The Understanding of the Ages

by Ken Browder, Editor

(You will notice, I suppose, that the layout/format of this article is quite different from the others in our library. Because of my illness I have had to simplify how I do things so that I will be able to continue to give you the Word of God as I can. The Editor)

UNDERSTANDING -- DO YOU HAVE IT?

There are millions of people around the earth who profess to be Christian. The word Christian, of course, means a follower of Christ. A lot of those millions claim to understand at least some portions of the Christian Bible. Some say they leave that up to their preacher, pastor or priest. Others say they just can't understand most of the bible.

Do YOU understand the Bible? Do you follow Christ? Do you KNOW Christ?

Many professing Christians will exclaim when meeting those they think are of like mind, "Oh, it's so good to know the Lord!" And yet when questioned about Christ they don't really know much about Him.

I remember one instance of this when I was visiting a baptist preacher and his son came in. The first words out of his mouth were, "Oh, it's so good to know the Lord!" Immediately, as I have tended to do for quite some time replied, "Yes it is. What do you know about Him?"
A surprised look spread over his face and he asked, "What do you mean?" I said well what do you know about Christ. That seems to be a very simple question to answer if you know Him.
He immediately whirled around and went to see his mother who was in the kitchen.
Most professing Christians will claim to follow Christ but when asked if they keep His commandments they want to know which ones. I usually say, "All of them."
Their answer will be something like "well I do the best I can."
Is that what you do, the best you can, or do you scour your Bibles to find out what Jesus wants you to do?
Most pastors teach their congregations that all anyone needs to do is "believe in Christ" and they are "saved." However, they almost never say what a person is save from!!!
Of course, the answer is "THE SECOND DEATH".Practically no one seems to know that answer. I guess it is because their preacher never tells them that.
He will talk about "going to heaven" when a person dies, or to an everburning hell, but never the truth.

Do you ever wonder why?

It's because most of them don't know the answer, that's why!! They will preach all around it but never come out and directly say that because they don't believe a person is really dead!!! They just think they are 'changed' from physical living to a place in heaven beside Christ!!

What do you believe?

Do you believe you will go to heaven when you die if you "do the best you can to be good?"
What does the Word of God say about that?

John 3:13 " And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven ... "

Did Jesus lie or has NO ONE "gone to heaven" but HIm?
Quite a question for most, I guess, since almost every person who professes to be a Christian believes that is where they are going when they die. Preachers at funerals sometimes preach someone into 'heaven' even though they never went near a church or picked up a Bible. Yes they are trying to make the bereaved loved ones breathe easier, even though a lot of those bereaved ones KNOW the person never professed a 'belief' in Christ!!

So what is this UNDERSTANDING I'm talking about?

In Pro 3:5 "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding."
Then who'se understanding must we LEAN to? The understanding of Jesus the Christ.

As God tells us in: Php 2:5 "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:"
Php 2:13 " For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."

Yes! We are talking about the MIND of God which was in Christ Jesus!!!

Is that mind IN YOU?

If it is you will begin to understand the "mysteries" of God", as the Apostle Paul tells us.

Mat 13:11 "He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given." Why is it not given "to them?"

Mat 13:13-15 "Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them."

GOD WILL NOT HEAL THEM OF THEIR SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS because of the "hardness" of their 'heart' (Their mind)!!
To those who are obedient to God, who repent and are baptised, God will reveal the spiritual understanding necessary for those soft hearted people to receive His Holy Spirit!!

Act 5:32 " And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him."

Remember (those of you who claim to even read your bible) what Jesus said?

Joh 14:15-17 "If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."

Yes, God will only give His (saving) Holy Spirit to "those who obey Him." Remember Acts 5:32 which we just quoted above? IF you LOVE Jesus, you will be KEEPING HIS COMMANDMENTS!!

Which ones?

A man came to Jesus asking what he must do to be saved.

Acts 16:23-32 "And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house."

Paul "spoke unto them the Word of the Lord". He didn't separate the Old and New Testament because there was only the Old Testment to which he could refer, don't you see?
The Old Testament gives all the commandments and statutes that God commands we keep in order for us to claim to be FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST!!
The Old Testament says those will exist FOREVER, and even in the New Testament the same can be said.

Exo 12:14 "And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance (statute) for ever!!!!

Then we receive ALL the feasts that God HAS ORDAINED FOR EVER!!! Not just for the time being but FOR EVER, of ALL TIME!
We even have confirmation in the New Testament.

Mat 5:17 "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 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. "

Til heaven and earth pass!!! Is the earth still here? Are the heavens still here? Then the law talked about in the Old Testament is STILL IN EFFECT and is still condemning those who "just do the best they can!"

BREAKING THOSE LAWS IS SIN!!!!

1Jn 3:4 "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." Yes!!! Sin is the TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW!!!

That law we were told about in the Old Testament that was to be in effect FOR EVER!!! THAT LAW!!!
God will only give His Holy Spirit to THOSE WHO OBEY HIM by keeping His commandments and statutes. He will only "save" those who repent of sin (breaking His commandments), and are baptised!!
Of course, repent means to QUIT BREAKING GOD'S LAW, turn around and begin KEEPING them!!

Do you TRULY love God and want to be with Him in paradise? THEN REPENT!!!

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