IT IS A DECEPTION TO SAY:
of the organized church system has wandered so far from the truth that it refuses to even listen to the truth. The apostle Paul warned us that this would happen. He said:
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound
The Psalmist defines "the truth": "…and THY LAW is THE TRUTH."
In both the business world and the religious world the formula for success has become: "Give the people whatever they want!"
The people do not want the truth, they want their ears tickled with
"...but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the
He gave us no options; we must surrender this lifetime to Him, no
"...but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments."
Sadly, many who have turned to Jesus for salvation have been led All who accept that lie will be lost!
IS THE CARNAL CHRISTIAN A BELIEVER?
Many professing Christians have been persuaded to believe they have received eternal life despite their ongoing bondage to sin. They are told they are born again children of God and saved forever the Their teachers offer this verse as proof of the sinner's instant salvation "He who believes in the Son has eternal life;"
However, the rest of that verse is seldom quoted: "…but he who does not OBEY the Son shall not see life,
They are being told that they do not have to obey, the only
"...the CARNAL MIND is enmity [hostile] against God:
Is it possible that a person will inherit eternal life even if that
"For to be carnally minded is death;" Romans 8:6 KJV
This devastating doctrine of "The saved (but still carnal) Christian" Examine it carefully and you will see that ONLY THOSE WHO OBEY TRULY BELIEVE.
THE PROOF! (John 3:36)
IF: One who believes in the Son has eternal life, AND: One who does not obey shall not see life, THEN: The one who does not obey, does not believe.
For it is clear that the one who shall not see life, could not
Satan's lie ("the carnal Christian") is carefully designed to soothe
1."For if you live according to the flesh YOU WILL DIE,
but
2. if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body
In the New Testament, just as in the Old Testament, there are only
"You are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which
In his letter to the Galatians, verse 5:19, Paul described the deeds
"Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Galatians 5:24 NAS
Please stop and take note of the past tense that Paul used. The Jesus - those who are "His" - have already crucified their own sinful nature. Therefore, by that verse those who are seeking God have an infallible measuring stick within themselves. They have only to look at their own lifestyle to see where they stand with God. If they have not yet totally committed themselves to put to death the deeds of the body through obedience to God's law, they do not yet "belong" to Jesus. No one can deceive you, nor can you deceive yourself if you measure by the Ten Commandments.
The strategy of Satan in the modern church has been to make people
"But as many as RECEIVED Him, to them He gave the right TO
Jesus said:
"…the way is narrow that leads to life, and FEW are those who find it."
The first step on that narrow path to life is to repent of our sin and accept (receive) Jesus as our Savior. The next step is to accept Jesus as our LORD and surrender all of our heart, our soul, our strength and our mind to serve Him forever. The mark of a servant is that he obeys the commandments of his Master.
SALVATION WITHOUT OBEDIENCE??
How would you answer these four questions concerning your
2. Does God know me? ____ ____
3. Do I abide in God? ____ ____
4. Do I really know God? ____ ____
According to the New Testament these questions can only be
1. Do I truly love God?
THE TEACHING OF JESUS:
As our Lord was teaching in Jerusalem, one of the Pharisees who was
"Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus said to him:
"What is written in the Law? How do you read?"
The lawyer responded from the books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus:
soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."
Jesus agreed with him and said: "DO THIS and you will live." (Deuteronomy 6:5 - Love God)
In 1st Corinthians 13:4 Paul teaches how we are to love our
THE SCRIPTURES DEFINE HOW TO "LOVE GOD".
"For this is the LOVE of God, that we keep His commandments."
"He who has my commandments and keeps them he it is who LOVES Me." John 14:21 RSV
"If you LOVE Me, you will keep My commandments."
The word of God is clear. There can be no possible
The practical result of obedience to God's law is that we will finally overcome sin. It is this battle to conquer sin which tests our faith. James teaches that only those whose faith has been tested and approved will receive the crown of (eternal) life. He wrote:
"Blessed is a man who preserves under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord
James is saying that those who are approved and receive the "crown
CAN YOU KEEP GOD'S COMMANDMENTS IF YOU ARE BREAKING THEM?
2. Does God know me?
THE TEACHING OF JESUS:
As He was teaching the "Sermon on the Mount", Jesus warned His Rather, it is only the one who does the will of God who will enter the
"Not every one who says to me, "Lord, Lord" shall enter the Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?"
And I will declare to them,
"I never KNEW you depart from Me you EVILDOERS."
THE SCRIPTURES DEFINE WHOM GOD "KNOWS":
"But if one LOVES God, one is KNOWN by Him."
"He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who
"The Lord KNOWETH them that are HIS."2 Timothy 2:19 KJV
["And they that ARE CHRIST'S have crucified the flesh
God knows all men, but only a few are "known" by the Lord in the
Who are the "EVILDOERS"? This word comes from the Greek
The apostle John used the same word "Anomia" to give us a clear definition of what true "sin" is. He said:
"...sin is the transgression of the law." John 3:4 KJV
Therefore, a literal translation of what Jesus is going to declare to
"I never KNEW you, depart from Me you that transgress the law
"ANOMIAN" IN TODAY'S CHURCH.
Another revealing use of the word "anomia" is recorded in Matthew's
"And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many.
And because lawlessness (Anomia) is increased
most people's LOVE will grow cold." Matthew 24:11 NAS
As you look about your world, your church, and perhaps even
1. Many false teachers will arise (within the church) to lead the
IS THIS "LEGALISM"?
NO! Satan, the father of lies, has enticed man to disobey God's
"What use is it my brethren, if a man has faith, but has no
It is clear that "Faith without works is dead," yet it is also clear
Through our obedience Jesus cleanses us from the doing of sin
"Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without
Without the light of God's law to expose his sins, a man walks in
"The heart of man is deceitful above all things," and the Proverbs teach that: "All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes." Therefore, if we do not have a permanent standard (carved in stone) by which to measure sin, we will always deceive ourselves.
In these "latter days," many teachers who claim to speak for God
"But if they had stood in my council, then they would have
And they would have TURNED THEM from their evil way
Those who speak by the "Spirit of Christ" will always teach others to
WHICH WORDS ARE "HIS WORDS"?
When Jesus faced the temptations in the wilderness, he declared to
that proceeds from the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4 RSV
Our Lord was quoting from the book of Deuteronomy (8:3). When
(8:1) "All the commandments which I command thee this day
(8:2) "And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy and to prove (test) thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS, or not.
(8:3) "And He humbled thee...and fed thee with manna...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."
(8:6) "Therefore thou shalt KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS
Both Jesus and the book of Jeremiah are referring to the same
If there is still any doubt in your mind, think about this: The English
Legalism? No, I think not, unless Jesus, the prophets and the
3. Do I abide in God?
THE TEACHING OF JESUS:
At the Last Supper, Jesus taught His disciples about our spiritual
"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who ABIDES in Me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit..."
"If a man does not ABIDE in Me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and BURNED." John 15:5 RSV
ABIDE is from the Greek "Meno." It means to remain in, to stay, to
THE SCRIPTURES DEFINE HOW TO "ABIDE" IN GOD:
"All who keep His commandments ABIDE in Him, and He in
"If you keep My commandments you will ABIDE in My Love."
The church of today is empty of true spiritual strength and bears
"If you ABIDE in Me, and My WORDS abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you." John 15:7 RSV
"And we receive from Him whatever we ask, because we KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS." 1 John 3:22 RSV
"If one turns away his ear from hearing THE LAW, even his prayer is an abomination." Proverbs 28:9 RSV
A thousand may pray until their knees are bloody, but if they are not
"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
"Little children, let no one deceive you. He who does right, is
God's word is painfully clear. If one does not keep His 4. Do I really know God?
THE TEACHING OF JESUS:
After the Last Supper, Jesus was praying to the Father and spoke
"And this is eternal life, that they KNOW Thee, the only true God,
THE SCRIPTURES DEFINE WHO "KNOWS" GOD:
"And by this we may be sure that we KNOW Him, If we KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS."
"He who says "I KNOW Him" but disobeys His commandments
"No one who ABIDES in Him sins; no one who sins has either
God's word is indeed a piercing sword. The apostle John is saying
These are hard words to hear, especially for those who would prefer declare:
"THOSE WHO TRULY KNOW GOD, KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS."
DISCIPLES - BEWARE!
The New Testament often uses the "wolf" as a symbol of false
"I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking perverse things, to draw the disciples after them." Acts 20:29 RSV
The warning Paul gave to the Ephesian elders is relevant today, for
The law of God protects the "little flock" like a high fence. The Ten Commandments keep the false prophets out and the disciples within. The light from the law exposes both false doctrines and false teachers. Therefore, the wolves must try to knock down the fence, so they may lure the sheep out into the world, where they become easy prey.
Many of these false teachers say: "Jesus is Lord" yet they have
"No one ever kept the commandments perfectly."
"Jesus has fulfilled the law for us."
"We are not under the law."
"The law is only for the Jews."
These twistings of scripture are simply excuses for sin; pleasant
One very deceptive lie being taught by some is that we are indeed to
Jesus did say that these were the most important commandments
Our Lord was quoting from the book of Deuteronomy:
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one LORD; and you shall
The whole 6th chapter of Deuteronomy is about obedience to the
"For this is the love of God, THAT WE KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS." 1 John 5:3 RSV
WHICH COMMANDMENTS? When Jesus was asked this direct question:
"What good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" Jesus gave the man this direct answer:
"Keep the commandments."
When the man asked: "Which" commandments, Jesus quoted from
Our Lord has never revoked the law that He himself gave us. The those Ten WORDS were written upon the tablets of stone over 3,400 years ago:
"All things were made through Him, and without Him was not
"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and FOREVER."
If there is any doubt in your mind which commandments we are to money was given to the temple as an offering. Jesus said:
"And why do you transgress the COMMANDMENT OF GOD
"Thus have ye made the COMMANDMENT OF GOD
"Making the WORD OF GOD of none effect through your tradition..."
Jesus did not condemn the Pharisees for keeping the law, but for
"You nicely set aside the COMMANDMENT OF GOD in order to keep your tradition." Mark 7:9 NAS
As it was then, so it is now. If we would enter life we must trust the commandments of God and follow their "new" traditions.
Beware of those who smile and say: "Oh yes, we should try to keep
THE "NEW" TRADITION
Satan's greatest accomplishment has been to get the "church" to set "Remember the sabbath day." (Exodus 20:8) Where did God change it? Since there is no scriptural authority for disregarding the Sabbath then it could only have been changed by the tradition of man! There were TEN Commandments given by the very mouth of God for all to hear that day on Mount Sinai. There are still ten. If you are not keeping the Sabbath then you are breaking God's law.
BUT WE ARE NOT UNDER THE LAW!
There has always been confusion sown into the church about Paul's and unstable men would twist the teachings of Paul. (2 Peter 3:15f) The
"Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is THE KEEPING OF THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD."
"Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, WE UPHOLD THE LAW." Romans 3:31 RSV
Therefore, knowing that God's word cannot possibly contradict itself
IF YOU WOULD ENTER LIFE..."
I know that many of you who are reading this are still saying:
"...he who DOES NOT OBEY the Son shall not see life, but
Surely all would agree that to obey the Son would require us to "do"
As Jesus spoke to his disciples following the sermon on the Mount,
"Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way EASY
For the gate is narrow and the way is HARD that leads to [eternal]
All who are seeking the way that leads to life; please listen to the
Look into the eyes of the Son of God, as He says to you:
"IF YOU WOULD ENTER LIFE, KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS."
Our Lord Jesus is the same "yesterday, and today, and forever." He
If this message bothers you, and you go to your Pastor or counselor
"The one who says, "I have come to Know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, [false] and the truth is not in him."
Let God's word alone guide your way. Do not trust someone
The Bible teaches that God's message to Man is very simple. It has
"FEAR GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS: FOR THIS IS THE WHOLE DUTY OF MAN." Ecclesiastes 12:14 KJV
Harold and Donna Kupp |