I Do Not Follow Religion Per se - I Follow The Teachings Of The King James Bible As Best I Can
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Charles_Crosby]Charles Crosby
Now what is wrong with this statement? It looks innocent enough doesn't it?
"I do not follow religion per-se" What does this remark mean? In the Concise Oxford Dictionary it states: per-se - by or in itself; intrinsically. So this person doesn't follow religion essentially or in itself, but there is a 'but' in there somewhere, so what is this person actually saying? This person is saying they do not follow religion because it's essential but rather because they feel a certain loose attachment to it and follow it in a: "well we cannot deny it; the Christian religion exists, so there must be something to it. Otherwise all these people with whom I rub shoulders each Sunday, must be wrong and there is no way that that can be the case - it's been going on for two thousand years." Now, I am not saying this is the definite reasoning behind this persons thoughts but I would wager it's not far off. Aren't you judging this person, I hear you say? No, because as I said there is most definitely a 'but' in this person's statement. If they didn't follow religion - period, that is what they would have said, but they didn't. If they had, there would have been no 'per-se.'
Let's now deal with the next part of this statement and ask the question: Should we follow the teachings of the King James Bible as best we can? Partly yes and definitely no, is the plain and simple answer to this question. I said partly yes to the first part because the King James Bible like all Bibles has errors within its pages. If, therefore, we go blindly believing every word that is written therein we are going to end up in big, big trouble. Not because The King James Holy Bible is not The Word of God, because it is. The problem is not with the Word of God but with the human influences and agendas of the men who have polluted and corrupted The Word of God when translating it, from the Hebrew in the Old Testament and from the Greek in the New Testament. In those original forms there is not much wrong with it, but in its English forms it's a minefield and we have to be very, very careful in how we study and read it.
So, to answer the first part of this question correctly; no, we should not follow the teachings of the King James Bible until we have thoroughly checked it out. This rule of thumb applies even more so to modern translations as they have even more errors than the King James Bible, especially the ESV and NIV Bibles - and surprise, surprise, these are mainstream Christianity's favourites!! To support this, my advice on this problem, there were people in the first century that Paul mentions as excellent examples of how we should behave when studying the Word of God i.e. never take anything on face value:
Acts 17:10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Here we can see that these people were diligent in their searching of the Holy Scriptures to make sure all was correct.
Ok, moving on and back to the original question, where we have this strange remark of "As best we can." What exactly does this mean? Well, basically, it means we are following the teachings of the King James Bible under our own strength; our own abilities; our own effort; our own toil and struggles. This is all about the 'self' not The Lord Jesus Christ. We are doing the best we can, but what if our best is not good enough? Horror of horrors, what if we strive and struggle for the whole of our lives doing the best we can in following the teachings of the King James Bible only to be told by The Lord Jesus Christ, when we stand before Him, "Go away for I do not know you." What kind of shock will that be for this person and people like him/her? He or she is under the delusion that his/her name is written in the book of life, but nothing could be further from the Truth, if they think that salvation is all about them doing the best that they can.
Now, what's so wrong with our doing the best we can? Answer: it's there, right in the middle of that sentence - our doing. Therein lies the problem - he's doing the doing instead of accepting the fact that it's already all been done - for him. The Lord Jesus Christ's sacrifice took care of all the "doing the best we can." Why? Why, because for the very simple reason our best just isn't good enough, nor could it ever be good enough after a million years of striving and struggling to improve ourselves. This doing the best we can business is all blasphemous Old Covenant teaching - salvation by works. Even then, in those times, man doing his best wasn't good enough because animals had to be repetitively slaughtered and offered to God as sacrifices and/or as atonements for their failings when all their good enough-ness slipped or faded like the morning mist, as it always does, and they sinned.
Let's get this straight, if The Lord Jesus Christ thought that our doing our best was good enough then He wouldn't have come to this earth and suffered the degradation of an evil crucifixion and to take all our sins with Him. All of our sins - past, present and future, they have all been dealt with for all of humanity and for all time - once and once only. In turn, His Resurrection gave us the opportunity to be made anew - new people, perfect in The Father's sight. Our doing the best we can has nothing to do with it, it's all meaningless vanity. All our 'doing the best we can' amounts to, is self-improvement and anyone can enter a programme of doing that, even the unsaved. The problem is, all 'our doing' is worthless when we come to the matter of salvation.
This person then went on to say: "You know me, you know I fail, but I know Jesus forgives." Now what's wrong with this remark, because it all sounds so very sincere and Holy doesn't it - but is it? You see, straight away, we can see that this person does not understand Grace and Salvation, this person says "Jesus forgives" but does Jesus forgive? No, Jesus has already forgiven, He forgave mankind utterly and completely nearly two thousand years ago, it was all done there and then. This person thinks, like most of mainstream Christianity, that The Lord's forgiveness of our sins is a never ending on going process, when it is not, it was all done at Calvary - everything! (Please see my article "Is repetitive confession of sins Biblical?)
John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
This is the verse that this person does not understand. He/she doesn't understand that the Lord's word's here mean exactly what they say - "It's finished" What was finished - the conquering of death and sin, both things were defeated. Now when we're Born Again we should start living as if they are conquered and defeated, but many do not, they carry on as if The Lord Jesus Christ had never come, just like Old Covenant people, trying to overcome sin under their own strength - sin that has already been defeated and forgiven. This person also admits to repetitive failure stating: "You know me, you know I fail" Of course we fail, that's all part of the human condition. It is because we always fail that The Lord Jesus Christ came in the first place. He came and didn't fail and said: "If you believe in Me and keep on believing in Me you will not fail either, even though in your fleshly bodies you will fail." Now because this person is not under Grace, but under his/her own programme of self-improvement, the self-flagellation kicks in and his or her life is made permanently miserable and wretched by his/her own thought processes. This person is, in other words, held captive and in bondage to a self-imposed regime of salvation by works. This person will probably have learnt all this blasphemous nonsense from a ravening wolf in a pulpit at a 'church' near you. Please take this as a serious warning as your eternal Spiritual welfare depends upon it.
Then we have: "I know that on the day I take my final breath, and stand before the throne of God, my name will appear in the book of life." Here again we can see the mainstream Christian 'teaching' reveal itself. When this person takes his or her final breath they will die just like everyone else. (Please see my articles "When Christians die do they instantly "Go to be with the Lord?"") Furthermore, our names are written in The Book of Life when we are Born Again not when we take our final breath:
Phil 4:3 And I entreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life. From this evidence alone we can see how poorly taught this person is.
Finally, we come to the last part of this person's statement which reveals completely his/her deluded state of mind: "I accepted Christ May 6 1992. I also know that in the book of life, a column for what religion does not exist." If this person 'accepted' The Lord Jesus Christ on May 6 1992 then what this person is telling us is, that right from the word go Salvation was dependent upon him/her - it was all dependent upon this person's decision and not God's decision. John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. We must not underestimate the delusional arrogance encapsulated in this fantastical idea. This idea permeates mainstream Christianity as a whole not just the head of this silly person whom I am using as a living example.
The overall consensus within mainstream Christianity is this: the tail wags the dog - Ok, and don't you forget it! I decide whether or not I'm saved and when, not God. If I choose not to accept Jesus Christ then that's my prerogative, my privilege; who's in charge here anyway; who does this Jesus Christ think He is!!?? Now some of you may laugh at this scenario but make no mistake this is how they think and it is delusional error on a grand scale. Just to round off, we then have a lie and contradiction saying there is a column in the Book of Life which says religion does not exist. Well I have news for this person, there is no such column in The Book of Life because religion is the way of death not life. This person's delusional thinking is complete.
Following Jesus Christ is not religion!!
Charles Crosby.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charles_Crosby http://EzineArticles.com/?I-Do-Not-Follow-Religion-Per-se---I-Follow-The-Teachings-Of-The-King-James-Bible-As-Best-I-Can&id=635751
Now what is wrong with this statement? It looks innocent enough doesn't it?
"I do not follow religion per-se" What does this remark mean? In the Concise Oxford Dictionary it states: per-se - by or in itself; intrinsically. So this person doesn't follow religion essentially or in itself, but there is a 'but' in there somewhere, so what is this person actually saying? This person is saying they do not follow religion because it's essential but rather because they feel a certain loose attachment to it and follow it in a: "well we cannot deny it; the Christian religion exists, so there must be something to it. Otherwise all these people with whom I rub shoulders each Sunday, must be wrong and there is no way that that can be the case - it's been going on for two thousand years." Now, I am not saying this is the definite reasoning behind this persons thoughts but I would wager it's not far off. Aren't you judging this person, I hear you say? No, because as I said there is most definitely a 'but' in this person's statement. If they didn't follow religion - period, that is what they would have said, but they didn't. If they had, there would have been no 'per-se.'
Let's now deal with the next part of this statement and ask the question: Should we follow the teachings of the King James Bible as best we can? Partly yes and definitely no, is the plain and simple answer to this question. I said partly yes to the first part because the King James Bible like all Bibles has errors within its pages. If, therefore, we go blindly believing every word that is written therein we are going to end up in big, big trouble. Not because The King James Holy Bible is not The Word of God, because it is. The problem is not with the Word of God but with the human influences and agendas of the men who have polluted and corrupted The Word of God when translating it, from the Hebrew in the Old Testament and from the Greek in the New Testament. In those original forms there is not much wrong with it, but in its English forms it's a minefield and we have to be very, very careful in how we study and read it.
So, to answer the first part of this question correctly; no, we should not follow the teachings of the King James Bible until we have thoroughly checked it out. This rule of thumb applies even more so to modern translations as they have even more errors than the King James Bible, especially the ESV and NIV Bibles - and surprise, surprise, these are mainstream Christianity's favourites!! To support this, my advice on this problem, there were people in the first century that Paul mentions as excellent examples of how we should behave when studying the Word of God i.e. never take anything on face value:
Acts 17:10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Here we can see that these people were diligent in their searching of the Holy Scriptures to make sure all was correct.
Ok, moving on and back to the original question, where we have this strange remark of "As best we can." What exactly does this mean? Well, basically, it means we are following the teachings of the King James Bible under our own strength; our own abilities; our own effort; our own toil and struggles. This is all about the 'self' not The Lord Jesus Christ. We are doing the best we can, but what if our best is not good enough? Horror of horrors, what if we strive and struggle for the whole of our lives doing the best we can in following the teachings of the King James Bible only to be told by The Lord Jesus Christ, when we stand before Him, "Go away for I do not know you." What kind of shock will that be for this person and people like him/her? He or she is under the delusion that his/her name is written in the book of life, but nothing could be further from the Truth, if they think that salvation is all about them doing the best that they can.
Now, what's so wrong with our doing the best we can? Answer: it's there, right in the middle of that sentence - our doing. Therein lies the problem - he's doing the doing instead of accepting the fact that it's already all been done - for him. The Lord Jesus Christ's sacrifice took care of all the "doing the best we can." Why? Why, because for the very simple reason our best just isn't good enough, nor could it ever be good enough after a million years of striving and struggling to improve ourselves. This doing the best we can business is all blasphemous Old Covenant teaching - salvation by works. Even then, in those times, man doing his best wasn't good enough because animals had to be repetitively slaughtered and offered to God as sacrifices and/or as atonements for their failings when all their good enough-ness slipped or faded like the morning mist, as it always does, and they sinned.
Let's get this straight, if The Lord Jesus Christ thought that our doing our best was good enough then He wouldn't have come to this earth and suffered the degradation of an evil crucifixion and to take all our sins with Him. All of our sins - past, present and future, they have all been dealt with for all of humanity and for all time - once and once only. In turn, His Resurrection gave us the opportunity to be made anew - new people, perfect in The Father's sight. Our doing the best we can has nothing to do with it, it's all meaningless vanity. All our 'doing the best we can' amounts to, is self-improvement and anyone can enter a programme of doing that, even the unsaved. The problem is, all 'our doing' is worthless when we come to the matter of salvation.
This person then went on to say: "You know me, you know I fail, but I know Jesus forgives." Now what's wrong with this remark, because it all sounds so very sincere and Holy doesn't it - but is it? You see, straight away, we can see that this person does not understand Grace and Salvation, this person says "Jesus forgives" but does Jesus forgive? No, Jesus has already forgiven, He forgave mankind utterly and completely nearly two thousand years ago, it was all done there and then. This person thinks, like most of mainstream Christianity, that The Lord's forgiveness of our sins is a never ending on going process, when it is not, it was all done at Calvary - everything! (Please see my article "Is repetitive confession of sins Biblical?)
John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
This is the verse that this person does not understand. He/she doesn't understand that the Lord's word's here mean exactly what they say - "It's finished" What was finished - the conquering of death and sin, both things were defeated. Now when we're Born Again we should start living as if they are conquered and defeated, but many do not, they carry on as if The Lord Jesus Christ had never come, just like Old Covenant people, trying to overcome sin under their own strength - sin that has already been defeated and forgiven. This person also admits to repetitive failure stating: "You know me, you know I fail" Of course we fail, that's all part of the human condition. It is because we always fail that The Lord Jesus Christ came in the first place. He came and didn't fail and said: "If you believe in Me and keep on believing in Me you will not fail either, even though in your fleshly bodies you will fail." Now because this person is not under Grace, but under his/her own programme of self-improvement, the self-flagellation kicks in and his or her life is made permanently miserable and wretched by his/her own thought processes. This person is, in other words, held captive and in bondage to a self-imposed regime of salvation by works. This person will probably have learnt all this blasphemous nonsense from a ravening wolf in a pulpit at a 'church' near you. Please take this as a serious warning as your eternal Spiritual welfare depends upon it.
Then we have: "I know that on the day I take my final breath, and stand before the throne of God, my name will appear in the book of life." Here again we can see the mainstream Christian 'teaching' reveal itself. When this person takes his or her final breath they will die just like everyone else. (Please see my articles "When Christians die do they instantly "Go to be with the Lord?"") Furthermore, our names are written in The Book of Life when we are Born Again not when we take our final breath:
Phil 4:3 And I entreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life. From this evidence alone we can see how poorly taught this person is.
Finally, we come to the last part of this person's statement which reveals completely his/her deluded state of mind: "I accepted Christ May 6 1992. I also know that in the book of life, a column for what religion does not exist." If this person 'accepted' The Lord Jesus Christ on May 6 1992 then what this person is telling us is, that right from the word go Salvation was dependent upon him/her - it was all dependent upon this person's decision and not God's decision. John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. We must not underestimate the delusional arrogance encapsulated in this fantastical idea. This idea permeates mainstream Christianity as a whole not just the head of this silly person whom I am using as a living example.
The overall consensus within mainstream Christianity is this: the tail wags the dog - Ok, and don't you forget it! I decide whether or not I'm saved and when, not God. If I choose not to accept Jesus Christ then that's my prerogative, my privilege; who's in charge here anyway; who does this Jesus Christ think He is!!?? Now some of you may laugh at this scenario but make no mistake this is how they think and it is delusional error on a grand scale. Just to round off, we then have a lie and contradiction saying there is a column in the Book of Life which says religion does not exist. Well I have news for this person, there is no such column in The Book of Life because religion is the way of death not life. This person's delusional thinking is complete.
Following Jesus Christ is not religion!!
Charles Crosby.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charles_Crosby http://EzineArticles.com/?I-Do-Not-Follow-Religion-Per-se---I-Follow-The-Teachings-Of-The-King-James-Bible-As-Best-I-Can&id=635751
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Thursday, February 28, 2008
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