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THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE
In the garden, God told Adam that he could eat the fruit of every tree.
Only the fruit of the tree of knowledge was forbidden to Adam Gen 2:16-17. Now the serpent came to tempt the man's
wife, declaring that, when ye eat, your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil Gen 3:4-5.
The woman's eyes were opened for she did eat of the fruit. By taking of the fruit she had decided good from
evil, right from wrong for herself. From that point on, she would decide for herself what was right or wrong, she would
be a god in her own eyes.
From this point on, throughout history, we find human beings deciding for themselves
what is right or wrong. In so doing many different persons have come up with many different ideas of right and wrong.
The history of man has been written in the blood of those who thought that they were right and were trying to force others
to accept their beliefs.
To put an end to such conflicts, it is absolutely essential that a Supreme Authority,
accepted, respected and obeyed by everyone, make all decisions about what is right or wrong. That is the only
way to the peace and happiness that all persons crave. That Supreme Authority is God.
God has an ABSOLUTE
RIGHT to this position of Supreme Authority. First by virtue of being the Father Creator of all physical life. Second
by virtue of the vast wisdom born of infinite life and experience. Third, by the simple fact that man has utterly failed and
has proved totally unable to discern right from wrong by himself.
WE NEED GOD! Like any young child needs
it's parents. We may think that we are able, but we simply cannot take care of ourselves. WE NEED A FATHER
to lead and guide us and teach us how to live and get along with each other. Eve and Adam thought that they could decide
things for themselves and so rejected their Father Creator. All history since then has been a bloody and graphic demonstration
of how wrong they were. Mankind cannot find the way, we cannot discern between right and wrong, we need HELP, we need
someone to show us the way. Only when all peoples realize this and are ready to humble themselves before their Creator
will they begin to follow His instructions leading to peace.
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BINDING AND LOOSING
In Mat 16:19 our Lord said "And I will give unto thee the keys of
the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on
earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Through the ages, many have come quoting these words and claiming that they,
as heirs of Peter, have the power from Christ to change God's commandments. On the basis of this claim they have
attempted to change times and laws Dan 7:25,. This is the sole authority by which the Roman Catholic church
has changed sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. It is the authority used by many men to change many things. But does this
verse really convey authority to men, to overrule God's word?
Jesus said "if thou wilt enter into life,
KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS" Mat 19:17. He also said that only those who keep the commandments will have a right to the
tree of life Rev 22:14. How could He say these things and then give men authority to change those commandments at will,
rendering them meaningless? What did He really mean by binding and loosing anyway?
The answer is found in
Mat 18:15-18. Here Christ tells us to exhaust all methods of resolving disputes after which we may appeal to the authority
of the church. Here He explains that the church has authority to make binding decisions regarding disputes when requested
to do so. Binding and loosing is NOT about power to change God's law. It IS about the power of the church
to make binding decisions BASED ON GOD'S LAW! It is about men sincerely seeking Godly help in resolving serious
disputes by appealing to those who are older, wiser and more experienced in the knowledge of God. It IS about wisely
applying and enforcing God's commandments, NOT about changing or doing away with those commandments!
Many have argued about whether only Peter had the power to bind and loose and whether he was the chief apostle.
Read the context of Mat 18:15-20. You will find that the matter will be bound when two or three agree. In the
final analysis, the whole company of believers, including all the apostles, were the disciples of Jesus Christ.
It was JESUS CHRIST who was the chief apostle in those days Heb 3:1, and it is JESUS CHRIST who has been the chief apostle
down through the ages, He is still the chief apostle today and will continue to be forever! If any two or three members
of the body make a decision based upon God's Word and will, if that decision is completely consistent with God's law
and will, then Jesus Christ and the Holy Father in heaven will make it binding.
THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM
What are the keys to the Kingdom of God? A key unlocks and opens a door. What opens the door to God? John
writes, Joh 10:9; that Jesus said, I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved. What is the
key that unlocks the door of Christ? And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He that
saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 1 Joh 2:3-4. And whatsoever we
ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight 1 Joh 3:22.
WHAT are we asking for? For ACCESS to the Father through the door of Christ and the key to that door is to; KEEP
THE COMMANDMENTS of God. Rev 3:8; because, you have kept my word (my commandments) and have not denied my name (my authority).
I have set before thee an open door. Thus giving us access to the Father and the kingdom of God. The true Philadelphian
follows God and His Christ, keeping their commandments, and acknowledging their authority as supreme. They follow men
ONLY as those men follow God, constantly checking their pronouncements against the ultimate authority of the Word Of God.
As Peter said to the high priest, We ought to obey God rather than men Acts 5:29. To look up only those scriptures quoted
to us, is simply following men, doing what they say. We need to search the scriptures diligently, looking up everything
on each subject with prayer and an open mind.
Sin is the transgression of the law 1 Joh 3:4. Sin comes between
man and God Isaiah 59:2. Christ paid the price for sin Joh 1:29. If we repent and sin no more Joh 5:14, Joh 8:11, 1 Cor 15:34
and 1 Joh 3:9, the door of Christ's mediation opens 1 Ti 2:5 and Heb 12:24 giving us access to the Father Rom 8:15.
It is the removal of the sin that separates us from God, by the application of the sacrifice of Christ, that places us in
peaceful harmony with Him. He can then reveal spiritual things to us including His true gospel, which we may then preach
to the world. The true gospel is about repentance from sin as well as about the kingdom of God. For what is a kingdom
without citizens? If there is no repentance, there are no citizens! Truely, CHRIST is the DOOR to the kingdom!
And, the key to that door, which gives us entrance to the kingdom, is the gospel of repentance and forgiveness through Jesus
Christ!
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WHO IS THE MASTER
I have heard some men say "I am a minister of Jesus Christ, I can do
anything I want and God has to back me up". How valid is that position?
It is written Know ye not, that
to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey? Rom 6:16. I say to you, IF you were
the servants of Jesus Christ, you would be obeying Him, you would be doing what He wants, NOT anything that you want.
IF you are doing whatever you want, you are NOT the servants of Christ, but the servants of your own passions. Now if
you are only doing whatever you want and yet say that God has to back you up, have you not made yourself MASTER and God your
SERVANT? In saying that God must support what you want, you have EXAULTED YOURSELF ABOVE GOD!!! NO
SIR; YOU CANNOT DO WHATEVER YOU WANT AND STILL BE A SERVANT OF JESUS CHRIST!! NO SIR; IT IS NOT GOD'S
JOB TO BACK YOU UP!! IT IS OUR JOB TO BACK HIM UP!!
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TO DECEIVE A PEOPLE
It is very difficult to deceive a body of converted believers, when they
all accept the common standard of holy scripture and study it diligently. If however, these people can be convinced
that God works only through one man and that God's spirit cannot lead them, except through that man, then
that man has come between them and God. When this happens, it is only necessary to deceive that one man and all
the rest will follow him into the error. A recent and classic example, is the way in which Joseph Tkach was able
to lead many thousands astray. Herbert Armstrong taught emphatically, for many decades, against the primacy of
Peter heresy, but by 1976, he was announcing in all congregations, that he was the heir of Peter,
with ALL POWER to sit in judgement of God's law, binding and loosing as he saw fit. This led to much doctrinal back
and forth, while the ensuing disasters, speak of God's displeasure with him. He had been
convinced, gradually over a period of years, to accept the heresy that he had so powerfully condemned. Led astray
by flatterers, led principally by SR and HH. In a strange irony, thousands of others left Tkach claiming their
faithfulness to the teachings of Herbert Armstrong, while defying his main teaching of the previous several years, that
the human leader had the power to make any changes he wanted. They had to defy his teachings to remain loyal to
his teachings!! In all this, WHO WAS LOYAL TO GOD?
This is a great evil. For allowing anyone
or anything to come between us and God is the sin of IDOLATRY. It is this evil, of following men blindly and neglect
of the scripture that has led to the chaos and confusion in the church today. It is not enough, to just read what you
are told. Study all scripture on any one subject. We have gotten far too lazy in our study habits.
On
the other hand. If all the people are diligently studying the Word of God to prove all things, they will save themselves
and do a great service to their human leader. For he will benefit from their input .
To paraphrase an old
quote; My friend, right or wrong. If right, to keep him right, if wrong to make him right. We do neither ourselves
nor our friends and leaders any service by following them into error. The ONLY refuge from error is the HOLY
SPIRIT which shall lead you into ALL TRUTH John 16:13. The HOLY SPIRIT is given to those who OBEY GOD Acts 5:32. Study
the holy scriptures, prayerfully and diligently and keep all the commandments of God, for in them you will find life.
THE MAN OF SIN
The son of perdition, who opposes and exaulteth himself above all that is called God 2 Thess
2:3-4, will soon be revealed. Do you really think that he will be able to deceive anyone by claiming that he is God?
Of course not. The deceit is much more subtle than that. He will say that he is the heir of Peter, having the
power to bind and loose God's laws, thereby making himself THE SUPREME JUDGE over God! He will substitute
his own will and the traditions of his church for God's word Mk 7:13. Since this man will also have the power to
do miracles, he will be believed by many. He will APPEAR, to the whole world, as the ultimate authority, sitting at
the head of God's church. Only those who accept the holy bible and ALMIGHTY GOD as their ultimate authority will
avoid this deception, only they will understand that he is a false god leading a church of deceived souls. We need to
STUDY, to show thyself approved unto God 2 Ti 2:15. We need to TEST those who claim to be apostles or men of God
Rev 2:2. We need to PROVE ALL THINGS by God's word 1 Th 5:21. And finally, we need to be DOERS of the word and not
just hearers James 1:22 for only the DOERS of the law shall be justified Rom 2:13. Friends, the final man of sin is not the
only deceiver in this world. We cannot just pray to the Father, Your Will be done, we must go out and PLEASE
Him by DOING His Will and KEEPING His Commandments. For it is written Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and HIM
ONLY SHALT THOU SERVE Mat 4:10.
CHURCH AUTHORITY
Some may conclude, upon reading this article, that
I am against all human authority, on matters of religion. Nothing could be further from the truth. Please read
the study paper on, Church Authority, for more information.
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