Jesus blasted the religious leaders of His day calling them "blind guides" (Matt. 23:24). He further stated that if the blind lead the blind, they both will fall into the ditch. (Matt. 15:14) And just what was that ditch the religious leaders and the nation of Israel fell into? Jesus tells us in the following two verses: Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered (Luke 11:52). And ...Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time? Now what has the "key of knowledge" and "ye do not discern this time" got to do with falling into the ditch? That question is answered by the Lord in Luke 19:42...Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. The ditch Israel had fallen into was the ditch of ignorance of their dispensational reason for existing. God had a specific purpose and plan for the nation of Israel. Since the religious leaders of Israel were ignorant of that plan and purpose, they were guilty of "taking away the key of knowledge" and thus leading the nation in the ditch. Therefore Jesus equated "the key of knowledge", "discerning the time" and "this thy day" with understanding the dispensation you live in. In John chapter 3 Nicodemus confronted Jesus about His teachings and His miracles to back them up and concludeed that Jesus is God. THIS IS A FOX NEWS ALERT!!! And just how long did it take you Nicodemus, as the teacher of Israel, to figure that one out? Jesus came preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom and He pointed out to the teacher of Israel---you have not seen it or entered it; despite the fact that you are a religious leader. Nicodemus and the nation of Israel needed to be "born again".
Rather than learn from Israel's "ditch experience", the church the body of Christ has repeated it. Other than brief periods of reformation during the last 2,000 years, the church has remained ignorant of and oblivious to the "revelation of the mystery" and the unique ministry of the Apostle Paul. When Martin Luther took his stand against the heresies of the Roman Catholic Church in the sixteenth century, he did so as a result of rediscovering the message of grace as proclaimed by the Apostle Paul. Although Martin Luther never learned or taught the "revelation of the mystery" as proclaimed by the Apostle Paul throughout the Roman Empire in the first century AD, he did embrace several of the individual grace doctrines that are a part of the "dispensation of grace". For instance, Luther taught that salvation is not earned by good deeds but received only as a free gift of God's grace through faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ. Compare that with what Peter said on the Day of Pentecost when asked, "What can we do about the crucifixion of Jesus?" "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2:38) Luther also challenged the authority of the pope by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge. This too is a Pauline doctrine... For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. (I Thess. 2:13) The Catholic Church took Peter as their source of authority based on Peter's confession that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God in Matthew 16: 18 & 19...And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
The studies and materials on this web site are offered as a clarion call to Scriptural reformation of the church. It is not a call to reform the style of the church but the substance. A change in style is not what is needed. We have seen where "style points" have led the church---casual dress, coffee shops, rock concerts, interpretive dance teams, praise teams, rappers, female preachers, high tech sights and sounds to titillate the senses. The church today is trying to model itself after Hollywood more so than the Lord Jesus Christ! Who knows where it will all end.
I'm calling for something entirely different---a reformation of substance based on a return to the Word of God rightly divided. Mark it down, reformation is hard work. The book of Philippians assures us this is so. We also have 2,000 years of church history that proves this work of the ministry is pretty much not going to get done. Why do we have to recover the revelation of the mystery? Who lost it? Why do we have to recover something that should have never been lost?
Rather than learn from Israel's "ditch experience", the church the body of Christ has repeated it. Other than brief periods of reformation during the last 2,000 years, the church has remained ignorant of and oblivious to the "revelation of the mystery" and the unique ministry of the Apostle Paul. When Martin Luther took his stand against the heresies of the Roman Catholic Church in the sixteenth century, he did so as a result of rediscovering the message of grace as proclaimed by the Apostle Paul. Although Martin Luther never learned or taught the "revelation of the mystery" as proclaimed by the Apostle Paul throughout the Roman Empire in the first century AD, he did embrace several of the individual grace doctrines that are a part of the "dispensation of grace". For instance, Luther taught that salvation is not earned by good deeds but received only as a free gift of God's grace through faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ. Compare that with what Peter said on the Day of Pentecost when asked, "What can we do about the crucifixion of Jesus?" "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2:38) Luther also challenged the authority of the pope by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge. This too is a Pauline doctrine... For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. (I Thess. 2:13) The Catholic Church took Peter as their source of authority based on Peter's confession that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God in Matthew 16: 18 & 19...And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
[19] 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. When it comes to the doctrine of authority, the Catholic Church is quite clear on what they believe:
"The doctrine of Papal Infallibility does not mean the Pope is always right in all his personal teachings. Catholics are quite aware that, despite his great learning, the Pope is very much a human being and therefore liable to commit human error. On some subjects, like sports and manufacturing, his judgment is liable to be very faulty. The doctrine simply means that the Pope is divinely protected from error when, acting in his official capacity as chief shepherd of the Catholic fold, he promulgates a decision which is binding on the conscience of all Catholics throughout the world. In other words, his infallibility is limited to his specialty--the Faith of Jesus Christ." (http://www.columbia.edu/cu/augustine/a/faq-cc.html#q6)
While I thank God for the courage of Martin Luther and the great doctrinal reforms he accomplished, he did not complete the job. The great reformers in church history gave a clear warning that Christ's Church having been reformed, it should forever remain in a state of reformation if it was to remain faithful to God. Unfortunately, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ throughout history has acted more like lemmings than "ambassadors", "good soldiers" and "light bearers". While we celebrate the lives of the great reformers, the need for church reform is desperately needed today. The following commercial for Apple computers was first aired during the 1985 Superbowl. I think it captures the spirit of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ today. We are blindly following our blind religious leaders over the cliff to our spiritual destruction. According to I Cor. 3: 13 we will give an account to the Lord for the quality of our work "of what sort it is" rather than the quantity of our work. While America has seen the rise of mega-churches, Christian schools, Christian bookstores, Christian radio and TV, Christian seminars, conferences and rock stars for pastors, what are the measurable results? Epidemic rates of violent crime, drug and alcohol abuse, divorce and debt. Satan has done a masterful job of keeping the church blinded to the "revelation of the mystery". Having our eyes open to this essential truth will result in the church becoming established/stablished (Romans 1:11 & 16:25) and effective ministers to a "present evil world"."The doctrine of Papal Infallibility does not mean the Pope is always right in all his personal teachings. Catholics are quite aware that, despite his great learning, the Pope is very much a human being and therefore liable to commit human error. On some subjects, like sports and manufacturing, his judgment is liable to be very faulty. The doctrine simply means that the Pope is divinely protected from error when, acting in his official capacity as chief shepherd of the Catholic fold, he promulgates a decision which is binding on the conscience of all Catholics throughout the world. In other words, his infallibility is limited to his specialty--the Faith of Jesus Christ." (http://www.columbia.edu/cu/augustine/a/faq-cc.html#q6)
According to Galatians chapter 2 Peter met with Paul and acknowledged that a dispensational change was taking place. What started out as a meeting to reprove Paul for perverting the gospel of the circumcision turned out to be an affirmation of Paul and his message of grace. In other words, "the little flock" led by Peter made the transition from Law to Grace---have you? Are you Petrine or Pauline? Peter made the transition according to II Peter 3:15 & 16. I think it is noteworthy that the beloved Apostle Peter concludes his earthly ministry by reflecting on his "beloved brother Paul" and concedes the fact that there are "some things hard to be understood" in the writings of the Apostle Paul. Have you made the transition from Peter (law) to Paul (grace)? Now just in case you think I am picking on the Catholic Church---well I am! And before you go calling me a bunch of unsanctified names, check out what the Catholic Church says about me: "From the fact that the Church is God's means of giving grace, is it is clear that there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church" (www.ewtn.com---official website of the Catholic Church) They summarily pronounce me lost and on my way to hell because I am outside the Catholic Church. What reprobates!
The studies and materials on this web site are offered as a clarion call to Scriptural reformation of the church. It is not a call to reform the style of the church but the substance. A change in style is not what is needed. We have seen where "style points" have led the church---casual dress, coffee shops, rock concerts, interpretive dance teams, praise teams, rappers, female preachers, high tech sights and sounds to titillate the senses. The church today is trying to model itself after Hollywood more so than the Lord Jesus Christ! Who knows where it will all end.
I'm calling for something entirely different---a reformation of substance based on a return to the Word of God rightly divided. Mark it down, reformation is hard work. The book of Philippians assures us this is so. We also have 2,000 years of church history that proves this work of the ministry is pretty much not going to get done. Why do we have to recover the revelation of the mystery? Who lost it? Why do we have to recover something that should have never been lost?
Sometimes a team gives up when they get behind in the score. Sometimes a team plays better when they fall behind. Whether you are a winner or a quitter is determined by how much rightly divided grace doctrine you know. God wants leaders not just followers in the dispensation of the grace of God. It is hard for a major league baseball team to win a pennant when their key players are on the disabled list. We have too many Christians on the disabled list. We need bold leaders today! We need our A Team on the field for the Lord. You can’t do much on the disabled list. What puts one on the disabled list spiritually? Ignorance of grace truth, rightly divided.
In Ephesians 6:18-20 Paul asked that they pray for him that he might speak boldly. In Ephesians 3:9-10 he challenges us to make all men see the revelation of the mystery, to the intent, by the church, that the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known the manifold wisdom of God. This is a huge task and it is directly dependent on how much we know about the dispensation of grace.
May God use these studies to take the blinders off (Eph. 3:9) and cause you to "stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free and be not entangled again with a yoke of bondage" (Gal. 5:1). Men and rivers are made crooked by the same process---taking the path of least resistance!!! Don't live like a Lemming.
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