Satan’s
New Criteria for a Relationship With Christ
2Co 13:5
Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own
selves. Know ye not
your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
2Co 13:6
But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.
2Co 13:7
Now I pray to God that ye
do
no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which
is honest, though we be as reprobates.
2Co 13:8
For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.
2Co 13:9
For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also
we wish, even your perfection.
2Co 13:10
Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should
use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to
edification, and not to destruction.
2Co 13:11
Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one
mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.
Satan’s
end-time criteria for having a relationship with Christ, is far different than
the Bible enjoins. One of the most important teachings in the Bible on
obtaining a relationship with Jesus Christ, is found in the message to
Laodicea. God instructs us to buy gold tried in the fire. The gold is love for,
and faith in Christ, which is tried in the crucible of obedience. Satan teaches
love without the obedience, based on half of the meaning of grace. Grace is
pardon as well as power for obedience and apostleship. Romans 1:5. Satan mixes
truth with error, so he leaves out the obedience part, even omitting the Law of
God, which is perfect, converting the soul.
Below
is a very good study by Wayne Blank on gold tried in the fire. I have
emphasized certain parts in this color. I have also added Notes by Ron.
Gold Tried In The Fire by Wayne Blank http://www.keyway.ca/htm2004/20040320.htm\
"I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in
the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be
clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine
eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and
chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and
knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and
will sup with him, and he with Me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit
with Me in My Throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father
in His Throne." (Revelation 3:18-21 KJV)
What is "gold tried in the fire"?
Refining gold from the ore in which it can be
found involves a process in which the ore is "tried" (the English
words try, tried and trial all originated from a word
meaning to refine, or to purify) or melted, in order to separate
pure gold from the other elements. Refining of gold has been known to humans
since early times, and The Lord used the familiar "gold tried in the
fire" as an analogy for growing in faith and Truth:
"And I will turn My hand
upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross" (Isaiah 1:25 KJV)
"That the trial of your faith, being much
more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might
be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in Whom, though now ye see
Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:7-9 KJV)
The purpose of the analogy is purity of
character:
"Blessed are the pure in
heart: for they shall see God." (Matthew 5:8 KJV)
"If a man therefore purge himself from
these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's
use, and prepared unto every good work. Flee also youthful
lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on
the Lord out of a pure heart." (2
Timothy 2:21-22 KJV)
Note by Ron: What?! Prepared unto EVERY GOOD
WORK?! Did Paul contradict himself in 2 Timothy? No! So what did Paul mean when
he said we are saved by grace and not works? If we interpret all he said on the
issue so that nothing contradicts, he could only have meant that Christ does
the works in and through us by His grace POWER, so that no man should boast,
for the works are not his own, and if they are of his own doing, they are as
filthy rags. Oh yes, Paul taught sanctification, NOT CHEAP GRACE, a defiled
teaching of Satan. Notice:
1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and
redemption:
1Th 4:3 For this is the will of God, even
your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
1Th 4:4 That every one of you should know
how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
2Th 2:13 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:
1Pe 1:2 Elect according
to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit,
unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and
peace, be multiplied End Ron’s note.
And the ultimate purpose of the purifying?
"Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the Truth
through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one
another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again [see Spiritual Conception], not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and
abideth for ever." (1 Peter 1:22-23 KJV)
Note by
Ron: Our souls are purified by dying to self and letting Christ’s Spirit abide
in us. He does the works when we are dead to self. A dead man cannot work! Our
part is one of surrendering the WILL in cooperating with Christ’s Holy Spirit,
to die to self and let Him work out His life within us.
“It is not a conclusive evidence that a man is a
Christian because he manifests spiritual ecstasy under extraordinary
circumstances. Holiness is not rapture: it is an
entire surrender of the will to God; it is living by every word
that proceeds from the mouth of God; it is doing the will
of our heavenly Father; it is trusting God in trial, in darkness as well as in
the light; it is walking by faith and not by sight; it is relying on God with
unquestioning confidence, and resting in His love.” {AA
51.2}
“God alone can renew the heart. “It is God who worketh in you both to will and to work, for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13, A.R.V.). But we are bidden: “Work out your own salvation” (verse 12, A.R.V.). {RC 291.5}
Wrongs
cannot be righted, nor can reformations in character be made, by a few feeble,
intermittent efforts.... The struggle for conquest over self, for holiness and
heaven, is a lifelong struggle. Without continual effort and constant activity
there can be no advancement in the divine life, no attainment of the victor’s
crown. {RC 291.6}
The
strongest evidence of man’s fall from a higher state is the fact that it costs
so much to return. The way of return can be gained only by hard fighting, inch
by inch, every hour. By a momentary act of the will, one may place himself in
the power of evil; but it requires more than a momentary act of will to break
these fetters and attain to a higher, holier life. The purpose may be formed,
the work begun; but its accomplishment will require toil, time, and perseverance,
patience and sacrifice.” {RC 291.7} End
Note by Ron.
"Behold, what
manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the
sons of God [see Children Of God]: therefore the world knoweth
us not, because it knew Him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it
doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear,
we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath
this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure." (1 John 3:1-3
KJV)
The analogy of pure
gold for spiritual purity continues in the description of the New Jerusalem in
which nothing, and no one, that or who is impure will be allowed to enter:
"And
I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth
were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new
Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven [see The City To Come], prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I
heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with
men, and He will dwell with them [see The Throne Of God, From Heaven
To Earth], and they shall be His people, and
God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all
tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor
crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed
away" (Revelation 21:1-4 KJV)
Note by
Ron: Wayne Blank teaches that Christ will establish His kingdom on this earth
at His second coming rather than AFTER the millennium. Adventists believe the
latter for that is what the Bible and the SOP teach. End note.
"And the building of the wall of it was of
jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations
of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The
first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the
fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh,
chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus;
the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were
twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city
was pure gold, as it were transparent glass." (Revelation 21:18-21 KJV)
"Blessed
are they that do His Commandments [see The Decalogue], that they may have right to the tree of life, and may
enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers,
and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh
a lie." (Revelation 21:14-15 KJV)
End of Study by Wayne Blank.
Was John the Revelator
confused about whether or not the commandments were nailed to the cross?
“Here the prophet was permitted to behold
the first apartment of the sanctuary in heaven; and he saw there the “seven
lamps of fire” and the “golden altar” represented by the golden candlestick and
the altar of incense in the sanctuary on earth. Again, “the temple of God was
opened,” Revelation 11:19, and he looked within the inner veil, upon the holy
of holies. Here he beheld “the ark of His testament,” Revelation 11:19,
represented by the sacred chest constructed by Moses to contain the law of
God.” {CCh 347.3}
Why would John the Revelator
see the Ark of the Covenant in heaven if the law was nailed to the cross?
In
advancing his counterfeit for a true relationship with Christ, Satan has taken
part of the message to Laodicea, the love part, WITHOUT ANY TESTS FOR LOVE;
WITHOUT ANY PURGING OF THE GOLD (FAITH AND LOVE) BY FIRE--OBEDIENCE. In other
words, Satan is very satisfied if we MERELY CLAIM TO BELIEVE we love Christ
(God), and the brethren (one another—our neighbour as ourselves), as long as we
dismiss the BIBLE TESTS for knowing that we are in relationship with Christ;
the TESTS that we love Christ and the brethren. Those TESTS involve the law of
God; they define sin. Sin is the transgression of the Law of God—the Ten
Commandment law. It should become obvious to the sincere seeker of truth, that
it is IMPOSSIBLE to know you are in relationship with Christ and the brethren
IF ALL THE TESTS HAVE BEEN DISCARDED, and that is what Satan has done!
Bible Tests for KNOWING You Are in
Relationship With Christ
Jhn 8:42 Jesus
said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded
forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Mar
12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first
of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
Mar
12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with
all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
Mar
12:31 And the second is like, namely
this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment
greater than these.
Jhn 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
What is the Bible test for KNOWING that you
love your neighbour as yourself?
Psa 19:7 The law of the
LORD is perfect, converting the soul:
the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
1Jo 5:2 By this we know that we
love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
Satan
has been very successful in convincing mainline Christianity that God’s law,
the Ten Commandments, was nailed to the cross, and is no longer binding. Folk
point to only six of the Ten Commandments as found in the New Testament, and
say that only those are binding, but why would God take away His perfect law
that converts the soul by defining and convicting the soul of sin? Why would
God nail His Ten Commandment Law to the Cross and then restate that entire law
in the New Testament? What? Is the whole law restated in the New Testament?
Indeed it is:
http://www.the-ten-commandments.org/ten_commandments-new_testament.html
Conclusions:
·
Satan has been
instrumental in getting mainline Christianity to ONLY BELIEVE that they are in
relationship with Christ, by feigning a love for Him and the brethren. They cannot
KNOW they are in relationship with Christ and that they love the brethren, for
they have nailed the only TEST for such love to the cross.
·
Adventist pastors
have been sent to sit at the feet of Rick Warren, who teaches the false
relationship with Christ. Unity at any cost is the prime teaching. Put away
anything that might cause dissension. Discard doctrine and reproof. Forget the
law. Rely on cheap grace that excludes POWER (GRACE) for obedience and
apostleship, Rom. 1:5.
·
What the false
relationship with Christ reduces to is the Doctrine of the Nicolaitans, ONLY
BELIEVE (Verbal assent without sanctification) which Christ especially hates.
Rev. 2:6.
·
If one teaches
anything but cheap grace (pardon only as regards grace), he/she is accused of
being legalistic and dealing in self behaviour modification.
·
Rick Warren is
teaching his own brand of behavioural modification by countermanding God’s Word
by advising Christians to avoid anything that causes division, like doctrinal
differences etc., when God says to teach true doctrine and reproofs, and Christ
says He came not to bring peace but a sword.
·
Mat 10:34 Think not
that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
·
2Ti 3:16 All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
·
Rick Warren does not
speak according to the Bible test of truth—To the Law and to the Testimony,
Isaiah 8:20. Those who are following his lead are going to look down and see
black on judgment day, rather than a robe of white.
~rwb