3.
Professing Christians
are being carried about with various and strange doctrines
The third reason why there are so many divisions in the Christian community it is because the majority of professing Christians rather follow the teachings and doctrines of men, instead of following the doctrines of Christ who is the same yesterday, today and forever. The worse indictment that has been labeled on the Christian community is that of vain worship. No wonder the Lord said quite emphatically; “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ' This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men --- the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do." He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition” (Mark 7:6-9).
Professing Christians are more
inclined to believe and observe teachings and traditions that are nowhere found
written or supported by scriptures, than those which are found written in the
scriptures and clearly endorsed by the Lord and states; “Thus says the Lord.”
Or, “I am the Lord.”
It is because professing
Christians do not truly believe, or are ignorant of the fact that Jesus Christ,
who is the same yesterday, today and forever, is the Lord God, that they fail
to ascribe to Him the glory due to His name.
It is because professing
Christians do not truly believe, or are ignorant of the fact that Jesus Christ
who is the same yesterday, today and forever is the eternal High Priest of the
Most High after the order of Melchizedek, that they fail to offer to Him the
food for His offerings which is bread and wine, at the appointed time.
It is because
professing Christians are ignorant, or have little or no regards to Jesus
Christ as the Lord God, that they fail to worship Him in the beauty of
holiness. For, “This is what the LORD
spoke, saying: ' By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And
before all the people I must be glorified "
(Leviticus 10:3).
God's plan for us even before the foundation of the world is
that we be holy. For it is written; “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly
places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself,
according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the
glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.'
“In Him we have redemption through His
blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which
He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made
known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He
purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the
times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in
heaven and which are on earth --- in Him” (Ephesians
1:3-10).
The mystery of God's will which He has made known to us is
how we can have access to His throne with boldness and confidence. For according to the apostle Paul, “To me,
who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I
should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and
to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning
of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;
to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the
church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according
to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in
whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him” (Ephesians 3:8-12).
This is the mystery which the apostle Paul addressed as
follows: “However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the
wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God
ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of
this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of
glory” (1Corinthians 2:6-8).
This hidden mystery is how we now have the boldness and
access to the throne of grace and have fellowship with the Father and the Son
and with one another. This is an area which the majority of professing
believers have not been able to conceptualize, ignoring the fact that God has
absolutely no fellowship with darkness.
But truly, these times of ignorance God has overlooked, and
now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on
which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained.
He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead" (Acts
17:30-31).
Copyright ©
2013 by Lucius Joseph
All rights reserved
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With brotherly love
Lucius Joseph
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