False Doctrine/False Teaching
and he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he built an Altar unto the LORD, and called upon the Name of the LORD (Gen. 12:8).
“Beth-el” means “House of God.” “Hai” means “garbage dump.”
The Altar alone, typifying the Cross, can keep the Believer away from the garbage dump.
It is virtually impossible for the Believer to know the difference between the “House of God” and the “garbage dump” other than by the Cross. That’s the reason we have so much false doctrine presently and so many Christians following false doctrine. For the last several decades, the Church has drifted so far from the Cross that it hardly knows any more where it has been, where it is, or where it is going. Because it no longer plants its doctrines on the foundation of the Cross, it has lost completely its moorings.
Without an understanding of the Cross, there is absolutely no discernment regarding false doctrine.
That’s the reason that Paul said:
“Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times (the times in which we now live) some shall depart from the Faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (I Tim. 4:1).
A “departure from the Faith,” i.e., “Christ and Him Crucified,” is the reason!
Never forget:
Satan dresses up his “garbage dumps” to look like something else altogether. In other words, they look like anything but garbage dumps; and, without an understanding of the Cross, invariably that’s the way the Believer will go (Gal. 6:14).
~J. Swaggart
The Idol of Ethnicity
The idol of ethnicity: There are many believers who have allowed their ethnicity and culture to trump the Word of God. Jesus said culture is even stronger than the Word of God in some people’s lives (Mark 7:7-8). Consequently, people read the Scriptures through their Caucasian/Western, Afro-centric, Hispanic or Asian lenses. One of the most important things to do in regards to receiving the Word of God for personal transformation is to attempt to take ourselves out of our own skin and read the Bible through the eyes of the authors original intent—something only the Holy Spirit can accomplish. There is no such thing as a Western European Caucasian Bible or an Afro-centric Bible. We need to stop reading the Scriptures merely through our ethnic lens because the truth is that the Bible was written with a Hebraic mindset and it is foolish to think we can fully understand it with our contemporary ethnic mindset.
Consequently, believers often act and react no different from non-believers in regards to things that happen in contemporary society. White, black and brown believers have generally reacted far different from one another when it comes to interpreting immigration reform and the tragedies of the Ferguson shooting and Eric Garner death. Truly, I believe that the gospel is so powerful that it is possible for diverse Christians to come together with one voice and prophetically interpret, speak into and bring solutions to these painful and controversial issues!
God is not color blind, since He made humans black, brown, yellow, red and white in His own image. Hence, He designed us to have distinctions in culture regarding food, dress, language and other things based upon ethnic nuances. However, these distinctions are not where believers should derive their primary identity or anchor their biblical ethics, for in Christ there is neither male nor female, black, white or brown, for we are all one in Christ (Gal. 3:28). When our ethnic thinking trumps our biblical thinking, we are guilty either of ignorance or ethnic idolatry. Unless or until the body of Christ gets over its idolatry according to ethnicity, we will never become the generation that can disciple the nations (or in other words, ethnic people groups as shown in Matthew 28:19). Since there is no neutrality, either the church will disciple the nations or the nations will disciple the church!
Joseph Mattera
2 Peter 3:1-9
CHAPTER 3
(A.D. 66)
REMEMBER
THIS second Epistle, beloved, I now write unto you (he had addressed his First Epistle to the same group of people); in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance (by reminding them of what is going to happen in the last of the last days):
2 That you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the Holy Prophets (we are plainly told here that, as Believers, we must know and understand the Old Testament along with the New), and of the Commandment of us the Apostles of the Lord and Saviour (refers to the New Testament, but at the same time the Verse says we cannot understand the New unless we first understand the Old):
SCOFFERS
3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers (speaks of the times in which we now live; they scoff at the Cross), walking after their own lusts (which will happen when the Cross is rejected),
4 And saying, Where is the Promise of his coming? (This refers to the Second Coming, not the Rapture. Endtime events as predicted in the Bible are met with scoffing.) for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the Creation. (The two major themes of the Word of God are the Atonement and Endtime events. If we have a proper understanding of the Atonement, we will have, I think, a proper understanding of the latter.)
5 For this they willingly are ignorant of (their ignorance was a willful ignorance; in other words, the evidence was presented and then rejected), that by the Word of God the Heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water (everything was created by the Word of God; this Verse points to Gen. 1:2; it speaks of the original Creation and the rebellion by Lucifer, which left the world in a convoluted state):
6 Whereby the world that then was (speaks of the pre-Adamite Creation), being overflowed with water, perished (doesn’t refer to Noah’s Flood, but rather the Flood of Gen. 1:2; this is when Lucifer led his revolution against God):
7 But the Heavens and the Earth, which are now (refers to the present Heavens and Earth as restored to a second perfect state in the days of Adam [Gen. 1:3; 2:25; Ex. 20:11]), by the same Word are kept in store (refers to the fact that all Creation is dependent solely on the Will of God), reserved unto fire against the Day of Judgment and Perdition of ungodly men. (This refers to the coming “Great White Throne Judgment” [Rev. 20:11–15]. At this time, the Heavens and Earth will be renovated by fire.)
8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing (considering that we have the Word of God, there is no reason for the Believer to be ignorant concerning spiritual things), that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. (A human promise may be weakened or destroyed by time. However, a Divine Promise is as certain of fulfillment in a thousand years as in one day.)
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His Promise, as some men count slackness (if it seems as though God delays the fulfillment of His Promises, it is for the purpose of getting more people into the Kingdom of God); but is longsuffering to us-ward (God suffers long with man, attempting to bring him to a place of Repentance), not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to Repentance. (The dispensation of the Cross has been the longest of all, and it is that because God keeps calling after sinners to be saved. He has made a way through the Cross for all to be saved. Most, however, refuse His Way.)
~Jimmy Swaggart Ministry – Expositor’s Study Bible
There have been many streams of error that have flowed into the church over the last several decades: “The Word of Faith Movement”, “The Shepherding Movement”, “The Purpose Driven Life Movement”, “The Government of Twelve Movement”, to name a few. Along side and in relation to these movements comes one that has subtly gained influence recently, “The Hebraic Roots Movement” (HRM).
Similar to the other movements “The Hebraic Roots Movement” goes beyond the revealed Word of God by claiming, “. . . the Scripture alone cannot show the meaning within.” Herein we find the first error of this and all false teaching. It always breeds doubt by claiming that its adherents need more than God’s Word to understand Him. Satan used this lie with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and he still uses this same fallacious tactic today on mankind. Genesis 3:5.
“For God does know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
The sources of revelation and wisdom in the HRM come from the Talmud, Midrash, Halakhah, and Haggadah. It’s interesting to note that students of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, require an understanding of these resources prior to comprehending the deeper esoteric secret meanings of the universe and God, they claim.
What’s the danger with teaching Christian’s their foundation of faith is in their Hebraic Roots? Actually that is a false question. Before the Law was given to Israel and His Children, God gave a Promise to a Gentile man, Abraham. Abraham was justified by Faith and the Seed of Abraham are they which exercise like Faith. Galatians 3:7: “Know you therefore that they which are of Faith, the same are the children of Abraham.”
THE SACRIFICE
The Sacrificial system was ordained by God before the foundation of the world, I Peter 1:20, and was shown to Adam and Eve and then given to Abraham and then onto Isaac and Jacob. Israel was to honor the sacrifices because they represented the coming “One” Sacrifice that God would accept. The Law could not be fulfilled by man’s works and was never intended to be. It was always by Faith that God was to be apprehended with the sacrifice being the means that man could have fellowship with God. The penalty of the Law required the sacrifice of a perfect offering. Only Jesus Christ qualified to pay the debt and become the Sacrifice acceptable to God on man’s behalf. When Christ died on the Cross He satisfied the righteous demands of the Law. Romans 10:4 says,
“For Christ is the end of the Law for Righteousness to everyone who believes.”
ISRAEL
Paul would share with us the remembrance of Israel of old as they “. . . drank of that Spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ” (I Cor. 10:4). No instruction was given by Paul or any of the other New Testament writers to follow Jewish customs or traditions. The admonition to us in the next Verses should make it clear how we are to view Israel with regard to our Sanctification and unwillingness to follow God’s Prescribed Order and Way, Verses 5-12: “But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things are our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be you idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to drink and eat, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents. Neither murmur you, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition. . . .”
Our Lord Himself made it clear that during the time of His Visitation that the spiritual leadership of Israel was not following the Law of God but after their own traditions. Mark 7:7-9:
“Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the Commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men . . . Full well you reject the Commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition.”
NOT SCRIPTURAL
The Mishnah and Talmud are not Biblical or Scriptural! Much of the Midrashic teaching changed the object of Israel’s faith right before the time of Jesus Christ. The leadership was broken into different sects. The Pharisee’s and Sadducee’s and their interpretation of the Law functioned like the differences of today’s modern political parties. The Mishnah precedes the Talmud and was/is considered to be comprised of oral tradition passed down throughout history since the time Moses received the Law from God. According to tradition Moses gave to Israel the Written Law from God but used the oral Law to apply the Written Law upon Israel. This unwritten oral tradition was said to have been passed down throughout Israel’s history. After the death of Jesus Christ, Rabbinical commentaries, called the Gemara, were added to the Mishnah and together they later became the Talmud.
MODERN TEACHERS SO-CALLED
Today’s modern HRM teachers mostly refer to Talmudic teaching to explain the deeper truths of the Bible. Hogwash! The Midrash and Midrashic interpretation tend to devalue and pervert the literal, historical interpretation of Bible Scripture and replace it with private, hidden, and even mystical interpretations. We must also recognize Judaism today has been altered and weakened by their so-called Sages, Rabbis, and Ravs that mixed oral traditional thought, the Pentateuch, and Greek philosophy together. What’s really behind the HRM are occult principles and themes. New Age concepts are found throughout the HRM teachings. They’re also found in “The Word of Faith”, “Purpose Driven Life”, and “G12” Movements, which have desensitized the church making them palatable for HRM teachers to gain success.
OLD TESTAMENT
In the meantime, I want to point out that teaching and explaining the Old Testament with all its wonderful types and shadows does not indicate a preacher has embraced the HRM agenda. However, if your church begins to see your Pastor wearing prayer shawls and yarmulkes that maybe a sign he/she may be going in the HRM direction. If the Jewish calendar holidays and the Sabbath’s are all of a sudden being followed and are prescribed upon everyone, it’s time to leave your church. In future articles I will explain the other dangers of the HRM and how they are harming the church. If it’s not Jesus Christ and Him Crucified it’s not the Gospel. (This article was originally printed in December, 2010.)
~By John Rosenstern
2 Corinthians 5:2
(2) “AND YE ARE PUFFED UP, AND HAVE NOT RATHER MOURNED, THAT HE THAT HATH DONE THIS DEED MIGHT BE TAKEN AWAY FROM AMONG YOU.”
The Truth is, there are Christians in this “spiritual elitism” who have by and large abandoned the True Ways of God, and are constantly casting about for these spiritual tidbits. As well, there are Bible Teachers, so-called, who are ready and willing to supply all of the so-called clever insights. In fact, the land is full of them.
Even as Paul said, despite their claims, these people are by and large babies respecting spiritual maturity, in other words, they do not have any maturity. As well, their spiritual growth has come to a grinding halt, at least as long as they remain in this posture, with regression actually the case.
Such is Satan and such is deception!
The phrase, “And have not rather mourned,” presents that which should have been the attitude of the Corinthian Believers respecting what was taking place all around them and especially the situation addressed by Paul.
The phrase, “That he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you,” carries with it several powerful statements:
First of all, the idea is presented in the Text that such an individual should be immediately told to repent and cease such activity, and if not, he must be disfellowshiped. However, not only was there no demand for Repentance, there was seemingly no understanding as to how bad the situation really was. In fact, Verse 2 proclaims the thought that the perpetrator was “glorying” in his situation instead of seeing it for what it really was (vs. 6).
In this Chapter (vs. 5), the Holy Spirit through the Apostle informs us, that those who are involved in something of this nature must be given an opportunity to repent. If they in fact, humble themselves before the Lord in True Biblical Repentance, the matter should end there. True Repentance before God always stops Judgment of any nature. However, sin always brings negative consequences, irrespective as to what the sin may be. So, if anyone thinks that Repentance means that someone is getting by, that person is engaging in fantasy. The simple reason being, that all sin, irrespective of how much that Repentance is engaged, always exacts a terrible toll. However, that toll must be confined to the act itself, and must never be the result of fellow Believers. Always remember, that “with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again” (Mat. 7:1–2).
SOME MATTERS MAY HAVE TO BE LOOKED AT DIFFERENTLY
If the sin is child molestation, or homosexuality, and even possibly other things one could name, even though Biblical Repentance may be truly enjoined, the individual who has repented, as sincere as it may be, should not desire to be placed in a position to where the same thing could easily happen again. Neither should Church Leaders desire to place one in such a position.
In other words, if a man was teaching a class of boys in the Church, and was found to be molesting one of these boys, even though he may sincerely repent of the action, he should not immediately be placed in this position again, nor should he desire to be. Notwithstanding the crime that has been committed other than the sin, such action should not at all be forthcoming.
However, there definitely can come a time, that is if the individual walks closely to the Lord and such is obvious, that he could be trusted again in whatever capacity. However, special care and wisdom would have to be exercised in such a case.
If we truly believe that Jesus Christ delivers, and we certainly do, if in fact such a person is truly delivered, they must be treated as such. As well, such will be obvious.
IF NO REPENTANCE IS FORTHCOMING …
This 5th Chapter makes it very clear, if the individual refuses to repent and line up with the Word of God, then that person, as stated, is to be disfellowshiped.
Once again, we are speaking of scandalous sins, and not all types of wrongs which, in fact, every Church has.
All people must be dealt with patiently and kindly, showing great compassion, for this is the Way of the Lord. But a situation such as Paul addresses here, which is an extreme violation of the Word of God in just about every capacity, and being carried out openly, must be dealt with, or else it will destroy the Church.
LET ME GIVE AN EXAMPLE
A young man and a young lady who were members of our Church, Family Worship Center, were seeing each other, with both of them of course professing Salvation, etc. To make the story very brief, the young lady became pregnant.
As the Senior Pastor of the Church, I met with one of my Associate Pastors who was more acquainted with the situation than anyone else, and we discussed as to what should be done, in other words how we should handle the situation.
First of all, there was never a thought which entered our minds, that we should make these young people leave the Church, because they might be an embarrassment to the Church, etc. Those things were never even once thought of or spoken. Our every action was to salvage this young man and young lady, getting them back on track with God, putting this thing, as serious as it was, behind them.
My Associate went to them and addressed the problem. They immediately told him that they were going to be married, which was the right course in this situation.
This was done, with a beautiful little baby boy born to them a short time later, and now they have a second child. They are both in the Church serving God, closer to the Lord I think than they have ever been before, and to be frank with you, I personally am very proud of both of them.
Of course it was not right what they did. It was sin, and in a sense despite the Love of God and the Grace of God, there will always be some hurt between both of them because of this sin.
But yet, as the Pastor of this Church, it was my responsibility to love them, to help them, to pray with them, to get them back on track according to the Word of God, which we did, and thankfully to which they both acquiesced, and they were both beautifully and wondrously salvaged. That is True Bible Christianity.
HOWEVER!
To be kind and loving, even as Christ demands, does not mean that one condones the sin or the failure. It merely means that one knows and understands, that one is not morally qualified to point a finger at others. Knowing that all of us, even the best of us whomever that may be, are in constant need of the Grace of God, and knowing that, we should be very quick to judge ourselves harshly, but others very leniently.
However, if that young man and young lady had refused to do the right thing which was to marry, which in this case was possible, in other words if they had flagrantly ignored the Word of God and charted their own course whatever that may have been, I would have continued to love them and try to help them, but I would have told them to leave the Church, just as Paul here speaks. However, that would be done only as a matter of last resort, and only after we had exhausted every means to try to get them back on track. As stated, it is not the business of the Preacher or anyone else for that matter, to purify the Church, that being solely the Business of the Holy Spirit, and because He Alone is qualified to do so. But when people, purposely set themselves against the Word of God, refuse to repent, and, as stated, chart their own course which is in opposition to the Word, and blatantly so, even as Paul here addresses, there is no alternative but to disfellowship these individuals, which the Apostle here plainly proclaims.
WHY DID THE HOLY SPIRIT TREAT THIS SIN OF INCEST DIFFERENT THAN THE SIN DEALT WITH IN THE FIRST FOUR CHAPTERS?
It was the sin of pride which Paul dealt with in the first Four Chapters of this Book, and which was so severe that it threatened to destroy the Church. But yet, even though Paul did demand repentance (4:17–21), at no time did he speak of these being disfellowshiped as he did the one guilty of incest, as recorded in this 5th Chapter.
Why?
Some may answer that I Corinthians, Chapter 5 pertained to morals, while I Corinthians, Chapters 1 through 4 did not. However, that is incorrect.
The prideful factor of I Corinthians, Chapters 1 through 4 was moral in nature as was that in I Corinthians, Chapter 5. Actually, the word “moral” or “morals” simply means “principles of right and wrong pertaining to behavior.” Consequently, the behavior of those in Chapters 1 through 4 was morally wrong as was the one in Chapter 5. Actually, this is one of the problems of the Church.
It considers sins such as the incest of I Corinthians, Chapter 5 to be immoral, which it definitely is, but does not think of slander as immoral, or gossip, or a prideful attitude for that matter. However, they are all immoral in the Eyes of God, and should be in the eyes of all others as well.
The reason that the Holy Spirit did not instruct Paul to threaten disfellowship for those of I Corinthians, Chapters 1 through 4, is because in a sense this situation was a matter of Doctrine. Their Doctrine was terribly wrong, and the Holy Spirit through the Apostle called attention to this fact. Actually, had they continued in this vein, they stood in great danger of losing their souls. If error is not corrected, it only gets worse. But yet, to call attention to this situation and demand repentance was all that the Holy Spirit did. He did not demand disfellowship, as He did in I Corinthians, Chapter 5. The sin of Chapter 5 was a direct and flagrant breaking of the Fifth Commandment, “Honour thy Father and thy Mother,” of the Seventh Commandment, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” and the Tenth Commandment, “Thou shalt not covet thy … neighbour’s wife” (Ex. Chpt. 20). Of course all sin, and irrespective of its nature, is a breaking of the Ten Commandments in some manner. But yet, some are far more obvious, even as this sin of Chapter 5, and, consequently, must be dealt with accordingly.
~J. Swaggart
1 Corinthians 5:1
(1) “IT IS REPORTED COMMONLY THAT THERE IS FORNICATION AMONG YOU, AND SUCH FORNICATION AS IS NOT SO MUCH AS NAMED AMONG THE GENTILES, THAT ONE SHOULD HAVE HIS FATHER’S WIFE.”
The phrase, “It is reported commonly,” tells us three things:
1. In all the questions which the Believers at Corinth had for Paul to address, they had not mentioned, at least in their Letter, the problem of the party spirit or this problem of immorality. These two things were related to Paul by those “of the house of Chloe,” quite possibly those who had brought the Letter to Paul from Corinth (I Cor. 1:11).
2. The word “commonly” insinuates that the immorality was more widespread than just the problem addressed.
3. Paul selects the worst case of the lot, that being a situation involving incest.
The phrase, “That there is fornication among you,” speaks of all kinds of impurity, perversion, and immorality. As stated, immorality, and of all types, seemingly was widespread in the Church at this time.
WHAT IS FORNICATION?
The Greek word is “porneia,” and as stated, means all kinds of impurity, perversion, and immorality. However, it is somewhat different than adultery.
For instance, it is commonly thought that adultery refers to those who are married, with fornication referring to those who are single. That is incorrect. Fornication or adultery has nothing to do with one’s marital or single status. The meaning of fornication is as follows:
1. First of all it means repeated adultery, going from one partner to the next (Mat. 5:32; 19:9; I Cor. 7:2; 10:8; I Thess. 4:3; Rev. 9:21).
All fornicators are adulterers, but all adulterers are not fornicators.
As bad as either sin is, an individual who has an affair with someone other than his or her wife or husband, is not a fornicator, but is definitely an adulterer.
For instance, David was an adulterer, but he was not a fornicator. By contrast, Esau was a fornicator (Heb. 12:16).
2. Incest is fornication (I Cor. 5:1; 10:8). Incest is sexual intercourse between persons so closely related that they are forbidden by law to marry. So, this man living with his Stepmother even while his Father was alive (II Cor. 7:12) constituted incest.
3. Idolatry and adultery in honor of idol gods is fornication (II Chron. 21:11; Isa. 23:17; Ezek. 16:15, 26, 29; Acts 15:20, 29; 21:25; Rev. 2:14–21; 14:8; 17:2–4; 18:3–9; 19:2).
Temple prostitution in honor of idol gods was a common thing in Paul’s day and before. In fact, Corinth was filled with this vice, which in fact, made it one of the most debauched places in the world of that time.
4. Natural harlotry (prostitution) is fornication (Jn. 8:41; I Cor. 6:13–18).
5. Spiritual harlotry is also called fornication (Ezek. 16:15, 26, 29; Rev. 17:2–4; 18:3–9; 19:2).
This speaks of Believers, or those who are supposed to be Believers, forsaking the Lord and going after idols or false Doctrine. The Holy Spirit likens these to spiritual fornicators.
6. Sodomy (male homosexuality) and male prostitution come under the heading of fornication (Rom. 1:24–29; I Cor. 6:9–11; II Cor. 12:21; Gal. 5:19; Eph. 5:3; Col. 3:5; Heb. 12:16; Jude 6–7).
Adultery does not merely pertain to those who are married, but rather to any type of unlawful relationship between men and women, whether single or married. However, the term does not cover the wide scope as does fornication.
The phrase, “And such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles,” simply means that it was not common among the Gentiles, even though it definitely was at times committed. The idea is, that even the Gentiles who looked at most immorality with indifference, in fact, frowned severely on this particular sin.
The phrase, “That one should have his Father’s wife,” refers to his Stepmother. As stated, it seems from II Corinthians 7:12 that the Father was alive for it refers there to the one “that suffered wrong” as well as the one who had “done the wrong.”
Evidently, this man was ignoring what had been said regarding this sin in Leviticus 18:17 and Deuteronomy 27:20. As well, from the complete silence regarding the woman, it may be inferred that she was not a Believer.
In fact, Mosaic Law demanded death for such an act, and even Roman Law prohibited it.
(2) “AND YE ARE PUFFED UP, AND HAVE NOT RATHER MOURNED, THAT HE THAT HATH DONE THIS DEED MIGHT BE TAKEN AWAY FROM AMONG YOU.”
The phrase, “And ye are puffed up,” tells us that this action was not, on the surface, motivated by animal passion but by false religious philosophy; but this only made this conduct, example, and teaching the more deadly to the spiritual life and the more destructive to the Gospel.
This Chapter, therefore, uncovers something of the evil and folly of the natural heart even in a Christian; and also illustrates the depths of Satan in cunningly persuading Believers that grossly immoral conduct can be misconstrued as exalted Christian liberty (Williams).
A LEADER IN THE CHURCH?
There is some evidence in Paul’s statement, that this man was not merely a member of the Corinthian Church, but was rather one of its Leaders. The idea seems to be that the people in the Church seemed to think little about this situation, and if we are to interpret Verse 6 literally, were actually glorying in what was being done. In fact, and as stated, it seems that other types of immorality were taking place as well.
Unless they met in a cave or some such like place, the Churches in Paul’s day were normally made up of several groups, each group meeting in a house with its particular Leader. As stated, this man could have been one of those Leaders.
HOW COULD THE CHURCH COME TO THIS ERRONEOUS CONCLUSION?
Whatever the thinking in their minds, the real reason was that they had left the Word of God as is blatantly obvious, had become puffed up in their spiritual pride thinking they were spiritual giants, so much so they were denigrating Paul, all which made them easy targets for Satan.
A broken and contrite spirit, which speaks of humility, and which is actually a Christlike spirit, closes the door to Satan and keeps it open to the Holy Spirit. This is the reason that over and over again in the Bible, we are warned that brokenness and contrition are the spiritual qualities looked for by the Spirit of God, and in fact, the only qualities which God can bless (Ps. 51:17; Isa. 66:2; Mat. 5:3–5; Lk. 18:14).
Some Expositors claim that Paul using the words “puffed up” only pertains to the Church not taking action concerning this matter. While it is certainly true, that they did not take action, the entirety of the situation was of far greater magnitude than that.
As we have previously stated, this matter was not merely a sin of animal passion, as bad as that would have been, but was rather far deeper and of far greater consequence, in that it was motivated by false religious philosophy. In fact, this is why the Holy Spirit took up so much space respecting the first Four Chapters of this Epistle, in dealing with this problem. It was not a matter of merely preferring one Preacher over the other, or even exalting one out of proportion to reality. Again, it was deeper and of greater magnitude than that.
SPIRITUAL ELITISM
Once again, it was the sin of spiritual elitism, which makes one unteachable except by some designated individual. Consequently, they make up their own rules as they go along.
Through the years, I have seen people in my Church do the same thing, as I suppose has every other Pastor, etc. Exactly as they did Paul, they would begin to insinuate that I was not deep enough for their spiritual intelligence. Oftentimes, I would watch them attach themselves to a Preacher who I knew was not living right, or else was conducting himself improperly in other ways.
The Truth is, that these people whomever they may have been, even as those at Corinth, were spiritual babies regarding the Word and its understanding, even though they considered themselves to be spiritual giants.
This type of people become very big in their own eyes, spiritually speaking, and then begin to cast about for clever things which they are deluded into believing are the “deep things of God.” When they come to this stage, even as at Corinth, and sadly there are many in modern Churches, the Salvation of lost souls is now of little significance. Believers being Baptized with the Holy Spirit is not worth their attention. People being delivered from the powers of darkness do not raise an eyebrow in their thinking. They are looking for something “deep,” and these things mentioned, which is what Calvary is all about, are simply not deep enough in their thinking.
~JSM
October 8
but though we, or an Angel from Heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that you have received, let him be accursed (Gal. 1:8–9).
The word “accursed” in the Greek is “anathema,” which means “a person or thing devoted to destruction because it is hateful to God.” In a spiritual sense, it denotes one who is alienated from God by sin—the sin of rebellion against God’s Way, which is “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.” Other than blaspheming the Holy Spirit, this sin of rebellion is the worst sin one can commit. It is especially grievous when it involves Preachers, for, it is to Preachers that these words are directed.
In the words, “any other gospel,” we have in the original Text the idea, as before, that “the other gospel” was a message that went beyond that preached by Paul. It was not so much a perversion of Paul’s Gospel, but a message that was diametrically opposed to it. In character it was of an opposite nature to Paul’s Message.
When Paul uses the phrase, “Preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you,” he was not using terminology of ego. It was to Paul that the great Revelation of the Gospel of Grace was given. He said, “For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Gal. 1:12). The reason his statements were so harsh was because he knew that any gospel “other than the message of the Cross” was fundamentally wrong! As such, if these wrong messages were followed, these perverted gospels, they would lead to destruction. One cannot have it both ways.
Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (Jn. 14:6).
This means that Jesus and what He did at the Cross is the only answer for hurting humanity. As we’ve said before, we say again:
1. The only way to the Father is through Jesus Christ (Jn. 14:6).
2. The only way to Jesus is through the Cross (Lk. 9:23).
3. The only way to the Cross is by a denial of self, i.e., self’s ability, which spawns self-efforts (Lk. 9:23).
Judaizers were Jews from Jerusalem and Judaea who accepted Jesus as the Messiah, but did not accept the Cross. These Judaizers were coming into the Churches in Galatia and preaching “another gospel,” which was the gospel of “law” and “works.” Paul preached that works and the Law had no place in Christianity; by Law, he was speaking of the Law of Moses, which had been fulfilled in Christ. The way to Salvation and the way to Sanctification were solely through Faith in Christ and what Christ did at the Cross. If “works” entered into this, it perverted the message, and that’s exactly what these Judaizers were doing.
So the Holy Spirit through the Apostle said that all who preach “another gospel” would be excommunicated, cursed, cast out, etc. In closing, I ask the following question:
Where does that put most modern Preachers?
J. Swaggart Ministries
Removed From Christ
OCTOBER 7
I marvel that you are so soon removed from Him Who called you into the Grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some who trouble you, and would pervert the Gospel of Christ (Gal. 1:6–7).
God, in His Love, has given man the Gospel and suited it to his needs. Satan, in opposition, degrades it to the level of man’s corrupt nature and proud will, and fashions it into a religion that suits man, as man, in the flesh.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ condemns man, as man, to death, and so puts an end to him and all his religion, and it reveals a “new man” born of the spirit and not of nature. The impotency of man to serve, please, and obey God was made manifest under the Law. Satan’s aim during the present day of Grace is to unite the religion of the flesh with that of the Spirit; and the impossibility and wickedness of that union are plainly set out in the Epistle to the Galatians.
Christ gave Himself up as a Sin Offering in order to take His People out of the world (Gal. 1:4). In His Cross, man, his religion, and the world are judged. Every effort of man, therefore, as a man and by natural birth, to make himself religiously acceptable to God is rebellion, which is the greatest sin of man. In fact, that effort is no more than the energy of the “evil world,” out of which Christ redeems.
Paul was the founder of the Churches in Galatia; however, after he left, called by the Lord to other fields of endeavor, certain false teachers had interjected themselves into these Churches to attack both the Doctrine and the person of the Apostle, and did so by introducing a gospel of “works.”
In the writing of this Epistle to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul offered no commendation at the opening of this Epistle, as he did others, but at once an abrupt exclamation of amazement. How could these converts to the Lord, in fact, Paul’s converts, so quickly turn to a perverted gospel? As we have stated, it is not Satan’s aim to deny the Gospel, for that he cannot do, so he tries to corrupt it.
Anything other than the Message of the Cross, pure and simple, is “another gospel,” which, in fact, is “not another,” at least that will help anyone. Anything other than the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Him Crucified is a “perversion of the Gospel of Christ.” And, to be certain, a “perverted gospel” will not save, will not heal, will not deliver, and will not bring about any positive results whatsoever. In truth, it will push the person deeper into bondage and deception. There is no deliverance in a perverted gospel; there is no power in a perverted gospel; there is no Salvation in a perverted gospel! The only thing there is in a perverted gospel is “trouble,” hence, the Apostle saying, “there be some who trouble you.” To be sure, it’s “trouble” with a capital “T.”
It is my belief that the Church presently is in worse spiritual condition than at any time since the Reformation. To be sure, it is richer than ever, and with greater numbers of people; however, Jesus said, “And knowest not, that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Rev. 3:17).
Any gospel, so-called, which doesn’t have the Cross of Christ as its foundation, and its only foundation, is, pure and simple, a “perverted gospel.” And the world is rife with such presently!
At approximately the turn of the Twentieth Century, the great “latter rain” outpouring of the Holy Spirit began. The “former rain” took place during the time of the Early Church, as recorded in the Book of Acts. Both were prophesied by Joel (Joel 2:23). Most, if not all, of the mainline Denominations rejected this latter rain outpouring. As a result, some of them attempted to preach the Cross without the Holy Spirit, which presented a “perverted gospel,” which the Lord could never accept. As a result, they are no longer preaching the Cross or the Holy Spirit.
The Full Gospel Churches, which were born out of this great latter rain outpouring, tried to preach the Holy Spirit without the Cross. As the former would not suffice, neither would the latter. Now, most Full Gospel Churches, so-called, are not preaching either. The Message of the Cross of Christ and the Holy Spirit are so intertwined that it is impossible to separate the two (Rev. 5:6; Jn. 7:37–39).
Tragically, all of this means that what is being presently presented, with some few exceptions, is little more than a “perverted gospel.” Jesus predicted this by saying, “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, shall He find faith on the Earth?” (Lk. 18:8). In the original Greek Text, this reads, “Shall He find The Faith upon the Earth?” He is speaking of the same Faith which the Apostle Paul addressed in II Corinthians 13:5. It pertains solely to the Message of the Cross.
The question must be asked:
Are you in “The Faith,” or have you accepted “another gospel”?
Swaggart, J.
October 3
but I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you receive another spirit, which you have not received, or another gospel, which you have not accepted, you might well bear with him (II Cor. 11:3–4).
The Gospel of Christ, i.e., “the Message of the Cross,” is very simple and easy to understand. In fact, a little child can understand it. It is “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified,” and our Faith in that Finished Work. But Satan seeks to pervert the Gospel by introducing his wares, which he always does through the Church. In other words, religious men come up with all types of attractive schemes, which seem right to the carnal mind, but which, in fact, are very wrong. They are wrong because they do not make Christ and the Cross the central theme of their belief system.
The problem in Paul’s day, i.e., the method Satan was using, concerned Jewish Preachers from Jerusalem or Judaea who claimed Christ as the Messiah, but who also claimed that the Gentiles had to also keep the Law of Moses, that is, if they were to be saved (Acts 15:1).
Their gospel would not win souls, as no false gospel will win souls, so they had to parasite off the Churches which Paul had planted. They tried to turn these converts, whether in the Church at Corinth, Ephesus, or Galatia, etc. They wanted to turn them from Grace to Law.
So Paul’s statement is according to the following:
Unless the Message is “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified,” then whatever is being preached is, pure and simple, “another Jesus.” It is produced by “another spirit”; the end result is “another gospel,” which will help no one. In fact, it will greatly hurt and hinder, as should be obvious.
Tragically and sadly, most of that which is presently being preached in the Churches in America, in fact, all over the world, is “another Jesus.” I say that simply because I also know that the Cross is little preached. It is alluded to at times regarding Salvation, and there are certainly some who strongly uphold the great Salvation Message that “Jesus died for us.” But most know absolutely nothing about the Cross of Christ as it regards Sanctification. In other words, to tell someone how to live for God, they will propose things which aren’t Scriptural, and which fall out to “another Jesus.”
That’s the reason the Apostle said that we must “examine ourselves, whether we be in the Faith” (II Cor. 13:5).
~J. Swaggart Ministries
What is the Relationship of Islam to the Bible?
Chapter One
In truth, none!
While the Muslims have misquoted the Bible, falsely interpreted the Bible, misapplied the Bible, and even changed the Bible, the truth is, Islam has absolutely no part in the Word of God. While the Koran contains illustrations from the Bible, generally those illustrations are twisted and perverted. In fact, while many religions have borrowed somewhat from the Bible, the Bible, the oldest Book in the world, has not borrowed from anything.
The Muslims claim that Ishmael is the promised seed, and not Isaac.
The Bible portrays Ishmael as a work of the flesh, and that he, along with his mother Hagar, were driven out of the household of Abraham.
The Scriptures say, and I quote from THE EXPOSITOR’S STUDY BIBLE: “And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as He had spoken (despite all of Satan’s hindrances, Isaac, the progenitor and Type of the Messiah, is born).
“For Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. (Referring back to the past Chapter, if it be objected that this whole occurrence is incredible, because no heathen prince would desire to marry a woman upwards of 90 years of age, or to conceive such a passion for her that to secure her, he would murder her husband—the very fate which Abraham feared for himself—it may be replied that God must have miraculously renewed her youth, so that she became sufficiently youthful in appearance to suitably be desirable. Three times in these first two verses, the clause points to the supernatural character of Isaac’s birth.)
“And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. (The name means ‘laughter.’ It speaks of blessing, increase, healing, life, and well-being [Jn. 10:10]. As Isaac was a Type of Christ, it would not be wrong to say that one of the names of Christ is ‘laughter.’)
“And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him (this was a sign of the Covenant that God would ultimately send a Redeemer into this world).
“And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him (this verse is placed in the Text so that all may know that Isaac’s birth was indeed miraculous).
“And Sarah said, God has made me to laugh, so that all who hear will laugh with me. (The mention of Sarah’s name some five times thus far in this Chapter is done for purpose and reason; the Holy Spirit is impressing the fact that Sarah was in truth the very mother of this miraculous child. Sarah had once laughed in unbelief; she now laughs in Faith, a laughter incidentally expressing joy, which will never end. It all pointed to Christ. Because of Christ, untold millions have laughed for joy.)
“And she said, who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? For I have born him a son in his old age (this is a poem, and could very well have been a song, and probably was).
“And the child grew, and was weaned (the custom in those days was to nurse children for two to three years before they were weaned; however, there is some indication that Isaac was approximately five years old when he was weaned): and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned (at this time, the boy was turned over to his father for training, at which time his education began).
“And Sarah saw the son of Hagar (Ishmael) the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. (The effect of the birth of Isaac, a work of the Spirit was to make manifest the character of Ishmael, a work of the flesh. The end result of the ‘mocking’ was that Ishmael actually desired to murder Isaac [Gal. 4:29]. Ishmael was probably eighteen to twenty years old at this time, and Isaac was probably about five years old.)
“Wherefore she said unto Abraham, cast out this bondwoman and her son: (Isaac and Ishmael symbolized the new and the old natures in the Believer. Hagar and Sarah typified the two Covenants of works and Grace, of bondage and liberty [Gal., Chpt. 4]. The birth of the new nature demands the expulsion of the old. It is impossible to improve the old nature. How foolish, therefore, appears the doctrine of moral evolution!) For the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. (Allowed to remain, Ishmael would murder Isaac; allowed to remain, the flesh will murder the Spirit. The Divine way of holiness is to ‘put off the old man,’ just as Abraham ‘put off’ Ishmael. Man’s way of holiness is to improve the old man, that is, to improve Ishmael. The effort is both foolish and hopeless.)
“And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son. (It is always a struggle to cast out this element of bondage, that is, salvation by works, of which this is a type. For legalism is dear to the heart. Ishmael was the fruit, and, to Abraham, the fair fruit of his own energy and planning, which God can never accept.)
“And God said unto Abraham, let it not be grievous in your sight because of the lad, and because of your bondwoman; and all that Sarah has said unto you, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall your seed be called. (It is labor lost to seek to make a crooked thing straight. Hence, all efforts after the improvement of nature are utterly futile, so far as God is concerned. The ‘flesh’ must go, which typifies the personal ability, strength, and efforts of the Believer. The Faith of the Believer must be entirely in Christ and what Christ has done at the Cross. Then, and then alone, can the Holy Spirit have latitude to work in our lives, bringing forth perpetual victory [Rom. 6:14]. It must ever be understood, ‘in Isaac [in Christ] shall your seed be called.’
“And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is your seed (out of this ‘work of the flesh’ ultimately came the religion of Islam, which claims that Ishmael is the promised seed, and not Isaac)” (Gen. 21:1–13).
~J. Swaggart Ministry