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Fred R. Coulter
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Pagan holidays or God's Holy Days, which should we keep?
By whose authority do people do what they do?
Why do they do it?
- Do they have the authority to take God's Word and interpret it they way that they have?
Let's begin first of all by looking at the Word of God. Let's see what the Bible says about the Word of God and it can be proved that these things are true.
{note that the N.T. in It's Original Order with commentaries is no longer available but can be found at cbcg.org; it is replaced by The Holy Bible in Its Original Order in print or online at afaithfulversion.org}
It's important to understand about the Word of God. The Word of God is like nothing else that there is in the world as far as the written word.
By whose authority and on whose word This becomes very important. Many people and many ministers feel that they have the right to interpret the Word of God. Yes, in fact, that they have a right to command God and that God must obey them.
- Is that true?
- What about the Word of God?
- What does the Bible say?
In the commentaries that we have in the Faithful Version of the Bible, you will find that it is absolutely provable that God watched over and provided us with accurate copies of the Greek New Testament, from which we have the English translation, and accurate copies of The Masoretic Text for the Old Testament.
You do have to be careful because there's so many corrupt translations that are coming out now that you need to understand and realize do not reflect the true meaning of the Greek or the Hebrew in very many critical cases, which I will point out one here in 2-Tim. 3. Paul is writing to Timothy who had grown up knowing the Old Testament. He says to him:
2-Timothy 3:15: "And that from a child you have known the Holy Writings… [referring to the Old Testament] …which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus." This runs contrary to a lot of preaching that people give such as one man who says that all the 613 commandments in the Old Testament have been removed and done away through Christ. That's not what Paul is writing about!
There is the preaching of a man who throws away the authority of God and the authority of God's Word. That's why this series is By Whose Authority?
- By whose authority do people keep Sunday?
- By whose authority do they keep Christmas, Easter, Halloween and other 'religious' days?
And yet, claim in the name of God and the name of Jesus Christ that they can do it.
- By whose authority?
It's very important for us to understand this.
Today we live in what is called the postmodern world. The postmodernist thinking is that if you have an opinion and you believe it, it is true because you believe it. That's where the whole world is going 'cockeyed' and falling into sin and wretchedness. You just look in society and you see the major problems and crimes that we have and it's because they have thrown God out of:
- the schools
- the government
- the courthouse
- everyday life
What are the problems?
- sex
- lying
- cheating
- stealing
- murder
- rape
All of those things, yet, they won't allow the Ten Commandments to be taught, which if they were taught in the schools, public places, adult life, and yes,in the Churches there would be a whole lot less of those crimes. When the crimes come, they say, 'Oh, what are we going to do? Oh, what is the cause of this?' The cause is you've rejected God! Yet, they take the Word of God, part of it, what they like. We're going to see that you have to have all of it because part of it will still lead you into sin.
Paul says of the Old Testament that it's able to "…make you wise unto salvation…" Do you understand that? We also have another couple of sermons that are Laws of Moses Without the Veil, with the veil of blindness lifted. How does it read? You would be surprised! Jesus made it very clear, He said, 'If you do not believe Moses, how can you believe Me, because he wrote of Me?' We'll see some of that a little bit later. This is quite profound!
You can check in certain of the modern translations and you will see v 16 improperly translated. This is a proper literal translation:
Verse 16: "All Scripture… [Old and New Testaments] …is God-breathed…" If it's God-breathed, God-spoken and God-inspired, then anyone who goes contrary to it, or says that it should not be used, is going against God! It's important to understand. You cannot come to the Bible with preconceived notions and preconceived opinions and because you think it, therefore, it is right. 'Therefore, I'm going to go into the Bible and find out where I can prove that I am right.' The Bible was never written for that. It is God-breathed!
Let's see something else that is also where there is a mistranslation. Some of the modern translations translate this first phrase as: 'All Scriptured-inspired of God,' which leaves open the question: 'Well, maybe I can find some in there that are not inspired of God. Therefore, if I think that I can find something that's not inspired of God, like the genealogies, which are inspired of God, like the histories, which are inspired of God…'
Jesus said, 'every jot and every tittle is not going to pass from the Law until all be fulfilled.' It's very important to understand.
The greatest sin that ministers and people do when they come to the Bible is pick and choose. 'Oh, I like this because I agree with it. Oh, I like that because I agree with it.' What did Ted Turner say on an interview on television? He said, 'You know, the Bible ought not have the law 'you shall not commit adultery'—picking and choosing! God doesn't give you the authority to pick and choose. If it's God-breathed, which it is spoken by God, spoken by Christ. God spoke to Moses saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel…' Those are God's words. It's all inspired of God! It is all necessary and what we need to understand:
- about God
- about His plan
- about true salvation
- how we can love God
- how we can serve Him
- how we can keep His commandments
All that's profound and important.
Verse 16: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for doctrine… [teaching] …for conviction… [so that you know what's right and wrong] …for correction…" So that when you are wrong you can be corrected by the Word of God, which the Word of God does and through the Spirit of God to correct us and guide us because the human heart 'is deceitful above all things.'
"…for instruction in righteousness" (v 16). Part of the righteousness is instruction on how to keep the commandments of God. By whose authority do you do what you do? Ted Turner said that by his authority we should not have the commandment 'You shall not commit adultery.'
By whose authority, then, do those who claim to be Christians keep Sunday when you can't find one word of it in the Old or New Testaments that it was changed from Saturday to Sunday?
You can download for yourself Rome's Challenge to the Protestants {cbcg.org; also found in The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, appendix N} and they're absolutely right. There is no place in the Bible to find any authority whatsoever for keeping Sunday. The authority that brought in Sunday was man's authority of the Catholic Church. We're going to see and it's very important to understand:
- No man has the authority to tell God what to do!
- No man has the authority to change the commandments of God!
- No one!
That's why we have a whole detailed section in The Holy Bible In Its Original Order—A Faithful Version is Appendix H: How Did Jesus Fulfill the Law and the Prophets? In A Harmony of the Gospels, we also have section called Twenty-eight Prophecies Fulfilled on the Crucifixion Day. I think you'll find that very instructive in seeing what God did, because Jesus Christ was God manifest in the flesh. Therefore, as He fulfilled it He gave a higher standard, not only to all the commandments of God, but He gave a higher standard for everything. We have a comparison in there. You need to get The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version so you can understand. We're going to see a little later that God is judging every person all the time, everywhere, and you're going to be held accountable.
Verse 17: "So that the man of God… [man or woman] …may be complete, fully equipped for every good work." That's all the Word of God.
2-Tim. 4 also becomes a very important thing in understanding:
- Where do we begin to know what we should do?
- What does God require of us to do?
- How should we do it?
- Which day should we observe?
- Which day is the true Sabbath?
- Which days are the Holy Days of God?
- What does the Bible have to say about the holidays of this world?
I think you're going to be surprised. We're going to see that the Bible has a lot to say about the holidays of this world and not in a very good light, indeed.
2-Timothy 4:1—Paul is writing to Timothy: "I charge you, therefore, in the sight of God, even the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is ready to judge the living … [the living are being judged] … and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the Word!…." (vs 1-2). That's what they're to preach:
- not platitudes
- not opinions
- not man-made doctrines
- not man-made interpretations
Preach the Word of God! The way the Bible tells us to interpret it is, 'line upon line, precept upon precept, word upon word,' putting it all together and let the Bible interpret itself, which it does.
- Preach the Word!
- All Scripture is God-breathed!
What is to be preached? All the Word of God! That comes from God.
"…Be urgentin season and out of season…" (v 2). This shows there are seasonal things that we need to keep and obey, which is the whole focus and point of this sermon series.
"…convict…" (v 2). That's what I hope this will do, convict you of the Truth!
"…rebuke… (v 2)—where there is serious error and there needs to be a change of heart and mind, along with repentance.
"…encourage…" (v 2)—so that we know that we love God and keep His commandments.
"…with all patience and doctrine" (v 2). Doctrine is important; doctrine means teaching. What are the teachings of God? They're right here in the Bible!
This comes down through time in all history. This was also true right during the apostolic age that there are roles right alongside the primitive New Testament Church, which had the original teachings and doctrines that you find that Jesus and the apostles taught—which we have a full section Appendix M: Beliefs and Doctrines of the New Testament Church—that they leave the Word of God. We are in this age right now, again, only multiplied.
Verse 3: "For there shall come a time when they will not tolerate sound doctrine… [thus saith the Lord] …but according to their own lusts they shall accumulate to themselves a great number of teachers, having ears itching to hear what satisfies their cravings." That's what people want. Why do you think you have these large churches?
Like one man told me, he said, 'Down in Oklahoma, because they have a lot of Protestant Churches down there, when I drive around and I see these big churches that have 5,000 and 20,000, I know they're all preaching what they want to hear because they are so big.'
Just like politics; the way you keep people in a political party is tell them what they want to hear. When someone speaks the truth, he's viciously attacked, whether it is in politics or whether it is in 'religion.'
Verse 4: "And they shall turn away their own ears from the Truth…" We're going to see what the Truth is in a minute.
John 17:17: "…Your Word is the Truth." The Word of God is the Truth. They turn away from the Word of God.
- Do they not do that when they preach from the pulpit that the commandments in the Old Testament are done away? Yes, they do!
- Do they not do that when they preach love, love, love, which is a false love, an emotional love—which is a feeling love—but has absolutely nothing to do with the true love of God? Yes, it is!
- Don't they turn to myths when they blend Buddhism and Christianity together? Yes, they do!
- Don't they turn away from God and go into myths when they teach the traditions of men and the false demonic visions of their religious leaders? Yes, they do!
2-Timothy 4:4: "…and they shall be turned aside unto myths" That's where we find the world today; that's where we find a lot of Christianity today. They turn aside from the Truth. Stop and think for a minute:
- How far would you get if you walked into one of these great, mega churches and told them that they're all a pack of sinners because they keep Sunday, Christmas, Easter and New Years and that that is contrary to the Word of God?
- How long do you think a person would last if they stood in front of a Catholic Church and said all of these idols are against the Word of God?
You need to think about it because that's what the Bible says. Yet, they all claim that it's in the name of Jesus Christ. So, by whose authority?Let's understand something about the Word of God:
- what the love of God really means
- what it is based on
- how we have the love of God
Lest someone think that because you've been so brainwashed in Protestant or Catholic theology, or other Eastern/Oriental religions, which is rampant today. Lest you say that there is no love if you keep the commandments of God. There is another lie!
- Do ministers stand in the pulpit and preach lies? Yes, they do!
- Are you able to discern Truth from error?
- Do you know right from wrong?
I've talked to Protestant ministers who say, 'Well, if you keep the Law you're trying to earn salvation.' It's not so! Yet:
- Don't a lot of those who say that the Law is done away go back and pick up the commandments they agree with?
- Don't they preach against not honoring your father and mother? Yes, they do!
- Do they not preach against murder and adultery, lying, cheating, and stealing? Yes, they do!
- Why won't they accept the commandments:
- you shall have no other Gods before Me?
- you shall not make any idols?
- don't take the name of the Lord your God in vain?
- remember the Sabbath to keep it Holy?
- Why don't they do that?
It's because you can't pick and choose and take the things that you like and reject the things that are not convenient!
Let's see what Jesus said, because there's always been an argument concerning the commandments. People argue it all the time. We're going to understand that every human being in the world judges God every single day of their lives:
- by their thoughts
- by their actions
- by what they practice
You think about it! Yes, they do! Here's an argument that came up between the Pharisees and Jesus:
Matthew 22:35: "And one of them, a doctor of the law, questioned Him, tempting Him, and saying, 'Master, which commandment is the great commandment in the Law?'" (vs 35-36)—always an argument. This is going to very instructive for us. As we're reading this, let me ask you:
- Which commandments of God do you agree with?
- Which commandments of God do you not agree with?
- Which commandments of God do you reject?
- By whose authority do you reject them?
- Which traditions of men do you keep?
We'll cover traditions a little later; you just think on that.
I want you to understand this very carefully. I want you to think about the all-encompassing, all-overarching, view of what Jesus is saying and how our lives need to be oriented to this and living this. These are the words of Jesus Christ
- Did He not bring the words of salvation? Yes, indeed!
- Didn't Paul say that 'the Holy Writings are able to make you wise into salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord'? Yes, he did!
Verse 37: "And Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.'" Notice. It's not a part-time thing. It's not:
- 20 minutes to a drive-up church
- 45 minutes to a walk-in church
- 2 hours in double services in some churches
- then you go do whatever you want to do
It's a full time thing! What you need to understand is that the way of God, as related in the Word of God, is a way of life:
- how you live
- how you think
- how you conduct your life
- how you treat your neighbors
You first have to love God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind.
- Do you do that?
- Are you growing in that?
- What does this mean?
- How does this fit into holidays and Holy Days and Sabbath and Sunday?
Verse 38: "This is the first and greatest commandment; and the second one is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (vs 38-39).
Let's just briefly explain this; v 37 is referring to the first four commandments, directly. You cannot love God if you're breaking any of the first four commandments. The catechism listing of the Ten Commandments in any Catholic publication is incorrect, because it changes the second commandment and eliminates it in order to justify their idolatry. These are referring to the first four commandments. That's why it's called the first and greatest, 'and the second one is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' These are the last six commandments.
Isn't it interesting that there are six commandments and the number of man is six. This tells you how to get along with your fellow man beginning with your parents—as yourself. Everything that Jesus taught was to fulfill and bring to the understanding—so that we can live by every Word of God—the meaning of the commandments of God.
Far from doing away with any of the commandments of God, v 40 tells us this: "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." Not some, but all. You think about that!
It's just like this little clipping here. I don't recall who gave it to me, but it's very interesting.
The reason that we can't have the 10 Commandments in a courthouse: You cannot post "Thou shall not steal," "Thou shall not commit adultery, " & "Thou shalt not lie," in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians it creates a hostile work environment —George Carlin
- let them be assaulted
- let them be caught in adultery
- let them be caught in lying
- let them be caught in stealing
You can lay it right at the door of the National Education Association, the NEA, because that's what they teach in school.
I'll just mention it here, because we have to have reality. This may come as a shock to some tender ears, but in Germany they are showing fourth graders full sex acts of human beings to educate them on what sex is, and by that destroy their minds. That is a device of Satan to destroy many minds and many lives.
You want an interesting study in the Bible? Just get a concordance or if you have a computer, do a word search:
- look up adultery
- look up fornication
- look homosexuality
Find out how it ruins and destroys lives. Enough said on that.
Let's continue on about the love of God. What we need to understand what it is that we're talking about here. Why are people so against the commandments of God? Let's just take the last six again. What I want you to do is think on it. By whose authority has it been done? Sometimes by the authority of the state! They encourage dishonoring your father and mother. They encourage rebelling against father and mother.
- How is our society?
- Is it better because they teach that and encourage that?
or
- Are we worse off?
- Is that not the judgment of God against us for sinning?
Let's take the next one, you shall not murder. Oh! We have whole television shows and newscasts devoted to 'what happened when someone murdered So-and-So.'
- Are people better off?
- Are they happier because they have thrown away the law, 'you shall not commit murder?'
- Does that not affect the society? Oh, yes, indeed it does!
they wonder:
- How come people can't get along?
- Why is society so violent? Because you've thrown away God!
- How do you reform a society? Preach the Ten Commandments!
You could reform a society and reduce the crime rate. There has to be a standard by which we know what we're doing. The Bible gives it to us.
1-John 5:2: "By this standard we know that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep His commandments." We're going to see how important that is. Loving God and commandment-keeping go hand-in-hand.
Verse 3: "For this is the love of God: that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome." Very important!
Let's see something else that is basic. Do you want to know how you can detect whether a minister or religious teacher is telling a lie? Because they do! They stand up in the pulpits and every Sunday they are living a lie and preaching a lie. Here's how you can tell.
1-John 2:3: "And by this standard we know that we know Him: if we keep His commandments."
- Do you?
- How did Jesus say we were to keep the first four commandments? Love God with all your heart, all your mind and all your strength!
- How do you keep the last six? Love your neighbor as yourself!
"…by this standard we know that we know Him: if we keep [know] His commandments." You have to have a standard. This is God's standard! This is New Testament standard! Now the Greek there is a simple phrase: 'en touto,' which means in this way or in this standard or in this manner.
Verse 4[transcriber's correction]: "The one who says, "I know Him…" Isn't that the theme of a lot of Protestantism? Catholicism? religions of this world?
"…and does not keep His commandments…" (v 4).
- is a well intention person
- is entitled to his opinion
- is justified in his thoughts
- is a deep thinker
NO!It says, "…is a liar… [pretty plain] …and the Truth is not in him" (v 4)—which means the Word of God is not in him, because 'Your Word is the Truth.' Furthermore, in Psa. 119 it says:
- all Your commandments are true
- all Your statutes are true
- Your Word is true from the beginning
You see, it is a contradiction. It is a prima facie fact that if anyone:
- individual
- minister
- teacher
- professor
- government official
- church leader
—even clear up to what the world considers the highest exalted religious position in the world, the office of the pope—says that you don't have to keep His commands, God says that he is a liar! That's what it says.
That's why I ask, 'By whose authority? If you're 'religious' and you believe in Jesus Christ, supposedly, by whose authority do you do what you do:
- By the Word of God?
or
- The traditions and teachings of men?
- What is it?
If they pick and choose and keep some of the commandments, they're liars. It's just that simple. Here's also how you judge:
Verse 5: "On the other hand, if anyone is keeping His Word, truly in this one the love of God is being perfected…." Why? Because he's loving God with all his heart, mind, soul and being, the first four commandments! We're going to see a little later that all the Holy Days are sanctified by the fourth commandment, the Sabbath Day.
"…By this means we know that we are in Him. Anyone who claims to dwell in Him is obligating himself also to walk even as He Himself walked" (vs 5-6). Those are very plain, simple and straight forward statements.
Now let's look at some of the Words of Jesus Christ. Again, very simple, very basic, and this is how you judge everything. It is very profound, when you understand about the Holy Days of God, that the words that Jesus spoke in John 14 were spoken on the Passover night. There is a Christian Passover which Christ expects us to keep, for all of those who are baptized and have the Holy Spirit of God!
This is why you must also understand that not only do the Holy Days of God help define what love is and show our love because we do it, but you also have to know that the teachings on these Holy Days and on the Passover, shows the reason for it. We'll learn that as we go along.
- Do you claim that you love God?
- If you go to a Sunday-keeping Church—it Protestant or Catholic—do the ministers and priest claim to love Jesus Christ?
- Do they claim to teach the teachings of God?
Let's put them to the test, because God tells us to 'prove all things.' He doesn't expect us to be mindless, emotional dodos about God, religion and His Word:
- we are to know
- we are to understand
- we are to prove
- we're also to do, as a way of life, by:
- living by His commandments
- living in His grace
- living by faith
It takes faith to keep the commandments of God. It doesn't take any faith to go to Church on Sunday. You can find thousands of Churches doing that. It takes faith to keep the Sabbath. It takes faith to keep the Holy Days.
Here, we have on the Passover night the most important day in all of the Feasts of God, the Passover. We'll learn that as we go along, why it is.
John 14:15: "If you love Me…"
- Do you love God?
- Do you really?
- Who was Jesus Christ?
- He was God manifested in the flesh
- He was the One Who gave the Ten Commandments to Moses
- He was the One Who talked to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
- He was the One Who was with Abel, Seth, Enoch and Noah
- He is the One Who became Jesus Christ
I say that before I read the rest of this verse because it makes the rest of the verse far more important.
"'…keep the commandments—namely, My commandments'" (v 15). The reason this is important, as we going to see, is because it is the very Words of God that judges us. We're going to see, just like every man and woman, every day is judging God, one way or the other, so God is judging every man or every woman, one way or the other by their thoughts and by their conduct.
Remember what Jesus Christ said at the resurrection, He told the Pharisees that you're going to give account for every idle word that you have spoken. We need to understand that. That's going to make some people very squeamish. If you have any conscience at all, it ought to make you very squeamish. God's Word intends that, so that you can repent and change your life. That's what it's all about.
These are the teachings of Jesus. If you profess Jesus or believe in Jesus, then you have to agree with this. There are some people that don't even agree with the Gospels. They say Paul gave 'a higher and greater interpretation of the Word of God and all we do is take the Epistles of the Apostle Paul and we weed out everything having to do with commandment-keeping and we live by grace and faith and that's all there is to it.'
What have they just done? We're going to see a little later that's their own authority. Who gave them that authority to do away with the Word of God? Remember what Jesus said, 'Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. That's what 'all Scripture is God-breathed.'
(go to the next track)
I want you to think about this in relationship to your own life.
- Are you a professing Christian?
- Do you belong to a Protestant Church?
- Do you consider yourself a full bona fide, faithful Christian?
I challenge you to go onto the website for Rome's Challenge to the Protestants. I askyou:
- to read it
- to pray about it
- to think about it
- to ask yourself:
How can I be a true Christian when:
- every Sunday I violate the Sabbath?
- every Saturday, since I don't keep the Sabbath, I violate the Sabbath?
- every Sunday when I go to Church, I'm following the commandments of men rather than the commandments of God?
I want you to think about that. Do not assume that since we are saved by grace, which we are; and we're justified and forgiven through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins, which we are…
- do not forget that sin is the transgression of the Law.
- do not forget this that cannot be Christ's and live in a state of sin
—which is what Sunday-keeping keeps you in, regardless of all the nice, purry, soft things, even bombastic things, that are preached from the Sunday pulpit, because they pick and choose.
Are you keeping the commandments of God? That's very important. Here are those who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus Christ (Rev. 14:17[transcriber's correction]).
Commandment-keeping and faith go hand-in-hand or hand-in-glove; you cannot have one without the other. You cannot have commandment-keeping without faith in Jesus Christ, and you cannot have faith in Jesus Christ without commandment-keeping. Both go together.
Verse 21: "The one… [anyone] …who has My commandments…'"—all Ten Commandments and the rest of the commandments as defined by Jesus Christ and how He fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, which is very important to understand. You need to read that also. As you read it, you need to ask yourselves:
- What am I doing?
- Where am I going?
- What do I believe?
- Do I even understand God?
- Do I even understand Jesus Christ?
- Why do I believe what I believe and am so convinced that I am right?
- Why do I find myself in violation of what the Word of God says.
Remember that all the Word of God is God-breathed. What we're reading here in John 14 is Christ-spoken, His very words on the Passover night.
"…and is keeping them…" (v 21). That means in the way of practicing them. You live by them:
- Do you do that?
- Does your Church do that?
- Do those who profess to be Christians do that?
"…that is the one who loves Me…" (v 21). You can turn this around the other way and you can say this: The one who does not have My commandments—which includes all My commandments, all the Word of God—and who is not keeping them, he does not love Me. We'll see that Jesus says that in just a minute.
Do you think and believe that Christ is with you? that God the Father is with you? You can't have the second part of this verse without doing the first part of the verse because they're connected:
Verse 21: "The one who has My commandments and is keeping them, that is the one who loves Me…" As we've seen, 'this is the love of God that we keep His commandments and they're not burdensome.'
"…and the one who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him" (v 21).
We need to understand something important here, too, which I will just mention. John 3:16 says, "'For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish, but may have everlasting life.'"
People think that God loves you the way that you are. Well, He does to a certain extent, in that He 'sends the rain and the sunshine on the just and on the unjust.' That is true, but the love through salvation is a special calling and a special love that is not granted to the whole world! You need to understand that!
Here we have it. Here is the contract, the covenant, if you please, with God: If you love God with all your heart, mind, soul and being, you're going to keep the commandments of God:
John 14:21: "…and the one who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him." That is a special love, a special relationship that cannot come by anything that you do or by your works. It comes by faith in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit of God to do it!
How's God going to manifest Himself to anyone and no one see it? It's like this professor, this has to do with Psa. 14:1, a little clipping.
Psalm 14:1 Proved, which says: "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" {found on Facebook: Christian Stories: Logic 101}
A college student was in a philosophy class, which had a discussion about God's existence. The professor presented the following logic:
"Has anyone in this class heard God?"
Nobody spoke.
"Has anyone in this class touched God?"
Again, nobody spoke.
"Has anyone in this class seen God?"
When nobody spoke for the third time, he simply stated, "Then there is no God."
One student thought for a second, and then asked for permission to reply. Curious to hear this bold student's response, the professor granted it, and the student stood up and asked the following questions of his classmates:
"Has anyone in this class heard our professor's brain?"
Silence.
"Has anyone in this class touched our professor's brain?"
Absolute silence.
"Has anyone in this class seen our professor's brain?"
When nobody in the class dared to speak, the student concluded, "Then, according to our professor's logic, it must be true that our professor has no brain!"
(...The student received an "A" in the class.) author unknown
How is God going to manifest Himself to you and not to the rest of the world? By opening your mind to the Truth, which is an invisible, spiritual operation of the Spirit of God! Now is not the time for the world to be called. This is a special thing that God does. That is why being a true Christian is a calling:
- it's not a joining of the Church
- it's not a joining of a club
- it's not because people get together and agree on certain precepts of God's Word and say, 'This is what we believe.'
No! The only Truth is that you have to hold up the whole Bible and say, 'This is what God tells us to believe.' What people believe and what God tells us to believe are two entirely different things. We're going to see this in just and minute and see what this gets into concerning by whose authority?
- By whose authority do people take certain precepts of the Bible and say:
- we agree to this?
- we don't agree to this?
- What does that really do?
Let's continue on because this gets profound. Here's how Jesus said that it is manifest, meaning that you:
- can seek God
- can find God
- can seek Jesus Christ
- can find Jesus Christ
If you understand that you are a deep sinner andyou must repent of your sins and accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the payment of those sins; in that repentance:
- you turn
- you love God
- you keep His commandments
That's how God does it!
Verse 23: "Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My Word…'" That's a very interesting translation here—'word.' That means the whole message. In the first few verses of the Gospel of John, Jesus Christ is called the Word of God!
"…and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him " (vs 23). That's a spiritual thing. We'll get into that a little bit later and define it a little more, except to say this: If you have the Spirit of God through baptism, the laying on of hands, having faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ through the grace of God and are keeping His commandments, then you are loved by the two greatest Beings in the universe: God the Father and Jesus Christ. Ask yourself:
- Do I believe and live by these verses?
- Do I believe Jesus Christ?
- If you profess Him to be your Savior, do you believe these words?
or
- Do you believe something else?
- How can you believe them if you go to Church every Sunday and are violating the very Words of God?
Think about that!
That's like saying, 'Turn on the lights by turning them off.' That's like saying, 'Keep this frozen in a 10,000 degree oven.' They're absolute contradictory things and impossible things and cannot be. As I said, by whose authority are you judging God? That reaps terrible consequences.
Verse 24: "The one who does not love Me… [because he's not keeping 'My commandments'] …does not keep My words…" Which words of Jesus do you want to eliminate? Which words of the Old Testament which He spoke and inspired? Remember, most of the Prophets begin, 'And the Word of the Lord came to me saying…' It's all God-breathed!
"…and the Word… [the whole message] …that you hear is not Mine, but the Father's, Who sent Me" (v 24). In reality, Who are you rejecting? You're rejecting the Great Sovereign of the universe, God the Father!
- Have you ever thought about that?
- How important are these things?
- How high are these stakes?
God did not create us in vain; He created us for a purpose.
I'm going through this because it's very important to understand that you cannot have the love of God without keeping His commandments. You cannot receive the grace of God in a state of lawlessness. If you believe that, then you believe the mystery of iniquity or the mystery of lawlessness which is nearly 100% of the Christendom of this world. You need to think about that. You need to understand that.
Jesus said, John 15:9: "As the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; live in My love." That means keeping the commandments of God in spirit and in Truth.
Verse 10: "If you keep My commandments, you shall live in My love…" That's what it says.
- Can anything be more plain?
- Can anything be more simple?
- Yet, how is it that some ministers would dare:
- stand in the pulpit
- write in books
- preach
- teach
- mislead people into a false sense of security with:
- a false grace?
- false commandment-keeping?
- sanctifying things which are evil?
- saying it's from God?
- claiming they love God?
You have to live in it! It's not just something you do piecemeal one in a while. God is not a lucky charm in your hip pocket or hanging from the rearview mirror in your car or a rabbit's foot that you may have. No! It is living God's way.
"…just as I have kept My Father's commandments…" (v 10)
- Did Jesus ever sin? No!
- Did He love the Father? Yes!
- Did the Father love Him? Yes!
- Do they love all of mankind? Yes!
You have to show your love back to God by:
- doing the things that He says
- believing in His Word
- living and walking in faith
- living in love
"…and live in His love" (v 10). There we have it again.
Let's see how important and profound that this really is, and understand what we are dealing with. Let's also remind ourselves that everything that was created was created by and through Jesus Christ. He is God manifest in the flesh and was the Lord God of the Old Testament. How many times have you heard preachers say, 'The God of the New Testament is a God of love but the God of the Old Testament is harsh, evil, mean and judgmental'? We're going to see that God still judges today, because people judge Him.
Let's look at a particular attitude here. Let's understand how people judge God. I found it very interesting that when they were interviewing this atheist in California who filed at least three major lawsuits trying to get God out of school, the Ten Commandments out of the courthouses, and to get all references to God out of the inauguration of the Presidency.
When he was interviewed on television, he says, 'I have moral standards. My atheism is my religion. I'm a good man. I don't murder, I don't lie.' Oh, but you believe a lie! 'I don't steal, but I don't need God.' I wonder if anyone has seen his brain?
Let's have everyone stand up and measure themselves by this and ask a question of these great men who profess these things, of all of those who judge God, which we're going to see in just a little bit, that's what people are doing.
Isaiah 40:12: "Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand…" Have you looked at the globe of the earth recently? Nearly three quarters of it is ocean water. You don't even know anything about it except what you may see on the Discovery Channel or read in a book. God says, 'I can hold those in the hollow of My hand.'
"…and meted out the heavens with a span? And who has comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?" (v 12).
We're not looking at a man. We're looking at God! That becomes important when we ask: By whose authority? We can just say that if it's not by the authority of God, it's not of God! It's just that simple.
Verse 13: "Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, and who was His counselor that he might instruct Him?" For all those who are the know-it-alls, all of those who say that there is no God:
- Who gave you the wisdom?
- Who created you?
- How did you come into existence?
- Do you want to know how dependent you are?
All you have to do is reach down in the middle of your abdomen and you're going to find a bellybutton!
- What does that mean? It means you were born of your mother and father!
- How did you come into this world?
- Why were you created the way that you were?
It didn't come from nothing. That's why it's there, to keep us humble, to know that we're not unto ourselves.
Verse 14: "With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him and taught Him in the path of judgment, and taught Him knowledge, and made known the way of understanding to Him?"
Has anyone done that? Has any man dared down through history to say, 'I taught God'? A lot of men do it today. How do they do it? If nations, peoples, powers and governmental officials think that they're something, notice how God looks at the earth and He rules in heaven above:
Verse 15: "Behold, the nations are like a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the scales; behold, He takes up the isles as a very little thing."
Yet, what did Satan tell Jesus during His temptation. He says, 'I'm going to show you all the world—nations and powers—in a moment of time and if you bow down and worship me, all of these I will give to You because they've been delivered to me and whomsoever I desire, I give it to them.' Quite a statement! How did Satan have it delivered to him? By everyone who does not believe in God and rejects His commandments and His Word! You deliver yourself into the hands of Satan, the devil.
Verse 17: "All nations before Him are as nothing; and they are counted by Him as less than nothing, and vanity…. [because God is so great and this is so, then he asks the next logical question]: …To whom then will you compare God?…." (vs 17-18). Yet, we're made in His image. Isn't that profound? Isn't that something?
"…Or what likeness will you compare to Him? The workman melts a graven image, and the goldsmith spreads it over with gold, and casts silver chains. He who is too poor for that offering chooses a tree that will not rot; he seeks for a skillful workman for himself to prepare a graven image that will not totter" (vs 18-20). None of those things honor God.
- What idol in the world honors God? Not one!
- How can you honor God with idols made of the hands of men?
So, He challenges again:
Verse 21: "Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth…" (vs 21-22).
God is a whole lot closer to the earth than people think. Although you can't see where He is, because He is spirit and His heavenly kingdom is unseen by the human eye, but it exists. God is there and looking down upon the earth.
"…and its people are like grasshoppers; it is He who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in; Who brings the rulers to nothing…" (vs 22-23).
What has happened to the great dictators of the world? Where are they? They cause death, destruction, misery and they all died.
"…He makes the judges of the earth as vanity" (v 23). Yes, especially those who declare that you cannot teach about God.
Verse 24: "No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground…" Everything they do comes to nothing, even the rich men.
At a funeral the man asked the other one of this great, rich man, he said, 'How much did he leave?' The answer was, 'All of it.' God brings them to nothing.
"…then He shall blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away like stubble. 'To whom then will you compare Me, or who is My equal?' says the Holy One…. [this is Jesus Christ talking] …Lift up your eyes on high, and behold, Who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number? He calls them all by names by the greatness of His might, for He is strong in power; not one fails" (vs 24-26). God upholds it. Christ upholds the universe by the Word of His power.
Just to give you an example of how small and little that man is: God has given him a window into the solar system and the universe from the earth, unlike any place else in the universe. The very first pictures of Saturn that were taken from the earth, were taken with an infra-ray camera. Guess what they discovered of Saturn? The poles are hotter than the rest of the planet, which is the exact opposite of what we have on earth! They were flabbergasted! Godcreated the heavens and earth. This is why God created the heavens and the earth in the way that He did:
- to glorify Him
- to bring Him honor
- to bring us to conversion through awe and understanding of the Word of God
Any man anywhere on earth can do this, Psalm 19:1: "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims His handiwork. Day after day they pour forth speech…" (vs 1-2). There are sounds out there in the universe that they can pick up here on earth. It's because of the motion and things that God has put into the planets, stars and galaxies.
"…and night after night they reveal knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard" (vs 2-3). Meaning that there is no speech or language in the world where you can't see the heavens and look up there and stand in awe and think, 'Ah! How did these things get here?' God says, 'I made them!' That's why I want you to understand Who God is, so we can answer the question: By whose authority?
Verse 4: "Their line has gone out through all the earth and their words to the ends of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices as a strong man set to run a race, its going forth is from one end of heaven, and its circuit is to the other end…. [showing that the sun is available on the earth as it turns on its axis] …And there is nothing hidden from its heat" (vs 4-6).
We bring this into the laws and commandments of God. How does the universe run? By laws! Man has been able to discover some of them. Just enough so they think they know everything, but just enough to prove they know nothing if they reject God.
I'll have to say this. I saw a special on the solar system and the universe by an astronomer who said he does not know one astronomer who does not believe in God. That's quite a profound statement!
Verse 7: "The Law of the LORD is perfect…"
- Why would you want to throw away anything that's perfect?
- What if you had a perfect 2000 karat diamond?
- Would you want to throw it away? Of course not!
"…restoring the soul… (v 7). It's to change your heart and mind and with the Spirit of God, convert you.
"…the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandments of the LORD are pure, enlightening the eyes" (vs 7-8). Quite a Psalm! That ties right in with what we're talking about.
- Do you believe God?
- Do you love God?
- Do you live by every Word of God?
- What is your life?
- What are you doing?
- Where are you going?
- If you're religious, why are you religious?
- Why do you believe the things that you believe?
We're going to answer all these questions as we go along in this series.
Verse 9: "…the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether, more to be desired than gold, yea, much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward" (vs 9-11).
Are not Christians to be rewarded according to their works? Not only commandment-keeping, but of love, of faith, of joy, and all the fruits of the Holy Spirit that go with it? What you need to understand is this: The Bible—Old and New Testaments—is one unified book, being the Word of God to mankind!
Verse 11: "Moreover, by them Your servant is warned…" If you read in the Bible that 'You shall not murder,' you're warned by that. You read in the New Testament that if you have hatred in your heart you're in a murderer in you heart already. You ask God for forgiveness, which He will forgive, then you have been warned and you have taken the right step in keeping the commandments of God. Isn't that true? You can take that with all the commandments of God.
Verse 12: "Who can understand his errors? Oh, cleanse me from my secret faults." Quite a Psalm and how that ties in with the nature of God.
Isaiah 40:26: "Lift up your eyes on high, and behold, Who has created these things…" If you happened to live on Mercury, you couldn't do that. The heat is too intense and there are too many clouds there. The sun never shines on the planet Mercury; likewise, if you lived on Venus. If you lived on Mars, you could see a few things, but if you lived on Saturn and Jupiter, you'd be so encompassed with the gases and things there, you couldn't see it. So, the Earth is unique so that you can fulfill this command by going out and:
Verse 26: "Lift up your eyes on high, and behold, Who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number? He calls them all by names by the greatness of His might, for He is strong in power; not one fails. Why do you say, O Jacob, and O Israel you speak…" (vs 26-27). You put your name there. Whatever your name is, put it right here. If you say:
"…My way is hidden from the LORD…" (v 27).
- I'll go my own way
- I'll decide what I'll do
- I'll pick and choose what I will do with the commandments of God
"…and my cause is disregarded by my God?" (v 27). God doesn't know. "…There is no God…"—in relationship to Psa. 14:1, have you checked your brain lately?
Verse 28: "Have you not known? Have you not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not grow weak nor weary? And His understanding no one can fathom"—except through His Word by His Spirit!
Let's understand something very profound: By whose authority? James 4:11 fulfills another commandment of God, in other words, correction from another commandment of Christ that 'we're to love each other as Christ loved us,' the brethren.
James 4:11: "Brethren, do not talk against one another. The one who talks against a brother, and judges his brother, is speaking against the Law, and is judging the Law…." That's what's very profound and important! Understand this: Every human being judges the Law of God every single day!
- whether you will do right or whether you will do wrong
- whether you will keep the commandments of God or whether you won't
Just to give you one little minute example: Today, in the corporate offices of the United States, 40% of those surveyed have adulterous affairs. Every time one of those affairs are committed, every single man and woman has to justify in his or her mind why they're going to do it, which means that they're judging the Law that says, 'You shall not commit adultery.' As we're going to see, 'religionists' go this:
- concerning the Sabbath
- concerning the Passover
- concerning the Holy Days of God:
- The Days of Unleavened Bread
- Pentecost
- Trumpets
- Atonement
- Tabernacles
- The Last Great Day
If you've never heard of those words or terms, please understand that those are the commanded Feast of God which we will get to in due time. We have to establish first by whose authority? and by whose judgment?
"…But if you judge the Law, you are not a doer of the Law…" (v 11). Everyone who judges the law and does not keep it and is not a 'doer of the Law' sits in the judgment seat of God!
- Where do you sit?
- How do you view God's Word?
Your opinion, unless it's in accord with the Word of God, is not relevant to the Truth, but is relevant to lies, and you make yourself a judge.
"…rather, you are a judge" (v 11). God is the One Who judges. As we already read, He's ready to 'judge the living and the dead.' Didn't Jesus say that 'all judgment is given unto Me?'
We're going to see in part two, how absolutely horrendous that it is to judge God and His Law. There is one whole book in the Bible devoted to that very thing. This is for everyone to understand. It doesn't matter:
- how smart you are
- how powerful you are
- how much education you have
- how many seminaries you've gone to
- how many Sunday sermons you have preached
- how many Sunday School classes you have taught
- how many churches you have attended
- how many times you've done the rosary
- how many times you've done 'our father's' or 'hail Marys'
- how many times you have paid the priest to pray a prayer to get your relatives out of purgatory, according to the false traditions of men to keep people in bondage
This is what James says, v 12: "But there is only one Lawgiver…" Only God!
- not man
- not a religions denomination
- not any of the religions of the world
- not the pope
- not the cardinals
- not any evangelist
- not any shaman
- not any Buddhist priest
- not any Hindu priest
"…there's only one Lawgiver…":
- Who created heavens and earth
- Who made all laws, all commandments
- Who created every human being that there is on the earth
—and yea, created you through the power of procreation that He gave to your mother and father to recreate themselves in their own image. One Lawgiver!
"…Who has power to save and to destroy…" (v 12). No one else has! What man has kept himself alive? None! There is either going to be salvation or destruction.
There has to be repentance first. The first place to begin to get right with God is you go to Him in a private place, get on your knees, confess your sins, ask for forgiveness and begin to study and know the Word of God! When you really come to a deep repentance then you need to be baptized so you can receive the Holy Spirit of God.
That's the way the New Testament teaches it!
All Scripture from The Holy Bible In Its Original Order, A Faithful Version
Scriptural References:
- 2-Timothy 3:15-17
- 2-Timothy 4:1-4
- John 17:17
- 2-Timothy 4:4
- Matthew 22:35-40
- 1-John 5:2-3
- 1-John 2:3-6
- John 14:15, 21
- John 3:16
- John 14:21, 23-24
- John 15:9-10
- Isaiah 40:12-15, 17-26
- Psalm 19:1-12
- Isaiah 40:26-28
- James 4:11-12
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- Psalm 119
- Revelation 14:17
- Psalm 14:1
Also referenced:
- Sermon: Laws of Moses Without the Veil #s 1 & 2
- from: The Holy Bible In Its Original Order, A Faithful Version:
- Appendix H: How Did Jesus Fulfill the Law and the Prophets?
- Appendix M: Beliefs and Doctrines of the New Testament Church
- Appendix N: Rome's Challenge to the Protestants
- from: A Harmony of the Gospels by Fred R. Coulter:Twenty-eight Prophecies Fulfilled on the Crucifixion Day)
FRC: nfs
Transcribed: 04-10-16 Proofed: bo—6/1/16
