Come, and let us
return to the LORD;
for He has torn, but
He will heal us;
He has stricken, but
He will bind us up.
After two days He
will revive us;
On the third day He
will raise us up,
that we may live in
His sight.
Let us know, let us
pursue
the knowledge of the
LORD...
Hosea 6: 1 -- 3a
As has been
shown in the previous blogs that the world and the Christian religion has been
greatly influenced by such philosophers as Platoism and Neoplatonism and the
various sects that have emanated from such philosophies. There is a need for Christian to return to
the Lord and if so, he will heal us. It
is said that the first thing to do if one is to make a journey is to take the
first step and then to put 1 foot in front of the other walking towards their
destination. So often Christians sit
idly by waiting for God to do for them what they have been commanded to do and
that they must take action by doing that which has been commanded and not wait
for God to "move" them. When
Jesus healed the man with the conflicted arm: "Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." "And he stretched it out, and it was
restored as a whole as the other" (Matthew 12: 13), but man had to
first, "stretch" on his arm
then he was healed, in other words the man had to do that which was commanded
by God first and then he was healed.
Let us do as Hosea wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; "Let us know, let us pursue the
knowledge of the LORD." It is
when a person deviates from the knowledge of the Lord and devises for himself a
theology which has its foundation upon false philosophical beliefs that the
Christian religion is denigrated and people begin to do things which may seem
good in their site but in every essence contradict the Word of God. Many have succumbed to these false teachings
and can be seen in such events as the Toronto experience, the Azusa experience,
the Bethel Church of Redding’s teaching and practices, the Latter Rain
Movement, the Sozo movement, and the many experiences by such teachings as prosperity
theology, the need for a supernatural revelation to a person that stands
outside the Word of God and makes cause for a person to believe that they are
doing the will of God. Many truth
seeking individuals fell prey and have fallen prey to these heretical
theologies. Manichaeus (Mani, c. 216–276), founded Manicheaism which is similar
to Gnosticism and who developed a very peculiar philosophical system that
attempted to synchronize Christian thought, and Zorastrianism with other
Oriental religious ideas with dualistic philosophy. Mani taught and believed in two opposing eternal principles. The first was primitive man had the
possession of pure light, and that man in emanated from the mother of life who
had interned then emanated from a higher ruler of the Kingdom of light. Secondly there was an opposer to the king of
light and that was a team of darkness who had somehow managed to correct
primitive man sold that man lost part of that light and became a being that
became mean build with light and matter.
Man's soul was linked with the Kingdom of light, but his carnal body had
been brought into Blondie to the Kingdom of darkness. Salvation can only be accomplished by being exposed to the light
who was said to be Christ. Notice this
similarity to Gnosticism whereby it would take a special knowledge, and
enlightenment, to be brought into a new light to find the salvation and the
believe that matter is evil. There
needed to be a liberation and this would be accomplished by the light and that
accomplishment would be done by the constitution of a perfect and priestly
caste. This is also true in Gnosticism
that only be elite who were in light would find salvation. Some churches today teach the very same
thing that you must have this special enlightenment that you must do certain
things if you're to find salvation.
Manichaeism had laid so much caress that matter was evil leading to the
belief that a person must live an ascetic life. And in fact they emphasize the superiority of the un-married
state and looked upon sex as evil. This
emphasis for an ascetic and monastic life, that is, an unmarried state may have
aided the church of a priestly class set aside from the rest of the believers
who are to be considered uninitiated and laymen and for the priest to remain
unmarried, and for others to live this solitary monastic life which can be seen
by the lies of the Desert Fathers, and in the monks and other priests that
became predominant in the Roman Catholic Church. Also, this form of life taught Manichaeism has found its way into
many modern so-called Christian Churches.
In fact for a time even Augustine fell prey to Manichaeism when he was
seeking the truth and this he did for 12 years. After his conversion, Augustine devoted much energy to refuting
it. Maybe you or you know someone who
has an honest heart to seek the truth yet has fallen prey to the heretical
views and need to have the proven knowledge of Scripture talk to them. God will chastise his servants: "And you have forgotten the
exhortation which speaks to you as two sons:’ My son, do not despise the
chastening of the Lord, nor beat discovery when you are reviewed by Him; for
whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives’"
(Hebrews 12: 5 -- 6; cf. Proverbs 3: 11 -- 12). God is calling back into his church all of his children and he
will chasten His children, and if you are not receiving chastening then is God
your father, or are you running away from the chastening of God? The writer of Hebrews under the inspiration
of God to teach us added: "If you
endure chastening, God deals with you as with Sun; for watch son is there room
for a father does not chasten? But if
you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are
illegitimate and not son. Furthermore,
we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in
subjection to the Father loves spirits and live" (Hebrews 12: 7 -- 9)?
Continue to seek Authentic Biblical
Truth, pursue this knowledge by attending your church and taking the time to
listen carefully to what is being talked to the doctrines of the church to the
tenets of the church and be willing to depart from those who are teaching man's
wisdom and not the wisdom of God.
Sunday, the Sabbath for Christians is two days from now: are you
preparing to set time aside for the Lord?
What we'd do and what we believe has a direct affect upon many people,
therefore we have a responsibility to know the truth, "Therefore if the
Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8: 36).
Yet in all these things we are
more than
conquerors
through him who loved us.
Romans 8: 37
Truth In Jesus Christ Leads Us
Richard L. Crumb
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