Mark Twain said, “What gets us into trouble is not what we don’t know, but what we know that just ain’t so.”
So many pastors know and know that they know such and such a doctrine is supported by scripture when in actuality they have embraced profound error without realizing such is the case. They have several scriptures they are absolutely certain supports their belief in some area. They will say, “Can’t you see? It says right here….” and then will quote a verse of scripture, or even a lengthy passage apparently proving their point. And thereby they have proved their point, their doctrine, their belief. Or, have they?
They forget, if they ever even knew, that foundational statements must first be considered, that the truth of any Bible doctrine must be built upon foundational truth, not the other way around. God gives foundational truth early on in the scriptures and then builds upon that foundational truth, fleshing out a doctrine or teaching in that manner.
For instance, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground” and “dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” is foundational truth. It cannot be set aside, voided, abrogated or changed. (See Genesis 2:7 and Genesis 3:19). And the first foundational LIE was when Satan told mother Eve, “You shall NOT surely die!” (See Genesis 3:4). And upon that foundational lie Satan built a Babylon of related lies such as belief in ghosts, seances, communion with the dead, prayers to and for the dead, purgatory, limbo, the Elysian fields, Valhalla, etc., etc., etc.
Jesus said that the true worshippers worship the Father in spirit and in truth, and that the Father was ever seeking such to worship Him. (See John 4:23). “God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him MUST worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). In His high priestly prayer recorded for us in the 17th chapter of John’s gospel account, Jesus implored the Father, “Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth.” (See John 17:17). The only written word of God then in existence was the Hebrew scriptures – the Old Testament!
In His confrontation with Satan at the very beginning of His earthly ministry, Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone (physical sustenance), but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (that which provides spiritual sustenance)” (See Matthew 4:4).
Again, God’s foundational truth is found in the Hebrew scriptures. “You shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me WITH ALL YOUR HEART! (See Jeremiah 29:13). That is foundational truth. Nothing recorded in the Greek scriptures – the New Testament – nullifies, abrogates, or changes that statement made by God Himself through the lips and pen of His prophet Jeremiah. Countless numbers of young and old have thought they made contact with their Creator and entered into fellowship with God by joining some local assembly of professing Christians. At no time did they seek a relationship with the Most High, or His Son Jesus, through wholeheartedly yearning for a relationship with God. They merely asked to be baptized and publicly stated they believed Jesus died for them.
Satan is far more clever then any human mind has ever conceived. He knows how to block and prevent someone from establishing a true, life-changing relationship with the Lord. He is a master at his craft – the art of deception. He knows how to divide, subdivide and subdivide again assembly after assembly thereby creating a new “Christian” denomination decade after decade.
Jesus’ grave and solemn warning is so easily forgotten: “Strait (difficult) is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, AND FEW THERE BE THAT FIND IT” (See Matthew 7:14). “Not every one that says unto me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but HE THAT DOETH THE WILL OF MY FATHER which is in heaven” (See Matthew 7:21). Multitudes are believers. Few are DOERS! The most chilling words any believer will ever hear is Jesus Christ saying to them, “I never knew you. Depart from me…..”
I would urge that those who read my words take a renewed interest in the Hebrew scriptures, giving more earnest heed to God’s foundational truth contained therein. Remember that the only “Bible” the early church had for many years were the scrolls of the Hebrew scriptures. The last words of what we now call the New Testament were not even written until the final decade of the First Century A.D. Thousands of early church members knew nothing of any New Testament. Those living in widely separated Roman provinces in the early decades of the First Century would have been fortunate to have received a copy of even one of the apostles’ letters. A few would have been supremely blessed to have knowledge of epistles written by Paul, James, John or Peter. Think on these things and may the Lord grant you understanding.
Christ’s Faithful Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),
Donald Wiley