First the Question: The most carnal saints of the time of the Apostle Paul exercised all of the sign gifts. True or False?
Take a moment to respond at the LLM Question of the Day
And now the answer to the LLM Question of 8-03-2012
Question: The Anathema of God was, and is, pronounced upon the religious preachers who mixed Law with Grace? True or False?
Answer: TRUE! Remember, if ye keep the whole law and offend in ONE point ye are GUILTY OF ALL! This is WHY the Anathema of God was, even as it is today, pronounced upon the religious preachers who mixed Law with Grace. Please read Galatians 1:7-9. Now, out of the 732 responses we received to this question, only 85.7% of you got it right! Therefore, NOW, let us take an in depth look at...
Christian Fundamentalists WAKE UP! Part 2 of 4
Something is wrong with Bible teaching today. We do not obey such commands of the LORD Jesus as we find in Matthew 10:5-8 and we do not give any Scriptural explanation for our negligence or disobedience if we are guilty of either. If ever the LORD Jesus meant what He said, He meant it when He said and gave the command, "Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give."
Why is it that these dear brethren who claim to obey the orders of Christ wholly ignore these plain commands? They do not do one single thing included in this Divine command, and they cannot. They also, do not do one single thing to obey Ephesians 3:9. They could and they should. But instead they malign, ridicule, condemn, and dis-fellowship other brethren who use Ephesians 3:9 to show why they make no attempt to obey the great commission of Matthew 10:5-8, which was God's program in a former Dispensation, but which has no place in the LORD's present program, the Dispensation of Grace for members of the Body of Christ. Is it not a mark of ignorance for any Christian to say, "I am not a dispensationalist?”
So, let’s now quote some other commandments of the LORD Jesus and ask you if they are to be obeyed in this present dispensation?
SOME OTHER COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
"Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth."
"And He said unto His disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on,"
"And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind."
"But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.”
"And He said unto them. Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece."
"If I then, your LORD and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet."
"And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away."
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal."
How interesting it would be to examine these type of Pastors and Preachers, in the presence of witnesses and say, "I understand you bitterly condemn other men who are saved by the Faith in the precious shed blood of the LORD Jesus Christ, because you say they do not obey the commands of the LORD Jesus Christ."
Now a few questions:
1) Have you sold your property and earthly possessions?
2) Do you take any thought for your life or lay up any treasures on earth? Have you a savings account in the bank?
3) Do you wash each other's feet?
4) Do you put any money in your purse when you go away to hold a religious meeting?
5) Do you take more than one coat?
6) Do you love your enemies or do you hate men that disagree with your faulty doctrine?
7) Do you give to him that asketh of thee?
I wonder if these brethren would be satisfied to have our Heavenly Father forgive them no more than they forgive Christians who disagree with their water baptism theories. They should really tremble when they read Matthew 18:34-35. But they can be SAVED from trembling by reading the "Grace" message of forgiveness in Ephesians 4:32. What a difference!
Yes, it would be interesting to ask the two brethren, to whom we have referred in part 1 of this series of messages, why they do not obey Luke 12:33 and urge their hearers to do likewise, "Sell that ye have and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth."
"Neither was there any among them that lacked; for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles' feet; and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need." Acts 4:34-35. "And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need." Acts 2:45.
These very same type of brethren erroneously teach that this present "Dispensation of Grace" began on the day of Pentecost. They get into no end of trouble because of this blunder. They consider that the first Church under the Apostle Peter's authority, was the ideal Christian Church. BUT, then the message and program should also be considered ideal, and they should preach Acts 2:38 and practice Acts 4:34-35. But they wholly disregard the division of property.
They present no Scriptural explanation for the elimination of many of the practices of Christ and His apostles from their spiritual program. They do not even offer an apology. And yet they condemn and ridicule and malign and dis-fellowship other men of God who likewise eliminate certain Kingdom messages, ordinances, and ceremonies from the present "Dispensation of Grace" but who present an intelligent Scriptural explanation for the difference between the program of The LORD Jesus Christ and the Twelve, and the program which the RISEN LORD Jesus Christ in Heaven gave through the Apostle Paul to SUPERCEDE His "Kingdom of Heaven" program. One of the very important commands which the LORD would have His servants obey is 2 Corinthians 4:2, "not handling the Word of God deceitfully.”
Now think for a moment of an intelligent man of God, who is considered an outstanding leader among Fundamentalists, a man, regarded as a gifted Bible teacher, making the statement that any person who does not obey the commands of Jesus Christ is a servant of the devil. If this brother really believes what he says, the very first command of the LORD Jesus he should obey is Matthew 5:23-24. He knows his brother has something against him and he has not gone to that brother to be reconciled. To him that knoweth to do right, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. If asked why he does not obey this, he would have to confess his disobedience or prove that that command belonged to a different dispensation.
Recently this same brother, who will remain nameless, is doing something that he never did before. He is coming out strong for the "Our Father" prayer. He states that this is the command of Christ. But the command we have just quoted is in the same sermon of Christ. Therefore, is it not handling the Word of God deceitfully to select what you please from the Sermon on the Mount and wholly ignore other commands? To say the least it is very inconsistent to practice one command and ignore the other.
THE KINGDOM SETTING OF THE KINGDOM PRAYER
Now, let us take a look at the "Kingdom of Heaven" setting of all these commands. The commands are in Matthew 5, and Matthew 6. Now note carefully Matthew 4:17-23, and Matthew 10:7-8:
"From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.", "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.”, "And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils; freely ye have received, freely give."
Does any intelligent preacher and teacher of the Grace of God, preach "the kingdom of heaven is at hand"? Certainly not! However, they definitely preach and teach that "that kingdom of heaven" has been postponed and that God's message today is Titus 2:11, "For the Grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men." Thus they claim to obey 2 Timothy 2:15 and prove that they are indeed dispensationalists.
So I ask, are these brothers servants of Satan because they do not obey Matthew 10:8? Suppose some evangelist would stand in his pulpit and condemn Dispensationalism, and say with the radio messenger to whom we have referred prior, "I believe the whole Bible is for us to obey and practice. So, in the series of meetings, which I am to conduct here we shall take the message and program of Matthew 10:8 during my stay". The evangelist would not even be permitted to finish his first message. Why? Because, "the kingdom of heaven" is not at hand. The brother couldn't heal the sick, or couldn’t raise the dead, or cast out demons, or cleanse the lepers. Did not the LORD give that command, and mean it? Did not the apostles obey it?
However, Is it for us today? How about the credentials of a Christian in Mark 16:17-18? Who practices those signs in this Age of Grace? What became of those signs? God has an answer. God's servants should know God's answer!
If a Christian worker owns several suits of clothes, has a savings account in the bank, owns real estate, stores fuel and food in the cellar for the winter, and refuses to give money to someone who asks him, is he not breaking the commandments of Christ? Does that mean that he is a servant of Satan?
Note the positive and definite command of Christ in Luke 24:49, "Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." Since those disciples lived before the advent of the Holy Spirit and we live in this Day of Grace, is any kind of a tarrying meeting, in any city, in order today? Absolutely NOT! When we have the Scriptural explanation as to why we do not have to tarry for the Holy Spirit, do we not have God's Dispensational Principle by which we interpret, appropriate, and apply the Scriptures in obedience to 2 Timothy 2:15? "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth."
Again referring to that petition in the "Our Father" prayer, (which is, Dispensationally, a "kingdom" prayer), "forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors", how could either of the brethren to whom we have referred ever get into heaven, if God condemned them for their unforgiving spirit as well as for their utter inconsistencies in taking two or three of Christ's commands and entirely ignoring thirty or forty of them?
If ye keep the whole law and offend in one point ye are guilty of all. Remember, was not the Anathema of God pronounced upon the religious preachers who mixed Law with Grace? Galatians 1:7-9. Note carefully Matthew 6:15, "But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
Now in the name of the LORD, I challenge these types of Pastors, Preachers, teachers, and brethren of today to prove by the scriptures, that they were sincere or Scriptural in the statements they made, "I take the whole Bible" "it is all for me to obey I do not divide the Bible up, and give some to the Jews and some to the Gentiles".
I am reminded of Shakespeare's words, "my words fly up, my thoughts remain below; words without thoughts never to heaven go." (The King in Hamlet).
Men of God should be very careful about misrepresenting the LORD's WORD and His Ministers.
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In Ephesians 1:13 the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul declares that men are saved and sealed by hearing and BELIEVING the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your Salvation. Therefore, here, now, is declared unto you the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your Salvation: "that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. BELIEVE today. The time is short.
So There You Have it!
Spread this message to everyone you know, far and wide.
Grace be to you and peace, from God: our Father, and The LORD Jesus Christ.
In The LORD Jesus Christ,
The Lion and Lamb Ministry
Pastor David Picos, D.D.
Minister and Ambassador for Christ in the Ministry of Reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18-20)
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