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Continuing our discussion from part one, allow me to expand a little further regarding this idea of accepting, by faith, God's plan and purpose for our lives. Allow me to ask you a simple question. What is the most important truth we find in the entire Bible, which our Heavenly Father requires that we all accept? Quite simply, it's that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, who died for the sins of the world, so that we might obtain forgiveness for our sins, be reconciled to God, and thus merit Eternal Life through Jesus' Atonement.

Sadly, as it was prophesied about 2,750 years ago by Isaiah, as well as by King David centuries before that, it was this very truth which the Jewish religious leaders of the First Century rejected. Thus, they were offended by, or stumbled upon Christ, who is God's one true Rock from Heaven. Jesus Himself, as well as the Apostles Peter and Paul, all referred back to the ancient prophecies in their teachings, as we can determine by the following group of verses. Please notice how Paul clarifies for us that during the time that the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness, it was Jesus Christ -- who is the Living Rock -- who followed them. He is the very same Rock who they -- and their descendants -- would later despise and reject:

"And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ."


"And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken."


"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not."


"The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the LORD'S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes."


"And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me."


"Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them."


"And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again."


"And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner: This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?"


"Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day."


"But first must he [Jesus] suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation."


"He [Jesus] came unto his own, and his own received him not."


"This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner."


"But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed."


"If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed."


"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."


So again, we see that from the High Priest, Caiaphas, to the self-righteous Pharisee known as Saul of Tarsus, the Jewish leadership and their underlings did indeed reject the Messiah when He arrived on the scene. Reiterating the words of Paul, Jesus became "a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence" to them. Of course, Jesus warned of what would happen to anyone who rejected Him. In a word, not only would they die in their sins, but they would also be ground to powder! Consider these additional verses:

"Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces . . . And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure"


"Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."


"And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them."


"And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father."


"And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne."


"And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God."


Returning to our main topic, the Lord had to use a mechanism in order to cause this obstinate rejection by the Jews; and that mechanism, or catalyst, was sin and rebellion in their own hearts. Exactly what was the nature of their sin? As the previous verses from Paul's Epistle to the Romans indicate, in its simplest form, the sin was that they were so filled with their own wisdom, and knowledge of the Law, and what they felt was necessary for Salvation, that they no longer had the faith of a little child. As I explain more fully in several other articles, they were deceived into believing that they could establish their own righteousness, without Christ, through the works of the Law. Ultimately, this kept them from seeing the real truth, and the real Salvation, which is in Christ alone. Their knowledge of the Law became an impediment to them discovering the truth.

In other words, instead of having the simple faith to just believe that the Messianic Prophecies of the Old Testament were finally being fulfilled in their very sight, and instead of embracing the fact that the Messiah and Sacrificial Lamb of God had arrived, they purposely ignored the clear signs which were right in front of them, and they foolishly went about to establish their own form of righteousness, through their self-righteous works. This they did by pretending to adhere to the unbending and merciless mandates of the Mosaic Law. Jesus Himself chided them for ignoring the clear signs in front of them, as we can see by the following verses:

"The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed."


To make matters worse, they didn't really keep all of the mandates -- or mitzvoth -- of the Mosaic Law; they simply pretended to. Those self-righteous religious leaders were very good when it came to telling the common people how to live their lives in order to be acceptable to God. But as for themselves, forget it! They were absolute hypocrites! Thus, Jesus said the following in the Gospel of Matthew:

"Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not."


It was right after that, that Jesus totally exposed them. Because of their pride and self-righteous attitude, it was impossible for some of the religious elders to accept God's simple Plan of Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. In other words, they didn't want Jesus to save them. They were so deceived, that as I said a moment ago, they thought that they could actually save themselves. However, as the Apostle Paul also makes very clear, that is totally impossible to do, because righteousness only comes through faith in Jesus Christ, and not through anything which we might try to do, such as by observing the Mosaic Law. Consider the following verses:

"For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."


"But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:"


"That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."


"I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."


"And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:"


"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."


"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"


It should be quite clear then, that our own righteousness, or perhaps better said, our vain attempts to attain to some state of righteousness and sinless perfection through our own works, absolutely stinks. Furthermore, it will never work. We will never merit Salvation of our own accord, or through our own supposed goodness. It is impossible. You may recall that the Prophet Isaiah in fact wrote as follows:

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."


One of the reasons why the Apostle Paul was able to write so eloquently regarding faith and the Law, is because he knew well the heart and mind of his Jewish brethren. Prior to his conversion, he was living the very same delusion as the rest of them. In fact, as we all know, Paul was so convinced that he knew the truth, and that his knowledge of, and obedience to the Law would save him, that in his zeal, he even went about persecuting and killing those people who opposed him. I am, of course, referring to the First Century Christians. As I point out in other articles, Jesus warned His followers that this would eventually happen to them. After all, as we all know, the unbelieving Jews first persecuted Jesus, and eventually killed Him; all the while believing that their religious zeal was pleasing to God. Consider these verses:

"Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another."


"But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake. And it shall turn to you for a testimony. Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. But there shall not an hair of your head perish. In your patience possess ye your souls."


"These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me."


"And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem."


Through an abundance of Scriptural evidence, we have now seen that some knowledge, whether we're discussing worldly wisdom, philosophy and science, or spiritual knowledge, such as certain religious doctrines and preconceived ideas, can be deceiving and harmful both to ourselves, as well as to others. In fact, the wrong knowledge can even keep us away from the real truth of God's Word. Furthermore, as I point out in the article entitled "Science and Technology: The Forbidden Knowledge?", knowledge wrongfully applied can be downright evil as well.

In the case of the Apostle Paul, it wasn't until the Lord humbled him on that road to Damascus, so that he was finally willing to forsake his pride, and his erroneous teachings, and become a born-again child of God, that Paul was able to take the Lord's hand, and with childlike faith say, "Okay, Lord; you lead, and I will follow. You teach me your ways, and the things which I need to know, in order to be used by you." Up until that point, Paul's knowledge stood in the way of his faith, and thus in the way of his spiritual growth. He couldn't become a child, as Jesus had taught, because in a spiritual sense, he had deceived himself into thinking that he was already a man. The truth of the matter is that he was spiritually stagnant; just like his Jewish brethren. But one powerful jolt from the Spirit of God put him on the right track.

Once Paul humbled himself and became a child who quietly listened at the Lord's feet, he began to grow. Once he rejected, and discarded, the false foundation upon which he had built his life as a dedicated Pharisee and keeper of the Law, the Lord could set him upon the one true Foundation. That is, the Rock of Jesus Christ. Only then could God begin to teach Paul anew. But this required childlike faith. It is for this reason that Paul would later write the following in his first Epistle to the Corinthian church:

"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire."


Today, there are still many Pauls in the world, or perhaps better said, Sauls. Some of these people are filled with worldly wisdom and the cherished teachings of men. Others are trapped by religious indoctrination and traditions which have been passed down in some cases for many generations. After a while, something is passed along for so long, that it is automatically assumed to be true without question. No one, or at least very few, pause to really investigate what they believe, and why they believe it. They have become a part of the vast crowd which follows the herd mentality of political correctness. Very few people are like the Prophet Elijah, or perhaps like John the Baptist, who were willing to stand out from the crowd.

Tragically, if certain community or government leaders say that something is true, then it must be true. If the local priest, pastor, minister or preacher asserts that something is no longer true, or that we have misunderstood it, or that we are living in modern times and must therefore "adjust" our religious beliefs a little in order to remain acceptable to modern society, most people will simply nod in assent and accept it. After all, just like the Scribes and Pharisees of old, if anyone ought to know the truth, they should; right? Not necessarily so, my friends.

What about you? Have your head and heart become so stuffed with vain worldly knowledge and wisdom, or with misguided religious indoctrination, that your faith has died? In your confused, darkened mind and alienated state, has God merely become something in which foolish, ignorant and backward people believe? As a Christian, have you given up the fight and fainted in your mind? If this is how you truly feel, then please consider what the following group of verses has to say:

". . . Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"


"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day [Christ's Second Coming] shall not come, except there come a falling away first . . ."


"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? . . ."


"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, LEST YE BE WEARIED AND FAINT IN YOUR MINDS. "


"Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, WE FAINT NOT . . . For which cause WE FAINT NOT; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day."


"And let us NOT BE WEARY IN WELL DOING: for in due season we shall reap, IF WE FAINT NOT."


"Wherefore I desire THAT YE FAINT NOT at my tribulations for you, which is your glory."


"But ye, brethren, BE NOT WEARY IN WELL DOING."


On the other hand, if you recognize your sad, dismal state; if you realize that your pursuit of worldly knowledge and wisdom has left you feeling spiritually dry and empty; if are willing to abandon your preconceived ideas and false erroneous beliefs; if you are willing to tear down the false idols of ungodly education and modern wisdom which you have foolishly constructed in your life; and if you sincerely desire to learn and know the truth, God will certainly not disappoint you. He will reward you if you seek after it with your whole heart with childlike faith. He will surely reward you if you dedicate yourself to a serious and open-minded study of His Word, because that is where the truth is to be found. As Jesus said, and as the Apostle Paul wrote:

"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."


"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."


Notice that while King Solomon advises us to abandon our vain study of the many books written by worldly men, Jesus and Paul instruct us to delve into the wonders of God's written Word. Thus, we have the problem revealed to us, as well as the simple solution. Solomon's father, King David, was definitely in love with God's Word. This is why his Psalms are filled with such verses as the following:

"BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word."


"Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."


"More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb."


The Old Testament Patriarchs Moses and Job also realized how important it was to maintain God's Word as a central part of one's life. In fact, Jesus was repeating something which He had instructed Moses to tell the children of Israel, when He responded to Satan in Matthew chapter four. Consider these verses:

"And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live."


"Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food."


"But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."


So from these few verses, we can see that the Word of God should be a very important part of our lives. We should read and study it on a regular basis, and strive to apply it to our daily lives. Sadly, it is because many people have cast God aside, and because they have rejected the truth of His holy Word, that the world is in such a terrible state today, filled with fear, confusion, war and widespread violence, unbridled passions, selfishness and so many other societal ills. Many people have swallowed Satan's lies, and accepted his pleasures of sin for a season, instead of accepting God's truth.

Please go to part three for the conclusion of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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