Bible Answers to Evangelicals #6

Fred R. Coulter—January 30, 2010

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It is amazing how much selective reading and wrong conclusions come out of examining the Bible the way that the evangelicals do. We've already seen that they say you don't need to follow the Gospels, because that was just to the Jews. And you need to follow Paul's epistles because that was for the Gentiles and he had a revelation that went beyond the Jewish apostles of Peter, James, John and Jude.

Because of that, they are violating what God says in the Scriptures. First of all, God said, 'You shall not add to or take away from'—isn't that correct? If you have it in the Bible and you literally don't cut it out, but you say you 'don't have to read the Old Testament because it's all been fulfilled'; and you don't have to read the Gospels, because that was for the Jews,' then you also have something here in the book of Revelation, chapter 22, which really is not just relating to the book of Revelation alone, but it was the last thing that John did in canonizing the New Testament. So let's read it here, because as we saw: 'the confirmed prophetic Word' means the confirmed inspired New Testament. That's what Peter was writing about.

This follows along with the other instructions that God gave concerning the Old Testament. And He also said, 'Don't go to the nations and say how did they worship their gods and I'll do so to the Lord.' So what do you have when you have all of the holidays of the world that came from what? Pagan origins! You're adding something that God said don't do—isn't that correct? But because they don't read those things, they have no consciousness of what they are doing, plus they are blinded. Blinding comes step-by-step. As you leave off certain of the teachings or commandments of God, a blinding occurs. The more you leave off, the more blinding occurs, to where then you can't understand what's happening.

Revelation 22:18: "For I jointly testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book..." Now that's not just related to the book of Revelation. However, if you go through the book of Revelation, you find some very interesting things—don't you?

Hold your place here and let's come back to Revelation 12, and let's see about commandment keeping. Are the Christians as related in Revelation, the last book of the Bible, are they commandment keeping or not? Revelation 12:17: "Then the dragon [Satan] was furious with the woman and went to make war with the rest of her seed, who... [have done away with the commandments of God. No!] (It says): ...who keep the commandments of God... [Now surely you can't say that the end-time church is just all Jewish—right? And say it's a Jewish church, that's why they keep it.] ...and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." And what is the testimony of Jesus Christ? The Gospels—is it not? Yes, it is!

Come over here to Revelation 14:12. This is just right before the end of the end begins. "Here is the patience of the saints... [Who are the saints? Did Paul address all of his epistles with his greetings to the saints, or to the brethren? Yes!] ...here are the ones... [not Jews, ones] ...who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." The truth is it takes no faith at all to reject the commandments of God. It takes faith to accept them and it takes faith to keep them.

For example: it takes no faith at all to keep Sunday. All you need to do is just find whichever corner church you want as your own, and you go there. You don't keep it like the Sabbath, because the Sabbath is kept from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. You have to have faith to keep it, because [not keeping] it also involves: working, shopping, personal pleasures—doesn't it? Yes, indeed! So that's why it is the commandments and the faith of Jesus.

Now the faith of Jesus means what? The faith which comes from Jesus, which then means it takes Jesus' faith through the power of the Holy Spirit, so that you keep the commandments of God the way that God intended. And how did Jesus define that they would be kept, as we covered in one of the other segments here, which is this: 'You've heard it said of old time you shall not murder. I say to you, you shall not hate. You've heard it said of old time you shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, you shall not lust after a woman, because you've already committed adultery in your heart.' Then He went on further and what did Jesus say? And isn't this the epitome of total Christian character? 'You shall not forswear yourself, but let your yes be yes and your no be no.' Now that's the hardest thing for human nature. Because too many times we like to do what? We like to say, 'Yes, but...' 'No, but...' Agree, but leave yourself a little wiggle room—right? Isn't that the way it really is? You've got your little excuse.

So if you just want to restrict it to the book of Revelation, because you don't believe my explanation that it means the whole New Testament because John was the one who canonized the New Testament and this was his finalization of the whole thing, if you don't want to accept that, how are you going to avoid Rev. 12:17 and 14:12? You can't avoid it, it's right there—is it not? Yes!

Go back here to Revelation 22:14: "Blessed are those who keep His commandments..." Again, he didn't say the Jews, did he? What do evangelicals say? We'll do this just like they say on Fox News. We'll give you what the evangelicals say. I have a long letter that a man wrote to me stating all of these things, so I'm going off of what he's stating to me. So we're going to give you both sides and you decide, because you have to choose.

And are you going to choose God's way, or are you going to choose a man's way? Are you going to choose a human interpretation or are you going to choose a Biblical interpretation, comparing Scripture with Scripture? You have to decide! Ultimately, God is going to be your Judge. So now you have the choice of this: If you do well and do what Jesus said and keep His commandments, He's going to say, 'Well done, good and faithful servant'—right? Is that what you want to hear at the resurrection? Oh, you're going to heaven. Well, sorry, you won't hear that because the New Testament only shows the resurrection. So you better think that one over again.

Or do you want Jesus to say, like He did to the lazy servant that He gave a talent and he went and buried it in the earth? 'You wicked and slothful servant.' Which do you want? If you reject portions of the Bible, and you haven't proved how Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, and you reject the Gospels, and you reject the General Epistles, and you reject half of what Paul wrote, is He not going to say, 'You wicked and slothful servant'? He's not going to say you're blessed, because you weren't keeping the commandments.

Notice what else, v 14 again: "Blessed are those who keep His commandments, that they may have the right to eat of the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.... [You're not going to have eternal life. You're not going to be in New Jerusalem.] ...But excluded are dogs, and sorcerers, and fornicators, and murderers, and idolaters, and everyone who loves and devises a lie" (vs 14-15). Now if you believe the lying interpretations of men about throwing out the commandments of God and getting rid of the Gospels and the General Epistles and half of the Epistles of Paul, what category do you think you're going to fall into?

Verse 18: "For I jointly testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, that if anyone adds to these things, God shall add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the book of life, and from the Holy City, and from the things that are written in this book" (vs 18-19).

Now that's almost as strong as Deut.30—isn't it?—and we will see how there is a similarity, even though this was given to Israel, but the same things applies to all of us. Let's see what God set before them, because God sets before all of us choices, and those choices are what we have to make. God has given us free moral agency. Isn't that amazing that God would create human beings in such a way that they can totally reject Him and despise Him, reject His commandments and sin against Him. Now if you and I made a creation, we'd made it more like a robot. We'd wind it up and program it, and it better right well do what we program it to do or we'll wing-ding it, or something else.

Here's what God says here in Deuteronomy 30:15: "Behold, I have set before you this day life and good... [Now isn't that what everyone wants? Life and good] ...and death and evil... [Now there are some people who want death and evil, but most people don't. But nevertheless, that's the choice that's been set before us.] ...In that I command you this day to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments so that you may live and multiply...." (vs 15-16).

No one wants to die early—do they? No, not even the murderer who is caught. What is the first thing he says when he's surrounded by police with their guns pointed at him? 'Don't shoot, don't shoot.' That always gets to me when they arrest a serial killer. Yes, they're so courageous they can kill people, but they're so cowardly that they won't sacrifice their own life when they're caught. But you only get that if you do God's ways.

"...And the LORD your God shall bless you in the land where you go to possess it. But if your heart turn away so that you will not hear... [Now you need to consider this, all you evangelicals. Does your heart turn away from the Word of God that you won't hear it? Like this man demonstrated in his letter to me. We'll look at some of these things again.] ...but shall be drawn away and worship other gods and serve them'" (vs 16-17).

Well stop and think a minute. What was the great sin of the children of Israel down through all their history? They forsook the commandments of God—correct? What else did they do? They worshipped the sun god—didn't they? And on which day is that? That's Sunday! They rejected the Holy Days of God and what do they keep? All the pagan holidays! So, don't get out there and say, 'Oh, look at us, we're so advanced and we're so spiritual and we're so good.' You really aren't doing any more than the sins of the children of Israel. And what did God do to the children of Israel because they sinned? He sent the northern ten tribes off into captivity and Judah didn't learn the lesson and they went off into captivity to Babylon. Isn't that correct? Why did they go?

What makes the evangelicals think that they have a corner on the understanding of the Bible and a corner on how to get to heaven? The truth is no one's getting to heaven. The truth is unless you can walk through walls, you're not born again. The truth is if you still sin, which you do, every Sunday when you go to church you're sinning. 'Oh, no I'm not.' Well, you better check up on some things. If you're still sinning, you're not going to receive the blessing of attaining to the first resurrection. Won't happen. And no souls go to heaven, so we'll cover that at another time.

"'...you will not hear, but shall be drawn away and worship other gods and serve them. I denounce to you this day that you shall surely perish...'" (v 18). Isn't that what is happening to the Protestants in evangelical church? Yes! In the book, Quitting Church, it lays out the case that the ministers are not taught the right things, most of them don't last five years. The people in the churches who have been there for a number of years are going out one door, because they're bored, same-old, same-old, and what they're learning is nothing new. New people are coming in and so it's just a transfer of people. They estimate because of the way the evangelicals and the Catholics have been running their churches, and people just exercising discernment and judgment are saying, 'This is not of God.' There are 76-million people who are staying home or church-hopping, or looking for God.

Now I got an email, actually two, just yesterday. One man said, 'Hooray, I found your site. It's got everything with Truth on there. Yippee!' That was his email. And another one from a small group up in Minnesota said, 'We're a church at home. Do you have anyone else near us?' That was to CBCG.org, so I said, 'Why don't you go to Church at Home.' I said, 'I don't know the geographical location of it [the town], but we do have some people in Minnesota, so if you want to tell me where you're really located, then I can try and figure out if there's someone that might be interested in meeting with you.'

That's also why, brethren, I am going through this Answers to the Evangelicals, because you are going to have to answer those questions when new people come along. We don't know when they're going to come. I don't expect vast numbers of people. I expect a few here and a few there as God calls them. But you have to be able to answer the questions. So this is why I'm going through it. This is what the choices are.

Now notice v 19: "'I call heaven and earth to record this day against you... [Question: What did Jesus say concerning the Law and the Prophets? He said, 'I did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. For I tell you, that one jot or one tittle shall in no way pass from the law until all be fulfilled.' That includes heaven and earth. 'Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall never pass away.' Does that not sound an awful lot like v 19?] ...I call heaven and earth to record this day against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life, so that both you and your seed may live, that you may love the LORD your God, and may obey His voice, and may cleave to Him; for He is your life and the length of your days, so that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers—to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob—to give it to them'" (vs 19-20). Now we have a different inheritance inasmuch as it's going to be the Kingdom of God—is that not true? Yes! So there you have it. That's pretty straightforward—isn't it?

Let's cover this one here. I think I've mentioned it, but let's go into it again a little bit more here. Let me read what he wrote. He said, 'You covered Rom. 15:8 in your first recording, refuting the idea about the different gospels, but you didn't cover Rom. 15:16-18. Why not?' Well, I will. 'Isn't it clear that in contrast Paul says that 'I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the Gospel of God that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable being sanctified by the Holy Spirit.' All right, let's read that, but let's also understand: Never read a Scripture in isolation. You have to put it all together.

Let's come to Romans 15:8 and then we will read all the way down to that section. Then we will look at some other Scriptures and compare what it says and what the true meaning really is. So with this kind of reading, what you're doing is creating loopholes so you don't have to obey God.

Romans 15:8: "Now I tell you that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, so that He might confirm the promises given to the fathers... [Yes, He had to do that, because He said He would. If He didn't do it, He would have been a liar—right? And He had to fulfill the prophecy of Deut. 18:15, that He would be that Prophet, that He would come to the people, reveal the Word of God. There's a principle in the New Testament, we'll see in just a little bit, to the Jew first and then to the Gentile. We'll examine that a little bit further.] ...and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, exactly as it is written: 'For this cause I will confess You among the Gentiles, and I will praise Your name' And again it says, 'Rejoice, all you Gentiles, with His people'; And again, 'Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; and praise Him, all you peoples'..... [That's everyone in the world.] ...And again, Isaiah says, 'There shall be a root of Jesse, and He that arises shall rule the Gentiles: in Him shall all the Gentiles hope'.... [So there again, that's talking about the first coming of Christ and eventually the Kingdom of God on the earth, and all Gentile nations coming to Jerusalem as we find there in Isa. 2 and Micah 4. You have to put all the Scriptures together.] ...May the God of hope fill you now with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope and in the power of the Holy Spirit. But I myself am also persuaded concerning you, my brethren, that you are full of goodness, and are being filled with all knowledge, and are able to admonish one another" (vs 8-14).

Very interesting! Everyone have enough character and knowledge of the Word of God that they're able to admonish one another, so that they can be self-correcting, not like we have today in most ministries, that the pastor does all the thinking and all the problem solving for all the brethren. That's not true! Paul has the right approach. You teach brethren how to live and govern their own lives and how, through the Word of God, to solve their own problems.

I get a magazine sent to me because they send it out, it's called Church Executive. It sounds very impressive. That is the church pastor is like a corporate executive, which is the opposite of what Jesus said. You're to serve everyone, but how's the best way to serve them? Teach them the Word of God, so they can have a personal relationship between each one and God. So this is what he's saying here, that they're able to admonish one another. Paul was not there all the time. They didn't have telephones; they didn't have iPODs and tweeters, and all of these sort of things, email. No! When Paul left town, what about it? They were on their own—isn't that correct? They appointed elders in every city, that is true, but what were the instructions given to the elders? The same that was given to Timothy, how to serve the brethren and teach them so that they can live their lives the way they need to.

Now we're getting down to the verses he [the questioner] said I left out, so hold on; v 15: "So then, I have more boldly written to you, brethren, in part as a way of reminding you, because of the grace that was given to me by God. In order that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ unto the Gentiles to perform the Holy service of teaching the Gospel of God... [Who taught Paul? Jesus did! Who taught the other twelve apostles? Jesus did! Do you think that Jesus would teach a different gospel? 'Well, He didn't teach circumcision.' Well, there's a higher form of circumcision, called circumcision of the heart. Paul explains that very clear. Understand this, as we covered last time, every time there is a fulfillment of something of a physical nature from the Old Testament, it is replaced by a higher spiritual standard through the New Testament.

• The temple was destroyed, but now we have access to the temple in heaven above—correct?
• No high priest to go into the temple on earth once a year on the Day of Atonement; now we can come directly into the Holy of Holies through prayer every day.

Higher standard! Higher requirement! We need the Spirit of God.] ...so that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, I have cause for boasting in Christ Jesus as to the things pertaining to God. For I will not presume to speak about anything that Christ has not worked out by me for the obedience of the Gentiles, through word and work... [Now we'll look at some of those in just a minute.] ...through the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit of God; so that in a circuit from Jerusalem to Illyricum, I have fully preached the Gospel of Christ" (vs 15-19).

Let's look at what Paul taught. Don't you think that's a fair examination of how we need to look at these things? What did he teach? Did he teach one thing in one church, another thing in another church? Let's come back to Romans 1, because as you read the book of Acts, what do you find? What did Paul do? He went to the Jews first. He went to the synagogue first. Now we'll examine that in other segments here.

Romans 1:16: "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ because it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes—both to the Jew first, and to the Greek." Does that sound like he preached one thing to one and one thing to another? No!

If you walk in a room and someone is up there first, you greet them and meet them and shake hands with them. Later someone clear at the back of the room, you eventually get back there, and you greet them, shake hands, and meet them. Have you a different kind of greeting for the one you first met vs the one clear at the back of the room? Of course not!

Verse 17: "For therein... [the Gospel.] ...the righteousness of God is revealed from faith unto faith, according as it is written: 'The just shall live by faith.'" No difference, no discrimination there at all—is there? Let's see how this verifies what he was told back here in Acts 9, when he was called. Now we'll come back to Acts 9 again for another segment of that when we get to examining about baptism, because there are many evangelicals who say you don't need to be baptized. All you need to do is believe in Jesus and accept the Lord and you're saved. Let's see what happened when he was called. You know what happened. Paul was knocked to the ground, and he was led back into Damascus, he was not able to see and he did not eat or drink.

Acts 9:10: "Now there was in Damascus a certain disciple named Ananias.... [Didn't say he was an elder, didn't say he was a deacon—a disciple.] ...And the Lord said to him in a vision, 'Ananias.' And he said, 'Behold, I am here, Lord.' And the Lord said to him, 'Arise and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one named Saul from Tarsus; for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming and putting his hands on him, so that he may receive sight…. [Now this was well before cell phones, so God did it this way.] …Then Ananias answered, 'Lord, I have heard from many people about this man, how many evil things he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And even in this place he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.' But the Lord said to him, 'Go, for this man is a chosen vessel to Me to bear My name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel" (vs 10-15). So he always went to the Jew first.

Let's see something else. Let's come back here to Romans 11. Let's see where the Gospel originates. I think this is very interesting. He's talking about the Jews who fell because of sin. Romans 11:12: "Now if their transgression be the riches of the world, and their failure be the wealth of the Gentiles, how much more will their fullness be? I am speaking to you, the Gentiles, inasmuch as I am an apostle of the Gentiles—I magnify my service... [Let's see if we detect any different gospel here, because this will be important.] ...if by any means I might provoke to jealousy those of my flesh, and might save some among them. For if their casting away be the reconciliation of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, except life from the dead? Now if the firstfruit is Holy... [Who were the first firstfruits? The Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem—right?—30A.D., all Jews, maybe a few proselytes.] ...if the firstfruit is Holy, the lump is also Holy; and if the root is Holy, the branches are also Holy. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and you became a fellow partaker of the root and of the fatness of the olive tree" (vs 12-17).

Now that's very clear! The Gentiles had no life except it came through the olive tree of Israel and the roots went clear back to whom? Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—right? Have to! So he says, v 18: "Do not boast against the branches; but if you are boasting against them, remember that you do not hear the root; rather, the root bears you…. [And that was the tree of God's way.] …Will you then say, 'The branches were broken off in order that I might be grafted in'? That is true! Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be high-minded, but fear.... [Some of this writing here sounds a little high-minded—doesn't it? Against the Gospel to the Jews, against Jesus Christ Himself? Yes, indeed!] ...For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest He not spare you either" (vs 18-21).

Amazing warning—isn't it? What he's really saying is: The Gospel came through Israel and you're grafted in, and you receive the sap from the tree, which is likened to the Holy Spirit.

Verse 22: "Therefore, behold the graciousness and the severity of God: upon those who fell severity; and upon you, graciousness, if you continue in His graciousness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, shall be grafted in because God is able to graft them in again…. [So this doesn't sound like a different gospel just cut out of space, as it were, when Christ was teaching Paul when he was three years in the Arabian Desert—does it? No, it's a continuation.] …For if you were cut off from an olive tree which by nature is wild, and contrary to nature were grafted into a good olive tree, how much more shall those who according to nature were from the good olive tree be grafted back into their own olive tree?" (vs 22-24). So there you have it.

What did Paul teach in the churches, and did he teach one thing in one church and another thing in another church? Or was there a consistency all the way through.

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Let's see what Paul held up as an example for the first Greek church that he had, which was in Thessalonica. If there is a different gospel that Paul was preaching, can we really find it? 1-Thessalonians 2:12: "And earnestly testifying, that you may walk worthily of God, Who is calling you to His own kingdom and glory." Now that sounds like an awful lot like John 6:44-45—doesn't it? Yes, that God is the One who's calling us, it's the Father and Christ together.

Let's read v 1: "Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians, which is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." So that's what he's teaching them—right? Yes!

Come back down to v 13: "Because of this, we give thanks to God without ceasing: that when you received the Word of God, which you heard from us, you did not accept it as the word of men, but even as it is in Truth—the Word of God, which is also working in you who believe. For, brethren, you became imitators of the Church of God in Judea which are in Christ Jesus... [That does not sound like a different gospel—does it? If you're going to imitate what the Jews did in Judea, how can it be a different gospel?] ...because you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they also suffered from the Jews; who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and drove you out, and do not please God, and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles... [No, the Jews didn't want that. The Jews not of the church, that is.] ...so that they might be saved in order to fill up their sins always. But the wrath has come upon them to the uttermost" (vs 13-16). No hint of a different gospel—right? Why would he say, 'imitate the Churches of God in Judea which are in Christ Jesus'? That's very specific—right?

Let's answer the question: Did Paul teach differently in different churches. Now each epistle is different—isn't it? But that doesn't mean he taught different things to different churches. 1-Corinthians 7:17—notice what he wrote, what this tells us. "Let each one walk only as God has apportioned to him, according as the Lord has called him; and this is what I command in all the churches." All the churches. So there's no difference in the Gospel.

As was brought up, if it was different, what would that make Paul? A hypocrite! If he's a hypocrite, then he's a liar. Because if he gives one version of the Truth to this church, another version of Truth to this church, another version of Truth to this church, then there'd be mass confusion.

Now let's come here to 1-Corinthians 14; let's see something very important. We need to understand what this is all about and what Paul was doing. 1-Corinthians 14:33: "For God is not the author of confusion... [Right? So he'd have to teach the same thing in all the churches. Someone will say, 'Well, why isn't that recorded?' The statement alone is all that's necessary, doesn't have to record everything. But he covers particular things for the different churches.] ...God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints." Again, all the churches.

Look at the problems that you have with Christianity in the world. Every church teaches something different. Look at the problems you even have in some of the Churches of God. God's looking down on us. Are we being faithful to the Word of God or not? Are we humbly seeking God or are we out there doing our own thing and lifted up in our own vanity, and all that sort of nonsense? That's never going to work. Always remember this: The vanity of man does not bring the righteousness of God. Very true!

The teachings of men do not bring the teachings of God. True. 'God is not the author of confusion, but of peace,' which then means

• harmony
• truth
• understanding

—as in all the churches. Come down to v 36. This is pretty powerful. Paul writes: "WHAT?…. [In other words: What are you thinking about?] ...Did the Word of God originate with you?…. [Let's ask that of the evangelicals. If you slice and dice the Word of God to the way that you want to accept it—did it originate with you?] ...Or did it come only to you and no one else?.... [No, the whole Bible is given so it goes to everyone in the same form—right? Yes!] ...If anyone thinks that he is a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things I write to you are commandments of the Lord" (vs 36-37). Now that's pretty powerful—isn't it? Likewise, all the epistles that Paul wrote and you can't separate one from the other and say they're different. Now, some are more corrective, because of certain problems like to the Corinthians. Others are more inspirational, like Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. So there you have it.

Now notice what he says, v 38, so likewise Paul is saying to the evangelicals: "But if anyone chooses to be ignorant, let him be ignorant." If you want to reject the Gospels and you want to reject the General Epistles, and you want to reject the things in Paul's epistles that you consider to have too much concerning law and commandments, then you've joined the heretic, Marcian, who did the same thing in 200A.D. So like Solomon said, 'There's nothing new under the sun'—right?

Since we're in 1-Corinthians 9, let's look at another very interesting verse. That tells us an awful lot—doesn't it? This man also asked me, and we covered it, 'Are we under the law?' Well, he doesn't even understand the phrase under the law, because that comes from the Greek 'works of law' not 'the law.' Works of law referring to the laws and works of Judaism.

1-Corinthians 9:20: "Now to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to those who are under law, as under law, that I might gain those who are under law; To those who are without law, as without law (not being without law to God... [So he didn't preach a lawless grace like the evangelicals do.] ...but within law to Christ)... [Now the King James says: 'but under the law to Christ.' So you don't even read it enough to answer your own question, 'Are we under the law.' If you believe in the King James, Paul says he was under the law—right? To Christ. But the Greek is 'en nomos'—meaning within law to Christ. Meaning what? Commandment-keeping!] ...that I might gain those who are without law" (vs 20-21). So he never became lawless.

Let's see what else he says here in 1-Corinthians 7:18: "Was anyone called being circumcised? Do not let him be uncircumcised.... [That may sound strange to you, but they did have a certain operation where they were able to finagle things in the particulars and make it look like they had not been circumcised, though they had been.] ...Was anyone called in uncircumcision? Do not let him be circumcised. For circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothingrather, the keeping of God's commandment is essential" (vs 18-19).

Since you don't like the Jewish epistles, we're going to go there anyway, because we use them. Let's come to 1-John 2, expressed a little differently than what Paul wrote, but in exact agreement with what Paul wrote. He said keeping of the commandments is the key, not circumcision. Now what did John write? Is this different? Maybe worded differently, but the principle is the same.

1-John 2:3: "And by this standard we know that we know Him: if we keep His commandments." Now doesn't that sound almost exactly like what we just read that Paul wrote? Of course, but you decide, because you have to come to yourself concerning these things. If you want to go around with blinders on, and if you want to presume to yourself to throw out this part of the Bible, and throw out that part of the Bible, and not read this part of the Bible, not accept the Gospels, not accept the General Epistles, and not accept a lot of what Paul wrote because it doesn't agree with your version of what you think the grace of God is. If that's your choice, then you're going to have to answer to the judgment of God concerning it.

But if you love God, and you want to really show your love to Him, John, that Jewish apostle—pardon the expression and sarcasm—wrote and told us how to do it. So if you will forbear and listen, let's go on. "The one who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (v 4). Now what category does that put you? Notice, it doesn't say, 'The Jew who says...' Because when John wrote this, this was later when he was not ministering to the Jews alone, but the Jews and Gentiles. Where did the Apostle John end up after Jerusalem was destroyed? He ended up in Ephesus—didn't he? That's a church that Paul founded—right? Yes! He probably wrote this from there.

Let's read that again. Ask yourself: where do I fall, how does God view me? It doesn't make any difference how you view me. It doesn't make any difference how I may view you. I won't view you and judge you. The Word of God is going to judge you and you have to judge yourself. Verse 4: "The one who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the Truth is not in him. On the other hand, if anyone is keeping His Word... [And remember what we read in John 12?] ...truly in this one the love of God is being perfected…. [Now what does it mean 'keeping His Word?' That's the whole message, everything that Jesus taught—right? What happens, you say you want love, you want grace.] :...truly in this one the love of God is being perfected. By this means we know that we are in Him" (vs 4-5). So you take it the opposite way around, and if you're not doing vs 3, 4 & 5, you have to conclude even though you profess Jesus, you are not in Him. Wouldn't you have to conclude that? Don't we have to rightly judge the Scripture? It's not what you think, it's not a matter of what you believe. You may believe contrary to the Truth. It's what the Word of God says.

Now if you believe the Word of God and all of it, then you're going to come to the same conclusion. Isn't that true? Isn't this clear enough? How could you miss that? You think you're in Christ. All right, judge yourself. Verse 6: "Anyone who claims to dwell in Him is obligating himself also to walk even as He Himself walked." Now how are you going to do that if you do not accept the Gospel? If you do not accept the so-called Jewish apostles? They were apostles of Christ, not Jewish apostles. Does that not also agree with what Paul wrote?

Let's come back here to Ephesians 5. Let's compare this with the teaching of Paul. Let's see how he covers exactly the same thing in different words. Ephesians 5:1: "Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love... [What did we just read back there in 1-John 2:6? 'You're obligating yourself to walk even as He walked.' How is that different from 'be imitators of God, as beloved children and walk in love, even as Christ also loved us'? How is that a different gospel? How are those different teachings? It's just not! Evangelicals are in a delusional denial.

A lot of you may really be gung-ho for trying to overcome the problems and delusions of our current President, and are very willing to point out the mistakes, because you're voting evangelicals—correct? Why don't you get the beam out of your own eye and judge your own self? You say that those who keep the commandments are contrary to grace and God. No! Was Paul contrary to grace and God here? No! Notice how he expressed keeping the commandments:

"...even as Christ also loved us, and gave Himself for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor. But fornication... [You shall not commit adultery.] ...and all uncleanness... [Now think about that!] ...or covetousness... [10th commandment] ...do not permit it even to be named among you, as is fitting for saints" (vs 2-3).

• Does that not demand commandment-keeping?
• Does it not?
• Let's look at it this way: Was Christ God manifested in the flesh? Yes!
• Did Christ keep the Sabbath? Yes!
• How are you going to obligate yourself to walk as He walked if you reject the Sabbath Day and keep Sunday? You can't do it.
• How are you going to imitate God who created the Sabbath Day for mankind?

How is that going to be?

No one has challenged the evangelicals because they are the ones in the know. That's not true. The evangelicals have been gradually deceived now for about fifty years. You have, as what I related in the segment before this, a fast-food Christianity. You zip into church and you get a quick meal and you go out. You don't really feast on the Word of God. This is what is to feed us. Not a little here, not a little there, not some Scripture, not what you like, but what God says and demands.

Now notice. He says: "...do not permit it even to be named among you, as is fitting for saints; nor filthiness, nor foolish talking or jesting, which are not becoming; but instead, thanksgiving.... [Now notice he gives a warning. Now in giving this warning, I want you to consider this: Of the white women who have abortions, it's been noted that more than fifty percent of them are so-called professing Christians. How did the women get pregnant? Well, you can't blame the man alone, because it takes 'two to tango'—is that not correct?] ...For this you know, that no fornicator, or unclean person, or covetous person who is an idolater... [So all of you who are good Catholics, you need to think about this.] ...has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God" (vs 3-5). Isn't that interesting?

Why don't you take v 5, all of you who are good Catholics, and see how your priests stack up. Did you know that they paid billions to cover up the pedophile activities of the priests in the Roman Catholic Church in the United States? I'm picking on the Catholics here. Lest someone think that I'm just picking on Catholics alone, that applies to all mankind: Protestants, Catholics, those of other religions, Buddhists, etc. The Muslims are way out in left field concerning these things, so we will leave them to their own mental dementia.

Now you ought to listen to this verse, because if you go to church and you hear that all of these things are justified and it sounds so good, and it sounds so smooth, and it sounds so wonderful, listen up. Verse 6: "Do not let anyone deceive you with vain words..."

• Is it not vain to say the Lawgiver did away with His law?
• Is it not vain to say that Paul had a different gospel?
• Is it not vain to say that keeping the commandments of God we are not required to do?
• What does that produce if you don't believe in keeping the commandments of God?
• You have lawlessness—right? Isn't that true?

You need to think about it. You need to judge yourself.

• Are you lawless?

Come back to Matthew 7; let's see what Christ said about those preachers who would come to Him in the day of judgment and say, 'Oh, we've done all these wonderful things.' Since you don't like to read the words of Christ, those who are evangelicals, we're going to read them, because these are the words that are going to judge you. You need to think about this. You need to examine your life. You need to examine the church you're going to. You need to examine those things that you do where you think you are Christian with the Word of God and with Christ, because He's the One who brought the words of salvation, and you're obligating yourself to walk even as He walked—correct? Yes!

Matthew 7:13: "Enter in through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter through it..." And that means the majority of people. So if you have a nice easy, cozy, cut-down fast-food Christianity, where you just believe in the Lord, you don't have any baptism, you don't have to follow the Gospels of Christ, you don't have to follow the General Epistles, you just take certain select verses out of the Epistles of Paul that you like, and now you are elite and know more than anyone else. Is that really true? What you're really saying is that God gave the Bible in vain. Why give the whole Bible, if all that is required is what the evangelicals tell you? If you judge it by the Bible, you will find them liars, indeed! If you listen to those and practice that, you're participating in their lies—are you not?

It's time to sit down and think and be spiritually strong and look at these things and analyze them the way that God does. Always remember this: It's not what I think or you think, it's what God thinks. And what is the ultimate thing that we are to have, if you don't want the Gospels? What are you going to do with Phil. 2:5 which says, 'Let this mind be in you, which was in Christ Jesus.' How's that going to happen if you never read the Gospels? Is God going to funnel it into your head? How do you think it's going to happen?

Evangelicalism is the broad way, v 14: "'For narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life, and few are those who find it"—because they are not willing to repent. 'Many are called, but few are chosen,' because few repent! I'm going to give some sermons on repentance, too, so we really know what it is. It's time to challenge these things. It's time to bring them out in the open. You want to know the Truth of God? You better believe it. It's contained in the whole Bible and He didn't send it to us in vain. It will be a witness against you if you don't believe it.

How many times did Jesus say, 'beware,' 'be on guard.' Here it is, v 15: "'But beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, for within they are ravening wolves.... [But on the outside, they're nice and sweet and lovely and good and tell jokes and tell very nice little humanistic stories, etc.] ...You shall know them by their fruits. They do not gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles, do they? In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a corrupt tree produces evil fruit" (vs 15-17). Why do you think that 76-million people in the United States alone are leaving their Catholic and Protestant churches because they're not being fed. They go from church to church, 'Where is God, what do they preach? Everything is so bland.' They all say the same thing.

One man said, 'I quit going to church after going to church for twenty years and hearing the same-old, same-old. I stayed home for year and I read the Psalms and I learned more about God in that one year than I did going to church for twenty years.' This is why we study the Bible. It's the Word of God. These are the words of life. What are their fruits?

Verse 18: "'A good tree cannot produce evil fruit, nor can a corrupt tree produce good fruit.... [You're not going to get something out of evangelicalism that is a corruption of Christianity. It's their own brand. They're stealing the words of God that they want for themselves. And they're stealing the gospel of what they want for themselves, but they have no relationship to God. But it looks so good and sounds so good.] (Now notice, judgment comes): ...Every tree that is not producing good fruit is cut down and is cast into the fire.... [Now that's the Lake of Fire.] ...Therefore, you shall assuredly know them by their fruits'" (vs 18-20).

Now you're going to say, 'Well, how do we know what Jesus is talking about?' "Not everyone... [Notice, it's not just the Jews He's talking to.] ...Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord'..." (v 21). Do you say to Jesus, 'Lord, Lord'? Do you say, 'know the Lord'? Do you claim you're born again? If you're born again, disappear and become invisible, because that's what Jesus said, 'So if everyone who's born again, he's like the wind. Comes and goes and we don't know where it's coming from or where it's going.' And you can't see the wind, you can only see the effect if it moves something. You need to think these things through. You need to understand the Word of God. And by the way, that's in the Gospel of John, which, if you are an evangelical, it's part of what you reject, so you don't understand it.

"…Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but the one who is doing the will of My Father, Who is in heaven" (v 21). Didn't Jesus say all the words He spoke came from God the Father? So what are you confronted with then? If you don't believe the words of Jesus, who are you rejecting? Are you rejecting Jesus? Are you rejecting God the Father? Didn't He say, 'I speak what the Father commanded Me'? Didn't He say, 'I speak nothing of Myself'? Yes, indeed!

Now notice what is going to happen and this is going to be a day of reckoning because as much as you want to put it off into the future, a day of reckoning is going to come. It's like this: In the building where our office is, we're up on the second floor, and down on the first floor is a smoke shop where they sell cigarettes and cigars. The sign reads: Smokers' Paradise. So what do they do? And when I park my car, I see some come in and some go out, and there's some young people, there's some old people. There's some obviously very sick. They know that smoking can cause cancer, but they everyone deludes himself into thinking, 'It won't happen to me.' But the day of reckoning comes! So the paradise that they think they're going to have from smoking will become hell on earth because of the sickness and disease that they have, be it lung cancer, kidney cancer, pancreatic cancer, heart problems, etc.

So it's just like this. The day of reckoning is coming and here's the day of reckoning, v 21: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but the one who is doing the will of My Father, Who is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy through Your name?.... ['I had a great ministry.'] ...And did we not cast out demons through Your name?.... [And isn't that what You said Your disciples would do?] ...And did we not perform many works of power through Your name?'.... [And He will say, 'Oh, you're such good people. You really intended to do well.' No! They thought God was on their side, but they weren't on God's side.] ...And then I will confess to them, 'I never knew you.... ['You mean You never knew me? I prayed to you every Sunday. I gave the mass three times every Sunday, twice during the week. I really loved that wine, by the way, it was really good wine.'] ...I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who work lawlessness'" (vs 21-23). If you reject the laws and commandments of God, are you not lawless? And are we not commanded to not be like the lawless ones? Yes, indeed!

Let me show you're spoken of here, hold your place and let's come to Matthew 24, and let's see where it's prophesied of you. Because the problems and difficulties in American society is because the Christianity in America is so ungodly and so evil and so corrupt, more than Washington, D.C., because you have created the society, all the ministers and priests of Christianity of the world. And someone's going to say, 'Well, who are you to sit there and say this?' All right, I'm nothing, but if I read the Word of God and I can look out here and see that it's happening, I can say the Word of God is true and I say the Word of God says you're responsible.

Matthew 24:4: "Then Jesus answered and said to them... [When they wanted to know when these things should take place and the completion of the age.] ...'Be on guard, so that no one deceives you. For many shall come in My name, saying, "I am the Christ"; and they shall deceive many.... [v 10]: ...And then shall many be led into sin... [Is that not what is happening now? People are led into sin because they can get abortions, because they can get drugs. They have no obligation to God. They have no obligation to their parents. They have all of these just out here in whatever you choose society—right? How is that done?] ...and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another... [Doesn't that describe our society now? Oh, yes, everybody hates everybody. I get hate mail because of preaching of this. Well, judge yourself. If you ask questions like this man did, I'll answer them. Notice what causes it:] ...And many false prophets shall arise, and shall deceive many…. [that is the majority] …And because lawlessness shall be multiplied...'" (vs 4-5, 10-12) Where does the lawlessness originate? From the pulpit.

• You don't have to keep the Sabbath, you can keep Sunday.
• You don't have to avoid unclean meats, you can eat anything.
• You don't have to keep the Holy Days, you can keep the holidays.

All of those things originated in paganism.

• You don't have to read the Gospels, because that's for the Jews.
• You don't have to read the General epistles, because that's from the Jewish apostles, etc.

You're contributing to the lawlessness. People walk into your church and the first thing they hear from the pulpit is, 'Jesus abolished the law.' What are you creating? Lawlessness! And caught up in that lawlessness are the priests and the ministers.

Because of that: "...the love of many shall grow cold'" (v 12). Do we have a cold, uncaring society today? Yes, indeed, anywhere you go in the world—isn't that true? Yes! And here in America the last hope for the world, we're becoming as corrupt as the rest of the world, because we've invited them in.

Now back to Matthew 7:23 and then we'll see how Jesus concludes this. And again, He lays it out for you to decide. So you have to evaluate your life in the light of Jesus' teaching and the light of the Word of God, and you have to determine what you're going to do. Matthew 7:23: "And then I will confess to them, 'I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who work lawlessness.' Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and practices them, I will compare him to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock'" (vs 23-24). And, of course, we know that Rock was Christ—right?

It makes me wonder. In the desert of Dubai they have the tallest building in the world, 2600-feet. At the top is a mosque, which elevates Islam above all the religions of the world. But what is the desert? Sand! I wonder how they did the foundation, how far down they went? Because 2600-feet is an awful long way up in the air. That's a half-mile. God says build on a Rock. We'll see the one who builds on the sand.

"And the rain came down... [because we're all going to have troubles and difficulties] ...and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon the house; but it did not fall, for it was founded upon the rock.... [Now that doesn't describe all of those who are quitting the Christian churches of the world, does it? No, they're leaving, because they aren't grounded. (Now v 26 describes it): ...And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not practice them shall be compared to a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand... [And you see this every year—don't you? When winter's over and the rains come and the floods come—you see what? Houses going down the river, falling off the riverbank—every year. The sand is the easiest to build. Boy, builders love flat, smooth sand. All they do is wet it down. It becomes compacted and then they can throw on the slab and build their house. But if you have to dig down to the rock, you've got to dig caissons and anchor it in, and so forth. Now notice, same trial comes along.] ...and the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon the house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it'" (vs 25-27).

So we all need to examine our lives—what are we building? On what are we really building it? Now if you're building it upon a false Jesus and a false gospel, are you not building on sand? Look at what happened down there in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. They sent building inspectors from California down there who are experts in constructing things in earthquake zones. They said the earthquake was not really the cause. The builders who built those flimsy buildings down there were the cause. They had cheap cement, not enough reinforcement. The whole government building just went poof—collapsed! Everything is flattened!

Then he took a picture of one building and he showed the slide to everyone in the audience, all the structural engineers there and everything and he said, 'One building went through it without a single thing happening to it.' You know what building that was? United States Embassybuilt according to the American code. Perfect illustration—it was built right! So if you build your Christian life right, on Christ—keeping His commandments, not becoming lawless—then you will attain to the Kingdom of God. But if not, just wait, floods are going to come, earthquakes are going to come, all of those things are going to come. Then that's trouble and stress in your life and you're not going to know how to handle it.

So we'll continue on with this. We'll cover the things concerning baptism and some other things. I don't know how many sermons this will be, but like most series we go through, I will quit when I have finished.

Scriptural References:

1. Revelation 22:18
2. Revelation 12:17
3. Revelation 14:12
4. Revelation 22:14-19
5. Deuteronomy 30:15-20
6. Romans 15:8-19
7. Romans 1:16-17
8. Acts 9:10-15
9. Romans 11:12-24
10. 1-Thessalonians 2:12,1,13-16
11. 1-Corinthians 7:17
12. 1-Corinthians 14:33,36-38
13. 1-Corinthians 9:20-21
14. 1-Corinthians 7:18-19
15. 1-John 2:3-6
16. Ephesians 5:1-5
17. Matthew 7:13-23
18. Matthew 24:4-5,10-12
19. Matthew 7:23-27

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Deuteronomy 18:15
• Isaiah 2
• Micah 4
• John 6:44-45
• John 12
• Philippians 2:5

Also referenced: Book: Quitting Church by Julia Duin