Posted in Authority • Daily Living • Hermeneutics • Hypocrisy • Law • New Covenant • New Testament • Old Covenant • Old Testament • Prophecy • Tradition • Translational Bias

Burden

By Comments:

Jeremiah 23:33–36 ESV. “When one of this people, or a prophet or a priest asks you, ‘What is the burden of the Lord?’ you shall say to them, ‘You are the burden, and I will cast you off, declares the Lord.’ And as for the prophet, priest, or one of the people who says, ‘The burden of the Lord,’ I will punish that man and his household. Thus shall you say, every one to his neighbor and every one to his brother, ‘What has the Lord answered?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ But ‘the burden of the Lord’ you shall mention no more, for the burden is every man’s own word, and you pervert the words of the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God.”

God tells Jeremiah about false prophets in chapter 23, and focuses on the term “burden of the Lord” that they used. Apparently, the false ones would use this term when they were prophesying words that God did not give them. In the process, they would pervert the actual words spoken by the Lord, using lying dreams. Real prophets could use the term (see Zechariah) but not people.

The words of the living God they perverted were those of the covenant made at Mount Sinai through Moses as Jeremiah recorded starting in chapter 11. We can apply these statements to anyone who claims to speak for God or who says they teach His Word yet perverts those words into meanings they don’t possess. They don’t have to say “the burden of the Lord” to speak falsely. The burden is “every man’s own word” which means the same as doing (or saying) what is right in their own eyes.

 God says, “Let him who has my word speak my word faithfully” (23:28). If we don’t speak His Word with His meanings or applications then we are not speaking faithfully. To speak faithfully is to speak His Words of the covenant instead of twisting them to dismiss the real meaning. If we do not speak faithfully, we are the burden of the Lord and He will take steps to punish. We may not see a direct connection to our faithlessness but there will be a connection nonetheless.

Labeling sections of His Word as “old testament” and “new testament” (or just old and new) are the start of becoming the burden of the Lord. He didn’t label them thus, and neither should we. His Words are not split up in that way. Teaching that the crucifixion changed that which cannot be changed is another way of becoming the burden of the Lord. Creating a “new thing” called the Church which then grabs authority for itself in changing the Word continues the burden and makes it worse. Other burdens are in splitting the Word into “Jewish” and “Gentile” sections, insisting that if people disagree with the Church they are heretics and cast out of congregations.

Hosea has a lot to say about priests and prophets who destroy people for “lack of knowledge,” which is the “law of your God.” He doesn’t use the term “burden,” but it’s clear that God has the same issue of a burden as described in Jeremiah 23 (and other places).

Hosea 4:6 ESV. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

The burden in Hosea is the same people who pervert the Word of the Lord delivered by Moses spoken of by Jeremiah. The leaders of Israel are the ones who are supposed to be living and teaching God’s Word and were failing to do either. They became the burden, and led the people of Israel to become a burden also.

It’s not just the priests and prophets of way-back-when either. Anyone at any time that teaches us to forget the Law of our God fits right into the category of burden. People are still destroyed for lack of knowledge of the Words of God, as those words are perverted into ear-tickling messages of peace when there is no peace without all of His words and His exact meaning.

Jeremiah 8:8, 11 ESV. “How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us’? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie…They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.

Jesus had much to say to the scribes (lying pens) and other hypocritical leaders of the Church. Yes, I know I’m conflating the Jews with the Church but it’s obvious they’re the same lying organizations. Jesus calls “traditions” that contradict His Words as false, which puts them in the same category as “burden.”

Matthew 15:3–6 ESV. He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.

You can also refer to Luke 7 for a second view of these types of conversations.

Mixing false traditions with the actual Word of God is another way the lying pens of the scribes turn His Words into burdens. Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:2 and 2 Thessalonians 2:15 says something about traditions he delivered to those people, but we have to go by the rest of his words also as he shoots down traditions that only vaguely resemble God’s traditions.

Colossians 2:8, 18 ESV. See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ…Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels…  

Human tradition which follows the elemental spirits of the world are to be avoided, just like we avoid the false teachings of rabbis, pastors and priests. Not all of these leaders speak only lies, but mix a little of God’s Word with a whole lot of burdens never taught by our Messiah Yeshua or our Father in heaven. We are encouraged to ignore those that depart from the Truth. Shalom.

Posted in Church • Daily Living • Law • New Covenant • Old Covenant • Promise The

Covenant

By Comments:

The word “covenant” is mentioned in the ESV Bible about 325 times. Sometimes it refers to the rainbow after the flood (Genesis 9:13), sometimes to the Abraham covenant in Genesis 15 and the confirmation of the covenant by circumcision in Genesis 17. Other times it is referring to a covenant between two people such as Abraham and Abimelech (Genesis 21). Sometimes too, there was a covenant even when the word isn’t used, such as the covenant in the Garden between Adam and God for avoiding one particular fruit (and thereby avoiding death). But mostly it’s the covenant made between God and Israel at Mount Sinai.

A covenant is a legal agreement with stipulations for performance by each party and penalties for breaking it, like a contract. However, if there are no stipulations for one party, then it is a “promise” because there is no legal enforcement for that party. For instance, the rainbow covenant with Noah after the flood not only doesn’t have any penalties for God if He didn’t perform His part, there is no way to enforce penalties on God anyway. He just said He would do something, and put His bow in the clouds as a sign of His commitment.

The covenant with Israel at Sinai did have stipulations for both parties. Israel was to follow the terms of the covenant and receive blessings, or break it and experience curses. In exchange, God would be their God and Shepherd, leading, protecting and blessing them in every way. By that point, God had already demonstrated His abilities in saving, protecting and blessing Israel in many powerful ways. All Israel had to do was stay on the path and do what God had laid out for them. He would live in their midst and blessings would flow as they followed all the terms of their side of the covenant. However, they refused many times and in many ways, leading to the curses warned about by God and their ultimate expulsion from the Land.

Before allowing Babylon to defeat Judah (the ten northern tribes called Israel had already been defeated by the Assyrians about a hundred years before) Jeremiah is told by God that the banishment would last 70 years and that there would be a new covenant between Him and Israel.

Jeremiah 31:31–34 ESV. “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Ezekiel, a contemporary of Jeremiah, also speaks of this new covenant (Ezekiel 11:19) along with giving the united Israel a heart transplant (also 36:26) and a new spirit. Part of this new covenant includes the God’s Laws written on the new heart, and all will obey. Jesus tells His disciples during the Passover dinner before His crucifixion that one of the cups of wine they share is the realization of this new covenant.

Luke 22:20 ESV. And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

The phrase “new covenant” used by Jesus here is καινὴ διαθήκη (transliterated kainόs diathēkē) meaning literally a refreshed agreement. Perhaps we could even use the more modern “new and improved” phrase. It is not new in the sense of something that hasn’t existed before and is now newly created. Jesus was referring to Jeremiah (notice He didn’t have to explain it to the disciples) and the power of His blood to write His Laws (including those given by Him on Mount Sinai) on a new heart of flesh.

The “new thing” called The Church, created by imagination about two to three hundred years A.D., has hijacked the application of the new covenant for itself, but has made it mean something other than what our Messiah intends. The Church of course is all the groups and organizations claiming to be part of this new thing, not just one particular group. Their interpretation of the new covenant is anti-Jewish (though God says it is between Him and Israel) and completely ignores the texts that speak explicitly of the terms. Their leaders say that the death of Jesus eliminated the Law and they don’t have to follow God’s Words anymore. In place of the Law, they have created all sorts of vague, ear-tickling and feelings-based guidelines focusing on doing what is right in their own eyes rather than the literal Law written on a new heart of flesh.

The New Testament, falsely named by the Church, is neither a covenant nor the new covenant. None of the collected books use the term “new covenant” except for the words of Jesus (also recorded in 1 Corinthians 11:25), an application by Paul in 2 Corinthians 3:6 to believers as ministers of the new covenant, and several mentions by the author of the book of Hebrews quoting Jeremiah. Hebrews speaks of the “old covenant” being obsolete, not because the Law was eliminated (Jesus said Scripture cannot be broken John 10:35) but because it was on the outside chiseled on stone tablets, instead of on the inside written on a new heart of flesh.

Believers enter in to this new covenant and are given a heart transplant in order to follow all the instructions of our Father and our Messiah in love and spirit. Jesus died a horrible death and was resurrected as the ultimate and defining act of love. Accepting His sacrifice and His lordship is to become part of His household and kingdom along with living exactly as He directs with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. If we falter, we have an advocate in heaven who intercedes for us, so we confess our failure and work out our salvation with fear and trembling. All praise and thanks to the One who has set us free from sin and death to serve the God of light, life and love.

Shalom.

Posted in Adultery • Balance • Church • Comfort • Fruit • Gospel • Law • Love • Messianic Movement • New Covenant • New Testament • Old Testament • Translational Bias

Body Search

By Comments:

It’s not a title of a movie mystery. I’m not going to write about police officer’s arrest techniques. No gloved hands are going to be used in this search. The Body for which I’m searching in modern times is the one presented in the Bible. Luke helps me out with the search for the Body by describing how it acts.

Acts 2:42–47 ESV. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

According to this description, the Body of Christ devotes itself to the apostle’s teaching and fellowship, taking meals together and praying with one another. We can get an idea of the composition of the apostle’s teaching by reading the letters they wrote. For instance, Paul (though not one of the twelve) tells believers not to go beyond what is written.

1 Corinthians 4:6 ESV. I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.

Their letters weren’t written until the late ’60’s A.D. or so, and they weren’t collected and called the New Testament by the Church until about 200 A.D. So Paul is commanding the teaching of the misnamed Old Testament. The apostle’s teaching from the Law, Prophets and Writings (called the Tanakh or Torah) was energizing the actions of the Body at that time. Peter adds that false prophets and teachers from among you will secretly bring in destructive heresies, and through their sensuality, the way of righteousness is blasphemed (2 Peter 2:2).  He continues:

2 Peter 2:20–21 ESV. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.

The “way of righteousness” from which they will turn back, he says, is the “holy commandment” delivered to them. The holy commandment is also known as the Tanakh, which includes the new covenant or the law written on a soft heart of flesh (Hebrews 8:8-12 quoting Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Ezekiel 11:19 and 36:26). Peter’s part of the Body of Christ exhibited this new covenant.

Obviously, “all who believed” who were in the Body at the time of Peter were behaving very differently than those in churches we see today. Given the difference in behavior between the believers back then and churches now, we might be led to think the Body doesn’t exist in the present. But it’s still around, it’s just scattered here and there, and mostly represented by individuals. Believers who are devoted to the apostle’s teaching (the Torah, meaning “instruction”) have been silenced or driven out of most organizations due to the twisted, ear-tickling teachings of what Jesus (and Paul) called ravenous wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Matthew 7:15 ESV. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

Acts 20:29–30 ESV. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.

2 Timothy 4:3 ESV. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,

Those of the Body who really want to follow all of the apostle’s teachings on God’s precious, loving Words cannot associate with these ravenous wolves in sheep’s clothing. If the Body member tries to stay in a congregation or organization that is not following the new covenant, but insists on following it themselves, they are labeled divisive people and asked to leave.

By the time I was 40, I had been a part of about 15 different churches in 10 denominations (and been asked to leave on occasion), so I’ve had quite a bit of experience. I was a youth leader twice, an elder in a Bible church once, and taught adult Sunday school. For about the last 25 years we have not gone at all, anywhere, mostly because we aren’t allowed. It would be nice if we could find a place, but we “gather together” with our family and just follow the Word. We’ve found closeness with each other, our Father and Messiah, which is lacking in most congregations anyway. I also find that I’m much more able to get along with those of different beliefs or even non-belief than I did when I was simply a churchgoer, even if they can’t get along with me. We are part of the Body without attending a church filled with ravenous wolves.

Many, many churches are biased towards doing what is right in their own eyes. One Messianic group of which we were part tried hard to institute and keep non-biblical Jewish traditions such as using a pointer to read sections of the Bible in Hebrew and parading around a Torah scroll in their services. But one of the leaders went to his wife (who was not genetically Jewish) on Yom Kippur and started a divorce in order to marry a genetically Jewish woman. The rest of the leadership did not ask him to leave the congregation, as they should have according to Scripture. Oddly, the new marriage didn’t last either and neither did the congregation.

Isaiah 59:14 ESV. Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter.

Another group we were with for a while decided that the Word (the Law) was only for Jews. Gentiles could follow if they wanted but were then treated as second-class members. Their “first fruits” were not from the Bible. A third group teaches “one law” for everyone, but at the same time says that the “Hebrew perspective” (read, “bias”) is the primary way to translate and apply the Word. Instead of a resource for Torah, they prioritize Jewishness and expel people like us.

Self-titled Christian congregations all have a range of negative attitudes against God’s Word (especially the Law) and Body members are encouraged to find other congregations if they don’t toe the line, which was the case with Calvary Chapels. A similar congregation allowed a witch in and found out later she was having intimate relations with the married pastor. Still another so-called Messianic group allowed a married pedophile adulterer to stay in the congregation which caused many to leave.

1 Corinthians 5:2 NASB95. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.

In another instance my family was disinvited by the pastor of a community church (after one of his people invited us) because he said we were “all about rules and regulations” (the irony was lost on him). He only teaches the ear-tickling parts of the Word and did not regard the Bible as absolute truth. Then there was the Vineyard pastor (formerly a part of Youth With A Mission) who said in a sermon that he wanted to “throw theology out of the church.” Since the word “theology” means “God’s Word,” I guess he was successful because no one in that church (or many others) teaches the whole of the Word the way God commands.

1 Corinthians 5:6–8 ESV. Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Congregations “doing what is right in their own eyes” as the Bible negatively puts it, do not follow all of the Word and therefore do not love God and do not act like the Body in Acts 2:42-47. Instead, they love comfort and ear tickling. It is a loving act to “remove the evil from your midst” for the sake of repentance, and to welcome the formerly evil person back in the event they change their ways. Allowing a witch, homosexual, or adulterer to stay and continue their sinful, destructive behavior is not a loving act (Romans 1:18-32).

Romans 1:32 ESV. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Apparently, we would have to approve of those destructive lifestyles to be accepted. Our family doesn’t believe or conform to these lifestyles, so we just aren’t perfect enough (in their systems) to attend any modern congregation. It’s a sad state of affairs when Body members who insist on following all of God’s loving instructions are the ones who are cast out of these congregations, while unrepentant sinners are allowed to stay. Right is wrong and wrong is right, and so people of the Body of Christ find themselves homeless. But we won’t be homeless forever. God promises those who are faithful to His Word that we will receive the gift of eternal life and have a home in His Kingdom forever.

Mark 10:29–30 ESV. Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Those of you who are part of the Body, having discovered that all of the Word is for all believers and are trying your best to hang on to it and follow with all your heart, soul and strength, be encouraged. This world will not last, and those who disdain to repent and obey the whole of His loving gospel are on the way to a different place other than His Kingdom.

2 Thessalonians 1:5–8 ESV. This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

Shalom

Posted in Authority • Book publishing • Church • Daily Living • Division • Dogma • Hypocrisy • Idolatry • New Covenant • New Testament • Old Covenant • Old Testament • Orthodox • Paganism • Relevance • Works

New book on Nicolaitans

By Comments:

I haven’t been posting much lately because I’ve been working on a new book. The most popular video on our Youtube channel is the one on Nicolaitans, so I decided to write a book explaining more about them. Here’s an excerpt from the manuscript.

The Pharisees. There’s a good chance that Nicolaitans are the Gentile version of the Pharisees. Jesus says He hates the works of the Nicolaitans, and He wasn’t too fond of the works of the Pharisees either. It’s apparent that we can put them in the same group.

When we look at the example of the Pharisees we have to ask ourselves, “Why does Jesus have such a problem with them? Weren’t they teaching the ‘old testament,’ and wasn’t Jesus going to eliminate it, according to the teachings of the modern church?” The fact that He didn’t could be termed an argument from silence, which isn’t a good way to support a position. On the other hand if Jesus was going to change the Covenant that would surely be a huge issue and would have ended up the centerpiece of the controversy. It would also have given the Jewish leaders an excellent justification for the crucifixion.

I’m just saying that, in view of the standard church idea that Jesus loved everybody and the Pharisees could’ve been merely mistaken, it seems odd that He was so wrathful towards them. This is one of the many logical inconsistencies that modern Nicolaitans have generated with their extra-biblical doctrines. If the Pharisees were teachers of the Old Testament, and the Old Testament was being eliminated by Jesus, then why get so mad at them? Wouldn’t Jesus just tell them that you don’t have to do that now because I came to start a new thing?

The fact is Jesus was angry with the Pharisees because they seated themselves in Moses’ seat and did NOT teach the Old Testament (Matthew 23:1-3). They were teaching their interpretations and traditions which had covered over or eliminated much of what Jesus gave at Mt. Sinai. They were “preaching but not practicing” (Matthew 23:3-4), tying up heavy burdens and not lifting a finger to help move them, doing deeds to be seen by others, and shutting the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces while not entering themselves. They twisted the “living oracles” as Stephen called the Law and the Prophets into something that caused people to despair of ever being able to touch God. The Nicolaitans fall into this group of people also. Jesus hates them because they are teaching the same types of things as the Pharisees, albeit in different ways perhaps. Any teaching that causes people to detour from God’s living oracles is hated by Jesus.

One very large fault in the Pharisees illuminated for us by Jesus is that they were hypocrites, meaning that by and large they taught one thing but lived life differently than their teaching. They were play actors. On the outside they looked holy but on the inside they were rotten. In their public teachings they centered on Torah but in their lives they didn’t practice it. They accepted deferential treatment, the best seats at corporate gatherings, dressed differently so they would be recognized, and loved to be called “rabbi” meaning “master.” This is one of the reasons I think Nicolaitans might very well have been (and are) the Gentile version of the Pharisees. They earned God’s wrath because they assigned themselves to speak for God and didn’t follow through in their personal lives.

Hypocrites are variously defined in the Word as “men of falsehood,” “dissemblers” and “vain persons” (Psalm 26:4 ESV and AV), “godless” (Job 36:13, Proverbs 11:9 and others, ESV), “evil doer” (Isaiah 9:17 ESV and AV), and “profane mockers” in Psalm 35:16 ESV. Not a great group in which to be included. Jesus had a lot to say about hypocrites recorded for us in various places, and He also quoted Isaiah 29:13 in Mark 7:6 ESV. “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” We can see that there is not much difference between the doctrines of all false teachers. Just a difference in looks, methods or approach.

More is coming soon, I hope. The book will be about a hundred pages in 6 x 9 format. We will dive deep into the methods, philosophies and dogma of the modern Nicolaitans. We will also explore the damage they’ve cause to the maturity, fruit of the Spirit and abundant life of the believer.

Shalom

Bruce

Posted in Authority • Balance • Church • Continuity & Discontinuity • Daily Living • Faith • Gospel • Humility • Hypocrisy • Law • Love • New Covenant • Repentance • Righteousness • Temple • Works

Reimagining a Church Insurgence

By Comments:

Frank Viola has written quite a few books with titles like pagan Christianity, Reimagining Church, There Must Be More, Discipleship in Crisis, Rethinking the Will of God and Insurgence. He’s got a couple web sites and a blog and has worked with George Barna who founded Barna Research which is kind of like a Christian version of the Gallup Research organization. If I read his information correctly, he’s also a disciple of Watchman Nee, which is important and I’ll talk about it more in a minute or two. I read pagan Christianity, and I’ve checked out summaries of some of the other books Mr. Viola has written.

I was studying up on his works when I ran across an offer he makes on his website to do print interviews for your book, film, album, resource, other product or service. According to the site all you have to do is send them the information and if they approve you pay $200.00 for it. A nice deal. So I thought, “Hey, our book Whole Bible Christianity seems like a great fit for Reimagining Church. Maybe he’d like to help us promote it.” I figured he must be serious about the problems in the church and finding solutions, and I’d like to help by showing Frank some of the things I think the Lord has shown to me. Since I’m an “Insurgent” I got excited thinking what a great match up this would be.

I was wrong.

I requested an interview, and gave links for my book and website, and said I had read pagan Christianity and agreed with Frank’s assessment of the church but thought I had something to add to the solution. After I sent in the request, I got a reply from someone named Anaya, so maybe Frank didn’t even see it. But since his people represent him, I think I’m safe in characterizing her (his?) reply as indicative of Frank’s attitudes. So in her first reply, she said that pagan Christianity wasn’t supposed to have solutions, but Frank’s later books did and had I read them? I emailed back and said I didn’t have to read them, I had heard what he was talking about decades ago from other people. After about a month I emailed and asked if she had anymore questions. She emailed back and said she hadn’t seen an Interview Request from my email address. So I re-sent copies of our email exchange. To my surprise, she said they weren’t “accepting any interview spots right now because all spots are taken until mid-2019.”

Huh?

If this is true, why doesn’t it say so on the website? Why didn’t she tell me in the first email all the spots were taken? I think I know why, and it doesn’t have anything to do with how many spots are taken. Without question she looked at my book and website and decided they didn’t want anything to do with it. And why do you suppose this is a problem? Because I write in very passionate terms of God’s Law, with so much support from the Word that it is undeniable that it should be a central part of all believer’s lives. This of course in contrast to standard church teaching ignoring the New Covenant and promoting a mystical buddy from out of town who allows any behavior one chooses.

Can Frank do what he wants? Of course. Does he have to lie? You wouldn’t think so. He says he wants to “break the echo-chamber phenomenon that’s in the bloodstream of the blogosphere today” yet it seems plain from their dodgy response to my Interview Request that perhaps echos are all they want to hear.

Part of Frank’s problem is that he sets up a false dichotomy between a “right” and “left” in the church. I’ll let him explain his “Three Gospels.” From a Bible Gateway interview on his site.

There is the gospel of legalism, which isn’t just working for one’s salvation. The gospel of legalism says that if you want God’s favor, you have to perform to receive it. This causes many Christians to live with a headache of guilt and a constant feeling that they are never measuring up.

In reaction to that is the “gospel” of libertinism which says that because we’re under grace, our behavior doesn’t really matter much to God. So we can live the way we want, and God is okay with it because He understands that we are mere mortals.

The third gospel is the gospel of the kingdom, which brings liberty on the one hand and absolute allegiance to Christ’s lordship on the other.

You see what he does? On the one hand the “right” or “evangelical” or “conservative” view lumps together legalism with performing for God’s favor. On the “left” hand we have “libertinism” meaning behavior doesn’t matter. His “third gospel” proposes a liberty with allegiance to Christ’s lordship which includes behavior that matters but without “performing.” How in the world does one manage this, and where in the Word does this come from? The answer is, it doesn’t come from the Word at all.

It’s this kind of mystical nonsense that comes from people like Watchman Nee and others. Watchman Nee is very mystical and spiritualizes the Bible text nearly out of existence sometimes. He has influenced a lot of people, including many in Calvary Chapel and evidently Mr. Viola too. This is why I said I didn’t need to read any more of Frank Viola’s books. It’s all been said before by many people such as Watchman Nee and Chuck Smith. Many organizations have steered away from the Bible as they tried to steer away from what is wrong in the Church. Mr. Viola is repeating the same mistakes with updated language and a nice book cover. He’s just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic instead of invoking real change.

The New Covenant is the Law written on a heart of flesh. What is new is the heart that will do what God says. Jesus did what God said in all ways, including the “Word of the Lord by Moses” also called the Law. The apostles followed the “living oracles” as Stephen called them. The first three thousand (and the next 5,000) converts to following the Christ were all Law-following Jews. Acts 2:46 says they were “attending the temple together. Paul says what counts is doing what God says.

For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. (1 Corinthians 7:19, ESV)

The “right wing” and “left wing” of Judaism was not doing what God said. They did part, but they did not do what He said with a whole heart of flesh in love and the Spirit.

Another thing Frank has wrong is his definition of the gospel. The word means “good news” but what exactly is the “good news?” What is the “gospel of the kingdom” biblically? If we look in the Bible instead of making up our own definitions, we find that the “good news” is “God with us.” Hebrews 4:2 says that at Mt. Sinai the gospel was preached to them just as to us.

For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. (Hebrews 4:2, ESV)

How could this be if the gospel is according to Frank’s definition? The answer is that doing what God says will mean that “God is with us.” If Jesus is really Lord and King, we will do what He says. Since Jesus gave the Law in the first place then believers in the Lord and King Jesus the Messiah will follow His Laws too. It’s not that hard. What is hard is humbling ourselves and doing what God says all the time no matter what.

Mr. Viola is another in a long line of fancy charlatans with smooth dialogue and a pitch that would charm angels, relentlessly marketing his misleading merchandise. But he’s still on the wrong track. Unless of course he just wants to sell books. As I read his blog post titled Scratch a Christian and You’ll Find Out What’s Underneath at http://frankviola.org/2013/11/20/scratchachristian/ I couldn’t help but chuckle. Did I scratch him and find out what’s underneath?

If the cross is front and center, then His body and blood will be our food.

Shalom

Bruce

Posted in Atonement • Balance • Church • Daily Living • Identity • Idolatry • Israel • Jews • Judaism • New Covenant • Repentance • Righteousness

Generalizing

By Comments:

I just read an article by a person who noted that “generalizing” with the words Judaism or Christianity might cause significant problems. The writer didn’t specify the problems, but I can imagine what they are. There is always someone who objects to the characterization that goes along with the general label.

For instance, “men are pigs” is a pretty severe generalization, and I would have to object to an extreme label like this without context. However, there are times when men act like pigs. I told my daughter as she was growing up that men are pigs and boys were piglets because they (generally) only wanted to get into a female’s pants. I was trying to teach her to be wary of the boy who claimed he loved her but (generally) didn’t really. In general, it’s true that many men (or boys) use tactics that generally are intended simply to get into a woman’s pants. If you doubt me, ask some women. I’m sure they’ll have lots of stories on guys who generally wanted nothing more than to hit and run.

I agree that generalizing can be viewed inaccurately. Just because something is generally true doesn’t mean it is true for everyone or everything. There are lots of Christians and lots of Jews who do not behave or think according to generalizations made about them. For instance, not all Christians reject God’s Laws. Some of them at least are just going by the teachings they have heard. All Jews do not drive hard bargains, nor do they all reject the Christ.

However, when a majority of time or a majority of instances something is true then a generalization can be accurate. Generally we need to include some context. For instance, most people who call themselves Christian reject God’s Laws in one form or another. Christians, again in general, have rejected the New Covenant while claiming to follow it. These things are  true, even if general. Most Jews are non-practicing or nearly so as far as Judaism goes.

What we really need to do is stay away from absolutes, such as in saying that all Christians are hypocrites or all Jews are Christ killers. Absolutely we are sinners, and we need a payment that absolutely cleanses us from all sin. So there are some absolutes, but we need caution when applying them.

Does God generalize? I think so. He does it both in judgment and in forgiveness. For instance, Israel many times chose idolatry over God. But God didn’t judge immediately. In His grace He gave them time to repent. Not all Israel was into idolatry, even at the worst of times. So there were times He waited for the general majority to repent. In the meantime there was always a remnant who  followed Him. Nevertheless, when judgment fell it fell on the whole nation. Sodom and Gomorrah could have been saved, if 10 righteous people were found.

Generally, God’s forgiveness is available to all. But some refuse the gift of the blood of the Christ as payment for sin. Generally, those who do will find themselves in a place that was generally created for fallen angels. We can take care of our sin, in general, by accepting the sacrifice of Jesus. I hope that people do.

 

Shalom

Bruce

Posted in Adoption • Animal sacrifice • Authority • Bible • Blessing • Book publishing • Church • Clean & Unclean • Comfort • Daily Living • Diet • Division • Dogma • Faith • Fear • Feast and Festivals • Feast of Tabernacles • Feast of Trumpets • Gentiles • God • Gospel • Grace • Hermeneutics • Holy Spirit • Humility • Hypocrisy • Identity • Idolatry • Israel • Jesus • Jews • Judaism • Judgment • Law • Love • Manna Reading Schedule • Messianic Movement • Modesty • Name • Natural Man • New Covenant • New Testament • Old Covenant • Old Testament • Orthodox • Paganism • Passover • Paul Teachings • Pentecost • Prayer • Promise The • Prophecy • Relevance • Repentance • Reward • Righteousness • Sabbath • Salvation • Second death • Sex • Shofars • Sukkot • Temple • Theology • Tradition • Translational Bias • Trumpets • Whole Bible Christianity • Whole Bible Christianity book • Works • Worship • Yom Kippur

Audiobook for Whole Bible Christianity Available

By Comments:

It took a while, but an Audiobook version of our book Whole Bible Christianity is now available. It’s about 15 and a half hours, narrated by Bruce. You can get it free if you sign up for a trial membership at Audible.com. You get a free audiobook when you first sign up for the service. After the first month it costs $15.00 per month but you get one free book per month too.

If you click this link to view the print version, then click on the Free with your Audible Trial button and stay with Audible for two months, not only do you get two free audiobooks (for $15.00 the second month) but we get a $50.00 bonus! You can exchange any audiobook you decide is not for you, and your credit for one free book rolls over to the next month if you don’t use it. Even if you cancel membership after a while you can keep all your audiobooks.

What a great deal! Whole Bible Christianity, Blessings Pressed Down and Overflowing audiobook for free, a bonus to us, and you get more free audiobooks.

There’s also the print version of the book, and Kindle version for a pretty low cost. The Kindle and audiobook versions do not have the Scripture Index with almost 1,500 entries from every book in the Bible, and the audiobook doesn’t have the footnotes, but still you can listen on the way to work and back or read on a Kindle at your leisure. Get all three and get it all.

Shalom

Bruce

Posted in Book publishing • Church • Clean & Unclean • Continuity & Discontinuity • Daily Living • Faith • Fear • Feast and Festivals • Feast of Tabernacles • Feast of Trumpets • God • Gospel • Grace • Holy Spirit • Humility • Hypocrisy • Identity • Israel • Law • Love • Marriage • Messianic Movement • New Covenant • New Testament • Old Testament • Paul Teachings • Whole Bible Christianity book

New Audiobook!

By Comments:

We’ve now produced an audiobook for Whole Bible Christianity. It is available on Audible, Amazon and iTunes. I narrated it myself and it sounds very good. I did the narration because I don’t think anyone else could’ve really given the project the right tone except the guy who wrote it. It’s about 16 hours long but I don’t know what the pricing will be. Just check with Amazon under Whole Bible Christianity when you want a complete reference for Whole Bible Christianity to listen to in your car or while you are trying to go to sleep!

Shalom

Bruce

Posted in Authority • Balance • Blessing • Book publishing • Church • Comfort • Cults • Daily Living • Judaism • Judgment • Law • Love • Manna Reading Schedule • Messianic Movement • New Covenant • New Testament • Old Covenant • Old Testament • Paul Teachings • Promise The • Reading • Reward • Theology • Whole Bible Christianity • Whole Bible Christianity book • Worship

Whole Bible Christianity, The Book

By Comments:

Our book Whole Bible Christianity has finally been published! It is on Amazon at this link:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0997501413/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1DQVER67Q2HMX&coliid=I1RPTLB6JQO1FI

There is a Look Inside feature, you can flip between the front and back cover, and it is only $19.50. If you would prefer, we will have the entire text on a web page when we update our website so you can read it online.

The book has about 800 direct quotes from the Word, around 1,500 entries in the Scripture Index, and is about 340 pages. One of the many uses of the book is as a handbook for whole Bible Christians everywhere who need a reference to help counter attacks against a whole Bible lifestyle. Chapter 7 deals with a bunch of the objections to following God’s living oracles, and chapter 8 has a list of blessings from doing what Jesus says.

Let us know what you think, and make sure to post a review on Amazon if you would be so kind.

Shalom
Bruce

Posted in Bible • Bible Verse • Continuity & Discontinuity • Faith • Gospel • Grace • Hypocrisy • Law • New Covenant • Paul Teachings • Promise The • Whole Bible Christianity

New Series On Romans

By Comments:

One of the things that has turned us off of the Messianic movement is the inability of many to explain Paul’s writings in context with the Law. Few can do it, if at all. So much of the Bible in general has been so covered over with traditions of men and deliberate misinterpretation, that even if a believer manages to work his way through to the understanding of the Law as a valid lifestyle and discipleship method Paul’s writings still seem to contradict (although we know instinctively that they don’t).

Usually the Messianic person will simply revert to throwing out Paul’s writings. A big tool for doing this is to claim that there must’ve been a (lost) Hebrew New Testament that was translated into Greek and in so doing much of the meaning was corrupted by the time we translate to English. So the easy answer for this crowd is to declare the Greek null and void.

Somewhere along the way this nutcase crowd decides to throw out the virgin birth of Jesus along with the claims that Jesus is God. Next this crowd just moves to throw out the whole New Testament. What the heck. It’s all mistranslated anyway, right? Anything they can’t understand or explain must be the fault of the text! Much of the throwing starts with Paul’s writings because they cannot explain properly what he is talking about.

So we decided to do some videos with our own explanations. It’s not that hard, really. All you have to do is read the text. The plain meaning is right there in front of us. It’s not the text that’s the problem. It is either an agenda or a fault in our own understanding. The message is repeated enough throughout the Word (including Paul’s writings) that it is extremely easy to figure out the meaning. If we are going to throw anything out it should be the traditions of men that clutter up the text in the first place.

First in the series is Romans chapters 1 through 4, just put up on our Youtube channel. It’s about an hour. Three future videos will cover four chapters each and hopefully end up at about an hour each.

There is a list of time marks in the description so you can jump to particular parts if you want. There are also links to other videos from us explaining different words or concepts further. We hope this series (along with other videos such as our Book of Galatians effort) will help the seeker of truth figure out how to explain their faith easily and biblically to the many (many, many, many) skeptics he or she will encounter.

Shalom
Bruce