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Chapter Four God is Angry
God is very angry! Not at those who embrace Him, but at those who refuse to embrace Him. Many people commit sin and too few believe. What is stopping us from believing? We have heard the Word of the Lord. It has gone into our brains and out again. It is not getting into our spirits. We have broken faith with God!
Before we can feel our sin, we must understand what sin is. I desire to offend no one, but I also know that this is not a practical goal. Human nature is inclined to reject the new and hold on to the old. Since there are about 500 different Christian sects, we must conclude that we are working with 500 theologies. Each of these sects will battle anything that is new, even when IT IS NOT NEW! A People of Many Chances We are people of many chances. God’s love for us is so great that He has tried many times to help us. We are familiar with the story of Noah’s Ark.
Does this sound familiar? God has faced this problem with His Children before. God was grieved by the sin of His Children then just as He is today. He was so grief-stricken, that He sent the Great Flood to destroy humanity. The Power of God is limitless. We are here by the of grace God. Why was God grieved? Because He loves us. We keep forgetting that God is our creator, the PURE ESSENCE OF LOVE! We also fail to remember that our sin offends God. That is right. It hurts God’s feelings. He was grieved just as we grieve when we lose a loved one.
After the Great Flood, God made a unilateral covenant with Noah. The Covenant did not require mankind to do anything. It was a promise. It was a one-sided covenant. God would never again destroy humanity by flood. This language is consistent in every Bible I have seen. Most people read this and do not give it a second thought. We conclude that God will never use water to kill us again. He will use fire and brimstone, earthquakes, volcanoes, pestilence, and all manner of things to destroy us, RIGHT?
Was God grief stricken because He used WATER to destroy His Children or was He grief stricken because HE DESTROYED HIS CHILDREN? This is one of the most misinterpreted scriptures. Obviously it was not the water. It was His grief for killing His Children. God’s Covenant with Noah was that He would never destroy mankind again. Our God is a merciful God. His Covenant is to be trusted. That does not say that He will stop us from destroying ourselves. We can do this well enough on our own. This is not at all consistent with the Book of Revelations.
Abraham and God’s First Covenant Abraham was the first Great Patriarch of ancient Israel. His name means “Father of the House of the Multitudes.” He did not begin life with this name. His name was changed from Abram, which means “exalted father.” God tested Abraham’s faith by asking him to offer up his only son as a blood sacrifice to the Lord. Abraham, though filled with grief and sorrow, proceeded to do as God had asked him. At the moment he was about to plunge a knife into his son’s chest, God stopped his hand. Abraham had no Torah or Bible to guide him. About 1,500 years separated Abraham from Moses. It was Moses that wrote about the life of Abraham. All Abraham had was FAITH, TRUST AND SUBMISSION TO THE WILL OF GOD. He was saved by these alone. A COVENANT OF FAITH was made with the Lord. This is the FIRST Covenant, THE COVENANT OF FAITH. God told Abraham that he would be the seed of a great nation. Each of the Gospels, except for John’s, begins with the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Abraham is always named first. He is the human father of the Christian, Hebrew and Moslem churches. He is a perfect role model. His relationship with God was not based on either the written word or any commandments. It was exclusively a relationship of love, faith and trust. It was by faith alone that Abraham was delivered:
He was able to please God WITHOUT A BIBLE! What KNOWLEDGE did Abraham have about God? The answer will shock you--NONE! ALL HE HAD WAS FAITH, BELIEF AND TRUST. Yet, Abraham was saved and became the human father of the monotheistic churches. Where did he go for Bible study? What church did he attend? He was saved by faith, belief, trust, and submission to the Will of God. What is the difference between belief, faith and knowledge? Knowledge is worthless prattle. We are saved by faith alone.
Abraham’s descendants broke their faith with God. Over the next 1,500 years the Hebrews wandered throughout the region. Many ended up as slaves in Egypt. Then Moses led the Jews out of Egypt. The people were sinning from the very beginning. Many lost faith with God. They were concerned with the secular world. They made false idols.
So God made His Second Covenant with Moses to free the Jewish people from slavery and give them the Ten Commandments. This is the Seal of the Second Covenant. Throughout the history of the Old Testament the Jewish people kept breaking God’s Laws, especially the First Law:
The Ten Commandments are all simple to understand. They need no interpretation. Follow the Commandments and you will be a blessing to the Lord! Do the Ten Commandments work? YES! Man starts sinning again anyway. These are the same sins that caused the Great Flood, and that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
After the death of Moses we find a constant theme in the Biblical Books: Man Sins--Man Repents--God Forgives--Man Sins, etc. The prophets, through the ages, speak of a Messiah. He is to save the nation of Israel.
Christ was the fulfillment of the prophecy. Christ made the Third Covenant with man. We find the Covenant in the Books of the New Testament. His death was the Seal of The Third Covenant. This was the forgiveness of sin and the resurrection of the dead. It is a covenant that allowed man to take control of his life, receive the answer to prayer and miracles. Christ taught us how to live.
Whether the “Third Covenant” was simply overlooked is a matter of debate. The hinge rests with God’s Covenant with Abraham and the Covenant of Faith. Christ’s mission was also based on man’s faith. Of the roughly 1,300 pages of the Old Testament, faith is mentioned or alluded to 112 times. Of the roughly 400 pages of the New Testament, faith is mentioned 249 times. Faith is the primary focus of the New Testament. The Third Covenant is the full expression of our faith. In this Covenant, Christ gives us ten new Commandments. One of these Commandments is a DEMAND. This demand is being made a mockery in most contemporary Christian churches. That is not to say that individual Christians violate this Commandment. Some do not. The violation of this Commandment is a central part of the decline of the Christian Church and fabric of our society.
There are the sins that were carved in stone and given to Moses by God. They are the “thou shalt not” sins. Christ’s Third Covenant was carved on His Sacred Heart. They are the “thou shalt do’s.” In order to fully comprehend God’s anger, we must have a fundamental understanding of at least a portion of Christ’s Third Covenant. An outline is required. Only scripture will be quoted for this purpose. This may cause some problem with interpretation. However, it will all become very clear as you study the Covenant.
A Simple Outline of the Third Covenant The Ten Commandments of Jesus Christ “The Quadrel” The Lord has revealed to His ADVOCATE Christ’s Commandments, which have been lost for many centuries. God first revealed “The Quadrel” of Christ’s Commandments. These are Christ’s first four Commandments. Each is like a square stone. They are placed upon Christ as the cornerstones of His ministry and His Church.
The First Commandment of Jesus Christ THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT: LOVE GOD
The Second Commandment of Jesus Christ LOVE ALL HUMANITY
The Seal of the Great Covenant
The Third Commandment of Jesus Christ LOVE YOUR ENEMIES
The Fourth Commandment of Jesus Christ DISCIPLES MUST LOVE EACH OTHER AS MUCH AS CHRIST DID
There are many commandments in the Bible. There is only one DEMAND; it is spoken by JESUS CHRIST. He repeats Himself to be certain we understand this is not simply a commandment but an ultimatum. We must love one another as He loved us.
The Fifth Commandment of Jesus Christ UPON THIS ROCK I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH
THE UNFORGIVABLE SIN
The Seventh Commandment of Jesus Christ FAITH IN THE LORD
The Eight Commandment of Jesus Christ CARRYING YOUR CROSS
The Ninth Commandment of Jesus Christ NO ONE CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS
The Tenth Commandment of Jesus Christ MISSIONARIES ARE NEEDED
Then the Lord revealed the Institution of the two Holy Sacraments. They are food for the human spirit.
The Sacrament of Baptism
The Sacrament of Holy Communion
The Four Gifts of Jesus Christ The Gift of Prayer
The Gift of the Holy Spirit
The Gift of the Forgiveness of Sin
The Gift of Eternal Life
These Commandments, Sacraments and Gifts are the focus of The Third Covenant. There is a great deal more than these few scripture verses. The truth is, if you do just these things, you will gain entry into Paradise. These are mere words. They are food only for your mind. You will learn how to make them food for your heart (spirit). Unless you believe with your heart and profess with your mouth, you will never know the truth or the Resurrection. God answers the prayers of those who:
The purpose in Christ’s coming was to give man power and love. That power could accomplish anything. His purpose DID NOT INCLUDE KNOWLEDGE. Christ’s gift of power and understanding should be the primary driving force in our lives. The Messiah intercedes for His people. He delivers them from sin and captivity. He is the salvation of all mankind. He taught, healed the sick, drove out demons, and raised the dead. His teachings are The Third Covenant. His death was God’s seal of The Third Covenant. Christ tells us the conditions of His Covenant. He teaches about the nature of God, the Power of the Holy Spirit, the forgiveness of sin, and the Resurrection. Man is to live a good life and aspire to Heaven. We live seventy or so years on earth. How we live will determine where we will spend eternity. Will it be in the glow of God’s Glory or in suffering the eternal affliction and punishment of Hell? Are you prepared for Christ’s Judgment?
He
is giving us a chance to reject the sin of Adam and Eve, the sins of the
tribe of Abraham, the sins of the people of Moses, and our own sins. He
gave us His
Note His emphasis on “the intellectuals and worldly wise.” Christ’s truth is somehow HIDDEN from them. Who are these intellectuals and worldly wise? They are the people who lust for knowledge. In Christ’s time they were called Sadducees and Pharisees. What names do they carry now? Belief cannot be turned into a bureaucracy. Faith cannot be made into an institution. Love cannot be made into enforceable laws. Trust cannot be forced down our throats. We cannot possess mental “KNOWLEDGE” of spiritual things. Yet, man creates his own bureaucracies, institutions and laws. Love and knowledge are equated with mind and body, and not the spirit of man.
God reveals Himself to those who are as TRUSTING AS CHILDREN. What is the difference between intellectualism and faith and trust? Intellectualism is of the mind. Trusting and faith comes from the heart. Modern man does a lot of thinking, but has very little trust and faith. Just as the Jews turned their backs on God’s Law, we likewise have followed the same path. We have turned our back on Christ. The Pharisees and Sadducees led many people away from GOD’S TRUE PATH. Today we call them intellectuals, scholars, theologians, ministers, pastors, and priests. They are the doing the same thing. We have become a world of sectarian churches. Each church has its own scholars, intellectuals and worldly wise. Our pursuit has become knowledge and material wealth; not Christ’s message, which is faith and trust and “to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” This enlightenment is the message of The Third Covenant. It is hidden in Christ’s Words. We cannot see with the blindfolds of intellectualism and secularism covering our eyes. The intellectuals and worldly wise seek knowledge and proof. They leave faith behind. They have led us away from God; NOT TO HIM! Let’s use one commandment to illustrate the point:
How many times has your pastor, preacher or minister delivered a sermon on the subject of adultery? How many times a year does he tell you that the price of adultery is the loss of your Eternal Spirit? If you do not examine your conscience, confess your sin to God and are not repentant, that is exactly what is going to happen to you. Why? Because it violates God’s Seventh Commandment. The punishment for which is condemnation to Hell. Christ goes much further.
This represents one tenth of God’s Commandments. It also represents the number one sin in the United States! How do you reconcile this? Do we just ignore it and hope that it will go away? Do we claim, as some churches do, that it is no longer a sin? How does your church reconcile it? Take it one step forward:
How many more can be added to this list of “Spiritual Adultery.” Why are we motivated to such things? Have we lost control of ourselves to the degree that we do not fear Hell itself? The answer is yes! We hear the words in our minds. We see the signs. We do not understand them. SIN is disbelief! Disbelief is BLASPHEMY! Our heart is in lust and denial of God’s Law, which is spiritual death. Do you really believe Christ was just speaking about adultery? He wasn’t. He selected this commandment to make a point. To think it is to do it. If you think about killing someone, you have committed murder in your heart. Your spirit resides in your heart; you have committed “Murder of the Spirit.” You say, “Oh I’m a good Roman Catholic. I go to confession every Saturday to get forgiveness.” You are in a dream world. Your confession is a greater sin than adultery. You are lying to God. Another says, “Not me. I am a born-again Baptist. Christ has already paid the price for my sins. Christ died for my sins.” NO, He paid the price for those who believe in Him. You say you do? Isn’t it true that if you believe, you must understand and practice what Christ taught? Then to believe in Christ without knowing, believing and doing what He asks of us is hypocrisy, the mother of blasphemy! It is eternal condemnation! Christ tells us that a day of judgment for all mankind is coming. He is really speaking of individual preparedness for our own End Times. Are you prepared?
Remember: sin is not just the act of doing something. It is also occasioned by dwelling on sinful thought. This is not true if the thought is a temptation from Satan. Satan is constantly testing us. This is where something sinful enters your mind. If you immediately repudiate the sin and turn to God there is no sin. If you dwell on the sinful temptation or plan to do evil, you have sinned.
As a Christian, you must possess a working knowledge of sin. We must recognize sin in order to avoid it. We know that the Covenant of Abraham was of faith. The Ten Commandments is a list of things we should not do. They are laws not unlike the laws of many religions and states. These are the don’ts. Christ came to the world with another message of faith. Instead of laws, He offered love; love for our God, love of other neighbors, love of all Disciples of Jesus Christ, and even love for our enemies. This is the “Quadrel of Love.” This is the supreme love from which all the other commandments flow. These are the do’s!
How can we hope to satisfy Christ’s message and commandments if we all violate His teachings? How can about 500 sects strive to be true Disciples of Jesus Christ when we all go down different roads? Each approaches sin differently. The results are the same. WE ANGER GOD! WE HURT JESUS! WE GRIEVE THE HOLY SPIRIT. THE TRINITY SUFFERS FOR US. Why is God Angry?
The most Christian nation in the world is producing more crime, more suffering and sin than any other nation on the face of the earth. Is this an accident or is something wrong? Something is very wrong! The division of the churches into almost five hundred sects is only a part of it. The new permissive values of the secular, humanist or social churches make their contribution. The words are “liberal,” “correctness” and “secular.” It allows divorce at the drop of a dime. Homosexuals are ordained as ministers. Murderers are sentenced to prison and they are back on the streets in an average of about eight years! The list drones on and on with no end in sight. Where is Christ’s Church?
Let’s single out jail. Christ said that we were to visit and help those in jail. Why? Because no matter how imperfect or horrible their bodies and souls are, the spirit within them is good. That is fine. We should do it. Where does Christ discuss what penalties should be applied to what crime? He doesn’t. This creates a gap between the Old Testament teaching and the Gospels. One thing I can tell you is that the punishment should match the crime. This is the great PARADOX. JEWISH LAW VERSUS CHRISTIAN FORGIVENESS. CHRIST IS MISUNDERSTOOD! Forgiveness and punishment are two different things. Society cannot operate without laws and punishments. Christ acknowledges this when He says we should visit people in prison. Their bodies may be locked up, but their spirit is not. It is as free as a bird. We come to forgive the spirit, not the body. If the spirit is not saved, imprisonment is useless! Most criminals go right back to crime. This is the result of the liberal and secular intellectuals and scholars within our society. The government generally supports the liberal and secular groups. The government has gone one step further. It all but denies the existence of God and religious freedom. There are not enough full-time Disciples of Jesus Christ in our prison system. Christ is the solution. The state does everything it can to stop Christ from touching the lives of these sinners. We should be saving spirits and making conversions. This is the only way to control rampant crime. Fix the problem at the source--the hearts of men! The American secular, humanist, liberal state will not tolerate it!
We, as a Christian nation, make Sodom and Gomorrah look like Disneyland. There has never been such sin since the beginning of humanity. Why is God angry? I will tell you this. He sent the great flood to destroy humanity. It was for only a fraction of the sin we now have in our midst! The crisis is real and imminent. God has held Satan, in check, for the few who love and serve Christ as they should. That number gets smaller with every passing day.
Why has this happened to God’s people? We have all sinned as individuals. There are larger forces at work that influence all of us. The division of God’s Church is at the heart of the matter. There is no uniform leadership. There is no unity of purpose. There is no discipline. There is no single belief system. We translate what we want. We interpret without regard to God’s Law. We are divided. We argue. We are at each other’s throats. We ignore The Third Covenant. While this is going on, the world is going to Hell. It belongs to Satan by God’s command. Christ said that the gates to Hell were wide enough to accommodate everyone, but that the gates of Heaven were very small. BUT, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE TO GOD! ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE IN YOUR LIFE THROUGH THE POWER OF GOD. God is not interested in just saving your spirit. He wants your help to produce more fruit. He wants you to be happy. He wants to answer your prayers. He wants to bring miracles into your life.
Follow your conscience. If you are in a church that offends God, go to war! Changing your church is the first option. The second option is to find a new church. What is important is that you become a Disciple (a disciplined follower of Christ’s Word) and carry Jesus Christ’s REAL MESSAGE into the world. A message not only of salvation and everlasting life, but one that allows you to take control of your life and its problems and even to work miracles with the help of God. We must all work for the re-unification of the Christian Church. This is the centerpiece in the fall of the Christian Church. Studied in context of The Third Covenant, it presents a common ground of dreams, hopes, faith, belief, trust, and love for all Christian churches. THIS IS GOD’S WILL! It is prayed that you will help in the reunification of the Church. There is no dialogue. People blindly follow their church’s teaching. Well, what about your faith? Do you honestly know which church is right, if any? The probability is that you have a very one-sided Christian view. If we try to integrate these views we create division, prejudice and distortions of the truth. There are those who might take offense or become angry when they hear something they do not like or with which they do not agree. It is human nature to become most angry when a nerve is hit. THIS IS GOOD! GOD WANTS TO HIT THOSE NERVES. HE WANTS YOU TO WAKE UP. Stop and ask yourself, why am I so angry? Could it be that you have been believing a lie and you do not want to admit it because:
What are these? Excuses! They are APPLES! If you place your pastor’s opinion above God’s Law, what is that? If you place your church first and your God second, what is that? If you place embarrassment before God, what is that? ALL ARE A VIOLATION OF THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. THE PUNISHMENT IS HELL! Your quest should be for truth and faith, not popularity, which is vanity. This IS GOD’S WISDOM AND TRUTH. Everything is supported by scripture. Read it over and over again. Let it soften your heart. There are many mysteries and secrets contained in The Third Covenant. Many of your questions will be answered. Most are either ignored, unknown or have been kept secret for almost 1,600 years!
What we have accomplished in this chapter was to introduce The Third Covenant. We have created an awareness of sin, in relation to both the Commandments of Moses and Christ. We have also formed a skeleton around which to work. You should make time for prayer before and after you read. Ask Jesus to help you understand that which is true and right. Does The Third Covenant pass the test of confirmation? In closing the Lord has this message for you,
This is the Word of the Lord!
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