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Are you deluded by human reasoning "about" the Word of God, instead of depending upon the actual Word of God? Do you wrestle with many different interpretations and views, confused about how the Bible should be understood?
The Word of God and Human Reasoning
God has given us the tools we need to understand the TRUTH. Why do people deny God's clear, unambiguous Word? This is the most dangerous of all those who call themselves "Christian": a person who thinks they are saved, teaching other people fallacies that don't come from the holy Word of God.
We need to be very careful of human reasoning creeping into the church pulpit and the minister's sermon notes. Ministers, unfortunately, can get so very far from the Word of God and then, in turn, lead others astray. So many ministers are fond of tacking on extraneous things to the Word of God and calling it the Word of God, when it's NOT. It's very simple: If it isn't in the Bible, DON'T believe it!! And if it IS in the Bible, BELIEVE it!!
One such fallacy is the concept of PREDESTINATION. So many people now misunderstand what it means. We need to look at the history of where the current definition comes from, as applied to the church. The word "predestinate" occurs FOUR times in the Bible. Twice in Romans 8 and twice in Ephesians 1, but not in the way that people think. The current belief in "predestination" stems from St. Augustine of Hippo, and then extended to John Calvin, who was very heavily influenced by the writings of St. Augustine. The concept of "predestination," along with other erroneous views, did not even exist before St. Augustine! What other erroneous views? The Catholic version of "omnipresence" and "omniscience." We are so far from understanding the reality of God and His being IN THE SPIRIT. We can't really grasp that concept. And that's OK - God doesn't expect us to grasp it... for He is SPIRIT, and we are yet IN THE FLESH.
This concept of predestination teaches the wrong idea that we are sealed and saved and cannot lose our salvation. With this idea in mind, people are unrepentant; they become complacent, slide into sin, don't recognize the state that they are in, and don't even seem to care. ALL people are born IN ADAM and sin. And we keep sinning because we are STILL in Adam. We are in the body, in the FLESH. And the flesh and the spirit WAR, as the Bible clearly states:
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law in my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. (Romans 7:23)
From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? (James 4:1)
And we are warring principalities and powers (demons and Satan).
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12)
But we are to be dead - spiritually dead - to sin. When we receive God's Holy Spirit, we take within us the power to discern and understand. Then, when we sin, we do so WILLFULLY... and we are more responsible.
Regarding Adam, and his connection to us and the flesh, let us read the following verses from 1 Corinthians 15:
1 Corinthians 15
[21] For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
[22] For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
[23] But every man in his order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
.......
[41] There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another in glory.
[42] So also is the resurrection from the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
[43] It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
[44] It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
[45] And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last man Adam was made a quickening spirit.
[46] Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
[47] The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.
[48] As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
[49] And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
In relation to this, let's take a look at this verse:
Deuteronomy 15:15
And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day.
This is what God commands us to remember. He brought us OUT of the bondage of sin. The apostle Paul talks a lot about that, and very eloquently. Does that mean that I am now perfect and sinless? NOOOOOOO!! You will rarely see a minister stand up at the podium and say, "I am just like you. I sin." Ministers are still in the flesh, just like us. Why do you think that the very FIRST thing Jesus had to do, once He began His ministry, was to face the devil and be offered temptations? We have to do the same thing. We face the devil and his demons daily. Paul said "I die daily." (1 Corinthinans 15:31) That is what Paul meant, dying to sin.
When you get baptized, you go under the water and you DIE to your old way of life - that way of life is being in BONDAGE to sin. The whole world is in bondage to sin. They live to sin!! And they don't understand how to NOT sin. But we DO. We have the tools, and the Words, and the testimonies, and the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, and His resurrection, to remind us. Just as God told the Israelites to REMEMBER that they were a "bondman" in Egypt, and that He brought them out of it, we are to remember that we were once in BONDAGE to sin. We LIVED to SIN. This exhortation, this command, to the Israelites to REMEMBER that they were a "bondman" in Egypt, and that God brought them OUT of it, is a type of what we experience by believing in Christ.
Think of babies. They are the ultimate ADAM: Me, me, me, me, me!!! They are selfish and think only of themselves. They want comfort, they want milk, they want their diaper changed, they want, they want, they WANT!! They think only of living in comfort and having all of their WANTS satisfied. They don't care about sin. They don't care about fairness. They are born that way, and so are we all. Many people from 2nd or 3rd generation Christian families are fond (and sometimes proud) of saying, "I was born in the church." We aren't BORN in the church!! We are born in SIN! Every one of us. And we have to come to a personal knowledge of Christ, and of the world, and of the nature of sin, and of our own bondage.
Think about Paul describing the ARMOR of God in Ephesians 6:10-17. Read those verses to learn what that armor is and where we are to wear it! We are to put it on. What would we NEED the armor of God for, if we are supposedly "predestined," SEALED, and couldn't lose our salvation? No, it's a spiritual BATTLE - and we must be strong and FIGHT the good fight. Any minister that tells you it's easy, or tells you otherwise, is miscontruing the Word of God. Paul struggled with sin. Was he out of fellowship with God? NO! He was one of the strongest examples of a Christian that we could hope to find!
Here's a story:
A man who went to a church, and he got touched in his heart, and he went up for the "altar call" [mind you, I don't believe in "altar calls"]. Afterwards, the man went home. He prayed. He read the Bible. And he continued to sin. He felt wretched. He thought that maybe he didn't have it done the right way the first time, or he must be doing something wrong. So, the next Sunday, he went back up for the "altar call" again. He went home again, slid back into sin, and he felt so unpure and unsaved. All of the "Christians" around him seemed so holy and sure of their salvation! He couldn't understand why he felt so filthy and unholy. He went back to church again - and, in total, he went up for 5 "altar calls" on consecutive Sundays. Finally, away from all of the "Christians," the Lord helped him to understand something that he read in the Bible: he realized that God had put His Holy Spirit IN him, yet he remained in the FLESH and still sinned. There was no need for more "altar calls," since he wasn't going to get any cleaner or holier by answering an "altar call." He had the TOOLS that God had given him: the Word of God and his faith.
Sinning is part of the human condition - the FLESH. The flesh COVERS, and the flesh is what gives us our APPEARANCE. We are born in sin, and we are cloaked with sin. And this is just as Jesus COVERS us and gives us our APPEARANCE as Christians. Yet, we are still in the flesh! We aren't spirit YET!!
God's Holy Spirit puts in you the ability to SEE His Word and it opens understanding that you were previously BLIND to. It doesn't make us perfect, because we haven't become SPIRIT yet.
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)
We can only do that through Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God. But we are still in the flesh. God is spirit, and we are flesh.
Look what the Bible says about being PERFECT:
Jesus said unto him, if thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. (Matthew 19:21)
Does that mean that, if we sell everything we have and give to the poor, we will then be rendered "perfect"? And that we will be perfect from that point onward? NO!! Of course not! You have to look at the previous passages and the context. Why is Jesus saying this? Because the man is self-righteous! He thinks he's already done everything and is following the Law of God perfectly. He CANNOT!! He is still a sinner! The latter part of that verse is what we need to heed: To FOLLOW Jesus. So, Jesus gave a task to that man that He knew would be difficult for the man to do. Why did Jesus do that? Because the man was trusting in RICHES. If you read verse 22, you learn that the man was wealthy. And if you read the verses that follow, you learn the difficulty of a rich person being able to enter heaven. It's not the money that bars entrance to heaven - it's the dependency on money, to the exclusion of having need of God!
Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. (2 Corinthians 13:11)
We are given the keys of HOW to be perfect. Living in ONE mind in Christ. HE is the WORD!
Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal this unto you. (Philippians 3:15)
So being THUS minded - IN CHRIST - we will want to do the perfect thing... and if we are NOT, God will reveal that to us! He reveals TRUTH to those that LOVE Him and OBEY Him.
That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Timothy 3:17)
The preceding verses of that one quoted verse are the KEY, so I encourage you to read 2 Timothy 3:1-16 also. And following that, we will be FURNISHED to be able to be on that righteous path of being perfect. When we are in Christ, we will be in perfection! We are human though - more often than not we are sinners. That nature, that fleshly nature, is ALWAYS with us.
But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. (James 1:4)
So patience takes WORK!! And it makes us WHOLE, needing nothing. All we really need is Christ, because He has promised to supply all of our needs.
The devil is called the "serpent," the "prince of the power of the air," the "god of this world," a "liar from the beginning" and the "father of it" (lies). Satan is REAL and he is battling for our souls. That's why we need to put on and KEEP on that armor of God; the FULL armor.
Revelation 12:9
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Revelation 20:2
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Ephesians 2:2
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
2 Corinthians 4:4
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
John 8:44
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father will ye do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Notice in Revelation 12:9 that it says that Satan "deceiveth the whole world." Now read the following:
2 John 1
[6] And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
[7] 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.
We are to be careful, within ourselves, that we are not deceived and that we don't lose the things that we have been taught from the doctrine of Christ: that is, the TRUTH. And we are to REJECT, utterly REJECT, all worldly doctrine that is NOT in the doctrine of Christ. And we are not even to invite such a person, who preaches a false doctrine, into our house! This means a HOUSE OF GOD (a church) as well. We are also not to wish them "God speed." What does this mean? To wish a person "God speed" is to wish them good fortune and success. We should not hope or wish for the success of an evil or ungodly person!
Which will you choose? The Word of God or Human Reasoning? You must make a choice!
The Word of God and Human Reasoning
God has given us the tools we need to understand the TRUTH. Why do people deny God's clear, unambiguous Word? This is the most dangerous of all those who call themselves "Christian": a person who thinks they are saved, teaching other people fallacies that don't come from the holy Word of God.
We need to be very careful of human reasoning creeping into the church pulpit and the minister's sermon notes. Ministers, unfortunately, can get so very far from the Word of God and then, in turn, lead others astray. So many ministers are fond of tacking on extraneous things to the Word of God and calling it the Word of God, when it's NOT. It's very simple: If it isn't in the Bible, DON'T believe it!! And if it IS in the Bible, BELIEVE it!!
One such fallacy is the concept of PREDESTINATION. So many people now misunderstand what it means. We need to look at the history of where the current definition comes from, as applied to the church. The word "predestinate" occurs FOUR times in the Bible. Twice in Romans 8 and twice in Ephesians 1, but not in the way that people think. The current belief in "predestination" stems from St. Augustine of Hippo, and then extended to John Calvin, who was very heavily influenced by the writings of St. Augustine. The concept of "predestination," along with other erroneous views, did not even exist before St. Augustine! What other erroneous views? The Catholic version of "omnipresence" and "omniscience." We are so far from understanding the reality of God and His being IN THE SPIRIT. We can't really grasp that concept. And that's OK - God doesn't expect us to grasp it... for He is SPIRIT, and we are yet IN THE FLESH.
This concept of predestination teaches the wrong idea that we are sealed and saved and cannot lose our salvation. With this idea in mind, people are unrepentant; they become complacent, slide into sin, don't recognize the state that they are in, and don't even seem to care. ALL people are born IN ADAM and sin. And we keep sinning because we are STILL in Adam. We are in the body, in the FLESH. And the flesh and the spirit WAR, as the Bible clearly states:
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law in my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. (Romans 7:23)
From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? (James 4:1)
And we are warring principalities and powers (demons and Satan).
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12)
But we are to be dead - spiritually dead - to sin. When we receive God's Holy Spirit, we take within us the power to discern and understand. Then, when we sin, we do so WILLFULLY... and we are more responsible.
Regarding Adam, and his connection to us and the flesh, let us read the following verses from 1 Corinthians 15:
1 Corinthians 15
[21] For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
[22] For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
[23] But every man in his order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
.......
[41] There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another in glory.
[42] So also is the resurrection from the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
[43] It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
[44] It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
[45] And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last man Adam was made a quickening spirit.
[46] Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
[47] The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.
[48] As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
[49] And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
In relation to this, let's take a look at this verse:
Deuteronomy 15:15
And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day.
This is what God commands us to remember. He brought us OUT of the bondage of sin. The apostle Paul talks a lot about that, and very eloquently. Does that mean that I am now perfect and sinless? NOOOOOOO!! You will rarely see a minister stand up at the podium and say, "I am just like you. I sin." Ministers are still in the flesh, just like us. Why do you think that the very FIRST thing Jesus had to do, once He began His ministry, was to face the devil and be offered temptations? We have to do the same thing. We face the devil and his demons daily. Paul said "I die daily." (1 Corinthinans 15:31) That is what Paul meant, dying to sin.
When you get baptized, you go under the water and you DIE to your old way of life - that way of life is being in BONDAGE to sin. The whole world is in bondage to sin. They live to sin!! And they don't understand how to NOT sin. But we DO. We have the tools, and the Words, and the testimonies, and the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, and His resurrection, to remind us. Just as God told the Israelites to REMEMBER that they were a "bondman" in Egypt, and that He brought them out of it, we are to remember that we were once in BONDAGE to sin. We LIVED to SIN. This exhortation, this command, to the Israelites to REMEMBER that they were a "bondman" in Egypt, and that God brought them OUT of it, is a type of what we experience by believing in Christ.
Think of babies. They are the ultimate ADAM: Me, me, me, me, me!!! They are selfish and think only of themselves. They want comfort, they want milk, they want their diaper changed, they want, they want, they WANT!! They think only of living in comfort and having all of their WANTS satisfied. They don't care about sin. They don't care about fairness. They are born that way, and so are we all. Many people from 2nd or 3rd generation Christian families are fond (and sometimes proud) of saying, "I was born in the church." We aren't BORN in the church!! We are born in SIN! Every one of us. And we have to come to a personal knowledge of Christ, and of the world, and of the nature of sin, and of our own bondage.
Think about Paul describing the ARMOR of God in Ephesians 6:10-17. Read those verses to learn what that armor is and where we are to wear it! We are to put it on. What would we NEED the armor of God for, if we are supposedly "predestined," SEALED, and couldn't lose our salvation? No, it's a spiritual BATTLE - and we must be strong and FIGHT the good fight. Any minister that tells you it's easy, or tells you otherwise, is miscontruing the Word of God. Paul struggled with sin. Was he out of fellowship with God? NO! He was one of the strongest examples of a Christian that we could hope to find!
Here's a story:
A man who went to a church, and he got touched in his heart, and he went up for the "altar call" [mind you, I don't believe in "altar calls"]. Afterwards, the man went home. He prayed. He read the Bible. And he continued to sin. He felt wretched. He thought that maybe he didn't have it done the right way the first time, or he must be doing something wrong. So, the next Sunday, he went back up for the "altar call" again. He went home again, slid back into sin, and he felt so unpure and unsaved. All of the "Christians" around him seemed so holy and sure of their salvation! He couldn't understand why he felt so filthy and unholy. He went back to church again - and, in total, he went up for 5 "altar calls" on consecutive Sundays. Finally, away from all of the "Christians," the Lord helped him to understand something that he read in the Bible: he realized that God had put His Holy Spirit IN him, yet he remained in the FLESH and still sinned. There was no need for more "altar calls," since he wasn't going to get any cleaner or holier by answering an "altar call." He had the TOOLS that God had given him: the Word of God and his faith.
Sinning is part of the human condition - the FLESH. The flesh COVERS, and the flesh is what gives us our APPEARANCE. We are born in sin, and we are cloaked with sin. And this is just as Jesus COVERS us and gives us our APPEARANCE as Christians. Yet, we are still in the flesh! We aren't spirit YET!!
God's Holy Spirit puts in you the ability to SEE His Word and it opens understanding that you were previously BLIND to. It doesn't make us perfect, because we haven't become SPIRIT yet.
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)
We can only do that through Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God. But we are still in the flesh. God is spirit, and we are flesh.
Look what the Bible says about being PERFECT:
Jesus said unto him, if thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. (Matthew 19:21)
Does that mean that, if we sell everything we have and give to the poor, we will then be rendered "perfect"? And that we will be perfect from that point onward? NO!! Of course not! You have to look at the previous passages and the context. Why is Jesus saying this? Because the man is self-righteous! He thinks he's already done everything and is following the Law of God perfectly. He CANNOT!! He is still a sinner! The latter part of that verse is what we need to heed: To FOLLOW Jesus. So, Jesus gave a task to that man that He knew would be difficult for the man to do. Why did Jesus do that? Because the man was trusting in RICHES. If you read verse 22, you learn that the man was wealthy. And if you read the verses that follow, you learn the difficulty of a rich person being able to enter heaven. It's not the money that bars entrance to heaven - it's the dependency on money, to the exclusion of having need of God!
Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. (2 Corinthians 13:11)
We are given the keys of HOW to be perfect. Living in ONE mind in Christ. HE is the WORD!
Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal this unto you. (Philippians 3:15)
So being THUS minded - IN CHRIST - we will want to do the perfect thing... and if we are NOT, God will reveal that to us! He reveals TRUTH to those that LOVE Him and OBEY Him.
That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Timothy 3:17)
The preceding verses of that one quoted verse are the KEY, so I encourage you to read 2 Timothy 3:1-16 also. And following that, we will be FURNISHED to be able to be on that righteous path of being perfect. When we are in Christ, we will be in perfection! We are human though - more often than not we are sinners. That nature, that fleshly nature, is ALWAYS with us.
But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. (James 1:4)
So patience takes WORK!! And it makes us WHOLE, needing nothing. All we really need is Christ, because He has promised to supply all of our needs.
The devil is called the "serpent," the "prince of the power of the air," the "god of this world," a "liar from the beginning" and the "father of it" (lies). Satan is REAL and he is battling for our souls. That's why we need to put on and KEEP on that armor of God; the FULL armor.
Revelation 12:9
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Revelation 20:2
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Ephesians 2:2
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
2 Corinthians 4:4
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
John 8:44
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father will ye do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Notice in Revelation 12:9 that it says that Satan "deceiveth the whole world." Now read the following:
2 John 1
[6] And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
[7] 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.
We are to be careful, within ourselves, that we are not deceived and that we don't lose the things that we have been taught from the doctrine of Christ: that is, the TRUTH. And we are to REJECT, utterly REJECT, all worldly doctrine that is NOT in the doctrine of Christ. And we are not even to invite such a person, who preaches a false doctrine, into our house! This means a HOUSE OF GOD (a church) as well. We are also not to wish them "God speed." What does this mean? To wish a person "God speed" is to wish them good fortune and success. We should not hope or wish for the success of an evil or ungodly person!
Which will you choose? The Word of God or Human Reasoning? You must make a choice!
