Blog Archives
JUDAS GOATS
After everything the Lord Jesus accomplished to lead people into His eternal spiritual Kingdom, whoever never gets there simply chose to be led by another.
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“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” [Matthew 7:13-14]
So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” [John 10:7-9]
“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’” [Matthew 25:31-34]
“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels…” [Matthew 25:41]
GOATS ON PARADE
The vast majority of the wealthy and well-off privileged and influential people you see in high positions in this world, whether in government, private banking and business, or religious circles—those who essentially run pretty much everything and from the highest levels—are not as they may appear. When one sees the outward personas presented as the façade of the controllers, one observes only a very carefully fabricated surface image. When one hears them one hears only carefully crafted and embellished largely political prose loaded with otherwise fully unknown agendas designed to deceive and capture, and lead people toward beliefs they would otherwise not embrace and destinations toward which they would otherwise not go.
Due to their great deceptive influence over several millennia, going at least as far back as the vast sands of ancient Sumer of Tower of Babel fame, such figurative alpha goats bleating in the spotlight and their unseen owners/handlers at the top of the ziggurat have managed to form and create the largest and longest-lasting ongoing planet-wide roundup and herd drive, complete with trail bosses, point riders, and every conceivable clandestine cowboy on the range, all the while also gaining ever greater power, wealth, and overall success. Their resolute unrelenting actions prove there is indeed big power and money in deceiving and collecting the souls of humanity and subverting them to do their will. It also reveals the enemy’s hateful revenge in attempting to keep as many people from heaven as possible.
SELLOUTS
Regarding the perpetrators thereof, the unseen reality, successfully exposed only by the Lord Jesus beginning long ago and until this very day, is that this high-riding elite sold their souls to the devil. Also, they are well aware of what they did, of who they are, and of who they serve, and would do it again ad infinitum, largely because they simply love this present world and all its fleshly delights far too much to entertain any hopes of pinning their hopes on a mythical promised hereafter that would require them to cease from sin. Thus, whoever will assist them in fulfilling their pride and lusts and desire for fame are the ones they will serve, and gladly, regardless of the differing counsel of a holy God.
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. [1John 2:15-17]
The only difference between the elite controllers and the clueless majority following their lead and being duped to believe in, accept, and personally apply their asinine antichrist agendas don’t know they are being led astray. They do not know they are on a trail drive. They do not realize they have become a mere commodity going to market. If anyone in this massive crowd the world over ever comes to their senses by seeing through the deception, noticing and breaking their hidden chains, changing their direction post haste, and getting the heck out of there, they can escape. They can be found by the Good Shepherd, their new Leader, and He can lead them out toward the real green pastures. For all others who fail to act in time, they will otherwise make it all the way to the end of the trail and to the slaughterhouse. Of course, by that time, when all those unaware arrivees finally figure it out, the exits will be closed and it will be too late. They will then see those credentialed, respected, and honored ones they obliviously followed and sucked up to for who they actually are—the Judas Goats leading them to hell.
Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?” And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus. [Matthew 26:14-16]
And Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve. And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Him to them. They were glad and agreed to give him money. So he consented, and began seeking a good opportunity to betray Him to them apart from the crowd. [Luke 22:3-6]
Everyone who refuses the Lord’s offer of free salvation and eternal life takes the same backroom deal that Judas took. For the Pharisees in general, which the New Testament states are lovers of money, and for Judas, who was friends with influential Pharisees and was likely one himself, it was the love of money which precluded them from loving the Lord. In the simplest of terms, it always comes down to choosing one or the other:
“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and *wealth.” [Luke 16:13]
[*Greek: mamonas, for Aramaic mamon (mammon); i.e. wealth, etc., personified as an object of worship.]
One may keep this in mind when considering the example of the Lord Jesus, His apostles, and His original followers in contrast with the bulk of Christianity which insists that very large sums of dinero are a must-have if one would do ministry right especially ministry of the ultra-non-organic televideo form demanding huge outlays of cash and which pretty much always creates its own fabricated figureheads which makes one wonder about their (1) suspect murky monetary sources, and (2) their actual sheep/goat identity.
TARGETING THE SHEEP
When I was a rookie Christian, after experiencing my first encounters with relatively mild persecution, the mocking of all things Christian, and also my initial engagements in spiritual warfare, I wondered why I was suddenly such a target. I also wondered why non-Christians never seemed to suffer for all their attacks against the Lord, whether they understood such or not, and for their own sin. When I asked mature believers about this they said it was largely because the devil has no need to attack the ones he already has. That made sense to me. I thought later on that it could also be because the enemy could be using such people for his own purposes. Hence—the reality of temptation and cultural peer pressure to lead one away from God and to the proverbial dens of iniquity. One may say there is no such mythical devil involved in any of this but I think the Lord Jesus would beg to differ.
In reality, all people everywhere are subjected to false leaders with hidden alternative agendas. I say leaders in the sense of actually leading one to a place they would otherwise not go, whether an actual physical location or usually a false belief or belief system (lies masquerading as truth). In this process, it is not the goats who are targeted but the sheep, since the goats are already in the devil’s fold.
Now, regarding the original Judas Goats, somebody figured out a long time ago in the circa late 1800s that a goat could be trained to gain the confidence of unsuspecting sheep to do what the human workers thereof could not do, which was to quietly and effectively lead small herds through the pens, corridors, and upper levels of packinghouses to the very place of slaughter. They got the Judas Goats to do this by getting them hooked on nicotine which was supplied as a reward.
It was said that cows and pigs were relatively easy to move to their final destination without the use of such goats. Sheep, however, were a different story entirely. They were essentially impossible to move because they would balk at such efforts having the sense to know something was not right. They would bunch up and refuse onward movement. Other livestock were susceptible to human force (think cattle drives) but sheep are different—they generally require a shepherd. And this is where the deviousness of the Judas Goat concept entered the picture. Once the sheep trusted the goat they could be moved to the eventual killing pit with ease. The Judas Goat would then be used again and again, with no apparent remorse, moving group after group of unsuspecting sheep to their final doom. This is what happens when one’s trust is misplaced and does not choose wisely. Thus, the Lord’s clear and strong warnings:
“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” [Matthew 7:15]
“For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance.” [Matthew 24:24-25]
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. [2Peter 2:1-3][1]
Be very careful who you choose to follow.
© 2025 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
REAL CHRISTIANITY HAS ONLY ONE REAL LEADER
Nobody else qualifies. Sadly, this otherwise obviously means that Christianity in general is saturated with scads of unreal “leaders” not in alliance with God.
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THE WORD “LEADER”
The English word “leader” occurs nine times in the NASB95 New Testament in eight verses and in only four books. It occurs in the singular form four times and as a plural five times. It is capitalized twice. However, “leader” is translated from five different Greek words, as follows in order of their occurrence:
Leaders [Matthew 2:6] G2232: ἡγεμών hēgemṓn (hayg-em-ohn’)
leaders [Matthew 23:10] G2519: καθηγητής kathēgētḗs (kath-ayg-ay-tace’)
Leader [Matthew 23:10] G2519: καθηγητής kathēgētḗs (kath-ayg-ay-tace’)
leaders [Luke 14:1] G758: ἄρχων árchōn (ar’-khone)
leader [Luke 22:26] G2233: ἡγέομαι hēgéomai (hayg-eh’-om-ahee)
leader [Acts 18:8] G752: ἀρχισυνάγωγος archisynágōgos (ar-khee-soon-ag’-o-gos)
leader [Acts 18:17] G752: ἀρχισυνάγωγος archisynágōgos (ar-khee-soon-ag’-o-gos)
leaders [Hebrews 13:17] G2233: ἡγέομαι hēgéomai (hayg-eh’-om-ahee)
leaders [Hebrews 13:24] G2233: ἡγέομαι hēgéomai (hayg-eh’-om-ahee)
The key teaching regarding this leadership question utilizes G2519 as seen in the preceding chart in the following significant verse in which the Lord Jesus applies a complete restriction upon His disciples (and all disciples present and future) in the given context:
“Do not be called leaders (G2519); for One is your Leader (G2519), that is, Christ.” [Matthew 23:10]
As we see from our chart the essential Greek word is καθηγητής kathēgētḗs (kath-ayg-ay-tace’). It is defined by Strong’s Concordance as: “a guide, i.e. (figuratively) a teacher:—master.” The Lord is specifically stating here that His movement has only one Leader and that this Leader is the long awaited Messiah. By the use of the word He is also relaying that He is the only ultimate spiritual Guide, the only definitive Teacher, and the only legitimate Master. He is quite clear. There is therefore no reason whatsoever for any false “interpretation” claims to muddy the waters or for any causes of confusion regarding who’s in charge.
The point here is that every legitimate minister honors the Lord Jesus exclusively as his only Master and strives to serve Him according to His specific leadership and teaching curriculum. He will thus not teach what the Lord did not teach and he will teach only whatever the Lord taught.
In order to gain even greater understanding of the Lord’s statement in Matthew 23:10, we must consider it in the broader context of the overall instruction the Lord is giving and why He is adamant about this particular point. At that time He was teaching His close disciples and followers about the excesses of the Pharisees, about how they are so strongly concerned with religious authority and control, about gaining and maintaining their power and wealth, about putting forth a ridiculously overblown outward image, and why they insist there is a good reason for such adornment. He said His own followers should never engage in that sort of behavior or be like the Pharisees and the Rabbis thereof because, while they might actually quote Scripture correctly and get it right on occasion, they most often teach their own false traditions (in their case the ultra-casuistic [1] and false commentary-based Oral Law) and fail to do what the actual Scriptures teach. Sound Familiar?
He notes that their approach is all about making verbal declarations and assertions to be applied to others but not to themselves in that the Pharisees say but do not do. This is in further keeping with their dual class clergy-laity division model in which the establishment of their rule over everyone else is paramount. All of this comes down to leadership and is why the Lord stated the following to His disciples:
“But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. But the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.” [Matthew 23:8-12] [2]
THE REAL AND THE UNREAL
Based on this teaching, we can deduce that there are only two kinds of Christian ministers. First, there are the relatively few legitimate ministers who are actually called by the Lord Jesus to assist Him in His ministry (and there is actually only one legitimate Christian ministry—His) and do so to the best of their ability. These real ministers possess and produce the spiritual fruit and consistent evidence of their work to confirm their standing and legitimacy which matches the evidence and confirmation as listed in the historical record in the New Testament. Yet it must be noted that every real follower of the Lord Jesus is a legitimate minister of the Gospel. Remember, He said. “For One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers.”
Secondly, there are the great many Christian ministers who were never called by God in the place they are working and who do not assist the Lord Jesus in His ministry and who effectively start ministries on their own of which each is the sole leader thereof. Or they join existing ministry organizations and preacher unions as members and fellow “ministers” which were never founded by God. Such organizations, including “churches” and even large to universal denominations give forth a misleading air of legitimacy through their authority, power, wealth, longevity, and vast number of adherents.
How can these two be distinguished? How can one tell the difference between the real and the unreal? How can one identify the legitimate and detect the illegitimate? Such a means is not actually all that difficult once one locates the source material with all the answers and the means of confirming the spiritually genuine. Without the source material and confirmation means and process, a person can be easily deceived and led astray. He or she can be made to believe things that are not true and led to accept things that are in opposition to the very God one claims to believe in and possibly honor and serve. One can even be deceived into rejecting actual spiritual confirmation as given by the Lord and accepting a false form of confirmation based on illicit claims of authority.
Therefore, the source material is mandatory as are the means God uses to confirm it and the work of those who use it and teach from it. Real Christians know this source material as the New Testament. They know the New Testament Scriptures are the legitimate Word of God. They know this not only because the NT has stood the test of time but also because the teachings and instructions within it when applied correctly and fully actually work.
This also proves the presence of the Lord.
© 2025 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved. [To Be Continued…]
[1] Casuistry (noun): Specious, deceptive, or oversubtle reasoning, especially in questions of morality; fallacious or dishonest application of general principles; sophistry. © Copyright Dictionary.com
[2] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
THE GROUP OF ELDERS MINISTRY MODEL VS. THE RELIGIOUS AUTHORITARIAN MODEL [Part 1]
When the Lord Jesus began His ministry, He created a nascent group of twelve elders which was the archetypal servant authority model of the Early Church.
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THE LORD’S ELDER-MEN
It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles: Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew; and Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. [Luke 6:12-16]
The original apostles comprised the first elder group. When one studies the Lord’s ministry and how His teachings on eldership were applied, one sees that the Lord’s early Community always had a leadership group and never a solo minister. The reason for this was fairly simple: There was already an overall solo Minister who was also the one Shepherd, Master, and King. He was the one who created the Community to begin with and also maintained full control of it and over it. He created groups of elders under His authority to insure the greater chance of bringing forth and applying His means of ministry and teaching His curriculum.
“But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. But the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.” [Matthew 23:8-12]
Since these New Covenant elder men had to be accountable not only to the Lord Jesus but also accountable to each other, if any one of them got out of line the others were there to correct him. If one of them veered off course regarding the correct use of the Word of God, even slightly, the odds were great another one of the elders would point this out and apply the corrective. Of course, being an actual elder according to the Lord’s original model demanded not only a high level of discipleship but also great humility. It was never about being in charge with these men but always about making sure the Lord Jesus remained in charge. The following are a few Scriptural examples:
BOOK OF ACTS
When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. [Acts 14:23]
PAUL
To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you… [Titus 1:4-5]
JAMES
Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. [James 5:13-15]
PETER
Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. [1Peter 5:1-5]
JOHN
And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.” [Revelation 4:9-11] [1]
PASTOR OR SHEPHERD?
The word “pastor” occurs only once at most in the entire New Testament (in plural form) in many Bible translations including the KJV and sometimes not at all. It is from the Greek word ποιμήν poimḗn (poy-mane’). Strong’s defines it as: “of uncertain affinity; a shepherd (literally or figuratively):—shepherd, pastor.” Other than the one time, on almost every other occasion of its use this Greek word is translated as the English word “shepherd.” It should be translated as shepherd every time. It is due to this faulty translation that the vast majority of those who rule churches are called “pastors.” It is also likely due to the supposition that the title “pastor” appears more official, authoritative, socially acceptable, and commanding of respect rather than the humble, servant-like, and unobtrusive word “shepherd.” One might note that the Lord Jesus was never referred to as “Pastor” but as the Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd, and the Chief Shepherd.
GRAND MASTER PASTOR
Have you ever noticed that the standard model of that which is presented as “church” on Christian television (and in pretty much every “church” large or small all across the land) is one guy on a stage and a veritable mute fest transpiring in the congregation? The camera might pan to the crowd on occasion and every single person sits in absolute quiet solitude often never even muttering a brief Amen. The one guy on stage, however, can do and say anything he wants. He will often drone on and on ad infinitum which could explain the sounds of silence down below in that people are trying very hard not so much to concentrate but simply stay awake.
And exact proper absolute decorum is not only determinedly called for but demanded. And everyone complies. If they don’t they end up looking like social misfits not clear on the concept, which those with any ideas of not complying or halfway complying or not too pleased with such absolute compliance have long since vacated the premises either of their own accord or they were drummed out by the shame police or a few might have actually been told to please make like a tree and leave.
And of course, this leaves nothing left of the possible independent thought, spiritually interactive, non-forced compliance, and SPEAKING element in the entire ever-homogenous congregation growing ever vaster comprised only of the agenda-subservient ultra-quiet submissive ones who never even think of having any form of disagreement or the application of necessary correctives factor, much less causing even the wimpiest of inquiries because, you know, we must prove our pure and holy Christianity by always giving way and expressing complete deference to the top dog alpha male who is obviously called and chosen by God Himself and you’re not. Amen.
© 2025 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved. [To Be Continued…]
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
EMBRACING THE NEW COVENANT—ATTAINING SPIRITUAL FREEDOM
In my preceding post we discussed how the New Covenant made the Old Covenant obsolete. This post will discuss overcoming unrecognized religious bondage.
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Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” [John 8:34-36]
My preceding post of November 1, THE OLD COVENANT IS OBSOLETE AND NO LONGER APPLIES, is a prerequisite to this one and is filled with much explanatory Scripture so for those of you who have yet to read it I suggest you do so. There are already some excellent comments there as well. Delving into this subject is necessary because many Christians still do not know that the Old Covenant is no longer in effect. The New Covenant superseded it and became the legal spiritual covenant of real Christianity two millennia ago. In this post I will address why there remains so much unclear thinking on this subject to begin with and why many Christians are unaware of such an otherwise plain Scriptural fact.
SPIRITUAL PRIORITIES
This should not even be an issue. But it is. Why? It is very simple. Christians in general, over many centuries, have been subjected to false doctrine. This was no different before there was any Christianity because Hebrew religious teachers engaged in the exact practice. Not all, of course, but the majority. How do we know this? Because it was the majority that got it wrong, so to speak. And how do we know that? Because the Old Testament writings tell us exactly that, over and over and over. If the people were being taught correctly such massive spiritual blindness and bondage would not have occurred. It was in part why God raised up and sent forth so many prophets (His spokesmen) in the effort to bring correction by speaking truth.
Now, it cannot be that people in general are so ignorant and unaware naturally that they would fall into such religious slavery but it can certainly be that people are subjected to bad teachers and bad teachings, and when this happens to most then it is the majority that falls victim to false doctrines. But how does that happen? How does the majority allow itself to become such a victim? Could it be because such bad teachers are often also domineering authoritarians who desire and allow their own presence to be felt and become dominant rather than allowing for the presence of the Lord? These two, then—bad teaching and authoritarianism—usually go together.
Such is otherwise easily proven because if they were right and their teachings proved beneficial, they would need no strong authoritarian stances, domineering attitudes, the unfounded insistence on being in charge, deceptive three-dimensional formats, hierarchical positions, and distinctive attire which people in general are conditioned to respect. The Lord Jesus had none of that, of course, and was the most humble Man of all time. By His perfect example we know that His excellent perfect teaching aligns with the opposite of religious authoritarianism. The Lord surely had the highest authority in both heaven and earth but presented Himself in a way that He appeared as a simple obscure itinerant teacher. He obviously focused on His teachings, not Himself or any religious enterprise, and wanted His teachings and manner to be perfect so people could attain spiritual freedom. That was His overall priority.
Therefore, there is always the connection between bad teaching and authoritarianism because getting the teaching right is not their priority. Gaining and maintaining their authority and the perks thereof are their top priority. Serving money and not God is their top priority. The question, then, regards how the bad-teaching domineering authoritarians gained their authority and power in the first place.
A MAN AND A MISSION
One may recall that a long time ago in an Egypt far, far away God needed a very powerful man to lead His people out of bondage and into freedom. If there was any better way to do this the Lord would have employed it but there was not. Over the intervening years since the passing of Jacob and Joseph and the rise of a new power in Egypt that had little knowledge or respect of these men and the former times of God’s blessing, the Israelites had lost contact with Him due to their ever-increasing sin. Because His people lost touch with God He required a human being to work through to regain communication. The man God would choose had to be properly prepared, instructed, and anointed to lead His people back to God for their own benefit and blessing. The nation of Israel had to be saved.
At a time in Egypt when His people had been so subjected to increasing servitude, oppression, persecution, and bad conduct by (guess who) evil authoritarians in power (however, of the political/state variety), the great many descendants of Jacob/Israel had actually fallen so far they had become mere slaves. These unfortunates were therefore necessarily forced into spending the bulk of their energy and lives obeying such evil authoritarians in order to survive, because to do otherwise would not only make things worse for them it could get them killed. This meant they were no longer serving God.
Funny how that happens. Do you realize there is not one New Testament verse of Scripture that ever allows for a Christian to stop serving the Lord Jesus in order to serve a Christian authoritarian? Yet, the majority of Christians on the planet do that very thing. How does one suppose that happened? When did it start? When did Christian authoritarians gain power over the majority of Christians and then create an entirely new non-New Testament paradigm to both maintain their power and authority and also train ongoing new generations of religious authoritarians regardless of denomination to continue the process apparently without so much as a wait-a-second… from the majority in any congregation anywhere?
Well, the bigger question than when is why. We can know the when. The when is out there. It can be fully researched for those who are willing to put in the work. But again, the bigger question is why? It is the same question one must ask of ancient Israelites. Why did they allow themselves to come under the control and power of religious authoritarian dictators who led them away from God? Who convinced them that such was God’s will?
Well, again, one must return to the days of Moses for the appropriate answer. According to my much-researched understanding, Moses was born in 1526BC. He was raised in a well-to-do Egyptian royal home in which he was treated like a prince (because he was one though he possessed no ancestral link to Egyptian royalty and was actually a Hebrew in good standing). God put him there for a reason. Remember, God did not suddenly have a thought one day that His people needed a deliverer so He looked around and found Moses who appeared, surprisingly, quite qualified to that point for the assignment. No, God actually knew the future (surprise surprise) and planned for the arrival of a non-existent deliverer long before such a man was ever born. This means Moses was born with a specific and quite significant destiny.
Men with such destinies never have it easy. They are often in a conflict with their own desires of the life they want to live. Something keeps calling them back to adhere to a different path. It is obviously difficult for the Lord to continue impressing upon such a man the way he should go as opposed to any other path which is always self-serving and of no eternal use. Such men eventually understand they must sacrifice their own desires and wishes and surrender to something much bigger than themselves whatever it may cost them. And, of course, it will cost them everything.
Regarding the times then, God knew exactly what would eventually happen to the descendants of Jacob/Israel during their Egyptian sojourn. He knew they would drift away from Him. He knew they would go into great sin. He knew this would make them subject to being treated badly by people outside their culture, taken advantage of, eventually used by evil authoritarians for their own purposes, and thus be in need of deliverance. In other words, His people were in dire straits but due only to their insistence upon their own self will and resultant sins which caused their falling away from God.
This means that without the Lord’s intervention of raising up a man from this sinful wayward nation of Israelites it would never and could never be saved. Someone had to overcome the evil authoritarians. Someone had to quit being a mere slave under the power of illicit authority and give himself completely to God and make Him his sole authority. It is the only way to attain spiritual freedom. Therefore, before Israel was made free Moses would have to be made free.
It is exactly the same with Christians. One can always tell when Christians have been taken over by authoritarians. Rather than serve the Lord Jesus they serve those who gained power in His place. Their Christian culture, beliefs, and practices no longer resemble the culture, beliefs, and practices of the original Christians in the first century AD—those who set the precedent and became the prototype—but are a reflection instead of the dominant ruling religious class they subjected themselves to and the false doctrines and teachings such people espouse.
The nation of Israel fell into this trap and thus demanded the deliverance of God through Moses. This great deliverance was illustrated magnificently in the final happening of the Exodus when the deep Sea was parted in two and allowed the nation access out of geographic slavery. They left Egypt (a spiritual type of “the world”) forever. This happened when Moses was eighty years old in 1446BC. Through another forty years of instruction in the wilderness, the Lord eventually gave the Israelites access to their long promised Promised Land and created a nation subjected only to His authority and no other. In this they were delivered from slavery of every kind which included religious slavery under false religious authoritarians.
Well, for a while anyway. Then they lost it. Then the Lord delivered them and regained authority. Then they fell away again. This process continued throughout the period of the Judges. It later became a farce when the nation rejected God as its King and insisted on a mere man (King Saul). The cycle continued repeating until there was no longer any possible deliverance. The people simply said forget it. They grew tired of the process. As a result the majority quit on God completely and that was that. The Lord had to give them a divorce (Jeremiah 3:8). And into the void of no God in their lives came, you guessed it—evil religious authoritarians who set up a completely different system than God’s and subjected the nation to religious slavery. Because this Israelite religious class, composed primarily of Levites and priests out of position, gained such great power, they held the people in great fear and spiritual ignorance. This is how false religions have always ruled and it was no different with the ancient Israelites. The religionists used fear very effectively and also instituted a policy of ignorance of spiritual things so the people would be none the wiser.
REJECTING THE LORD JESUS
It is no different with Christians. The vast majority of Christians would much rather be ruled by mere religious human authoritarians rather than the Lord Jesus. However, they are not aware that they have also been subjected to spiritual ignorance through the process of their betters either hiding, rewriting, or shading Scriptural truth so the authority of the Lord Jesus would not be reestablished. As a perfect case in point, the early Roman Catholic Church effectively banned the New Testament from the people at large which continued for a millennium (the Dark Ages).
Hence, the Old Covenant which the Lord Jesus made obsolete is resurrected and comes to life again, as does religious slavery, and the people are none the wiser. This means such Christians actually reject the New Covenant and make it obsolete in their own lives. Why would otherwise intelligent people do this? Why would someone turn things upside down and make the New Covenant personally obsolete?
This is not a hard question. It is for the same reason the ancient Israelites failed. You see, when one loves another, it is the love that makes the difference in that without the love there would be no relationship. With God, it is a covenant of love. Other relationships are also based on love in its various forms and these are also effective covenants. We have different kinds of love but the principle is the same. The Greek language used in the writing of the New Testament refers to four basic kinds of love using four different words. Only two of these appear in the NT: The first is agape which represents the highest and most pure love and may be termed spiritual love. The other is philia and refers to close friendship or brotherly love. The other two Greek words for love are eros (marriage) and storge (family). Though all real love is good, one’s love for God is highest (agape) according to the New Testament and must be placed first since it is foundational. When the nation of Israel fell out of love with God it began its downward spiral. When one marriage partner falls out of love with the other it violates and often ends the marriage covenant. The same is true in family or friendship. The love must be mutual and must be maintained.
Why then do Christians often place a lesser form of love above their love for the Lord Jesus? Why do many Christians, likely the majority, love and support their leaders (pastors, ministers, reverends, priests, etc.) more than the Lord? Why do many Christians place the love of spouse, family, and friends above the Lord? Whatever the reason may be, it causes one to have the wrong priorities and this in turn causes one who should not be in the highest place of spiritual authority in one’s life to attain it and thus gain strong religious influence and primacy which effectively replaces the authority of the Lord Jesus.
We have ample verses of New Testament Scripture stating clearly that the Lord Jesus must always possess this highest place of importance in a Christian’s life and this is proven by a Christian placing His teachings first and foremost which always displaces the lesser or false teachings of substitute and counterfeit “ministers.” If the Lord Jesus is not first then a Christian will certainly adopt teachings other than His even though they may appear to be “Christian” in origin and practice.
The cure to overcoming such bondage is the same as it always was. We need a deliverer. We need someone raised up by God sent forth to free us from slavery. The worst form of slavery is religious slavery. It is due to unknowingly allowing a counterfeit replacement for the Lord. Within Christianity, specifically, there are those “leaders” who look the part, act the part, use New Covenant Scripture, and even honor the teachings of the Lord Jesus but only on a limited basis and in a superficial manner. Whether these people do this willfully and deceitfully (many do) or are themselves deceived, the effect is the same. The Old Covenant, otherwise dead and gone with the wind, is raised again like the rotting rusting hulk of the Titanic. The newness of the New is overcome by the oldness of the Old.
And through this process there is found the same deception that eventually destroyed the ancient nation of Israel forever. It is specter of sinful human will wanting the desires of the flesh and the treasure of this fallen world rather than the purity and power of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom and eternal life. A very sad and evil extension of this is the creation of a false Christianity, in many forms, which draws in the unsuspecting and convinces them they are in a good place under good leaders within a good construct when the opposite is often true. Such people are cut off from the full truth and never seek the full truth of the New Covenant since they have been convinced they already have it. They will also embrace sin since there is little or no voice against it which assists in causing further deception and distance from the only possible cure. The writer of the Book of Hebrews stated it this way:
For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? [Hebrews 10:26-29]
It is only by embracing the fullness of the New Covenant that one attains actual spiritual freedom and maintains it. It is not only the cure for sin but also the one remedy for spiritual deception.
A NEW AND LIVING WAY
Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful… [Hebrews 10:19-23] [1]
© 2023 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
A CONFUSION OF BELIEFS AND TRADITIONS: OUR CHRISTIAN TOWER OF BABEL (Part 7)
The initial history of the Early Church occurred during 32-70AD. Afterwards, until the early 300s, real Christianity grew exponentially. Then the enemy made a masterstroke…
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The Christian Tower Builders had been preparing well. During a period of roughly 230 years after the destruction of the nation of Israel (70AD) and the establishment and great fruitfulness of the Lord’s spiritual Kingdom throughout the Roman Empire, the enemy had been stealthily at work. He had developed a plan to strike back at his hated nemesis even though its full effect would be long in coming. His first intention was to undermine the original teachings of the Lord by introducing familiar philosophical reasonings and standard ancient religious concepts which centered on idolatry. He would add Gnostic understandings which initially emerged during the apostle Paul’s time primarily in Asia Minor centered roughly at Ephesus, having likely originated in Alexandria, Egypt. In essence, the enemy would do what he had always done to lead people astray: Obfuscate their thinking, corral them into cults, and draw them into eventual worship of him whether such people knew it or not.
He would also begin the process of recreating and applying the accoutrements of tyrannical rule which would largely mirror the Roman emperor and his court and thus generate the means to rule over as many Christians as possible through as few as possible. This had always been a successful strategy in other cultures in prior times in that it created influential figureheads by which to control and manage the herds of humanity regardless of realm—government/politics, religion, the military, or even economics. Regarding Christians who had already adapted to following one Leader—the Lord Jesus—the enemy would have to make the attempt to introduce sub-leaders, those who stood between God and the follower and who would act as religious mediators. In this way he could cut off a believer’s direct communication with the Lord by making him go through a surrogate and compel him to become dependent on a stand-in—a hireling—and by this muddy the believer’s knowledge and understanding of the Word of God. Sound familiar?
One may wonder how the enemy thought he could be successful at any of this after the great triumphs of the Lord’s Community, the far-reaching application and successful results of its spiritual power and authority (greater than any other), and the prodigious number of born again believers to the tune of multiple millions. Why did he think his subterfuge may work?
To start with, one may consider all that God had done for His ancient people and what He equipped them with, starting from Adam to the nascent nation of Israel escaping Egyptian bondage, and onward to the full burgeoning of the nation, and then see what happened to each. How did Adam fare? How did the promising initial population of the world deteriorate so badly that it required the Flood of Noah to cleanse the land? What happened to that first generation after the Exodus? How did the conquest of Canaan go? What eventually happened to the promising nation of Israel? You see, the Lord was positively involved in all these efforts, had great plans, unlimited resources, and the spiritual power to see them through and grant success but they all botched it. How was any of this failure even possible?
So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. [Hebrews 3:19]
Unbelief: ἀπιστία (ap-is-tee’-ah): faithlessness, disbelief, unfaithfulness (disobedience), want of faith, weakness of faith:—unbelief.
—Adam introduced sin into the world. The world population destroyed in the Flood had grown far from God, willingly distant from His will, exponentially evil, and characterized by the sin of murder. The first generation of Israelites after the astounding miracle of the Red Sea Crossing at the Exodus were wiped out in the desert and never entered the Promised Land due to unbelief, disobedience, rebellion, and obstinate opposition to the divine will. Joshua’s Conquest was great in part but the assignment was never completed fully per his instructions and far too many Canaanites remained which eventually assisted in corrupting God’s people.
So you see, the devil had much to be hopeful for. He felt assured that he could corrupt Christians as he had corrupted so many others in world history. He knew what he had assisted in doing to the nation of Israel, which no longer existed, and was confident he could do the same to the Lord’s new spiritual Community. Though this may have appeared inconceivable early on and certainly a daunting undertaking due to the Lord’s people being a much greater foe than past heroes of the faith, the enemy knew he was still dealing with human beings who had their flesh to contend with. They were imperfect. They may have chinks in their armor. They may be vulnerable to certain sins. Those Christians who failed to stay filled with the Holy Spirit, die daily, and crucify their flesh would be susceptible to a successful attack and such were those who would be targeted.
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. [1Peter 5:8][1]
He would attack indirectly. He would make a play on the flesh. He would mess with people’s minds. He would conjure up the specter of religious pride. If these sound familiar they are exactly what He tried on the Lord Jesus with obviously no success whatsoever. But they had worked in the past. They worked with Adam and Eve and later Israelite kings, notably Solomon. They certainly worked with the Pharisees et al. It was a known strategy and a very familiar story. If he managed to make steady inroads during the second and third centuries he could eventually reach the plain of Shinar phase of the operation. Would the devil be able to foment a maneuver in which the spiritual reality of living stones could be transformed into a religion of fake rocks? Made of burnt mud brick? Could he gather enough faux believers to overcome the real believers and therefore institute a new Christianity, one based on syncretism and hybrid renderings, on ultra-ceremonialism, and authoritarian rule?
This was certainly his aim. Again, he knew the concept well and knew it worked well. The challenge would be furthering the notion that Christians need not obey the Lord Jesus exclusively or obey His directives of being Spirit-filled as per the Book of Acts model. It was the only model that worked, of course, at establishing a real Christian and equipping him or her to successfully overcome the world, crucify the flesh, remain properly subjected to the Lord, walk in the Spirit, and defeat spiritual enemies.
The devil knew he must thus construct his own oppositional monolith to counteract the real Church, his own vast “community,” and his own hierarchy through which to rule.
When the fourth century dawned, he decided the time was right. He had worked hard over two centuries to blur the lines of what Christianity was and had introduced damnable heresies as it were, an echo of ancient OT times when he raised up false prophets in the land of Israel. Peter wrote:
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; and spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly… [2Peter 2:1-5 KJV]
The devil had convinced enough Christians to betray the Lord the same way the faithless Israelites had. He must now create an opposing force sufficient to engage in battle on equal terms. He had a means in mind. He had a particular man in mind. He would now foist it upon an unbelieving unaware world and do it quickly so as to deceive enough of the population to render them willing accomplices.
The Christian Tower of Babel was becoming a reality.
© 2022 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved. [To Be Continued]
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
A CONFUSION OF BELIEFS AND TRADITIONS: OUR CHRISTIAN TOWER OF BABEL (Part 1)
A CONFUSION OF BELIEFS AND TRADITIONS: OUR CHRISTIAN TOWER OF BABEL (Part 2)
A CONFUSION OF BELIEFS AND TRADITIONS: OUR CHRISTIAN TOWER OF BABEL (Part 3)
A CONFUSION OF BELIEFS AND TRADITIONS: OUR CHRISTIAN TOWER OF BABEL (Part 4)
A CONFUSION OF BELIEFS AND TRADITIONS: OUR CHRISTIAN TOWER OF BABEL (Part 5)
A CONFUSION OF BELIEFS AND TRADITIONS: OUR CHRISTIAN TOWER OF BABEL (Part 6)
A CONFUSION OF BELIEFS AND TRADITIONS: OUR CHRISTIAN TOWER OF BABEL (Part 8)
A CONFUSION OF BELIEFS AND TRADITIONS: OUR CHRISTIAN TOWER OF BABEL (Part 9)
CHRISTIANS IN LEAGUE WITH THE ENEMY: THE TRAITOR WITHIN
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There is no effective difference between those in powerful positions on the world stage engaging in mass subterfuge who actively oppose the Lord Jesus, and deceived Christians who support them unequivocally.
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Though blissfully unaware, they are willing accomplices. They will not get a pass. Failing to correct this great wrong before passing into eternity means facing their Creator on the wrong side of justice. They will be shocked by the verdict. The Lord alludes to this outcome in the following:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’” [Matthew 7:21-23]
You may be wondering what He means by “lawlessness.” On the surface it should be plain to see that He referred to such people as apparently successful users of His Name without knowing the bearer of the Name—they didn’t know the Lord Jesus personally. The Greek word is anomia. Though some Bible versions translate the word as “iniquity” or “evil,” the root of such is actually defined as “without the law, contempt for the law, or violation of the law.” In this case, the word must indicate the violation of God’s law.
How were these people who appeared to be disciples in good standing with the Lord Jesus and therefore keepers of His law actually violating it? Looking further into anomia, we discover that it points to something familiar: One can be violating the law unknowingly. He can be ignorant of it. He can be unaware of its existence. This also portends deception. And, as always, ignorance of the law is no excuse. This is why those Christians who violate their conscience, even to a small degree, open themselves up to blurred spiritual vision and an inability to properly delineate right and wrong.
THIS IS WHY GOD MADE PROPHETS
There is a gross misconception among “prophetic types” and those who follow them that prophecy is one of two things, either foretelling, which is obvious, yet primarily forthtelling. This is not necessarily untrue in that prophecy is not only seeing the future and pronouncing it before it arrives, but also addresses particular actions or steps one may take, for example, to get right with God, prepare for a certain outcome, or partake on a certain course. However, there is a third aspect just as important—correcting those in authority. For example:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” [Matthew 23:27-28][1]
In other words, those Christians in authority without proper accountability due to the stature of their office must have a means of receiving correction, not primarily for their own benefit but for those subjected to their authority. And because God knew beforehand that people in authority would attempt to claim accountability by surrounding themselves with sycophants, yes men, and the rubber stamp guild, He determined that prophets must be independent so as not to be compromised by the same egregious false concessions made to maintain illicit authority.
Authority figures who engage in immorality or injustice, or refuse to be accountable to God are compromised, even though they may legitimize their power to their heart’s content barring any uprising by those under their rule. If the ruled over are content to live for less and usually much less than God intended that is their choice. God obviously saw this happening beforehand also. Therefore, the prophet also exists to encourage and strengthen those who refuse illicit religious rule and demand God’s rule and His righteousness.
CONSPIRACIES EXIST BECAUSE THEY WORK
The murder of the Lord Jesus was the end result of a conspiracy. The plan was carried out in stealth by those who hated Him. They had tried to get Him several times without success but at last succeeded once gaining the valued assistance of a traitor.
They needed an inside man. They needed a dupe they could deceive. Dupes are not necessarily unintelligent but are compromised by a false perception of reality. The false perception arises from believing and acting on lies or propaganda masquerading as truth. All perceived knowledge must be vetted. If not, it entails a lack of discretion and proper discipline, which makes one susceptible to incorporating principles that are selfish in scope and evil at their core, though such evil is rarely perceived. In order to be fooled, that is, to accept the making of moral concessions, they must engage in an effort, however small and seemingly innocuous, to compromise their conscience.
And it is the violation of their conscience—that wonderful entity possessed by all that acts as an arbiter of good and evil—that opens the door not only to potential evil but also to deception.
Rather than reject all sin with the desire to serve the Lord and gain His righteousness, see the world from a positive perspective, do right, treat people right, engage in righteous acts, and attempt to spread goodness and joy, however idealistic such a course may be perceived, the conscience compromisers decide they have no choice, in order to get ahead in life, but to reject the Golden Rule (treating others as one wants to be treated) in areas in which they feel infringements are warranted. They deceive themselves by this practice and insist the bulk of their actions are good, or will have a beneficial end, and that somehow the greater percentage of good they do outweighs the minor amount of bad behavior. Or they may think a certain immoral response or ongoing behavior is justified based on prior maltreatment or perceived wrong.
THE TRAITOR WITHIN
“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.” [Taylor Caldwell, A Pillar of Iron.]
Like Judas, Christians must be deceived into supporting the enemy and his conspiratorial evil plans, and a great many do. Their lack of insight, spiritual laziness, and a willingly compromised conscience has blinded them to reality. They fail at seeking the Lord with all their heart. Rather than know Him they merely use His Name for their own benefit. As the Lord expressed in the preceding verses from Matthew’s gospel, such Christians appear to be for real but are merely chosen members of a club who all believe the same and therefore support one another in deception. They may practice foretelling and forthtelling but refuse the ultimate truthtelling. The prophetic voice of correction is rejected.
And also like Judas, they have their price.
© 2020 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
LORDING IT OVER THE PAWNS
Christians have been taught by those who rule over them to never question religious authority. Thus, those in control equate themselves with infallibility and inerrancy.
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And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant.” [Luke 22:24-26]
This is obviously not the case among the majority of churches and denominational hierarchies. These always feature top-down leadership in which the congregants have very little say. Everyone is expected to merely obey what comes down from on high and respect their leaders with a respect deserved only for the Lord.
We could fix this and all the damage it causes by simply:
(1) Allowing the Lord Jesus to have full control, and
(2) Adopting the leadership method He taught and advocated for
We see His method very clearly in the New Covenant writings. One of the first things we notice was that there was never any “one man show.” There were always at least two men going out to minister together in evangelism and several men appointed as elders of groups. These were older men, hence “elders.” There was no central elder. The elders worked together.
This correct method eventually devolved over time into the incorrect method of rule by one man and this ruler became known as a “pastor” although there is no New Covenant authority for such “leadership.” Churches then devolved into clergy-laity set-ups in which the laity had no voice and were merely dictated to and told what to believe.
Whoever decided to invoke their God-given freedom to do individual research and study to become a better disciple was eventually falsely disparaged because his discovered truth always threatened those in charge.
Consider the following words of Paul written to Timothy, and remember such universal New Covenant discipleship terms applied to all Christians such as “servant” and “workman:”
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some. Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.” [2Timothy 2:15-19] [1]
The Greek word translated as wickedness in this verse is defined as “injustice, unrighteousness, doing wrong, evildoers, iniquities, iniquity, injustice, unrighteous, unrighteousness, wickedness, wrong.” What could be more wicked than a Christian leader teaching anything opposed to the Lord’s teachings or refusing to teach the fullness of the Lord’s teachings?
CHRISTIANS ACCEPT THE REALITY OF THE WORLD WITH WHICH THEY ARE PRESENTED
At that time, the two guys mentioned by Paul had adopted a wrong belief and began telling others. It was up to Timothy, as advised by Paul, to avoid this type of “worldly and empty chatter” that leads to such “gangrene.” We know what gangrene is, and it is not pleasant. It begins with a small infection. The offhanded beliefs of the two men with no Scriptural backing were as an infection that invaded the community. The infection was teaching something as true that is not true.
Hence we understand the great need, especially in these latter days, to stand strong for the original teachings of the Lord Jesus and oppose strongly all the false teachings adopted by so many “Christians” since, who like those two men, have infected overall Christianity with various gangrene-like spiritual diseases which have spread far and wide.
It appears that in the majority of congregations, Hymenaeus and Philetus have taken over, and without much of a fight.
You will know them by their fruits.
© 2017 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
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New 21st Century Wineskins for American Christianity (Part 1)
And He was also telling them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, ‘The old is good enough.’” [Luke 5:36-39]
We remain at a fork in the road. The Lord is trying to direct us down the correct path. Many Christians have already taken the wrong path. Many others wait at the fork, and are having a hard time deciding which way to go.
The default position for much of American Christianity is to take the conservative route, obey the old standards (the old is good enough), and listen to leaders unwilling to budge—who by and large feel much more comfortable with what they consider the old tried and true. Well, it is definitely tried, and some of it is true, but most of it belongs in the past.
The Lord is doing a new thing! It is something He has planned all along, of course, and the window for those who continue sitting on the fence is closing. There is little time left to decide.
Now, before you jump to any conclusions, I must make one thing very clear: There is a large movement in American Christianity that has abandoned the core truths of the Lord’s teachings and has decided to go their own way without Him, just as some denominational bodies have done already. Many in this movement are deceived. Rather than expose the false doctrines of yet another fake Christian offshoot in this article, let’s look instead at core New Testament values that will never change for the Real Christian:
(1) The Lord Jesus is God. There is only one God. God became a Man. This has only happened once and will never happen again. The Lord Jesus is forever both Man and God.
(2) He came to this planet about 2,000 years ago and revealed God through His humanity. He is God manifest in flesh. He never committed a single sin. Everything He ever did was perfectly within the will of the Father. Therefore, His revelation of God, and of who God is, was and remains total and perfect. As He said, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’” [John 14:9] [1]
(3) The Lord Jesus taught, ministered, revealed the kingdom of heaven, performed miracles, set people free, and loved unconditionally. Then, He offered Himself up as a perfect sacrifice to pay for the sins of all those who choose to give Him their life. His payment for sin was complete. Only the Blood of Jesus can cleanse us of sin. Nothing anyone can do can ever add to what He has already done regarding salvation. His grace (undeserved divine favor) is free for all those who repent and commit their lives to Him completely and continually follow Him.
(4) He arose from the dead to live forevermore. There is no salvation found through any other. He is the only way to the Father. He is only Door. He is the only Way. For the comparative few who will enter the narrow door, walk the narrow path, and endure unto the end, they will live with Him for eternity. Such a road demands obedience, commitment, dedication, and love for God, regardless of cost. It is very obvious that the Lord means business. It is all or nothing.
These brief points should clear up any misunderstanding about new movements presently transpiring in this country and the world that water down the one Gospel, create false gospels, or attempt to create or form syncretistic religions merging one with another. Such movements deny the core truths of the New Testament for the sake of numbers, ecumenical unions, denominational groups, organizations, and churches built by false or deceived ministers and those under their influence.
Again, many if not most of the people involved in such are deceived. Of course, they do not know they are deceived, which is the very nature of deception. They have all accepted “another” gospel, something the Lord and His apostles very clearly warned against.
Therefore, though there are many false movements emerging, there are also the real people of God in America who are just beginning to come forth in unity. Most people do not see them. They are part of a very large movement of faceless nobodies with no credentials or Christian pedigrees. They serve their Lord Jesus in humility, suffer, fight the spiritual enemies of God, reach out, reveal truth, and help their fellow man. They are nonetheless becoming more organized on a spiritual level. The Lord is connecting groups and individuals together without the usual human efforts of ultra organization, rank, and hierarchies. It is a spiritual family spread all across the nation that has decided to commit to the Lord and real New Testament truth. They want reality. They want The Book of Acts in action. They will settle for nothing less than the full truth and expression of the Lord Jesus. They believe in unity and love. They believe in the power of the Holy Spirit and the Name above all names. They will not be stopped under any circumstances.
As a result, persecution will be ramped up. We will see persecution of real Christians in this country like we have never seen. But we will also see the most powerful spiritual movement we have ever seen. Huge numbers will be saved from sin. Miracles and healings will become almost commonplace. Thousands will be filled with the Spirit in ongoing fashion. This Great Awakening will touch every part of the country.
People are ready. Sinners are sick of their sin. Christians are weary of their Christian business as usual. People want more! And the Lord will grant them more. [Part 1 of 2]
© 2011 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
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