119; 2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21, etc.) How long shall prop of the wolves and their self-agenda “ministries”? How long shall we be be deceived?
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15
“Read your Bible for yourself. Please. A YouTube sermon clip is not enough. A podcast is not enough. Your favorite preacher is not enough. Know your Bible.” Biblical Man
“Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail…” Isaiah 34:16
Read God’s Word itself, yourself (KJB). THAT is God speaking. Every time you read His Word, God is speaking to you.
Today we see LOTS of clowns raising money to continue to fund their circuses they have and are building using the name of Jesus in vain to do so (Exodus 20:7).
Looking around us and perhaps beginning with our own lives, we see a biblically illiterate generation of Christians – people who can’t quote 10 Bible verses. Yet, those same people have been good church members for many years.
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” Hosea 4:6
The vast majority of “churches” today are simply not teaching God’s Word to the people which alone makes them disobedient frauds. Fruit.
“They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.” Titus 1:16
If you help a “ministry” that is not instilling God’s truth in people, you are bidding Godspeed to these workers of iniquity and will be judged with them (2 John 10-11). The teaching of God’s Word is paramount and for the divine purpose for the advancement of Christ’s kingdom in the hearts of men (Colossians 3:16).
“And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, 31 Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.” Acts 28:30-31
Many today campaign aggressively to raise money for and promote things that do not involve the communication of God’s truth into the hearts of men. In fact, very little “ministry” being done today even has the unchanging divine goal of instilling God’s Word into the hearts and lives of His people. God will only reward that which is in keeping with what He’s clearly stated – which will never change. His New Testament Gospel program is plain. Are you walking in it?
- “Preach the gospel.” (Mark 16:15)
- “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
- “Preach the word.” (2 Timothy 4:2)
- “Let the word of Christ dwell in your richly (abundantly).” (Colossians 3:16)
Saints, God forbid that we waste the wealth on the waste of spreading the false modern gospel and the trinkets used to promote it!
If it’s a ministry and they’re not the teaching of God’s Word, it’s not of God (John 8:47).
“Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.” Acts 8:4
If people are not literally learning and obeying and speaking God’s truth, it’s not of God! (Joshua 1:8; Proverbs 12:17)
The “Success” of Christ’s Saints Depends on This….
“This book of the law (God’s written Word) shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” Joshua 1:8
Can you personally name just 5 “Christians” you know who can quote 10 Bible verses from the King James Bible?
I can’t.
The Danger of Endorsing – Bidding Godspeed – to False Teachers, False Ministries
“For MANY deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. 8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. 9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: 11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.” 2 John 7-11
Wolves entertain goats while true servants of Christ feed sheep! (John 21:15-17)
Prayer: Holy Father, I come now to You in the name of the LORD Jesus Christ. LORD, this moment I stop this life You gave and I ask You to make me truly, authentically Your disciple. Teach me Thy Word and forgive me for the sin of supporting, for bidding Godspeed to anything claiming to be of You while not truly and literally teaching Your people Your Word and to know it thoroughly for themselves. Please forgive me of this sin Father, in Jesus’ name. I love You Jesus. Thank You for dying for me, for finding, and for saving me by Your blood. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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Apostasy
Beware of the Hebrew Roots Judaizing Snakes! [podcast]
BEWARE of the Judaizing snakes of the Hebrew Roots (HR) movement.
Are YOU a law-keeper/Torah-keeper OR a Christ-keeper? (Colossians 2:14-19)
Some speak of sabbath, shalom, law-keeping, Torah, obedience to Moses’ law, etc above Christ. RUN!
God’s people are “justified by faith” in Jesus, not law keeping (Romans 5:1, etc.). The problem is not with the types and shadows given us in Scripture of the Messiah who was to come. No, the issue here is with those who would bring you back under the law.
LOTS of Judaizers in our midst saints…. vainly believing that Jesus was not enough to save and redeem but rather that we have to help God out by keeping the Old law….. which would mean they are not saved by grace (lost souls) but vainly believe keeping torah (books of Moses) is going to save them and by doing so they have blasphemously denied Christ, the only Savior (John 1:17). Judaizers Exposed
THOSE WHO SPEAK ABOUT LAW-KEEPING INSTEAD OF THE ONLY ONE WHO PERFECTLY KEPT THE LAW, then nailed it to the cross, taking it out of our way, ARE ANTICHRISTS FROM HELL! (Colossians 2:14-19)
Anyone who gets saved and then doesn’t drill down into the doctrinal letters and epistles and get grounded in grace through faith justification and living, will be susceptible to being deceived by the antichrist judaizers in our midst. It will cost many of them their eternal souls. There will be not 1 law-keeping judaizing snake in Heaven. If you don’t know that, you are biblically illiterate. Romans. Galatians. Ephesians. Philippians. Colossians. Hebrews.
Men are “justified by faith” and kept “by faith.”
“Justified by faith”
“Therefore we conclude that a man is JUSTIFIED BY FAITH without the deeds of the law.” Romans 3:28
“Kept by faith”
“Who are KEPT by the power of God THROUGH FAITH unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:5
Justified by faith but sanctified by law keeping????
NOT. “The just (those justified by God) shall live by faith.”
Born again New Testament disciples are saved by grace through faith. They are saved, justified, and sanctified by faith. They live by faith and not by law or law keeping. See Hebrews 11:6.
“For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith (not law to law): as it is written, The just shall live by faith (not law keeping).” Romans 1:17
“But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live BY FAITH.” Galatians 3:11
“Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back (go back to law keeping), my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” Hebrews 10:38
The False Teachings of the Hebrew Roots Movement
The Hebrew Roots (HR) movement is false, it’s a cloaked judaizing system designed by Satan to bring NEW Testament saints saved by grace back under the law… Galatians.
“The HRM (Hebrew Roots Movement) draws people away from the grace of God to a religion of works and legalism. Most of them I know are a bunch of Pharisees.” Jim Borge
Christ’s NEW Testament saints are saved by Him to love and keep Him upheld as the only Savior, LORD, and “Head” of His church (Colossians 2:14-19).
If you can read the following verse and still think you are going to be right with God by law-keeping or that you even can keep it perfectly, you are completely deranged, deceived, delusional, and hell bound.
“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” Galatians 2:16
Are You Keeping All the Law Perfectly All the Time? Yes or No?
“For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10
ONLY JESUS kept the whole law perfectly! Get over your sinful, pride-filled self… vainly thinking you can keep the whole law! (See James 2:10.) You’ve transgressed the law of God in many ways and all it takes is just one offense and you’re guilty of breaking all of the law! Repent and fall upon the mercy of God at the foot of the cross where Jesus bled to save your wicked soul. The law condemns you as a vile, depraved sinner! Only Jesus can save your wicked soul.
Those who put the law ahead of Christ are antichrists! (See Colossians 2:14-19.)
Without fail, one will find that each and every group that emphasizes the Jewish feasts, etc. are going to seek to suck believers back under the law. Book of Galatians! I stay far from these agents of Satan these days.
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Galatians 5:1
YES the whole 66 book canon of the Bible is for us and yet, IT reveals that a NEW covenant superseded the Old one. The book of Hebrews reveals to us that a “BETTER covenant” with “BETTER promises” made the old covenant obsolete “for righteousness” (Hebrews 7:22; 8:6; Romans 10:4). The faith of the NEWWWW Testament saint, saved by grace, is not set upon trying to keep the law (“keeping Torah”) but rather set upon the only ONE to ever keep the law perfectly – then He – Christ, nailed it to the cross and “took it out of the way” (Colossians 2:14-19). It’s over so repent and get over it, now! The infinitely inferior old was a mere shadow of the infinitely superior NEW Testament that was to come and HAS come with Christ (Hebrews 10:1). Beware of the demonic Judaizing devils in our midst. They are snakes!
Those who pretend to “keep torah” openly reject Christ’s one perfect “It is finished” (paid in full) sacrifice and declaration (John 19:30).
What is a Judaizer? Simply put, a Judaizer is one who seeks to bring NEW Testament, saved by grace through faith saints back under the old law (Galatians 2:4-5).
Nothing has changed: As was the case in Galatia, these Judaizers are among us, actively seeking to bring saved-by-the-blood-and-grace of Christ, NEW Testament saints back under the law. These are the same demon-possessed wolves Paul dealt with repeatedly, most poignantly in Galatia. They come to spy out the liberty of the true, blood bought, saved by grace NEW Testament believers.
Christ told us that Satan has come “to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10). These ministers of Satan have no less of the same 3-tiered mission. They are “false brethren.”
“And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily (secretly) to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: 5 To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.” Galatians 2:4-5
Paul was a “shut down” preacher! He shut down Satan’s ministers who posed as representatives of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:12-15). The apostle shut the heretics down – hard and fast! (See Titus 3:10; Matthew 7:6.) How much time did Paul give Satan’s Judaizing agents who corrupted the Galatians? – “To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour” (Galatians 2:4-5).
Paul gave these vile Judaizers not even one hour. He cut them off swiftly in order to protect the sheep of Christ who shed His blood to purchase His people. Paul declared:
“I would they were even CUT OFF which trouble you.” Galatians 5:12
Here’s the Greek rendering for the term “cut off”:
“apokoptō
ap-ok-op’-to
From G575 and G2875; to amputate; reflexively (by irony) to mutilate (the privy parts): – cut off. Compare G2699.“
Make no mistake: “Cut off” is violent language. “Cut off” means to amputate, to mutilate ones private parts. Some believe Paul was saying that he would wish these agents of Satan who sought to lead astray Christ’s sheep to be castrated or killed. Such a stance doesn’t bode well with the more cowards we call pastors today who could care less if one of Christ’s sheep is led astray.
Those who tout “keep the Torah” mean to say “you have to keep the law to be righteous” and are antichrists….. They openly deny the full sufficiency of the one perfect sacrifice of the Son of God who as He bled on Calvary’s cruel cross cried “It is finished” which means that the price for mankind’s sin is “Paid in full” (John 19:30).
Those who get upset when Christ’s enemies who pose as His servants are exposed, are out of New Testament order. These blinded souls have no kingdom clue. They have been schooled by wolves who hide this self-evident Bible revelation. They read right over the mountains of Scripture dedicated to exposing false leaders and false teachings. Would to God we had more fearless men of truth such as was Paul and Christ’s other apostles!
PAUL, CHRIST’S apostle was no pansy when it came to false teachers!
Judaizers are to be rejected as heretics according to Matthew 7:6 and Titus 3:10-11. They are to be given no space – no platform.
“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” Matthew 7:6
“A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; 11 Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.” Titus 3:10-11
This Hebrew Roots delusion is no small matter. Eternal souls are in the balance. The Holy Ghost, through Paul reveals to us that Judaizers are operating in witchcraft, putting spells on people through demons and false teachings :
“O foolish Galatians, who hath BEWITCHED you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? 2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” Galatians 3:1-3
The diabolical goal of Judaizers is to lead saved-by-grace Christians to fall from grace which means they become apostate – lost. – “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; YE ARE FALLEN FROM GRACE” (Galatians 5:4).
The true Jews?
“For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.” Romans 2:28-29
DIVINE FILTER: All false movements and false teachers serve a divine purpose. They are allowed to snare all who don’t truly love Christ and therefore His Truth! Study 1 Corinthians 11:19; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 closely.
Keep Torah? No. Keep Jesus!
Paul says that there was “NO good thing” in him, that is, in his flesh and besides Christ (Romans 7:18). Being that we are all faulty, sinful, it’s pretty laughable that someone would trust their own ability to keep the law (which we’ve all broken) instead of trusting the only ONE – JESUS – who kept that law then nailed it to the cross and took it away (Colossians 2:14-17). It really is “finished” (John 19:30). For seeking to obtain righteousness, the law is over. It’s “the end” – “For Christ is THE END of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 10:4).
The book of Romans is the ABC’s of the Christian faith. Read it thoroughly to be grounded.
Who and What is the Law for?
“Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. 8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; 9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; 11 According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.” 1 Timothy 1:7-11
The above text reveals how the Law applies to saints and to sinners.
Born again saints are temples of the Holy Ghost who enables them to fulfill all righteousness. They need no law other than the “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.”
“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Romans 8:2-4
Read the book of Galatians several times through. Pray before you begin and pray through reading these divinely inspired words and defense of the Gospel of the grace of God, asking Him to reveal His mind to you on this matter of justification.
MESSAGE RECEIVED:
“We keep the law because we love Christ and His will is our joy.”
REPLY:
We keep Jesus, not the law. You are putting the law above CHRIST. You are in big trouble if you think that keeping the WHOLE law makes you righteous. Here’s the law true NEW Testament saints keep:
“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” Romans 8:2-4.
What you are doing is denying Christ openly, antichrist, by putting the law above Christ who alone kept the law perfectly – then nailed it to the cross, taking it out of the way! (See Colossians 2:14-19.)
The law is over for righteousness – done! “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 10:4).
MESSAGE RECEIVED:
“You misunderstand many things concerning the importance of the Jewish feasts.”
REPLY:
Sounds like you have a pseudo-superiority complex consistent with Hebrew Roots folk. You are camping on that which was a mere “shadow” that pointed to Christ who has ALREADY come! Hebrews 8-10. The NEW Covenant is infinitely superior to the infinitely inferior covenant it replaced….. True disciples of Jesus view the Old Covenant through the revealed knowledge (eyes) of the NEW Covenant which was ratified in the blood of the Messiah and not vice versa. You err and misunderstand many things. Jesus has come and is the all in all for His true disciples.
COMMON OBJECTION:
“He has not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it!”
REPLY:
“Fulfill” in Matthew 5:17 means to expire! When He died on the cross, fulfilling the law perfectly, Jesus nailed it to the cross and took it away! See Colossians 2:14-17. “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 10:4).
That “fulfill” thing in Matthew 5:17 is something I’d like us to explore. It would seem fitting that Jesus, as He says this BEFORE the cross, seems to possibly be saying that He is going to fulfill all the righteousness of the law (that the righteous law demanded) and then nail it to the cross in His death, and take it away. Couple this with Colossians 2:14-17.
“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. 16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17 Which are a shadow (illustration, forth telling) of things to come; but the body is of Christ. 18 Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19 And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.” Colossians 2:14-19
Before He went to the cross, Jesus said:
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil (satisfy the claims of, expire). 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” (Matthew 5:17-18)
“fulfil” – Greek, definition … think of this in respect to Christ’s utter uniqueness in all of history – being the only One to ever keep/fulfill the Law perfectly.
“G4137
πληρόω
plēroō
play-ro’-o
From G4134; to make replete, that is, (literally) to cram (a net), level up (a hollow), or (figuratively) to furnish (or imbue, diffuse, influence), satisfy, execute (an office), finish (a period or task), verify (or coincide with a prediction), etc.: – accomplish, X after, (be) complete, end, expire, fill (up), fulfil, (be, make) full (come), fully preach, perfect, supply.”
The Picture or the Person?
Are you embracing the mere shadow or the Savior? The picture or the Person?
Picture a Marine returning home from a long war deployment. After being gone from his wife for several long years, when he arrives home, his wife says “Hi baby! I love you! Welcome home! Listen, I’ve gotten accustomed to your picture (a mere shadow of who her husband is) and so I’ve prepared you your own bedroom upstairs so that you can sleep there while I sleep in the master bedroom with your picture!”
What would you think if you heard a story like that? This is an accurate illustration of the absurdity of those who put more emphasis on the mere shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament than in Jesus Himself! These are they are are “NOT (up)holding (magnifying) the Head” who is Jesus and who has COME and fulfilled what those mere shadows depicted before He came (Colossians 2:18-19).
Please prayerfully pour over the words of Hebrews 8-10 which contrasts the mere shadows of the Old Covenant with the reality of the infinitely superior New Covenant which was ratified in the very blood of the only begotten Son of God. Read these chapters several times.
One writer notes:
“When the believer has died with Christ he is then dead to the law. Rom 7. The unbeliever who is not positionally dead with Christ is still under the law.
Being dead to the law means the believer has been removed out from under the curse of, tyranny under and slavery to the law and its administrators, the principalities and powers.
The believer is out from under the accusation, condemnation, judgment, wrath and execution of the law. 2 Cor 3; Rom 8:1-4
The law is ‘taken out of the way’ (Col 2:14) of those who have died with Christ.
It is still a barrier between Christ and the unbelieving person.
The law killed Jesus and destroyed itself in so doing. John 19:7.
There are two ways in the Bible. The way of Law and the way of the cross. Law kills. Grace dies and is raised up free from the law. Law is for those ‘taken out of their way.’
The Law was a shadow or caricature of God/Christ. Agape love is the reality, body or substance of God/Christ. Jesus filled the caricature/shadow with His reality.
Would they rather have a caricature or the real person?
Would you rather have a picture of a home or a real home??
The Law still applies to unbelievers. 1 Tim 1. Love is the fulfilling of the law. Rom 13:10. Agape love has come to us through the pouring out of the Holy Spirit into our hearts. Rom 5:5. Agape (unconditional love) does not exist in the old Covenant (Old Testament). So love fulfills the law in that we are motivated to keep the law rules without a human effort focus on rules. Obedience to the rules is a spontaneous byproduct rather than a focus, obligation or result of fear of violating.
Example illustration: One driver slows down in school zone because he is afraid of the penalty. He is under the law. The other driver slows down (fulfills the law) because he loves children. He is keeping the law without being under the law. Agape is controlling him. Love ‘constrains’ him. 2 Cor 5:14″
Working for salvation by attempting to keep “the whole law” will bring great misery and end up in eternal damnation (James 2:10). Better just to admit you are not worthy, a vile, depraved sinner in need of the one Savior who paid the full price for your sins on that cross!
“Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Romans 4:4-5
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