Wednesday, November 25, 2015
CHRIST AND THE FULFILLING OF THE LAW
We often
hear born again Christians or the so-called born again Christians say, “I am
not under the law, I am under grace”, and this is often said in response to
people trying to question their sinful lifestyles or character flaws. However,
it is important to for us not just use clichés anyhow without ensuring that we
are sticking to Biblical truth, because, you just end up like that fool who
built his house on sand.
Let us look
at what Jesus said about the wise man and the fool in Mathew chapter 7, and
verses 24-27:
24Therefore whosoever heareth these
sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built
his house upon a rock:
25And the rain descended and the
floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for
it was founded upon a rock.
26 And everyone that heareth these
sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which
built his house upon sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the
floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and
great was the fall of it.
This simply
means, that when we decide to choose our own way, or our own interpretations of
the scripture, outside of the truth from God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, we
will suffer for the consequences of our actions. This simply means that God
cannot be held responsible for our wrong interpretations that are based on our
fleshly conveniences.
It is
important for us to know that if there is a day when the danger of us making
these foolish choices is high, it is today, in line with the prophecies
concerning the last days. Let us see the instructions Paul speaking by the Holy
Ghost, gave to Timothy, in 1Timothy chapter 4, and 2 Timothy chapter 3.
In 1 Timothy
chapter, we are warned that in the last days, some shall depart from the faith,
and give heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils. These people the
Bible says, may not the actual truth of God’s word, but may never accept it,
rather they will prefer to speak lies in hypocrisy. The Bible tells us that
conscience of such men and women has been seared by the devil!
In 2 Timothy
chapter 3, the Bible tells us that in the last days, it shall be very difficult
to be a Christian, because perilous times shall come. It tells that men shall
love themselves, and their flesh so much that they will be willing to say, ‘To hell with God”.
If truly we
are in the last days before Jesus returns, as so many Biblical prophecies and
signs are showing us, then these things are inevitable. However, the good thing about it, is that you and I can
make a choice, to be that wise guy, so that in the end, the Lord will not say
to us, ‘Away from me, ye that work
iniquity, I never knew you’.
During last
year’s Word and Glory Conference, I tried to correct a very erroneous teaching
that has been destroying so many people in the body of Christ for ages-false
teachings and beliefs about the true meaning of the grace of God. I tried to
explain, that nowhere in the Bible, was the grace given as an excuse to live a
loose, careless, or sinful lifestyle. However, if you live close to or get
close to so many of today’s weak, hypocritical, and fleshly preachers, you will
not only find out that they dwell in iniquity, but also encourage others to do
the same. These fake preachers have only one explanation for the fake
Christianity-the false teachings about grace!
Let us look
at Romans chapter where it was clearly said by Paul that no one is justified in
Christ Jesus through his or her own works:
UNDERSTANDING
THE CONCEPT OF NOT BEING UNDER THE LAW
It is
important to understand what Apostle Paul meant when he said, that you are not
under the law but under grace. You need to understand that the Book of Romans
has two faces, and was addressing the attitudes of both the Jews and the
non-Jews in Christ Jesus towards each other.
In the first
part, he was addressing the attitude of the Jews towards the Romans and other
Gentiles. They felt that since they were given the laws of Moses, they were
superior and actually were the only ones who were qualified to inherit the
kingdom. They put the person of Christ Jesus and the grace of God which he
brought, lower, and depended so much on the works of the law.
Paul
therefore went on to explain, that the coming of Christ has brought to us
something higher than the laws of Moses. Under the law of Moses, there was no
power given to enable you keep the instructions that you were given, however,
Christ has brought with him-grace, which is power to keep the commandments. I will
look at this scripturally shortly. You will notice that Paul with this saying,
at no time, diminished the power of sin, and never encouraged sin. Paul rather
emphasized that because you are now under grace, you have a greater power to
overcome sin (sin shall not have dominion over you).
In the
second part where Paul addressed those Gentiles who despised the Jews, thinking
that God has abandoned them because of their disobedience, and chosen the
Gentiles, he emphasized that the Gentiles could not have been grafted in
without the Jews. This is because the law and the covenants and the Patriarchs,
all came from the Jews. Let us see from the scriptures in Romans chapter 6,
verses 12-15:
12 Let not sin therefore reign in
your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof
13 Neither yield your members as
instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as
those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of
righteousness unto God.
14 For sin shall not have dominion
over you: for ye are not under the law but under grace.
15 What then? Shall we sin: because
we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
This is
amazing indeed, many people think that what it means not to be under the law,
is that they are free to sin and to receive forgiveness under grace, but it is
not what it means. It simply means that you now have power over sin, therefore
you don’t have to sin at all! Amazing indeed!
UNDERSTANDING
THE CONCEPT OF THE NEW COMMANDMENT
Jesus was
once asked a very important question by one of the Pharisees, who wanted to
know which of the commandments, is the greatest. We can find this in the Book
of Mathew chapter 22 verses 35-40:
35 Then one of them which was a
lawyer, asked him a question, and tempting him, and saying,
36 Master, which is the great
commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all
thy mind.
38 This is the first and great
commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it,
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all
the law and the prophets.
This saying
of Jesus is similar to what he said earlier on in the same Book of Mathew
chapter 7 and verse 12:
12 Therefore whatsoever ye would that
men do to you, do even so them: for this is the law and the prophets.
In these two
set of scriptures, Jesus made a very important statement, which we should never
forget. He said that all the Old Covenant Laws and the teachings of the Old
Covenants Prophets, hang upon-love for your fellow human being. This is
amazing, it simply means that we should we find evidence, that this same thing
that was required from the Old covenants saints, is what is required of the New
Covenant saints, then the law was never abolished.
This simply
means, that just as Christ said, he never came to abolish the law of Moses, but
to implement or enforce it. In Mathew chapter 5:17, we read as follows:
17 Think not that I am come to
destroy the law or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.
This is in
agreement with Mark chapter 12, verse 31.
CHRIST’S NEW
COMMANDMENT OF LOVE AND THE NEW TESTAMENT!
In line with
the teachings of Christ above, when he was about to leave, he left his
disciples with one new law or commandment, and we can see this in the Book of
John chapter 13 verse 34, and 2 John 1:5, as follows:
34 A new commandment I give unto you,
That ye love one another, as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
This may
sound like it is new, but is it actually new? If it is the same thing on which
hangs all the law and the prophets, is it really new? Well Jesus again, that it
is not really new, but because he is giving it to them now in clear terms, it
may be called new. In 2 John chapter 1 verses 5, we read as follows:
5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not
as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the
beginning, that we love one another.
Here Jesus
clearly merges the Old and the New, saying that there is no new commandment,
but that which has been-the moral law of Moses.
THE
AGREEMENT OF THE APOSTLES’ TEACHINGS WITH THE MORAL LAW OF MOSES-LOVE!
Paul the
Apostle, who is actually, the apostle of grace, is equally the apostle of love,
as we can see in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, the love chapter. Here, he makes it
clear that you are wasting your time, playing church, if don’t have love!
In the Book
of Romans chapter 13 verses 8-10, we read as follows:
8 Owe no man anything, but love one
another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
9 For this. Thou shalt not commit
adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false
witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is
briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself.
10 Love worketh no ill to his
neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Here again,
Paul shows us that the law of Moses, was never abolished!
Again in
Galatians chapter 5 verses 11-14, we see Paul the Apostle repeating this same
statement in another fashion:
11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision,
why do I yet suffer persecution? Then is the offence of the cross ceased.
12 I would they were even cut off
which trouble you.
13 For, brethren, ye have been called
unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love,
serve one another
14 For all the law is fulfilled in
one word, even in this; thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
Finally,
James equally agrees with the Lord and the commandment of love, insisting that
the law of Moses, was never abolished, and we can see this in James chapter 2
verse 8;
8 If ye fulfill the royal law
according to the scripture, Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself: ye do well.
In
conclusion, when you a Pastor, a Prophet, a Teacher, an Apostle, an Evangelist,
or a Christian, who says that he is not under the law, and thinks that the way
to show it, that he is not accountable to any one, is by putting HIV, into his
neighbor-you have right there-a false apostle, reject the fake fellow!
Above is the teaching, on the 21st, Day 1 of the 2015 Word and Glory Conference by Dr Chidi Peters, at the Umuahia North L.G.A. Headquaters, Abia State!Sunday, November 15, 2015
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
BECOMING A MAN THAT IS APPROVED OF GOD-PART 3
Thursday, July 23, 2015
RIGHTEOUSNESS AND GOODNESS
You may
wonder why I want to talk about Righteousness and Goodness. If there is an
assignment that a certain group of people are supposed to engage in, I think
that the wise ones amongst them will like to find out whether they are
qualified to participate in it. It is only fools that will just get up and jump
into something that they are not qualified to- according to the rules to
participate in-you can be sure that such people will only end up disqualified.
Think again about a team that decides to field mostly over-aged footballers,
for example, in an under-twenty football match, you field mostly those players
that are aged twenty-five and above: your team is sure to be disqualified, once
your deceit is discovered.
In the same
way, a male footballer who insists on being fielded by his country, in a
Women’s World Cup competition, cannot be allowed to play no matter how good he
is.
Talking
about prayer, if we look at certain portions of the Bible, we can see the basic
qualifications, for example: in Proverbs chapter 15, verses 8 and 29, we read
as follows:
“8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an
abomination to the Lord: but the prayer of the upright (righteous) is his
delight”
Sacrifice,
means giving something very precious to God: here God is the one receiving, but
in prayer, you are the one asking God for something-although sacrifice can
actually be a part of spiritual worship, aimed at receiving.
Here we can
see that God delights in, or accepts, or loves the prayer of the righteous.
Note also that he hates the sacrifice of the wicked, talk less of the prayer of
the wicked.
Again in
verse 29 of the same chapter, the wise man talks again by the inspiration of
the Spirit I believe, about the righteous, the wicked or sinner, and prayer:
“29 The Lord is far from the wicked:
but he heareth the prayer of the righteous”.
This tells
us that a wicked man, who has not yet repented, and turned away from his sins,
and received Jesus into his life as savior, will be wasting his time praying. A
lot of times, we hear people asking everybody to pray concerning the problems
of the nation, or one thing or the other, but you need to know, that it is not
everybody’s prayer that God hears.
We will
explain what righteousness and sin mean shortly, but clearly.
Yet there is
a more detailed scripture that talks about the type of prayer a righteous man
will do, and the effect of that prayer and that is in James chapter 5 and verse
16, we read as follows:
“16 Confess your faults one to
another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent
prayer of a righteous man availeth much”.
This portion
of scripture tells us that we need to confess our faults one to another before
prayer-it is important to note that, this requires a change of heart
first-called repentance. This is very important, because the state of your
heart matters a lot to God. Remember, that as a man thinks in his heart-so is
he. Again, we read that blessed are the pure in heart in heart: for they shall
see God.
However the
area of emphasis for the purpose of our discussion here is the (b) part that
tells us, that the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
There are
three important things mentioned here that are very important:
1 The type
of man involved-a righteous man
2 The type
of prayer involved-effectual and fervent prayer
3 The effect
of the prayer-it avails much.
The above is
from the New King James version of the Bible, but let us look at the amplified
version of the same scripture:
“16 Confess to one another therefore
your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray
[also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual
tone of mind and heart].The earnest (heartfelt continued) prayer of a righteous
man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]”.
I am sorry
if I am going too far here, but the thing you need to note here is the fact
there this prayer of a righteous is dynamic in it’s working, or has the ability
to cause changes.
Who is a righteous man?
A righteous
man is a man who has made peace with God and accepted his sole authority and
Lordship over all things, and received the one that he has sent-Jesus Christ.
God was here
before time, he created all things, and by virtue of this, has the sole right
to be right-this is called righteousness. Anyone who accepts God’s authority and
dominion and headship/Lordship, becomes right with him, and receives this right
to be right-that is righteousness.
Sin is the
opposite of righteousness, anyone who disobeys God, and disagrees with his word
and authority, commits sin, and is a sinner or a rebel.
When you
decide to accept Jesus, God gives you the gift of righteousness, as we can see
in Romans chapter 3, verses 21 and 22 and, 5 verse 17:
“21 But now the righteousness of God
without the law is manifested by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God
which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all that believe: for there
is no difference: …”
This
righteousness of God which is by faith, is called the gift of righteousness,
you can confirm that this was what made Abraham, a righteous man. We can see
this in Genesis chapter 15 verse 6:
“6 And he believed in the Lord; and
he counted it to him for righteousness”.
Some believers
are confused about this term called: righteousness- some tell us that there are
two kinds of righteousness. They say that there is a gift of righteousness, or
the imputed righteousness, and a doing righteousness. This is not right,
because it removes the element of temporality, and clarity from the concept of
righteousness.
I like to
use strictly scriptural terminology to simplify the concept of righteousness.
The Bible
talks about the gift of righteousness and the fruit of righteousness, and both
are not the same because the gift precedes the fruit. In Romans chapter 5 and
verse 17, we read as follows:
“17 For if by one man’s offence death
reigned by one; much more they which receive
abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one,
Jesus Christ”.
Here we can
see the gift of righteousness which you receive by believing in Jesus, and
receiving his grace.
Secondly,
the fruit of righteousness is talked about in Amos 6:12, Hebrews 12:11, and
James 3:18. However, let us take a look at Philippians chapter1 verse 11, and
Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 9:
“11 Being filled with fruits of
righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God”.
You need to understand that what makes you
righteous when you believe God is the receiving of the Holy Spirit-which is the
seal of your salvation.
Now, in
Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 9, we read as follows:
“9 For the fruit of the Spirit is in
all goodness and righteousness and truth;”
The Holy
Spirit within you is the gift of God who possesses both righteousness, and all
the gifts of the spirit.
We were told earlier that righteousness bears
fruits in us, and this fruit is goodness according to the scripture above and
Amos 6:12:
“12 Shall horses run upon the rock?
will one plow there with oxen? For ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit
of righteousness into hemlock:
This
scripture helps you to understand, that instead of goodness, sweetness, or
beauty-which constitutes the fruit of rightousness, these people mentioned here
have turned it into hemlock- a deadly poison that kills.
GOODNESS
In Mathew
chapter 12 and verse 33, we read as follows:
“33 Either make the tree good, and
his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the
tree is known by his fruit”.
Righteousness
is the nature of God, and God is a good God. In so very many parts of the
scripture you can see it echoed over and over again: For the Lord is good, and
his mercy endureth forever.
Jesus
himself said, in Mathew chapter 7 and verse 20 we read:
“20 Wherefore by their fruits, ye
shall know them”.
This means that by their works, you shall know them.
Again
goodness is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit mentioned in Galatians chapter
5 and verse 6.
It is
important to note that if you are not like your father which is in heaven,
there is no proof that you are really from him.
Jesus
explains everything concerning the mysterious relationship between goodness and
effective prayer in Mathew chapter 7, verses 17 and 19:
“17 Even so every good tree bringeth
forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth
evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not good
fruit is hewn down, and cast into fire”.
A simple way
of explaining this is that if you are not producing the fruit of righteousness,
which is goodness-then, you are a bad or an evil tree. You cannot expect to
produce in prayer. You are condemned to suffering or fire.
This does
not mean that you will make heaven in the end, except if you choose the right
way-the Jesus way.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Friday, June 5, 2015
Sunday, May 3, 2015
WOLVES IN SHEEP CLOTHING
In my
soon-to-be-published book titled, ‘How to wait for the fulfillment of God’s
promises’, I wrote extensively on the ministry of a true man of God, and how to
recognize. In short, I talked about the qualities of a good Pastor.
However,
because of the deception that is rife today, and the work of the devil in
raising evil workers who are hiding as ministers in the church, I will be
teaching briefly on the behavior of these children of darkness. I will be using
the Old Testament primarily, to teach.
Firstly, it
is important to understand that, Jehovah-the Lord God of Israel, whom we serve,
is the only true God. He does not share his glory with any other God. He gave
instructions to Israel not to serve any other God beside him. Israel’s
disobedience was what brought the punishments that eventually led to the
carrying away into captivity.
In
Deuteronomy chapter 8 verse 19, we read as follows:
19 And it shall be, if thou do at all
forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship
them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.
The divine
instruction for prosperity and longevity is that you do not combine the service
of the Lord with idolatry. Also we need to know that there are different ways
that people practice idolatry. There are different types of spirits that are
involved in false religion, and the Bible out lines some of them.
In the Book
of Leviticus chapter 19 and verse 21, we read as follows:
21 Regard not them that have familiar
spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your
God.
Again in
Leviticus chapter 20 verses 6, we see this stern warning repeated by God to
Israel, as follows:
6 And the soul that turneth after
familiar spirits and wizards, to go whoring after them, I will set my face even
against that soul to cut him off from amongst his people.
Apart from
going after familiar spirits, the Bible talks about allowing your children to
pass through the fire to Moloch(human sacrifice), stargazing or astrology,
enchantments or the use of charmers, sorcery, and so on and so forth.
LESSONS FROM
THE LIFE OF KING MANASSEH
In chapter
33 of 2 Chronicles, we read the story of King Manasseh, of Judah-son of
Hezekiah. Hezekiah was one of Judah’s (and albeit-Israel’s best kings). He was
a true and humble servant of God.
Unfortunately,
Hezekiah was replaced by a proud and foolish son by the name-Manasseh. He did
those things that were evil in the sight of the LORD; he worshipped demons and
rebuilt their altars and high places. We can see his evil practices in verse
3-7 of 2 Chronicles as follows:
3 For he built again the high places
which Hezekiah his father has broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim,
and made groves and worshipped the host of heaven, and served them.
4 Also he built altars in the house
of the LORD, whereof the LORD has said, In Jerusalem shall my name be forever.
5 And he built altars for the host of
heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
6 And he caused his children to pass
through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom, also he observed times and
used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and
with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to
anger.
7 And he set a carved image, the idol
which he made in the house of God…
Now let us
simply analyze Manasseh’s idolatry so that everyone will understand it. We can
see the following diverse kinds of devil worship or false religion from the
above:
1. He reared up altars for Baalim
2. He made grooves for the worship of
the host of heaven
3. He built altars in the house of the
LORD for (demon worship)
4. He built altars for the host of
heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD
5. He caused his children to pass
through fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom
6. He observed the times (astrology)
7. He used enchantments (charms, amulets
and charmers)
8. He used witchcrafts
9. He used wizards
1 . He
had a familiar spirit
1He
set a carved image, idol which he made in the house of God
In other to
understand the ministry of today’s false prophets, and fake pastors who want to
move in the supernatural, you need to read and understand what people like
Manasseh practiced earlier on in Israel.
If you
haven’t heard that there are people today, who are running ministries or
churches, who first of all went to a spiritualist, who performed a ritual
(maybe buried a cow or a goat in the church ground, or even human sacrifice),
you need to search more for information. At least I have seen one person
testifying, after defeat and deliverance.
Talking
about enchantments and charmers, we have now come to learn that there are other
Pastors who, you know that there are lots of church goers already or church
members involved. These people depend solely on charmers and their charms or
amulets, to secure victory. If you hear that there is a contract to be won or a
position to be created in an office somewhere-they start boasting about it.
When you hear them boasting about how they are going to win it, you may think
that they fast and pray a lot. I am no longer fooled when I see such things;
you need to look carefully before you leap.
You will be
more than surprised like some of us have discovered that these people have
charmers, or they have charms and amulets, that they use to surprise their
opponents. My most shocking part here is that there are now Pastors, and
Christians of all sorts, who are into this, including deacons and elders.
Another
important part of this story is the use of witchcraft to control churches and
church members. It is amazing to note that there are so-called Pastors, who
threaten others with sickness. They not only threaten with sickness, but
actually go ahead to give sicknesses to those who refuse to even accept the wrong
things they do. Think about a Pastor for instance, who is a cultist. Some
people belong to witchcraft cults, from where, if you disagree with them or
disobey them-they attack you immediately. Spiritually induced lameness,
blindness, leprosy, tuberculosis, and others, have been inflicted on church
members, who refused to be used by these sick people.
What about
familiar spirits? Exactly! These people often claim to be great prophets,
however, because of their association with all kinds of charms, charmers,
spiritualists, cultists, astrologers, and so on, they acquire-familiar spirits.
Sometimes, these spirits actually are called into themselves purposely through
certain rituals. These spirits are called-guardian spirits or spirit guides, by
the New Age Movement.
These
so-called spirit guides, or guardian spirits, are mostly familiar spirits, or
demons of revelation. They are able to predict the future, and tell secrets
about people. It is common knowledge that someone with such demon spirit
guides, can easily masquerade as a prophet of God, but cannot maintain the
character of a true prophet of God. Remember that by their fruits, ye shall
know them.
I will also
like to add here, that apart from the supernatural, you need to beware of the
technological pseudo-supernatural, like Satellite-pseudo-telepathy.
The use of
satellite technology, to monitor members, to read their thoughts, and to
arrange pseudo-miracles for them, is to be criticized, discouraged and opposed
at all cost. It is not for a genuine man of God. Satellite telepathy, and
copying of intellectual properties of others through satellite, is criminal,
and should not be practiced by any true man of God.
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