Distinguished brothers and sisters, servants and friends of the Almighty God and Jesus the Messiah, fellow Christians and all opportune to be here today, greetings and peace to you all. I thank God for the opportunity to share and reason with you on spiritual matters packed into this lecture. As the years rolled by I tried to relate the many bible teachings together for which many have sometimes tagged the bible as contradictory (that is, between the Old and New Covenants), I knew there would be a link for understanding the difference and separation points between the two, so I started serious prayers for knowledge and understanding of the matter.
From wise observation, it is easy to see that every single church is lacking in one teaching or another. It is our responsibility to enlighten the world; but, as Jesus said, one should remove the log of wood in ones eyes before one can see clearly enough to remove the speck from another man's eyes. Generally, ignorance and mistakes are widespread and have spread like fire starting from the Catholic Church to the rest of the churches world over. We can only ascertain such errors by using the scriptures. Jesus once said, "you err because you do not know the scripture." And there is need to correct instantly because it is these words in the Scripture that may stand against a person in judgement as Jesus said in the book of John 12:48. Praise the Lord!
As I began to master some bible teachings, I realized there were key quotations and issues some churches held on to without thorough understanding. Let us now consider four of those controversial quotations and issues.
1. THE USE OF THE WORD "EVERLASTING."
You will find the word everlasting in the books of Leviticus and Numbers. Some people interpret this to mean "eternity." It is not always so. The original Hebrew word is 'oh-lam', which basically means a long period of time hidden from site or period of time indefinite. For instance, God said to Moses that Aaron's descendants would have the everlasting priesthood at Numbers 25:13. Very much later, the priesthood was changed with Jesus "in the order of Melchizedek" at Hebrews 7:12. Jesus is from the tribe of Judah, but the promise was to the tribe of Levi. It is wrong to insist and dwell on a tradition or an ordinance of the 1st covenant because of the word "everlasting" which does not necessarily mean eternity.
2. THE QUOTATION AT MATTHEW 5:17-18.
"Think not that I am come to DESTROY the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the Law, till all be fulfilled." The explanation is not difficult with wise counsel from God. The last condition given in that quotation is "till all be fulfilled." The question we should ask is whether the law has been fulfilled by anyone. The answer is yes--Jesus said at the beginning of that quotation that he came into the world to fulfil the law. Jesus is still the fulfillment as his spirit lives in you. This is what the bible calls righteousness that comes through faith - that is, believing that God sees you like somebody who fulfills the law (through His Son). While the holy Spirit living in you is the witness. It is the new kind of righteousness.
Now you can see again from that quotation that fulfillment of the law corresponds with the first coming of Jesus Christ. Therefore if Jesus had not come, the law would have remained mandatory till heaven and earth passed away. And you should understand that TO CHANGE A LAW IS DIFFERENT FROM DESTROYING A LAW. In other words, he did not come to destroy, but to make possible a change in the order of things concerning that law. That is why the law says 'an eye for an eye' but Jesus CHANGED it to 'love your enemies.' Therefore, in Christianity, to carry out revenge is sin, but under the Law it is counted as obedience to puncture the eye of someone who punctures the eye of another person. So it is wrong to dwell on tradition or ordinance because Jesus said, Think not that I am come to destroy the Law. That is why he went further to say at Matthew7:12, "Always treat others as you would like them to treat you: that is the Law and the Prophets." He gave that command as the MEANING OR SUMMARY of the VARIOUS LAWS listed in the book of Leviticus and of the WARNINGS OF THE PROPHETS. Coincidentally (same chapter and verse numbers), the book of Hebrews 7:12 further explains it, "For when there is a CHANGE of priesthood, there must also be a CHANGE of the Law." The truth in this matter is further highlighted at the Council meeting of Jerusalem after the resurrection of Jesus. Some pharisees went about telling new converts that they must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses. When the report got to the apostles, they responded with a letter which says, "It seemed good to the holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following four (4) requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from strangled animals, and from fornication. You will do well to avoid these things." - Acts 15:28. There are just four requirements in all!
3. CLAIMING TO BE UNDER THE LAW BY THE QUOTATION AT ROMANS 2:11-
"For God has no favorites: Those who have sinned outside the pale of the law of Moses will perish outside its pale, and all who have sinned under that law will be judged by the law." Listen carefully as I explain this portion of the Scripture. Take your mind back to the time before Jesus was born. Now all those who were not Israelites and therefore sinned without the law will be judged guilty just by their actions and activities, while on the other hand, the Israelites who sinned will be condemned for going against the writings of the Law.
Know and understand that no group today falls within that description. In fact nobody today who accepts that Jesus is Lord can claim to be under the law, nobody, because, you can't be under something that was annulled in the body of Jesus (Reference: Ephesians 2:15). Instead, what we have today, in this era, are people who would insult the spirit of grace. Hebrews 10:29 - "How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot who has treated as unholy thing the blood of the covenant that has sanctified him, and who has insulted the spirit of grace?" It is dangerous for you to say we can be under the law and survive, a very deadly thing to do. Don't forget that under the law it is the blood of animals that operate and not the blood of Jesus.
4. THE APOSTLE PAUL
Some teachers have tried to denounce Paul's teachings; for instance, I once had an argument concerning the Law with a pastor who said I shouldn't even mention Paul as my reference because, as the person thought, Paul was contradictory. We should understand the following points concerning Paul: his letters in the Scripture were not made up from his own knowledge, and he always indicated clearly whenever he made a personal comment. Galatians 1:12 says, "For I neither received it of man, neither was I thought it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." Then he also said at 1 Corinthians 14:37 "If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things I write you are the commandments of the Lord."
Having explained these four points, there should not be much difficulty in understanding the intents of the "gospel of God." As far as the gospel is concerned, the Scripture says that each and everyone of you (Christians) is a priest. The priest now is not a man in a special uniform that sets up firewood and burns the animal part with oils, salt, spices etc. as was done before. Jesus now serves in the Temple in Heaven as the High Priest, while we are the priests. 1 Peter 2:5 says, "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." You need to understand that there is a spiritual undertone to the new covenant with less emphasis on physical things - tangible elements of ordinances. Everybody say spiritual! God is seeking spiritual worshipers.
People shouldn't try to apply RESTRICTIONS of ordinances to the letter. Have we forgotten that the holy Spirit specified just FOUR requirements at the Council of Jerusalem which I read out earlier. Or haven't we come to understand why Jesus said, "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Maybe we forgot that the apostles called these things a burden (Acts 15:10). Concerning those kinds of restrictions, Hebrews 9:10 says, "They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings - outward ordinances applying until the time of reformation." Then Hebrews 10:10 says, "And by that will we have been made HOLY through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ ONCE FOR ALL."
It may surprise you to hear that most of the spiritual materials used in some churches today did not originate with Christianity. It is easy to believe that the incense, candles, sacrifices etc. are done with devotion, but hear what the Scripture says at Romans 10:2-4, "For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, ... Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for every believer." The apostles would be disappointed if they were to be here today. Let us now look at some of the traditions (issues).
A. INCENSE AND CANDLES:
In the days the apostles taught the gospel of God through Jerusalem (in Israel), Macedonia (in former Yugoslavia), Rome (in Italy), Ephesus (in present day Turkey), Alexandria (in Egypt) etc., incense and candles were not used in those synagogues they established. However, incense was in use at the Temple in Jerusalem because the non-Christians still upheld the ordinances at the time. The lamp stands were also in use at the Temple. The Temple was destroyed in the year 70 A.D. (i.e. 37 years after the resurrection of Jesus). Till today the Temple has not been reconstructed. There is a struggle for Jerusalem between Israel and Palestine. Palestine wants east Jerusalem for their capital, but Israel says that Jerusalem belongs to Israel. But as I speak, the model plan is ready and soon it will be reconstructed.
The big question is, How did some churches get about using candles when this tradition is not to be found in the new covenant? We have read and heard of the way Moses prayed on behalf of Israelites, the way Daniel prayed in his room, the way Hezekiah prayed, the way Jesus prayed, the way the apostles prayed etc. I know how the use of such spiritual materials came about in some churches today and we shall come to that soon. Let us go back to the Scripture and see why the first Christians did not use incense and candles.
It is important, that is, the overall transformation involved in the gospel of Christ. There is a transformation. This calls for understanding and faith. It requires faith to accept that your human body is the temple of God. Yes it is no joke. God means just that! Every finger, legs, mouth, eyes, ears, every member of your body. Your body is the altar of incense which was located in the Holy Place of the earthly Tabernacle; your body is the ark of the covenant, and the stone tablets found in the Most Holy Place is your heart on which God has written his commands; Jesus who lives in you is the everlasting light of the lamp-stand found in the Holy Place. Since Jesus is in you, you are also the light of the world.
Let us quickly look at how incense was used before the time of the Gospel. There was a strict formula for the incense called "the authorized incense." Anything short of the standard mixture for frankincense, gum resin, galbanum and onycha was not acceptable to God and He reacted by letting fire from His presence burn the person with the unauthorized incense. Today the constituents of incense used in some churches are not measured out in that prescribed proportion both at the market and the church. Exodus 30:9 says, "Do not offer on this altar any other incense." With the gospel of God the new meaning given to sweet-smelling offerings is explained at Ephesians 5 verse 2 - "And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor" and Hebrews 13:16 - "And do not forget to do good and to SHARE WITH OTHERS, for with such sacrifices God is pleased" and Philippians 4:18 - "... I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a FRAGRANT offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God." Here, Paul, a teacher or pastor, was given a gift by a member. This shows that God has not changed because He still receives the sweet smell, but He has CHANGED THE WAY man effects this. That is why God is called the unchanging Changer. Now the question is, When last did you visit a motherless-babies home or maybe you could try to get people to contribute to their support. And also important is helping the widow in the church.
Let us now see how the use of such materials started in the first place. There is a religious group in the world today called the Orthodox Jews. They have a political party in Israel. There are about three kinds of religious Jews today - Orthodox, Reform, Conservative Jews. Before the year 500 A.D. (500 A.D. is about 467 years after the resurrection of Jesus), the Orthodox Jews had completed the book called Talmud - which is a collection of traditions interpreting religious and social laws. The Talmud which has about one thousand contributors is kept as a divine book by the Orthodox Jews. This book contains details of magic practices. Remember that the Orthodox Jews do not accept Jesus to be the Messiah. Having rejected Christ who alone is the link to miracles and healing, they had to settle for the alternative which involves appeasing of evil spirits using fumigation i.e. smoke from incense; lighting of candles, blood, incantations and amulets; for instance, exorcism (i.e. to subdue demons) involves mastering the name of the particular evil spirit afflicting a victim and appeasing it to make it come out of the person. The Roman Catholic Church which was established about 325 A.D. and Islam which was established about 610 A.D. also adopted and backed up the use of magic in their religion. You do not notice the difference because it is made to look biblical. (see Hastings' 'Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics')
B. DRESSING AND UNIFORMS
In the time of the apostles there was no uniform in the church of God. There was no special attire for leaders or officials. The reverends', priests', and bishops' attires used in the churches were adopted from the Roman Catholic Church. The Catholic Church itself adopted the uniforms from the Roman Pagan Senate and made some adjustments to them. The funny thing about this is that the Catholic officials know these things and of course, that includes the Pope. After the Apostolic Era, when all the apostles had died, a number of Christian groups arose. In the year 200 A.D. (about one hundred years after the first apostles), a Jewish-Christian group met in their own synagogues wearing white, no shoes, read the Law and used amulets. After some years they discarded the Law and said that only the Ten Commandments were given at Sinai. That was how the use of the white garment started. This group later disappeared. They were either called Ebionites or Nazarenes.
There are so many things we can learn but everything cannot be taught in one lecture. But there is a teacher within you - the Holy Spirit. Pray for understanding. Faith comes by hearing the word of God. What sort of sons of God would we be if after hearing we go on to resist the Holy Spirit. We should not wait till God commands stones to speak the words of correction. So speak and act now! All the corrections I have talked about, the Bible calls enfant food.
Let us look at Titus 3:9 "But avoid foolish controversies ... and quarrels about the Law, because these are unprofitable and useless. Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him." Divisive person from that quotation refers to a person who brings about division by insisting on adherence to the Law of Moses. Distortions of the gospel have been created causing division in the body of Christ.
You are disciples of the gospel of God. You are not to go back and sit quietly because the church of God has to come to unity in the knowledge. This message has been delivered so make it the topic for your church lessons. God bless you.
