17 Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; 18 if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19 if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24 As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
25 Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. 26 So then, if those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? 27 The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.
28 A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.
I heard someone recently say that they don't believe the Bible is literally true. They say it is authentically true. What they mean by this (because the wording didn't allow me to understand what they were saying) is that the Bible is true when you read it in authenticity. You have to know the culture. You have to know the original language. You have to know hermeneutics. You have to know systematic theology and all the history surrounding the Bible. Unless you know everything that is happening culturally, symbolically, historically, within the language, etc, you don't really know what the Bible says.
I had a problem with that.
This is saying that the only way we can truly know what the Bible says and what it means is if we have doctorates that teach us original languages, culture, and archaeology. If we don't go through years and years of study, then we don't understand the Bible. Let me put it a little more blunt: I know the Bible because I'm smart and educated, and you don't know the Bible because you're too unlearned and stupid to know God.
It sounds to me like we have reached full circle in many sects of Christianity to where Paul was in his day. You have these Jews that teach the only way to know what the Bible says is to go through the years of discipline and be taught by the big shot rabbi or Pharisee. The more prestigious the name you study under, the more respect and honor your word goes. There are even places in the Talmud that tell us to take the rabbinical translation of the text more seriously than the text itself. If the rabbi or sage tells us that this verse is lying to us, and we should break the Law, then we are to follow the teaching of the rabbi or sage.
In modern Christianity we have the same thing. There are people who actually get up and teach their congregations things like Adam didn't really live to be over 900 years old. There wasn't a world-wide flood. There was death before sin. There is no heaven or hell. God created woman in Her image, and man comes second. It is okay to live in obvious immorality as long as you tithe. Modern archaeology has proven that David never existed, nor did the Exodus ever happen. There are no such things as miracles (like the resurrection). The list goes on.
Does anyone else get chafed in their spirit when reading these things?
There are famous preachers who are teaching absolute absurdity.
You who teach others - do you not teach yourself? Do you tell married couples that it is wrong to get divorced while you go out and have sex with the secretary? Do you counsel people who are going through depression while you are taking drugs to settle your own nerves? Do you talk to people about resurrection power while being addicted to pornography? Do you tell people that the power is in the blood while having a compulsive spending habit? Do you tell people that it is wrong to judge while you are judging your congregation because "80% of the tithes come from 20% of the people?"
I have actually talked to pastors who complain because their congregation doesn't tithe enough. So what? Do you know their paycheck size? Do you know how much they are or are not giving? Does God condemn them to Hell because you live in a 3 story house with a 4 car garage and a television in every room 5 bedrooms that aren't even being used and they aren't paying you enough? Is God angry at them for this? (I speak of one man in particular at this point, but I know it is a reflection of many other pastors across this country). I call this greed.
My wife and I are trying to donate clothes to people that need them. There is a problem. As soon as we desire to donate clothes to people that need them (instead of donating to the local thrift store that has an overabundance and uses clothes to make profit), we're hit with a ton of charities and missionary groups that only want money. After searching and searching, we cannot find one organization that seems legit for donating clothing. I'll take this time to mention that we have found a couple for shoes and for knick-knacks and for dresses and for dress clothes - but when we want to donate to poverty stricken countries, we find that they want new clothes instead of our used clothes.
Our clothes aren't good enough. We have the wrong sizes. After all, I do wear a medium shirt and have a 32 waist. They want large or extra-large shirts and larger waists. They have enough mediums. They have enough average sizes. There aren't enough people to give these things to.
Why do I bring this up?
There comes a time when an organization is no longer seeking to bring glory to God and is now only concerned with maintaining the structure. When we hit this point, we have forfeited all hope. We no longer have any voice. We no longer have any anointing. We have now given over to the demonic forces that rule over this world. Because we have not exercised another wisdom that would say, "To God be glory," and we have given over to the wisdom of this world that says, "Anything to keep this ministry going."
What is the problem? I don't only speak of the clothes. This is all encompassing. This goes back to the people who teach absolute heresy. The problem is that many people have stopped (if they had ever began) following the Holy Spirit and thus have given over to being ruled by another power than the power of God. Why does Paul say that not all Jews are Jews? Why does Paul drive so hard against those who would teach one thing and live another? Why does Paul get so upset with those who are of the circumcision and condemning those who are not? It all goes back to the same thing.
There are people who are treating different diseases as medical problems. I'll be frank. Schizophrenia is a demon possession. Drug addiction is sin. It isn't "chemical dependancy." It isn't a mental disease. We're not dealing with psychology. We're dealing with spirits. There is a spirit that is blinding these people and completely overpowering them. They can't fight. They can't overcome. A boy with Turrets is not a boy with a mental disease. He is haunted by demons.
While we have given over ground to the world who does not believe in the spiritual realm to define these things and tell us that ADHD and sex addictions are simply physical things, they have taken more than just that inch. We have given them the inch and they have taken the mile. We have been willing to listen and consider that maybe I am just a bunch of chemicals and the way to deal with a headache is to take an aspirin. The lack of an aspirin didn't cause my headache. What caused my headache was nutrient deficiency.
Because we have not been willing to stand up for that which is True, we have been slumped into a powerless gospel that might give enough motivation to remain in church, but does not have power to set free. This, of course, is not the case for every single ministry. By and large, the reason that so many youth leave after high school and never come back is because there is no demonstration/conviction of truth being revealed in the home.
How much do we truly believe here? Do we really believe that demons are at work today? Do we really believe that demon possession is possible after the cross? I mean, lets get serious... Jesus casted out demons left and right, but the book of Acts doesn't have that many demon possessions in it...
Do we really believe this?
Do we really believe that God has power?
Do we really believe that all Scripture is inspired?
If we are not willing to wrestle with these things and ask the difficult questions of how far does the power of Satan go, then we will never be able to recognize it and we're going to continue to sacrifice minister after minister after minister. Pastors are leaving the ministry left and right. Laymen are leaving church. People of God are no longer praying. People who have testimonies of being freed from drugs, alcohol, severe immorality, and other demonic strongholds, are becoming gray-haired Eli priests. This has to stop. We never were only sacrificing our own lives and testimonies. We are sacrificing the testimony of God. We are sacrificing our children.
Church will not last another 2 generations. Are we willing to step up to the plate and take everything the Bible says, or is it time to back down and admit that maybe the Bible is only a good moral teaching? As the Day draws near, we are heading very quickly into apostolicity or apostasy. You have the choice (as much as I have the choice) to go to one camp or the other. Either we will be apostolic, or we will be apostate. I don't know that there is a third option.
This is why it is so serious.
This is why Paul gets so vehement.
If we are not willing to stand up and believe the Bible for what it says (and I'm willing to admit that there are some Scriptures that don't make a whole lot of sense until you add original language or culture, but that doesn't mean that we throw out the rest of Scripture until we understand the one passage), then we are heading into the antichrist spirit. It will be the same religious ministers who are now speaking on behalf of God that it is okay to drink, smoke, and curse that will one day slay the saints of God and claim they are doing God's will. The one leads right into the other. If you are not vigilant, then you will become dull.
So I'll end on a happy note.
Anyone who reads this and rejoices is a saint. You rejoice because Christ is in you. You read the truth for what it is. I'm willing to hear that maybe I'm off in a few areas here. I don't think so, but I'm willing to hear it out. But to the person that reads this post and gets offended, your offense is a sign that you are not truly in the way. Only a fool despises reproof. God's people are not foolish.
Anyone who reads this and delights in these words should rejoice because Christ is in them. You are God's. He indeed dwells within you. We'll continue to go through Paul's letter to the Romans with chapter 3 next time.
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