"Help me Lord, to properly understand."
Ever
Learning yet never getting it.
By Eric William King
Some…”always learning
but never able to acknowledge the Truth.” 2nd Timothy 3:6-7
God’s truths
are not our “truths”.
There are many things in Scripture
that we as faithful children of God are asked to accept. Baptism
is one of them. There are many Christians who say that one must have a full
comprehension of the Christian faith in order to get baptized. There are others
who claim that baptism is a complete “work of God" (which it actually is).
“I
praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these
things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.”
(Matthew 11:25) Didn’t
John the Baptist leap for joy in the womb? (Luke 1:44)
The problem
is man wants credit for everything. Salvation is a complete work of God,
you cannot add to it or subtract from it. The Bible declares that even though
the pastor may use the “water and the
Word” when baptizing it is still a complete work of God [Colossians
2:11-12). Jesus says that even the children (He does not give an age)
may come to Him. Sadly, today many who claim Christianity will turn children
away from baptism thinking that the child’s salvation is completely up to the parents or child. Nope. Both Sacraments are God’s act, you get NO CREDIT.
The Holy Trinity (God in three persons, yet ONE GOD)
is also a mystery that true
Christians accept. There are many things that man cannot fully comprehend nor
understand and that is why true Christians have the GIFT OF FAITH. Notice faith
is a gift, not something that you muster up.
Ancient
Christianity is the same “yesterday, today, and forever”. The true ancient Christian doctrines of “baptism”, the “Holy
Trinity”, “Communion”,
etc are supernatural doctrines and works. Man cannot add anything to
these. In early America many English Protestants changed these doctrines and
said that they must be “reasonable”. Most denominations do not practice these
doctrines nor accept them through faith properly.
They have over-dissected using human
reason and logic.
Some who
claim to be Christian talk about being “lead
by the Spirit” but ignore proper doctrine. The Holy Spirit
will never point you to anything but Jesus Christ
and His word - proper teachings. Many get paranoid
when you be begin to talk about doctrine but the Apostle Paul warns:
“I urge you brothers, to watch out for
those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to
the teaching [doctrine KJV] you have learned. KEEP AWAY FROM THEM. For such
people are not serving our Lord Christ, BUT THEIR OWN APPETITES. By smooth talk
and flattery they deceive the minds of naïve people.” (Romans 16:17-18)
Also, the Apostle
Paul instructs St. Timothy:
“Watch your life and your DOCTRINE CLOSELY.
Preserve in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your
hearers.” (1st Timothy 4:16)
One major
false doctrine in the church today is people praying to the Holy Spirit all the
time and waiting for some sign or signal to come. Actually, though the Holy Spirit is completely
God we find no place in the entire Bible of Jesus asking us to pray to the Holy
Spirit or ask Him to give us signs such as little
clues and whispers.
Though we can in fact pray to the person of the Holy Spirit, we also need to recognize what the true work of the Holy Spirit is in our lives. We worship God in fullness, the Holy Trinity.
Jesus tells
us just exactly what the TRUE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS. Notice how clear He is;
“But when he, the Spirit of Truth comes,
He will guide you into all truth. HE WILL NOT SPEAK ON HIS OWN (or of Himself);
HE WILL SPEAK ONLY WHAT HE HEARS, and will tell you of what is to come (the
Book of Revelation had not yet been written). HE WILL BRING GLORY TO ME BY
TAKING WHAT IS MINE AND MAKING IT KNOWN TO YOU. All that belongs to the Father
is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is MINE and make it
known to you.” (John 16:12-15)
The Work of the Holy Spirit is to point us to Jesus Christ
So the work
of the Holy Spirit points us to our only true Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ,
and to nothing
else! Today, even many “mature” Christians find themselves
fighting against their human intellect. Also, our emotions consume the best of us.
This is actually important. These types of struggles show that you are in fact “growing
in the Spirit”. The Holy Spirit will point us to sound teaching, “sound doctrine” which is found not in our
emotions or seeking for signs but in the CLEAR WORD OF GOD.
Notice what Apostle Paul tells St. Titus:
“You must teach
what is in accord with SOUND DOCTRINE.” (Titus 1:16)
You cannot
properly obey without proper knowledge:
Yahweh
says; “My
people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”. (Hosea 4:6)
And what is
this “proper knowledge?” It is in
fact the knowledge of God, the true Gospel
Message. Notice again what Yahweh
says to the prophet Jeremiah;
“This is what the LORD says; Let not
the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the
rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he
understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice
and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.”
(Jeremiah 9:13-24)
And in the
New Testament Apostle Paul states; “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1st
Cor. 1:31; 2nd Cor. 10:17) And just where do we find this
proper knowledge? Jesus tells us;
Jesus said;”…If you HOLD TO
MY TEACHING [DOCTRINE], YOU ARE REALLY MY DISCIPLES. Then you will KNOW THE
TRUTH, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)
The prophet
Isaiah spoke of a time when the Holy Scriptures would truly be open for our
understanding in Isaiah chapter twenty-nine. Notice….
“In that day the deaf WILL HEAR THE
WORDS OF THE SCROLL, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will
see.” (Isaiah 29:18)
What happens
after this?
“Those who are wayward in spirit will
gain understanding; those who complained WILL ACCEPT INSTRUCTION [DOCTRINE
KJV].” (Isaiah 29:24)
Again, true
faith “comes through hearing” not emotion. Hearing what? THE WORD OF GOD! (Romans 10:17)
You will continue to
Learn & Grow
As humans we
will always “fall short” of
perfection. Apostle Peter had to be corrected throughout his life by Apostle
Paul yet God allowed him to write sections of the New Testament.
You
will find that you deal with emotional issues - anger etc. throughout your Christian
life…this means you’re growing. The Christian who says; “I no longer get angry
or upset wrongfully” is a delusional thinker.
To truly “walk in the Spirit” is to be obedient to
“sound doctrine” and that is only found in God’s WORD, not in how you may feel, or even what you may be thinking.
I have sadly
heard some “Christian” teachers make statements like; “Those who get upset at
troubles do not fully understand the sacrifice of Christ.” Wow! Where to begin.
Number one, no philosopher or theologian (or Christian author) fully
comprehends the sacrifice on the cross. Number two, I never met a “perfect
Christian” who never wrongfully gets upset.
Sadly, from many
years of working in different churches I have seen the wrath of false teachings
and legalism. The stress that these false doctrines place on people has even
lead to suicide. Be careful fellow Christian. This is why the Apostle Paul
warns young St. Timothy; “Let there not be many teachers.” (In other words,
teaching Scripture is a special calling.) All teachers will be held accountable
as to how they handled the Word of God. We are commanded to search the
Scriptures for our Truth (Acts 17:11; 2nd Timothy 3:16-17).
Please take
some time out to study God’s word with us here at “The Shepherds Way” & “Nugget
of Truth”.
Praise God!
Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords!
Eric William
King (March 5th 2021)
Sadly, from many years of working in different churches I have seen the wrath of false teachings and legalism. The stress that these false doctrines place on people has even lead to suicide. Be careful fellow Christian. This is why the Apostle Paul warns young St. Timothy; “Let there not be many teachers.” (In other words, teaching Scripture is s special calling.) All teachers will be held accountable as to how they handed the Word of God. We are commanded to search the Scriptures for our Truth (Acts 17:11; 2nd Timothy 3:16-17). ~ Eric William King
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