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Bible Questions and Spiritual Discussion
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" Be not deceived”
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It’s written:
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. Prov. 3:5
Adam stood at a cross road represented by the two trees in the midst of the garden. He could trust the word of God which led to life or he could trust his own understanding that led to sin and death.
The scripture implore that we “be not deceived” but most of us have not acknowledged that are deceived until we know the truth.
We continue believing that salvation is having our sins forgiven, remaining under the old covenant, frustrating the grace of God, and making Christ death null and void.
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. Gal. 2:21
The scripture tell us that the fruit or consequence of Adam’s deception was “knowing good and evil.”
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Gen. 3:5
And regardless of what we do or do not believe, none of us could look at the world and not see the consequence of “knowing good and evil” all around us.
Adam brought sin and death into the world and we all have inherited Adam’s sin.
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: Rom. 5:12
Adam disobeyed the Father and believed a lie and therefore “the Spirit of truth” which is the Holy Ghost could no longer dwell in him.
We all inherited this belief and therefore we are all in violation of the truth and the only way to salvation now is, "belief of the truth."
But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: 2 Thess. 2:13
It’s the will of the Father that none should perish, so He gave His Son to deliver us from sin, but nonetheless many of us will perish, Why? because of “a violation” which cannot be corrected by His forgiveness.
It’s clear salvation requires that we received the Holy Ghost which is impossible as long as we remain deceived.
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:31-32
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TRWord 02/06/2014 07:59 |
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TRWord
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03/09/2014 05:11 |
Speaking through the prophet Isaiah 1:11-15, God told the children of Israel that He did not require their religious obligations. Their sacrifices, and observance of new moons and the sabbaths.
Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons
and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. Isa. 1:13-14
Instead God said to the children of Israel, and by extension all of us, come now, and let us reason together.
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Isa. 1:18
In other words God is saying, come now, let’s see where you went wrong and how we can make you right again, or how we can return you to righteousness.
How did we go wrong? We have all been deceived.
The scripture plainly states that the whole world have been deceived.
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Rev. 12:9
Again speaking through the prophet Isaiah, God is saying that being deceived we are unable to find the way to salvation because we are unaware of the lie in our right hand.
He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand? Isa. 44:20
Clearly the first step is, we have to acknowledge that we have been deceived.
Until and unless we acknowledge that we have been deceived we cannot discover the antidote, “the love of the truth.”
It’s written:
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 2 Thess. 2:8-10
The scripture is saying here that Christ came to undo the works of Satan which have deceived us unto unrighteousness. It is also revealing the reason why many will perish, saying, it’s because they
have not received “the love of the truth” that they might be saved.
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TRWord
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05/11/2014 05:14 |
God is love and it’s the will of God that none should perish. Nevertheless the fact remains that many will.
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when
there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. Rom. 5:12-14
Clearly Paul is telling us here that the problem is Adam’s transgression. Notice he is saying that even though sin was not imputed before the law, death reign from Adam to Moses anyway. And he’s
also saying, even though we ourself haven’t actually committed Adam’s transgression, sin and death reign over us as well.
The problem is the original sin.
Unfortunately many of us has misinterpreted “the original sin” as disobedience, believing that God was testing Adam, as if there was anything about Adam that God did not foreknow.
The scripture says: that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, has deceived the whole world: but most of us have failed to recognize that the original sin is “the deception” through which sin and death entered into the world and which is the cause of our sinful nature.
God had already instructed Adam saying:
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou
eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Gen. 2:16-17
As we have learned in the book of Job; in order to withdraw man from his own purpose and to prevent him from ignoring God’s instructions, pride must be hidden from him.
Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man. Job 33:16-17
By trusting in his own understanding and ignoring God’s instructions, the scripture says Adam is like a god himself, but the consequence is, he was deceived into knowing good and evil.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Gen. 3:4-5
Now knowing good and evil, the whole world has been deceived into a reality of good and evil. A reality based on a lie; the belief in dualism.
The scripture tells us that the deceived heart is not aware that it is deceived, and he with a deceived heart cannot deliver his soul.
He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand? Isa. 44:20
The deceived heart believes a lie and not the word of God.
The book of Job refutes the belief in dualism saying:
With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his. Job 12:16
But being deceived we cannot receive this wisdom, nor can we accept “the truth” that God saw every thing that he had made and behold it was very good.
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Gen. 1:31
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TRWord
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05/18/2014 05:22 |
Many of us interpret the scripture by the letter, or at face value.
Like Adam, we are like gods trusting our human understanding and ignoring God’s instructions that we need an interpreter.
If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to show unto man his uprightness: Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom. Job 33:23-24
Not only is it wise that we heed the Proverb which said:
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. Prov. 3:5
But being deceived we cannot afford to trust our understanding.
From very early, Jesus alerted those that believed on Him that He came to deliver us from a lie.
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:31-32
Until we acknowledge that we are deceived, we cannot recognize the importance of the truth.
Jesus could not have emphasized the importance of the truth more forcefully.
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. John 4:23-24
Many of us believe that because we have been called to Christ, we are among those whose names are written in the book of life. But Jesus forewarned us that few will find the way to life and that many are called but few are chosen.
It’s written:
And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Rev. 13:7-8
The scripture is saying that all whose names are not written in the book of life shall worship him. It’s speaking of all those who remain deceived, even the saints, who have been called to Christ but who have not believed the truth.
Here Paul is speaking to those who have been chosen:
But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thess. 2:13-14
God foreknew who will be sanctified by the Spirit and believe the truth and He has written their names in the book of life.
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