A Letter To A Lost Soul
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Dear
loved one,
Jesus promised to build His church and
gave His men the keys to the kingdom (Matthew 16:18-19). In other words what
the apostles taught is what Christians must live by today. Jesus prayed that
men and women would believe on Him through the teachings of the apostles (John
17:20). If the apostles said it Christians do it. If the apostles did not
say it or authorize it then the Christian has no religious authority to do
it. If he/she engages in what is not biblically authorized they are doing
so without permission from God which is spiritual suicide (Revelation 22:19-20).
In the so-called religious world people are professing themselves to be Christians
but in actuality they are not following the true teachings of Christ. God
is seeking true worshippers to worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24).
This means that if a person is to worship God they must be zealous about it
and it must be according to His truth. Many people have a type of worship
to God that is full of zeal but it is not according to truth.
There is a biblical concept called "will-worship" (Colossians
2:23). This is the kind of worship that feels good to a person but it is according
to their will and not God's will. Many of the things we do in the religious
world feel good but that does not mean God accepts them. The Bible says in
Proverbs 14:12 "There is a way that seemeth right unto man, but the
end thereof are the ways of death." Many people believe and feel
they are worshipping and believing God correctly but are not. The way we learn
about God is from His Word the Bible. The Bible is the Christian guide. We
must follow it closely.
In Leviticus 10:1-7 Nadab and Abihu were eager to worship
God but what they offered to him was not according to truth and God killed
them. They truly believed that what they were doing was right but God had
already informed them of what kind of fire to offer. In II Samuel 6:6-7 Uzzah
simply prevented the ark of God from hitting the ground but because God told
Uzzah and his people not to touch the ark He killed him for touching it. Uzzah
truly thought he was doing a good thing the only problem was the fact that
God had told him not to touch it. God requires strict obedience and demands
to be worshipped spiritually and truthfully.
In January 2002 I met with a woman and her husband on my birthday for about
three hours. She and her husband were of the Methodist denomination. We went
over scripture after scripture and the woman finally saw how she was scripturally
wrong. The husband already knew of the error but he would only repent if his
wife repented. Although she realized the false teaching she had believed she
stated she was not ready to give it up because her current Church family connection
was special. I asked her how she was going to go to worship on Sunday knowing
it would not be worshipping in spirit and in truth? She responded with the
typical rational, "I do not know." We cannot attend a Church because
it is comfortable. God tells us to seek His Kingdom first (Matthew 6:33).
In
the church that belongs to Christ communion is taken every Sunday because
it follows the apostolic pattern/form (Tupos) laid down in Acts 20:7.
There is no instrumental music because it too is not authorized. Instrumental
music was commanded in Old Testament scripture but not in the New Testament.
Christians are not under Old Testament law (Colossians 2:14) and it would
be irresponsible to attempt to justify instrumental music based on that old
law. If that were the case we would have to keep the entire Old Law: worship
on Saturday, kill our disobedient boys, kill someone for cheating on their
spouse, not eat pork, crab, etc. Under the old law a biological brother even
had to marry his brother’s wife if he died. Those are just some of the stipulations
under the old law. We are blessed to not be under that law anymore. In the
New Testament there is no mention of instrumental music being used. There
is only mention of singing (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16; Matthew 26:30,
etc.).
There are no women preachers and leaders in the church of Christ because that
is against the apostolic pattern (I Timothy 2:11-14). God never authorized
women to be preachers, elders, pastors or deacons in His church. The Greek
word Poimen is translated as Pastor. In the denominational world the
term pastor is often used to refer to the person who preaches every Sunday
and is over the local Church. However, the biblical qualifications that a
pastor must meet are recorded in I Timothy 3:2-7 and Titus 1:5-16. Keep in
mind that the terms pastor, elder and bishop all refer to the same persons.
One of the clearest requirements that a pastor must meet is that he must be
the husband of one wife. Never in the Bible did God delegate this office to
women. He never said "or the wife of one husband." The offices of
preacher, elder and deacon biblically authorized for men only. Aside from
all the other qualifications there must always be more than one pastor in
each local church if there are going to be any at all.
Although God did not command women to be leaders in
the church he did not say they are not special. Women are extra special as
supported by the Bible but God simply has not authorized them to be the leaders
in the local church. What He did command is for the older women to teach the
younger women how to be good women, Christian women and Christian wives (Titus
2:3-5). Women are able to teach other women and can even teach male and female
boys and girls but they cannot stand up and publicly preach to the congregation.
For more information on the awesome role of women in the church check out
The
Silent Majority by
Bro. Graylon Freeman.
Speaking
in tongues is another area in which many people are mislead religiously. The
gift of speaking in tongues was a reality during the infancy of the church
but is replaced today by the written Word of God, the Bible. The Greek word
for tongue is Glossa and is defined as “a language.” In early church
times this was a miraculous endowing ability to speak in an unstudied spoken
language of the world through the Holy Spirit. However, it must be understood
that the term tongue (Glossa) indicates an actual language and not
gibberish. The same word Glossa used in Acts and 1 Corinthians is the
same word used in: Romans 13:13, 14:11; James 1:26; Revelation 14:6, 16:16.
These are just some of the scriptures that show God is speaking of the human
languages of the world. In Acts 2: 4-8 the apostles did not speak in a language
that the Jews of different languages did not understand. They miraculously
spoke the languages
of the Jews who were present on the day of Pentecost. Many languages were
represented on that day. It was a miracle that the apostles were able to speak
in languages they had never studied. The King James (KJ) Bible often uses
the phrase unknown tongue. The term unknown does not mean it is a language
of another planet or a language Satan cannot decipher it simply means a language
never studied or learned by the speaker. It also should be understood that
the term unknown in the KJ Bible was inserted by the Greek translators
and is not found in the original manuscripts. Because of this complex subject
this so-called help may be doing more harm than good.
In
1 Corinthians 14 Paul dedicated his time to explaining the way in which the
gift of tongues were to be used in that day. He was not referring to non-languages.
In 1 Corinthians 14:10-11 Paul makes it easy for us to understand what tongues
are by referring to them as voices. “There are, it may be, so many kinds
of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification. Therefore
if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh
a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me” (1 Corinthians
14:10-11). In Corinth some had the gift of speaking
in tongues and it was the result of conversing in a language of the world
they had never studied. I speak in the English tongue and Cantonese is an
unknown tongue (language) to me. Cantonese is an actual language spoken by
many of my students but because I do not understand it, it is considered an
unknown tongue to me. To my non-English speaking students who speak Cantonese,
English is currently an unknown tongue to them. As Paul put it, if I were
to speak to my Cantonese students in English, expecting them to respond with
understanding, they would think I am crazy. When one fails to understand that
the term Glossa means a spoken language of the world the biblical premise
is missed and false doctrine and will-worship are the results.
In
the times when the gift of tongues was a reality the Word of God (Bible) was
not in print or complete. The Holy Spirit was given to the apostles (Acts
2) so they could speak the truth of God. The gift of speaking in tongues allowed
them to prove they were men of God a teach people of all languages. However,
Paul stated that this gift would cease when the Word of God (Bible) was completed
(1 Corinthians 13:8-10). Now that “…That which is perfect is come” (v. 10)
there is no need for divine revelation from God. Anyone who believes that
“…That which is perfect is come” (v. 10) refers to the second coming of Christ
should look at it again in the Greek. The apostles needed divine revelation
because they only possessed Old Testament scriptures. Today we have the completed
revelation of God as He would have us to have it. Miraculous tongue speaking
is no longer a part of the church today and does not indicate if person is
a Christian.
God
informs us that there is one body, Spirit, Lord, faith and baptism (Ephesians
4:4-5). In relation to faith, Christ only has one form/pattern (Tupos)
of doctrine that is to be obeyed and believed (Romans 6:17). In Romans
6:17 Paul applauded the Christians at Rome for having "...Obeyed that
form of doctrine from the heart." The word form is translated from
the Greek word Tupos that means pattern or mold. The doctrine/teaching
of the church follows a pattern or mold. When the Bible is taught correctly
it is the same in America as it is in Africa or Europe. The minute we break
the pattern it is no longer the church that belongs to Christ it is a church
that belongs to man/woman. Nobody can be saved in a church governed by a man
or woman. Only God has the power to save.
The "one faith" that is mentioned in Ephesians
4:5 speaks of the one body of information that makes up 
theexistence,
rules and regulations of the church. This one faith speaks of what a Christian
believes as opposed to how they believe. Hebrews 11:1 tells us how the Christian
believes while Ephesians 4:5 speaks of what the Christian believes. Paul warned
the church over a thousand years ago that people would begin to teach false
things (Acts 20:29-30). This false teaching has lead to false Churches. Paul
told Timothy that some would "...depart the faith (Stop teaching
the right stuff and start teaching the wrong stuff) giving heed to seducing
spirits and doctrines [teachings] of devils" (I Timothy 4:1-4).
This is happening today and that is why John said in I John 4:1 "Beloved
believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because
many false prophets have gone out into the world." The cantankerous
messages of theses false prophets are still in the world therefore a person
must look critically at what they are being taught biblically. That is how
we try the spirits. We have to see if there words are actually what the bible
is s saying. First Timothy 4:1-4 also shows us that the catholic church was
the first denomination and belongs to Satan because they were the first so-called
Christian religious movement to forbid marriage for certain people (we can
see on the news each night what that has lead to) and to not eat certain meats
on certain days like Friday.
There are many false movements and churches in the world
today that Christ did not build. He only promised to build one (Matthew 16:18).
He only purchased one (Acts 20:7). All Christians are only added to one (I
Corinthians 12:13). In early New Testament times the same things were taught
in all of the congregations (I Corinthians 4:17; II Timothy 2:2). The same
pattern was laid down in every local church, but since that time men and women
have approached the scene and are now teaching erroneous doctrines that are
not of the biblical pattern (Tupos). Again, God warned of this heterodoxy
in Acts 20:29-30 & I Timothy 4:1-4. This is why the spirits and teachings
of men must be tried and tested to see if they measure up to the right form
of doctrine (I John 4:1).
God says to become a member of the church a person must
believe the things of God from the heart and obey them (Romans 6:4). We know
from scripture that baptism adds a person to the church and not just mere
belief in God (Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:38, 8:37-38). The Son of God has purchased
the church with his own blood. God is pleading to the entire world “…Save
yourself from this untoward generation” (Acts 2:40).
Wrong teaching results in a wrong baptism. A wrong baptism
results in a person joining a wrong Church. Correct teaching results in a
correct baptism. A correct baptism results in a person being added to the
Lords church.
Acts 2:47 "...And the Lord added to the church
daily such as should be saved."
The only thing that would prompt us to share this biblical information is
our care and love for you and your soul.
May God Bless Your Life,
Ammar
