If I were like
Jesus, how would I look?
As
a self-pronounced Israelite, who happens to claim to believe and follow Jesus
as my Christ and Savior, how should I appear to others? What should others see in me? Do my actions and attitudes have an effect on
how people judge me, and my Savior?
To
answer these questions, we need to turn to the only true source of answers, God’s
Holy Word, His Bible.
In
Matthew Chapter Five, Christ Himself gives us the glimpse of just what He
expects of those who call themselves Christians. We will return to this later. To call yourself a Christian, and not adhere
to its definition, is a transgression of the third commandment in God’s Royal
Law.
Exodus 20:7 – Thou shalt not take the name of thy
LORD in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in
vain.
To
call oneself a Christian, and to intentionally act in a manner that is not in
line with what our Example, Jesus Christ gave, is to commit a sin against GOD. Remember, a sin requires two components,
the actus reus,
or evil act, and the men’s rea, or the evil mind.
Therefore, a sin requires not just the act, but the knowledge, or being
privy to the knowledge, and rejecting said Knowledge, and this combination
leads to the act is a sin. This is the Biblical
definition of sin, and we find evidence for this in …
Acts 17:30-31 – 30 And
the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every
where to repent:
31 Because
he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness
by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all
men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
By God winking, He refuses to recognize
the act as sin, since it is not possible for the offending person, to harbor
any malice,
or enmity against
GOD. Therefore, the LORD GOD searches for innocence
in the offender, by searching for the person intention to hold malice
against GOD. This search for innocence is
a major principal in the Common Law, but is not included in Natural Law, where a
person is guilty by simply committing the act, irrespective of the intention, Strict
Liability. This is one of many forms
of evidence to prove the character of GOD.
Evidence for GOD being merciful is found in –
Psalms 103:8 – The LORD is merciful and
gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
In
the second part of Acts seventeen, we find that although GOD is merciful, there
is another part to the quote “but now commands men everywhere to repent.”
Why
would there be a distinction between the first part of the text, in Acts, which
seems to grant those in pre-Christ times, almost an excuse for their actions,
and does not seem to extend to the post-Christ Christians?
The
answer to this question lies in two distinct texts.
Matthew 9:36 – But when he saw the multitudes, he was
moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad,
as sheep having no shepherd.
Prior
to Christ’s ministry, there existed ignorance in the ways of the LORD, brought
on by the confusion that the religious leaders created, by adding over seven
hundred new laws, to GOD’S Ten Commandments, or Royal Law. These additions caused a separation, or
barrier, between the practitioner, or worshiper, and the act of
worshiping. The Sanhedrin had created these seven
hundred laws in an attempt to create this barrier between the Law and sin, but
rather caused a barrier between the Law and worship. Therefore, the worship in Christ’s time was
actually pagan, since it added to the ways of God, and was no longer in
practice of Yahweh. We find that the
Sanhedrin broke the second commandment –
Exodus 20:4-6 –
Thou
shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is
in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath,
or that is in the water under the earth.
5 Thou
shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a
jealous God, visiting the iniquity
of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them
that hate me;
6 And
shewing mercy unto
thousands of them that love
me, and keep my
commandments.
Here we find evidence that GOD clearly
wrote this commandment, in order to protect his Royal Law. It states that man was not to create
anything, not even things that appeared to resemble the law of GOD. These additions to GOD’S Law became an
abomination to His Royal Law. Webster’s
Dictionary defines –
Abomination – something that has been perverted from the original meaning, or
something that has become obsolete
when compared to the original meaning.
Therefore, the seven hundred plus rules
that the religious rulers added to GOD’S Royal Law, were actually and
abomination to GOD, a perversion of His Law, or obsolete, not to the standard
of the original, or a false worship.
The
second text that explains the difference between the pre-Christ children of
Israel, and the post-Christ children of Israel is –
Matthew 5:17 – Think not that I am come to destroy
the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Here
Christ is clearly saying that He did not come to change the Royal Law, why
should He, it was created by Him, and is therefore perfect.
He explains to those who were listening, that He came to show the
children of Judah, the proper way of keeping GOD’S Royal Law, by returning to
the original Law and precepts that He gave at Mount Sinai, and by removing the perverse
additions that the religious leaders added to the Law. Again, these additions caused that the children
of Judah could never attain proper worship with the Almighty. The people were so busy not breaking the over
seven hundred additions to the law, that they could never reach the Ten
Commandments, which have always been the proper manner of worshiping GOD.
Now,
from the story of the wealthy young ruler (Luke 18:18-27), it becomes
clear that most of these seven hundred legal additions were created against the
first four Commandments, those which pertained to how we directly
serve GOD. These additions do not appear
to have an affected on the last six commandments, how we indirectly worship
HIM, since the religious leader was successful in keeping them. Christ was trying to show this poor soul how
to return to the true manner of worship, which we find in –
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 – “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God,
the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your might.” The Shema.
Therefore,
it is evident that this rich young ruler had created a god, out of his
wealth. So how did he worship his
wealth? We worship that which we spend our
thoughts and desires on. The
Messiah was trying to reach this young man, and help him see his paganism. Jesus tried to help this man find truth, but
first he had to remove his idol, money.
Matthew 6:24 – No man can serve two masters: for
either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the
one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
As
we can see, it is impossible for a child of GOD, a Christian, to serve anyone
but GOD. To have two masters is to sit
on the fence and obtain the Devil’s mark by de facto, on the hand.
Let
us review. A Christian is a person who
attempts to emulate
Christ, and thru the power of the Holy Spirit is able to attain
perfection, otherwise, Christ would not have created such a high standard for
us when He commanded the following –
Matthew 5:8 – Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is
perfect.
We
are to emulate the Father, just as Christ did, but no man has seen the Father,
but we can emulate Him by emulating His Son, since the two are one LORD. Shema.
Therefore,
a Christian, thru the Holy Spirit, is able to emulate Christ. We should be little Christs. We are never to consider ourselves, little
gods, that is paganism. The majority of Evangelical
Christians are claiming that they are little g’s, or little gods, therefore,
they are mere pagans, and not Christians.
This little g symbol is also the mark of the Masonic Lodge, therefore,
both are in enmity with GOD.
Next,
a Christian can bear no enmity or malice toward GOD. This is shown to the world by keeping GOD’s
commandment, as a reflection of our love to Him, not as an attempt, like the
rich young ruler, to attain salvation.
Also,
a Christian is like his GOD, he is constant, he keeps the precepts of the Holy
Word of GOD and does not make any changes.
He allows the Bible to be his ultimate source of truth.
In
addition, when we Christians, act like Christ, we act in a merciful
manner. Today, this notion of mercy is
as foreign to the world, as love is to Satan.
So,
for me to be a Christian, so far, I must:
1. Emulate Christ –
be a little Christ.
2. Harbor only love
for GOD, and be without enmity toward Him, by keeping GOD’S Commandments.
3. Remain constant
in GOD’S Word – Make NO Changes
4. Act Merciful –
Now
as promised, let us review Christ’s definition of being a Christian as we find
in
Matthew 5:2-12 – 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven.
Understanding Biblical Truth:
We need to remember, when Jesus spoke these words, they were foreign
to the Children of Judah. We must not
forget that the pharisees had changed almost every biblical precept that
pertained to GOD, therefore, the people, at the time, where under the notion
that to be wealthy is to be blessed. Just
as the prosperity preachers are repeating today. Here Christ preaches something that is a totally
different concept, the “poor in spirit” are the recipients of the kingdom of
heaven, not the rich.
So what is it to be “poor in spirit”? It has nothing to do with physical wealth or
poverty, it has to do with the fact that you realize that you are empty. It is to crave to be filled with the “riches
that is Christ”, or Christianity, which is true Judaism, plus Christ.
Remember the second part to the parable of the rich young ruler,
it is found in,
Luke 18:25-26 – 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s
eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
26 And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?
Here
Christ is explaining this very concept to His disciples, that GOD does not favor
the wealthy, a new idea that they had yet to grasp, for they were still under
the old belief that wealth equals GOD’S favor.
We can understand this by His disciple’s response, “Who can be saved?”,
if not the rich.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Understanding Biblical Truth:
Here, Christ is explaining our realization, that we are found
wanting, and this causes us, either to develop enmity against Christ, or to
mourn for our loss. When we mourn, and
we realize that we require Jesus Christ as our only means of salvation, and we are comforted with His Holy
Spirit. If we develop enmity against Christ,
we search for another, and are left empty, and wanting. The Mark of the Beast
in the Forehead.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth
Understanding Biblical Truth:
Here, our Savior states that the meek are to be blessed, and that
they shall inherit the earth. Webster’s
defines meek as submissive, but submissive to who? We are to be submissive to Jesus Christ, as
He was submissive to His Father in heaven.
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after
righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Understanding Biblical Truth:
Christ intentionally uses hunger and thirst as a metaphor for how
we should feel about GOD’S Holy Word. It
is to be as important to us, as the elements that are necessary to sustain our
physical life, for Christ’s righteousness is required to sustain our Spiritual life. When we hunger and thirst for Christ’s
righteousness, He grants it to us, and shows us how to increase our
talents. Christ righteousness is found in
studying the truth, the Word. We read in
John 4:16 – Jesus
said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through Me.
Jesus Christ is the Holy Bible incarnate, He is
the Living Bible, in living flesh. He is
the only way we an obtain His righteousness or truth. There is no other way back to the Father,
although many teach that there is, see Oprah Winfrey, a Baptist turned pagan,
how sad.
In history we learn of another group of men who hungered and
thirsted, but after knowledge, irrespective of truth, these were the Grecian,
and thru their quest for knowledge, paganism was enhanced in the world.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ
explained the importance of this concept, we find this in,
Matthew 5:38-40 – 38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye,
and tooth for tooth.’[a] 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone
slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your
shirt, hand over your coat as well.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Understanding Biblical Truth:
To be pure in heart is to have successfully allowed Christ to
fulfill his covenant in us, we find evidence of this covenant in,
Jeremiah 31:33 – But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it
on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
Read this text carefully, nowhere does it say, “New
Covenant”, it clearly says covenant.
This is because this covenant is the same one that He attempted to make
at Mount Sinai with the Hebrew nation.
The one which they rejected because of fear when they made Moses their vicar.
The “New Covenant” was established between
Christ and Christianity, the Covenant of Communion, which is not the same thing
as what we read above.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the
children of God.
Understanding Biblical Truth:
In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ explained the importance of
this concept, we find this in,
Matthew 5:38-40 – 38 “You have heard
that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’[a] 39 But I tell you,
do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to
them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone
wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.
Here, our Master is showing us that violence leads to more
violence and division. When we fail to
return violence, often the violence subsides.
It is not important that we are made whole, for this reason, a Christian
should not take another Christian to court, it is an abomination to GOD to see His
children argue and submit each other to violence, for violence has no place in Christ’s
kingdom. In fact, Christ Himself warned
us that one of the signs of the last days was an increase in violence, physical
and arguments.
Matthew 24:37 – But
as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Genesis 6:11 – The earth also
was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
Here we see that to be corrupt before, or in the Hebrew, against the LORD, is to be
violent against one another. This
violence against one another breaks at least one of the Last six Commandment is
GOD’S Royal Law. It can lead to dishonoring
of parents, to murder, to steal, to lie, to commit adultery or to covet.
So Christ states that it is better to
not return violence, then to allow yourself to be tempted into sin, thru violence.
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’
sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Understanding Biblical Truth:
Since the world has always been at odds with the children of GOD,
it should be no wonder that the world has had, and continues to have enmity
with GOD and His Children. Therefore,
when the Children of GOD, show the world their error, the world often reacts by
persecuting them. We find evidence for
this,
Matthew 5:41 – And they departed
from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to
suffer shame for his name.
When we suffer
for Christ’s name, we not only become heirs to His kingdom, but we are also shown
that we are walking in the straight and narrow, for we are walking with
GOD.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute
you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Understanding Biblical Truth:
When the world, or evil, persecutes us, and falsely accuses us, as
it did Christ, then we have reached the desired place of being, little
Christs. The world recognizes us as His
Children since we are like Him, and act like Him. At this time the transition is nearly
complete, we only need the twinkle of an eye.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward
in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Understanding
Biblical Truth:
We
only find evidence of persecution whenever there is revival. With Nero, during the days of pagan Rome, and
the church of Smyrna, found in,
Revelation 2:9-11 – I know thy works, and tribulation,
and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say
they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the
devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall
have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith
unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
Nero persecuted the early church for ten years, “ten prophetic
days”. His efforts backfired and the Children
of GOD scattered, and the Gospel was taken throughout the world. Revival promotes growth, in the church, and
the spirit.
We
find prophetic evidence for a second great revival, one in which Popes, and
Papal Rome, persecuted God’s Children, the Church of Philadelphia. We find this prophetic statement, that
occurred during the Great Reformation, in,
Revelation 3:8-11 – 8 I know thy works: behold, I have
set before thee an open
door, and no man
can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and
hast not denied my name.
9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie;
behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that
I have loved thee.
10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of
temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell
upon the earth.
NOTE:
In both revivals, Christ uses similar phrases. He states twice, those which say they are Jews,
and are not, but are of the Synagogue of Satan.
Therefore, He is saying that the persecution comes from within the
Church.
During the persecution from Pagan Rome, the Jews, in an attempt to
separate themselves from the Christians, refused them aide. Should not the Jews have helped the
Christians, since the religions were identical in precepts, had the Sanhedrin
not added the seven hundred plus laws.
Therefore, true Judaism, plus Christ, equals Christianity. Christianity without Judaism is paganism, and
Judaism without Christ is a dead religion.
During the persecution from Papal Rome, the Roman Catholic Church
has become the new Sanhedrin. It too has
followed the sad plights of the Sanhedrin, by changing laws, and adding precepts
to an already perfect religion. These
changes has caused the Roman Catholic Leadership to become pagan, and its
followers are being deceived. This Church
is already responsible for the deaths of hundreds of millions of martyrs, and
will rise again in the last days to repeat its atrocities. The persecution has always started in the church. First it was against Jesus Christ and His
disciples, later it was against the early church and God’s Children, again it
rose it’s ugly head during the Reformation, and now the Church continues to eliminate
its enemies, see the war in Ukraine, between the Russian Orthodox Church, and
the Roman Catholic Church.
Rome is destroying her enemies with the help of the United States,
and her allies in Europe, all in the name of peace and safety. This is not a popular idea, but it is the
truth. Rome’s Jesuits will soon begin
her destruction of all “Who keep the Commandment of God, and have the Faith of
Jesus Christ”, otherwise known as the saints.
11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast,
that no man take thy crown.
Understanding
Biblical Truth:
Christ
foresaw all these calamities, and he made His children a promise, that He comes
quickly. We are to hold on to our crown,
just like the Church of Smyrna, hold on even unto the death.
So,
if I am a Christian, how should I be perceived?
Answer: Just like Christ. Without fear of death, poor in spirit,
mournful, meek, hunger and thirst after righteousness, merciful, pure in heart,
peace makers, recognized by the world to be just like Jesus, a little Jesus.
May the LORD God continue to bless and keep you safe from the
perils of this earth. May He give you peace and joy.
Love your brother in Christ,
Sam