Sound Doctrine

What I know, no man has taught me. What I have been given has come through revelation from the Holy Spirit, and NO MAN can take it from me. YOU search for the Truth, and you will find it. Let NOBODY teach you. Listen for truth, then you seek it out.

Galatians 1:11-12 NKJV

But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it  came  through the revelation of Jesus Christ.

I John 2:27 NKJV

But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.

I recently heard the word "Gospel" used in tandem with a doctrine stating that children are born without sin. Such a thing is obvious heresy, and must be addressed. All sound doctrine works together like building blocks, creating a solid foundation of faith and understanding. The idea that we are born without sin is in DIRECT conflict with the Word of God, making it an enemy of the Gospel, NOT a building component. If we are born without sin, then the entire premise of the Gospel is compromised and there was no need for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

We are born into sin.

Psalms 51:5
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.

Romans 3:23
...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,...

It is our innate nature that makes us enemies of God and children of wrath.

Ephesians 2:3
...among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

Romans 5:12
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—

There is nothing good within us. We are innately evil at heart. Selfish to the core.

Genesis 6:5
Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Genesis 8:21
And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.

Jeremiah 17:9
“The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?"

Think about this... Look at a child. Have they learned to bite, to fight, to take, to be selfish, to be greedy? No. They just are that way. It would take a very disillusioned person to look at a child and call them innately good. As parents we have to constantly bring them under correction to encourage sharing, not biting, not hitting, etc. They do not learn to be evil, but they must learn to be good.

We are ALL sinners. There is NOT ONE that is good. We ALL stand under conviction of the law in our depravity. Know the truth. Study the Word for yourself my friend. More hinges on your knowledge of the truth than you may realize.

1 Timothy 4:15-16
Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.  Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

Love vs. Law

This is a topic that God is having me meditate on quite a bit lately. A dictator lays out the law and then uses force to create fear, producing adherence to their will. This is how the world sees relationship. You see it everywhere. The powerful lord it over the less fortunate in oppression until there is finally a revolt.

This is not just seen in corporate context, but also in individual context. We have terms like "alpha male" and "alpha female" for the overbearing in each sex, and "the one who wears the pants" in a relationship. These things are praised in our culture, for we are all equally deceived as to how a relationship should function. It is in this deception that our view of God is also distorted.

Because we have a tainted view of relationships, and do not know or understand true love, we assume that God functions in this same dysfunctional manner. We view the Law of God as something laid down by a cruel dictator, and listen for the cracking of lightening being sent from Heaven to strike those who fail to bend to His will. If God were anything like us, then surely He would squash us like bugs for not bending to His will.

When Jesus came, he brought a whole new idea with Him. Those of us that belong to Him hear His Word, and we obey. We do not obey out of fear, but rather out of relationship. This is the Gospel of the Kingdom. Through KNOWING the love that God has for us, of which He FIRST loved us, we then have a desire to love Him.

When we begin to know God, understanding what He has done for us, and what He desires, we are transformed, and so is every relationship we have a part in. This is why we are a "new creation", we begin to function and be different from how the rest of the world sees things and believes. It is not because we are better rule followers, or because we are better people, but rather because we know love and relationship.

This understanding then transcends everything we do, think, say, and believe. As a parent I am no longer interested in "laying down the law", and making sure my children do what I think they should. Instead, I live out my faith and relationship with God, and I love my children. I focus on the relationship, building something that will last through whatever we may endure in life together, knowing that from that relationship they will have trust in my direction and love for them.

With our spouse, the need for our "right" dissipates, and I am not concerned about who is "wearing the pants". I can serve my wife faithfully, striving to know her and build a relationship with her, because I know that it is that relationship that will hold us together when the challenges of life are difficult.

Love Over Everything. This life is ALL about relationships, and this understanding comes from forming a working relationship with the living God. This should be our focus, and then the fruit of this relationship will pour out into our lives. This is the Gospel. This is what Jesus has done for us. He has opened the gates to Heaven, and no man can close what He has opened. Repent and turn to God that you may be healed.

Suicide and Hell

Anonymous Question: I only have one question for you sir. What are your beliefs when it come to someone committing suicide? Do they go straight to hell?


My Answer: I don't believe that they do sir. The Bible describes an all powerful, merciful, just, and loving God who has chosen to love us and save us only because it pleases Him to do so. We are ALL sinners, in which nothing good dwells, and the selfishness in us is the evidence of the sin. God saves whom He wishes, and those He saves EVERY sin is forgiven and forgotten. It is God who saves us, not us who saves us, so no matter what we do God will perform His purpose and pleasure. A saved person who has not come to fully know the love God has for them could very easily kill them self, but God's love for that person is unconditional and will not change no matter what they do. God's love is AMAZING!


Romans 9:11, 13-18 NKJV
(for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.” What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.


Daniel 4:35 NKJV
All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, “What have You done?”


Psalms 33:8-12 NKJV
Let all the earth fear the Lord ; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord , The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

If you can hear the voice of Lord calling to your heart my friend, it is because He loves you. Not everyone responds to His voice, but those of us who belong to Him do.

John 10:25-27 NKJV
Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."

What is a Christian?

I asked Hayden how he could tell who was a Christian the other day, but then I told him not to answer that. I said we should take it one step farther, and asked him what a Christian was. He gave the typical worldly textbook answer, no offense to him because he obviously just didn't know the truth yet, of a Christian being someone who follows Jesus example and strives to live like Him. Though innocent on my son's behalf, this is a sick and corrupt lie. Because I love my son, I told him the truth.

A Christian is a person that the living God has filled with His Holy Spirit. Period. No exceptions. Anything else is just a sugar coated facade.

Ezekiel 36:26-27 NKJV

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

John 1:12-13 NKJV

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

My Hard Heart

I realize people assume that the changes in my life have something to do with me not wanting to violate my terms of supervision, but this couldn't be the furthest from the truth. I tried to make changes over the past 15 years that would keep me from getting into trouble, and they were never enough. In 2010 I realized that if I changed the very core of my being, who I was, then everything else would become collateral. Not violating my terms of supervision would just be a byproduct, rather than my focus.

I could not believe how bad I had hurt the ones I loved so much. I remember examining my life to see why it was that I had become such a cold and hurtful person. How could I live in such a way that I had no empathy for anyone, and the only one I cared about was me?

As I was processing through this, I came across the truth that I had responded to being hurt in my life in such a manner as to prevent myself from ever being hurt again. I remember when that girlfriend cheated on me, and how I vowed that I would never get hurt like that again. Over and over memories came to mind. Every time I was hurt, I continued to build walls to protect myself. The whole idea of "becoming stronger through my experiences" had ruined me.

As I prevented myself from being hurt, I likewise inhibited my ability to love. I had made it so that no one could get close enough to my heart to ever hurt me like that again. It had worked. My heart was hard, and my life proved it. I had done some horrific things, and to this day the very thought of what I had done brings me to tears. I couldn't even see what my actions were doing. To me, I had been justified in everything I did because of how hard my heart was. It was all about me.

I NEVER wanted to hurt anyone again, ever. This was the motive for the changes in my life. NOT my "freedom". Why did it matter if I was "free", but my life did not add any value to anyone? I would have been better left behind the prison walls. I found that the only way I could bring down the walls around my heart so that I could once again love was if I was able to trust that it would be OK.

I had to believe that God would take care of me. I had always lived with the strong belief that "if I didn't watch out for me, who would?" This was a leap of faith. I had to let go of my fears, and once again make myself vulnerable. Something I was EXTREMELY scared to do. Nobody likes being hurt. I believed that God does love me, that He will look out for me, and that I did not have to worry about myself. In this place of surrender I found love, forgiveness, and was once again given the ability to love.

OBEDIENCE TO...

There is so much talk about being obedient to the Bible, to the Law, to the Word. I think it is EXTREMELY important to address this is issue straight from the Word, and directly through the Gospel. I will try to be as concise as possible, using the Word to interpret itself as to avoid any outside influence, and go through a direct line of thinking. Most of the books in the New Testament address this very issue, so this is nothing new.


The purpose of the Law:


But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.
- 1 Timothy 1:8-11


Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.  But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
- Galatians 3:21-25


Jesus and the Law:


"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.  For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
- Matthew 5:17-19


For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
- Romans 10:4


Faith VS. Law:


But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.


“But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
- Galatians 2:14-21


For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them." But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.”
- Galatians 3:10-12


For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.”
- Romans 10:5


Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.
- Galatians 5:1-6


Faith working through love:


Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
- Matthew 22:37-40


“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.  This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another."
- John 15:11-17


Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
- 1 John 2:3-6


And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.
- 1 John 3:23


Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
- James 4:17


If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.
- 1 John 4:20-21


Conclusion:


So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
- James 2:12-13


LOVE OVER EVERYTHING, and that love is the PROOF of sonship with the living God.

What about Jesus?

People try to go directly to the Father apart from Jesus, but this is not possible. Without the acknowledgement of who Jesus is, one cannot come to the Father. I hear people say things like "your truth", but there is only one Truth and one Way to the Father. Without acknowledging that Jesus Christ is God we cannot come to the Father.


John 14:6 NKJV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."


The first thing for our finite minds to overcome is the thought that God is a single person, but rather a single entity. The best example I have ever heard was how H2O can be ice, water, and steam yet all still be H2O. The word word Elohim, the first name given to the God of Jacob and Abraham in the Bible, is in it's self plural. In the beginning Elohim created EVERYTHING, and Elohim created man in "their" image.


Genesis 1:1 NKJV

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.


Genesis 1:9, 26 NKJV

Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;..."


Since Jesus plainly says one cannot see the Father, since He is spirit, who then were we made in the image of other than "the image of the invisible God". Hmm... "INVISIBLE God". "None has seen the Father".


John 1:18 NKJV

"No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him."


John 6:46 NKJV

"Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father."


John 4:24 NKJV

"God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”


When Jesus was asked by His disciples to "show" them the Father, He declared that He just had. If anyone is to see the Father, they must see Him in Jesus ONLY.


John 14:7-11

“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”
Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves."


Since "NONE" can see the Father, as He has NO physical form, how were we made in His image? If God made EVERYTHING, yet Jesus also made EVERYTHING, who made EVERYTHING? We then have two other places where it is made clear that Jesus created everything. Either Jesus is God, or the Bible contradicts itself.

John 1:1-3 NKJV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

Colossians 1:15-17 NKJV

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
 

Jesus did not hide this fact either, and was actually crucified for declaring Himself equal with God.
 

John 8:58 NKJV

Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
 

Matthew 26:63-64 NKJV

But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!” Jesus said to him, “ It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
 

John 10:30 NKJV

"I and My Father are one.”
 

God is infinitely beyond us, but that does not change the truth. Just means we have to trust and believe.