Friday, October 12, 2018

Many Are Willing For Christ To Be Priest But Not As King

Again; many are willing for Christ to officiate as their Priest, but not for Him to legislate as their King. Ask them, in a general way, if they are ready to do whatsoever Christ requires of them, and they will answer in the affirmative, emphatically and with confidence. But come to particulars: apply to each one of them those specific commandments and precepts of the Lord which they are ignoring, and they will at once cry out "Legalism"! or, "We cannot be perfect in everything." Name nine duties and perhaps they are performing them, but mention a tenth and it at once makes them angry, for you have come too close home to their case. Herod heard John gladly and did "many things" (Mark 6:20), but when he referred to Herodias, he touched him to the quick. Many are willing to give up their theatre-going, and card-parties, who refuse to go forth unto Christ outside the camp. Others are willing to go outside the camp, yet refuse to deny their fleshly and worldly lusts. Reader, if there is a reserve in your obedience, you are on the way to Hell. ~AW Pink on "Saving Faith"

I hear "who's perfect?" or "Legalism" charged to me when holding Evangelicals to the standard of Scripture. This is true especially when it comes to the Reformed circles and their leaders. This is why, when men who believe themselves to be teachers of the foolish, experts in the Bible, leaders of the churches, they deny the King's commands as absolute truth and must be obeyed, are actually in traitorous rebellion against the King of kings and Lord of lords. They teach HIS doctrine as opinions of men that can be "agreed to disagree" upon. Legalism is Phariseeism and it is liberalism. That is to say that "legalism" isn't holding to Scripture but holding to men's doctrines as if they are doctrines of Christ. The Pharisees were not holding to the Scriptures; they were holding to made up traditions and opinions of men. They neglected Scripture's precise judgments on all matters (remember Christ's teaching that if you lust in your heart you are a lawbreaker for you've committed adultery? Same with anger and murder). Legalism is holding to man's opinions. Obedience and love is holding to Scripture and Scripture is precise. So when these celebrity teachers deny a believer's immersion called "baptism" and instead are open to or practice the Roman Catholic dogma of infant sprinkling, they are not bowing to KING Jesus. They are in rebellion. When they greet or share the platform with false teachers, they are in rebellion ( 2John 9-11). When they refuse to call a false teacher as such, they are disobeying Scripture (Rom. 16:17). When they say that a Christian can be a "celibate" homosexual, they lie against Scripture and deny the origin of sodomy (Rom. 1). When the sound doctrine of a six literal day Creation is considered an opinion or personal preference or worse, they disbelieve it, they refuse to bow to the heart and mind to King Jesus. And rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. Think about that.



1 comment:

laurie said...

for your encouragement, from William Gurnall…

"Enslave not thy judgment to any person or party. There is a spiritual suretiship which hath undone many in their judgments and principles. Be not bound to, or for the judgment of any. Weigh truth, and tell gold thou mayest, after thy father; but thou must live by thy own faith, not another's. Labour to see truth with thine own eyes. That building stands weak which is held up by a shore, or some neighbour house it leans on, rather than on a foundation of its own. When these go, that will fall to the ground also. Let not authority from man, but evidence from the word, conclude thy judgment; that is but a shore, this is a foundation. Quote the Scripture rather than men for thy judgment. Not, so saith a learned man; but thus saith the holy Scripture. Yet, take heed of bending this direction too far the other way; which is done when we contemn the judgment of such whose piety and learning might command reverence. There is sure a mean to be found betwixt defying men, and deifying them. It is the admiring of persons that forms the traitor to truth, and makes many cry 'Hosanna' to error, and 'Crucify' to truth. Eusebius, out of Josephus, tells us of Herod's--that Herod whom we read of, Acts 12:23, as being eaten up of worms--coming upon the theatre gorgeously clad, and that while he was making an eloquent oration to the people, his silver robe, which he then wore, did, by the reflex of the sunbeams shining on it, so glister, as dazzled the eyes of the spectators; and this, saith he, occasioned some flatterers to cry out, 'The voice of God, and not of man.' And truly the glistering varnish which some men's parts and rhetoric put upon their discourses, does oft so blind the judgments of their admirers, that they are too prone to think all divine they speak, especially if they be such as God hath formerly used as instruments for any good to their souls. O it is hard then, as he said, amare hominem humaniter--to love and esteem man as a man, to reverence him such so, as not to be in danger of loving their errors also. Augustine had been a means to convert Alypius from one error, and he confesseth this was an occasion why he was so easily by him led into another error--no less than Manicheism. Alypius thought he could not pervert him here that had converted him. Call therefore none father on earth; despise none, adore none." William Gurnall