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Tradition 11/28/99 "You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much for nothing-if it really was for nothing? Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?" Paul called the Galatians foolish and bewitched. Pretty strong words for a person who preached the peace of God through Jesus Christ. "The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception." (Prov 14:8) However, it was fitting because the Galatians had not given thought to the way in which they were misled. It is easy for any of us to become a fool; all we need to do is stop giving thought to our ways. We can become fools by forgetting the essentials of what it takes to be a Christian and to be saved. Knute Rockne was famous for his insistence that it was more important for his players to know the fundamentals of football than fancy plays. If they didn't know the fundamentals and execute them flawlessly, they would be unable to carry out the more difficult plays. I think this is exactly what Paul was getting at when he called the Galatians foolish. They had forgotten the fundamentals of Jesus Christ and his crucifixion. They forgot that it was Christ working in them when they heard the Word of God that enabled them to believe in the first place. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast." (Eph 2:8-9) Paul had preached the same message in Ephesus. Even the faith that we have doesn't come from ourselves, but is a gift from God. That faith is given to us when we hear the Word of God and He enables us to believe it. The Galatians wanted to advance in their faith, which is commendable. However, they had fallen into the trap of thinking that their own efforts in following the Law would give them more spirituality. These efforts were not their devotion to the study of the Word, prayer, worship or service, but they were focusing on external thing that can not impart spiritual growth. As mentioned in Gal 2:14, they were thinking that following Jewish customs would help them be better Christians. In Gal 4:10 (You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!) - Paul pointed out that observing special days didn't help them either. I'll admit that Jewish traditions can give meaning and insight into our faith, however carrying on a tradition will not in any way add any assurance of salvation or enable a person to become a stronger Christian simply by participating in them. Some churches claim that participation in traditions will give you extra strength to walk a Christian life. They believe that as you participate, you receive grace. As you go through life, it is somewhat like a monopoly game in which you receive $200 every time you pass go. These "grace points" can be used to fight off sin or assure you that you will have a quicker entrance into heaven after you die. I also listen to radio advertisements that promise similar things. "Come to the Walter Hinny crusades where you will see the Spirit of God move. There will be salvations and healings." They give the impression that you must attend these meeting or watch on TV if you want to see God working and that He won't be working unless you do. Jesus had a few things to say about the importance of traditions. "'You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.' And he said to them: 'You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!' ... 'Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.'" (Mark 7:8-9, 13) How would you like to stand before Jesus and have Him say this to you? I hope that none of us are ever in this situation, but it is possible for us to be so consumed with doing what we think is the right thing, that we really miss what God wants us to do, which is to have a close personal relationship with Him. "Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: 'Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, `Here I am-it is written about me in the scroll- I have come to do your will, O God.'" (Heb 10:5-7) Traditions are not wrong. They can be very helpful as the Lord demonstrated to the nation of Israel. Almost every tradition that Israel had originated by God's command. Unfortunately, the meaning was lost when the performance of the ritual became more important than the original purpose of the tradition, as well as when men's traditions were added to them. It isn't only the religious traditions that can keep us from God. Every year when we celebrate Christmas and Easter, the world around us tries to drown out the real meaning of these seasons by substituting Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and commercialism for Jesus. It is even getting to the point that we can't even use the terms "Christmas Vacation" because it will offend those who don't have the same belief. If we aren't careful, we can drift right along with the rest of the world and ignore Jesus right up to Christmas day when we will give Him a few seconds before a scrumptious meal (assuming that it coincides with half-time). This December, let's remember the "Reason for the Season", Jesus. A good way to do this is with a tradition; make an Advent Calendar. The word advent means the coming or arrival of an event. The word Advent (capitalized) means the coming of Jesus - either the first time or the next. An Advent Calendar in its simplest form has a scripture reading for each day in December up to Christmas day. The readings take you through the Gospel accounts that lead up to the birth of Jesus and the first few days afterward to complete the month of December. Be careful though, even this tradition can become ritualistic if not approached with the desire to know Jesus better. I have put together a calendar that you can use online at http://www.rayruppert.com/romans120/advent/advent.htm. Simply go to this web site and click on the scripture for the day. I do pray that this will help you come closer to our Lord during Christmas. May the Lord fill you with His Holy Spirit as you seek His face behind the traditions that surround Christmas. In Jesus,
Ray Ruppert Believe God - Galatians 3:6-9, 26-29 "Consider Abraham: 'He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.' Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: 'All nations will be blessed through you.' So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Do you believe God? I don't mean believe in God, but believe what He has said. Abraham didn't know much about God; otherwise he would have passed a lot more along to us than he did. The Bible is a remarkable book by which God tells us more and more about Himself as history progresses. "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." (Rom 1:20) While we can know about God by careful observation of creation, we really can't know Him personally until He speaks to us. When it comes to believing in God, we can make our decision based on what we see around us. When it comes to believing God, we need to know what He has said. God spoke personally to Abraham and many others in the Bible so that they would believe and then pass on what He said. Each time He spoke, He gave us an opportunity to believe Him. Very little of what God told Abraham was passed on. Abraham had only a few things to believe, but he was faithful to believe what was said to him and it was credited to him as righteousness. That means that he received righteousness, not by earning it, but by accepting it as God gave it to him. One of the things that God told Abraham was the promise that the Messiah, Jesus, would come through his lineage. As history marched forward and God's message was recorded in the Bible, we have received a remarkable number of promises that God has made so that we can believe Him. "Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." (John 20:30-31) All that God said in the Old Testament pointed to the coming of Jesus, and what Jesus said and did is enough for us to believe and receive salvation. Don't expect God to come by and say something new that doesn't line up with what He has already said. As a matter of fact, this is exactly Paul's argument with those who were saying that salvation required following the law. When Abraham believed God, righteousness was credited to him, and the same is true for us. When we believe God, a remarkable thing occurs. We get the same blessing Abraham received and we become, in the spiritual realm, the descendents of Abraham and the children of God! Our status before God is the same as Abraham's - righteous. Nothing in the physical realm makes any difference in that status. Our heavenly Father doesn't consider us any different from any other Christian because of our race, economic status or gender. We are all His children and He loves us all the same. This status is based only on believing what He has said. Since our status before God is the same, each of us can come to Him as easily as the next person. We don't have to be some spiritual giant to come to Him in prayer. I have the same right to approach our Lord in prayer as do you, the Pope or Billy Graham. "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Heb 4:16) I could go on to say that because of our status, He answers our prayers equally, however, that would only be partially true. Since each of us has a different spiritual maturity, we are most likely not asking for the same things in prayer. Therefore the answers will vary depending upon what we are asking for. A controversial radio program on some Christian stations starts out with the comment "Contrary to the prayers of millions, we are still on the air." Obviously, some of us pray for the exact opposite of what others are praying for. "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." (James 4:3) There is a big difference between getting answers and receiving what we have asked for. When we ask amiss, the answer is a plain and simple "No!" As we come closer to the Lord, we should know Him better and ask for things that are in alignment with His will. When we know Him this well, we know that we may ask with the full expectation of receive it. But no matter how close we come to Him, our status doesn't change and we don't get any more or less attention from Him than anyone else does. Paul says we are one in Christ Jesus. We don't see this unity yet because we haven't all reached this point of maturity. Paul didn't even claim to have achieved it. "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." (Phil 3:12) There will come a day when the divisions and the differences will all disappear and that oneness will become a reality. In that day my prayers won't conflict with any other Christian's prayers. The divisions and denominations will disappear. Of course, that day won't occur until the end of all times and sin has been completely and finally done away with. Until that time, we need to continue to press on to maturity in Christ by believing what God has said. May you believe God and may your life reflect what He has said to us. In Jesus, Ray Ruppert "Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, 'Abba, Father.'" I heard it mentioned on the radio that most people leave churches because of legalism. The program was referring to a book whose author had conducted exit interviews with people who had left churches. The book's conclusion was that our churches, which are supposed to be preaching the good news of grace, have succumbed to the error of legalism. In the interviews people said their primary reason for leaving was that they couldn't measure up and felt guilty (I think the author was William Hendricks). This stimulated my thinking about what the Lord was trying to convey to the Galatians and to us. Since I heard this, I've had a fight in my mind questioning the results of the book. I already know people leave churches because they feel guilty. Some leave because they don't want to measure up to the standards of the Christian faith because they love the sin in which they are involved. When a good Bible preacher brings a message, the Holy Spirit convicts and the sinners feel guilty in order that they will repent and be restored to a good relationship with Jesus. While it is sad that this occurs and I would like to see them turn from their sin, I don't feel a lot of compassion toward these people. These will sooner or later find a church that will compromise the Word of God and condone, accept or even encourage their sin. On the surface, they will be able to go to church and feel good about themselves rather than feel guilty. If the author interviewed many people like this, then he probably has a skewed view of churches. Very little that I say will make a difference for these. On the other hand, I know how sinful we all are and that we need to extend grace to those who fall (or receive it when we fall) and help them on the road to a victorious Christian life. There is a spectrum among believers from the best who occasionally slip up to those who can't seem to do anything right. Many of us have one thing in common and that is guilt over our sin. These need a lot of help because they know that something isn't right in their own souls, but they aren't finding the help they need in their particular church. When those who are able to hide their sin better than others are in charge in a church, the rest of us can often walk away feeling guilty rather than encouraged. When not finding help, many would consider a church legalistic and feel guilty without knowing how to overcome the guilt and sin. They recognize that God's word can't be compromised just because they don't feel good. If the book was interviewing people like this, then I do feel compassion for them and would like to help. The first step is to recognize how serious the problem is. "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ." (Rom 8:9-10) I know that His Spirit lives in me and I belong to Jesus as His Word says. "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession-to the praise of his glory." (Eph 1:13-14) I have made every conscious effort to yield myself to the Lord; I know His Spirit is in me; therefore the Holy Spirit should control me instead of my sinful nature. So why do I still sin? Why are there some who can't overcome serious addictive sinful patterns in their lives when they know it is wrong and they, too, have the Holy Spirit living in them? (Some would say they don't have the Holy Spirit and quote 1 Jn 3:6 to prove it, but that doesn't help them.) I seem to have dug myself into a hole. The Word of God says the Holy Spirit controls me but I don't act like it and neither do others. I can chose to believe what the Bible says, or I can chose to believe that Christ is not in me and that I am doomed to hell. I choose to believe that Jesus is living in me and that the Holy Spirit controls me even if I don't always see the physical manifestation of these truths. Next, there is hope for all of us. "And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." (Rom 5:5) A part of the problem is that we often put our trust in the wrong place when we expect the church to be able to help us out in every area of our sinful nature and not make us feel guilty. It is only in God that we can have true hope to overcome sin and guilt feelings when we fail. Churches should be able to help people with guilt and sin, but we can't put all the blame on the church when it doesn't. We have to recognize that when we expect perfection from a bunch of imperfect people, we will be disappointed. "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children." (Rom 8:15-16) Rather than blaming the church, I try to recognize that God has poured His Holy Spirit into us and not only have we have become His sons, but we have received the desire to be the sons that please Him. We desire to have a loving, intimate relationship with our Father so that we come to Him and address Him as Daddy. That's what "Abba" means, Daddy. (Ok, for us "macho" guys, maybe it would be "Dad".) When we desire to have that kind of a relationship and don't because of our sins, we are naturally going to feel guilty. Sometimes, the guilt is there to help us overcome the sin and get us back to the point of being comfortable in the presence of our "Daddy". I also try to remember what a good father - son relationship is like. Some don't have that in their own family and it messes up their relationship with God. That's when the parable of the prodigal son helps us to understand the loving and forgiving nature of our Lord. If it's been a while since you've read it, you might want to review the story in Luke 15:11-32. There is no way a human father can live up to that example and that is the beauty of our Father's love for us. He loves us as no one else can or will. His forgiveness is immeasurable. "Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?' Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.'" (Matt 18:21-22) When Jesus told Peter to forgive without measure, every time someone comes and asks, He was telling us how His Father forgives. Think about it! He was telling us that no matter how many times we screw up, we can go to our Father and ask for forgiveness and He will forgive us. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9-10) He said it. I believe it. Lastly, guilt doesn't belong in our Father - son relationship. "Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Heb 10:19-25) Right in the middle of these verses is a truth that we need to grab hold of and never let go. The blood of Jesus has been sprinkled on our hearts to cleanse us from a guilty conscience. It is only through Jesus that we can have a clean conscience. The book of Hebrews contrasts the work that individuals had to do while under the Law - the sacrificial system - with the work that Jesus has done. The Law could not remove guilt but reminded people that they were guilty. The Bible says that the blood of Jesus has removed our guilt. The key is who is doing the work - us or Jesus. We can't do anything to remove our guilty feelings but Jesus has already done the work. We need to believe this truth. It is interesting to see that following such a declaration about being free from guilt comes an encouragement to hold on to faith and work with others. When we hole up, withdraw and hide from other Christians because of our problems, we lose out on one of the means our Lord has provided us to get through them. While He wants our ultimate dependence to rest solely on Him, He also provides the love, comfort and encouragement of others. Granted, many of us can't provide the support either because of our own weakness or because of our judgmentalness. That may make it harder to seek and find fellowship, however that should not give us an excuse to give up and withdraw from all Christian fellowship even though I can understand why someone may want to. May we all be slow to sin and quick to ask for forgiveness. May we enjoy a close, guilt free relationship with our Father. May we encourage others in Christ-like living without heaping on guilt. In Jesus, Ray Ruppert Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? Have you had one of those days when you told someone the truth and the next thing you know you're in the doghouse? I get a kick out of all the comics strips that have worked various angles on this where the wife asks the husband a question like "does this dress make me look fat?" The poor guy knows he's in trouble no matter how he answers, even if it is an honest answer. I don't know if Paul felt like he was in a catch-22 situation when he was addressing the Galatians, but he knew that telling the truth often brought about unpleasant results. "When he saw Elijah, he said to him, 'Is that you, you troubler of Israel?' 'I have not made trouble for Israel,' Elijah replied. 'But you and your father's family have. You have abandoned the LORD's commands and have followed the Baals.'" (1 Kings 18:17-18) Elijah was always in trouble with Ahab because he was faithful to the Lord and continually told Ahab exactly what God's position was concerning the sins he was involved in. He predicted death and destruction for many in Israel because of Ahab's leadership. Elijah was persecuted because of his stand for God's Word and his attempt to hold Ahab accountable. "The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, 'There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.'" (1 Kings 22:8a) Elijah wasn't the only one who got on Ahab's bad side. Ahab had it in for anyone who was honest with him regarding God's truth; that's why he hated Micaiah. In this case, as with Elijah, the truth was that Ahab was acting against God's commands and the consequences were going to be destruction for Ahab and his family. Even when the truth points out danger in a person's life, whether spiritual or physical, it isn't always welcomed. "Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, 'This is what God says: `Why do you disobey the LORD's commands? You will not prosper. Because you have forsaken the LORD, he has forsaken you.'' But they plotted against him, and by order of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the LORD's temple." (2 Chron 24:20-21) Zechariah paid the ultimate price for telling the truth. The people and the leaders didn't want to hear what he had to say, which convicted them of their wrongdoing. "The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil." (John 7:6-8) Of course, Jesus ran into the same thing. It isn't only the wicked that have hostile reactions to the truth. In each of us there is a tendency to become defensive when we are rebuked and held accountable for our actions. Without the Holy Spirit in our lives, this can turn nasty and result in even greater sins, as exemplified by the actions of King Ahab and the officials in Judah. "Let a righteous man strike me--it is a kindness; let him rebuke me--it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it." (Ps 141:5a) When we are on the receiving end of rebuke, we need to have the same attitude that David expressed in this Psalm. Even when it hurts, we need to remember that rebuke from a righteous person will eventually result in a kindness, even if we don't feel like it at first. However, this article is more about delivering rebuke than it is about receiving it. In the situations in the previous Scriptures, the prophets and Jesus were uniquely positioned to deliver God's word. I would venture to say that we are seldom in the same position with God speaking through us in the same authoritative way. However, we do have the Holy Spirit and God's Word to guide us and help us when we encounter situations when we may have to rebuke another believer. There are times when we must follow God's prompting and hold someone accountable and there are also times when we shouldn't. "Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you." (Prov 9:8) One of the times we shouldn't rebuke someone is when the person is obviously not interested in doing what is right. We simply have to wait for the person to be softened by the Holy Spirit or circumstances to the point that they will listen. In Matthew 7:1-5, Jesus speaks about not judging and how to help a person. After these verses, He says "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces." (Matt 7:6) In the context of trying to help others, I think He was saying that there are going to be times when we should let the person go his own way or we will be wasting our time when it could be used better elsewhere. We may even end up in trouble if they turn on us. It takes real discernment to be able to determine whether to intercede or not. In my last email I used the word "judgmentalness" to describe our attitude when we are unable to help people because we end up making them feel guilty, instead of helping them overcome their problems. The Scriptures are clear that there are times to judge and there are times when we shouldn't. (See http://www.rayruppert.com/romans120/archives/studies_jan_mar_99.htm. Do Not Judge for an in-depth discussion.) "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, `Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." (Matt 7:3-5) Judgmentalness occurs when we approach a person with the following (or other) character faults in our own lives:
When we try to correct and our own flaws are clearly visible, we will be called judgmental. We will write off unresponsive people, thinking that we are in the same category as one of the prophets or Jesus. We will consider ourselves fortunate to have "suffered" for Jesus. This is not the way of a mature Christian. "Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ." (Eph 4:14-15) Another problem that can occur is when we try to rebuke a person without an established relationship. In many cases, people make themselves accountable to other Christians when they are seeking to walk a holy and righteous life. One way is when they join a local church. They are putting themselves under the leadership of that church. If they are found in sin, the leadership has the duty and right to hold the members accountable. We are all ultimately accountable to God and we should be accountable to each other as members of the body of Christ; however, not everyone recognizes this. Without the recognition of accountability to each other we can't hold another person accountable in the same way that we can if there is an agreement. We may be able to rebuke or encourage a person without the relationship, but we can't "hold them accountable", and we may be called judgmental when we do. If we do have the relationship and have our act together, then the "accountable" person has more of a problem than we first observed. If we share God's truth with someone who is in a sinful situation, remember that we may be persecuted (called judgmental) because:
If we share God's truth with someone who is in a sinful situation and they respond with repentance, "remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins." (James 5:20) Let's share God's truth with discernment and love so that we may do the most to further His kingdom. In Jesus, Ray Ruppert "Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods." I have heard different polls claiming that anywhere from 90% to 60% of Americans believe in God. I don't know what questions the polls used to determine if a person believe in God or even if the people making up the question themselves know God. The conclusions usually seem to allude that if a person believes in God, then they know God, and stretching it even farther, they presume the person is a Christian. I think that fewer than 30% of Americans are really Christians. The percentage doesn't really matter, what is important is that Paul makes it clear in this passage that before anyone becomes a Christian; they don't know God and that they are enslaved to beings that are not gods. "Pharaoh said, 'Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go.'" (Ex 5:2) Pharaoh clearly stated that he didn't know God and because he didn't know Him, he certainly wasn't going to obey Him. If someone has made up their mind to disobey God, then they probably don't really have a very good knowledge of God. Pharaoh didn't and it took the plagues of Egypt to convince him to comply with God's commands. He was wrapped up in his own importance as well as the magic arts of Egypt. Even though the gods and magic arts of Egypt played a large part in his rebellion against God, his hard heartedness was probably more a result of his own ego. He simply wanted to remain in control and not admit that there was anyone greater than he was. He didn't like the idea of anyone having authority over him. One of the worst gods that have enslaved us before we became Christians and continues to try to control us afterward is the god of self. "Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the peoples who do not call on your name." (Jer 10:25) Many people simply don't acknowledge God and don't call on His Name. They say that God doesn't exist or, if He does exist, they consider Him so weak that He doesn't have any control over the events of life. Atheism and ignoring God is one of the biggest religions of our current age. It is a religion because atheism requires that a person believe in something other than God as the reason for why we are here. Atheism replaces God with science, the "goodness of human nature", fate, or many other things. At the heart of the matter is the denial that God is the creator of the universe and that He sustains all things. "He has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word." (Heb 1:2b-3a) As sure as there is a God, it is Satan who has convinced people that there is no God. Satan didn't accomplish this overnight, but it started in the Garden of Eden when he called into doubt the very Word of God. "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, 'Did God really say, `You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?'" (Gen 3:1-2) Today you can hear Satan's taunt echoing through the ages, "Did God really create the universe?" In truth, a person who doesn't call on the name of the Lord has by default called on the name of some other "deity" to explain the reason for life. They are also enslaved to those beliefs since what a person believes determines how they conduct their lives. With Satan behind the lies against God, that means Satan enslaves them without them even knowing it. "Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done." (Rom 1:28) Most people are well aware of God but chose to ignore and deny any knowledge of Him. In this sense, they, too, do not know Him. God has made it clear that He lets them go their own way which ends up in their slavery to sin. If you read the verses following this one, you can see the downward spiral into sin. In a sense, sin becomes their god and they become evangelists for sin. Rom 1:32 says that they not only do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. The result is summed up clearly in the following verses. "When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom 6:19-23) The contrast is clear. Slavery to sin results in death and slavery to God results in eternal life. "Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe." (1 Cor 1:20-21) Wisdom, scholarship or learning has also become a god. Some people pursue knowledge with a fervor that is greater than do those who seek God. They believe that in gaining knowledge, all of mankind's problems will be solved. They believe that if we can only provide every child with a proper education, then crime and poverty will eventually be eliminated. Unfortunately, in replacing God with learning, they have denied the real truth that comes from God. The world's wisdom doesn't lead anyone to God, but away from Him. Our only hope in solving mankind's problems is found in Jesus Christ and Him alone. "No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons." (1 Cor 10:20-21) When Paul spoke about pagan sacrifices, most of the world was wrapped up in the worship of demons. As the Gospel was spread, people got rid of witchcraft and turned to Jesus. (Acts 19:19) Fifty years ago you could find open pagan sacrifices only in some of the third world countries. Now, you can find them even in the United States as witchcraft, pagan worship, Wicca and other forms of blatantly worshiping other gods has become fashionable in our age of tolerance. If you don't believe me, go to the web and search on the word "wicca". On one search engine I got multiple pages of hits and all of them dealt with the Wicca religion. (Do you want to learn how to have the "goddess" manifest?) I also used the word "pagan" then "witchcraft" and got similar results. When I typed in "christ", the top five hits included two sites dealing with the play "Jesus Christ Super Star". I found one about the author of the book "Last Temptation of Christ". One was dealing with Jesus as history and myth. In the top five, there was only one link to a Christian church. I was amazed at how easily a person can find sites that lead to worship of demons in contrast to how much more difficult it would be to find the truth about Jesus. Web search engines don't just look up web sites and list them. They use software that creates a bias to show web sites that conform to additional criteria that the search engine company has established. This can be anything from popularity of the sites to how much money the site owners are paying for advertising. The point of this exercise was to show that the worship of other gods is alive and well in the United States and for that matter, the whole world. "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron." (1 Tim 4:1,2) As we draw closer to the return of Jesus, the worship of demons and their activity will become more prevalent rather than less. The temptation to follow deceiving spirits is even among believers who are being wowed by miraculous signs. You may have heard of the "holy laughter" movement that then turned from laughter to barking like dogs and making other sounds, all supposedly under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. After investigation by many leading Christians, it was determined that there wasn't anything "holy" about the movement and that it was just another case of people being lead astray. Paul was talking about being enslaved by people who, in response to demonic instigation, are teaching us ungodly doctrines. "But now that you know God-or rather are known by God-how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?" (Gal 4:9) My dear friends, don't be deceived, in addition to the many things that replace God in our lives there are also other gods (demons) who are real and are actively engaged in a spiritual warfare. This war is designed to keep as many people enslaved to them as possible and to hinder our attempts at freeing people. They also are doing what they can so that we will be enslaved again and become ineffective in our Christian walk. It seems like any time I speak about this spiritual warfare, immediately a well-meaning brother or sister in Christ will attempt to negate it by saying that they don't believe there is a demon under every rock. For some reason, they want to ignore the fact that Jesus cast out thousands of demons and that He described the devil as His enemy as in the parable about the weeds in a field (Mt 13:37 - 43). They ignore Paul when he said our struggle was against demonic forces (Eph 6:11,12). They ignore Peter when he warned us to be alert for the devil (1 Pet 5:8,9). I don't focus my attention on these things, but I don't deny them either and warn people when it comes up in conversation or as I find it in the Bible. I certainly don't want anyone to become a fanatic about demonic activity either, because that isn't the balanced picture that is painted in the Bible. "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." (Rom 8:1-2) Let's walk in the freedom that Jesus has given us and be careful not to get back into bondage to anything other than our loving Father. Let's also be careful not to place anyone else in bondage either. Jesus, Ray Ruppert A Little Yeast - Galatians 5:9 "A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." Most translations of the Bible say that the leaven leavens the whole lump. While this may be a very accurate translation, it doesn't do a whole lot for my understanding. Even though I used to watch my mother bake bread and understood the process, saying that leaven leavens the whole lump is rather uninspiring. However, as I pondered the concept of yeast working through the whole batch of dough, I can get a better understanding of what Paul was talking about. Yeast doesn't just magically spread through bread dough; it works to accomplish its business. For yeast to accomplish its mission, it must have the right conditions. It requires moisture, fuel (dough or fruit juice), and warmth. Dried yeast can sit around in a package for years and come to life when exposed to the right conditions. As it works, it produces waste products (alcohol and carbon dioxide) that if not removed, will eventually kill the yeast and stop its ability to reproduce. In bread, the carbon dioxide raises the bread and in fruit juice the alcohol turns the mixture to wine. In bread the high temperature kills the yeast, while in wine, the alcohol kills it. It is no wonder that the Lord used yeast as a symbol for evil influence, as well as the positive influence of the kingdom of God. "Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees." (Matt 16:11-12) "Again he asked, 'What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.'" (Luke 13:20,21) Paul was speaking about people who were trying to lead the Galatians astray when he was talking about yeast. There is a close correlation between them and the people Jesus spoke about in Matt 16:11-12 above. They were teaching that more was required for salvation than trusting in Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. They added the idea that there had to be some work on our part, namely circumcision and following the Mosaic legal system. The Pharisees and Sadducees were also teaching wrong doctrines. When we consider what we have been taught, we find out that it shapes our belief structure and that in turn affects the way we live. Like the yeast, a doctrine or teaching needs a good environment for it to grow and change a society. It doesn't happen overnight, but gradually works its way through society person by person until we wake up and find that it has been leavened either for good or evil. Darrel O' Kelly sent me the following: "A coworker asked me to explain how gravity worked and what caused it. At first, I gave some off the cuff answer that it had something to do with the right hand rule of torque (totally wrong). I did some research to satisfy my curiosity. I relearned some things that I had studied in Engineering school. It had to do with Newton’s laws. There is a mathematical expression that explains how it works that has to do with the mass of the sun and the earth divided by the distance squared. This expression is multiplied by a universal constant. I read about how Newton could explain how it worked but not why. To this day, no one can explain why. I started reflecting about the many different math formulas that I learned in school that show how something behaves. Many of these had a constant in the expression. Most of these formulas did not have a why to them only a how. Newton even said that the why it worked for gravity was God." For hundreds of years, scientists in the western world were working on the premise that God had created the universe. Since they knew God to be a God of order, they expected their findings to be ordered and were able to advance rapidly in their understanding of the natural sciences. At the same time, the eastern world held to many gods who were unknowable. Their scientific research was based on trial and error instead of deductive reasoning because of a Creator God. The western world's scientific advancements far exceeded the eastern. This is a graphic example of how the teaching of the Bible affects our world, demonstrating Jesus' words about the kingdom of God. The yeast of false teaching is demonstrated in how Darwin's doctrine has now worked its way through our society. Darwin didn't believe that God created the world and offered an explanation that all animals, including people, are simply the products of "natural" forces apart from God. As this doctrine gained acceptance, even Christians began to rethink the accounts of Genesis. The beginning of the Bible was called into doubt and then other parts of it as well. (After all, if you can't trust part of the Bible, then what makes you think you can trust any of it?) The outcome of this thinking was to reduce man from the position God had established for him and relegated him to the same position as any other animal. In fact man is considered less important than any "endangered" species. We can see the results of this clearly when it is illegal to disturb wild bird's eggs, but is perfectly legal to kill an unborn child. We are beginning to treat our elderly and handicapped the same way we do animals when they have outlived their usefulness or are ill or injured. They are encouraged to take their own lives. It won't be long before "useless" people are denied medical care or even "terminated". These thoughts are in stark contrast to what the Bible says about man. "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (Gen 1:27) "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet:" (Ps 8:4-6) We are created in the image of God. He didn't say this about any of the animals. He cares for us and has given us purpose in life, not to be relegated to the same level as animals, but to rule over all that He has created. (And we jolly well better rule justly and take care of His creation because He will hold us accountable for what He has put into our hands.) We have been created only a little lower than the heavenly beings. Yeast is in our environment. Just like there is yeast on the skin of grapes that produces wine, there are teachings that are prevalent in our world that poison our society. They are very dangerous if we don't know how to keep from being contaminated by them. Darwin's theory started with a book. As I understand, he was also influenced in his theories by things that he had read. The things that we expose our minds to can have a great affect on our faith and our lives. "Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you." (Luke 11:34-36) I really believe that Jesus was warning us about the things that we let into our minds when He spoke about the light that we have and whether it is light or darkness. We need to be discerning about these things; otherwise we can encourage yeast to grow in our own lives and thus negatively influence society. "But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." (Heb 5:14) Many feel it is too much work to study the Word and then try to apply it because it does take constant use. Others are simply clueless that there is a connection between the amount of time they spend in the Bible and their ability to identify bad yeast. Some feel that it would be too legalistic to filter the input to their mind. Even others don't think the yeast affects them. Are you ABLE to be discerning about the things that enter your mind via the kinds of books you read; the TV programs you watch; the jokes you enjoy; the people you admire; the music you listen to or the movies you go to? "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth." (Rev 3:15-16) Do we provide the right conditions for yeast to grow by being lukewarm toward God and His plan for our lives? Jesus said that our deeds demonstrate whether or not we are hot or cold. It isn't a matter of warm fuzzy feelings but how we live our lives and how we serve our Lord. Is there something that we need to do to turn up the oven and kill the bad yeast but work even more to spread the yeast of the kingdom of God? Let's do what we can to prevent the contamination of yeast in our lives and turn up the heat to kill any that is already there. When we do this, the yeast of the kingdom of God will be working, not the yeast of the world. Jesus, Ray Ruppert If you would like to know how to surrender your life to Jesus, click on Eternal Net on the left.
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