The Apostle John–the disciple whom Jesus loved–knew the Lord Jesus as intimately as anyone ever will. John was the disciple who leaned on His breast during the Last Supper. He was the one whom Jesus, as He hung on the cross, chose to take care of His mother following His death. John knew the heart of Jesus Christ like no one else. It is for this reason that God seekers should look carefully and prayerfully at his writings when determining what one must do to inherit eternal life. With that in mind let us look at an important Biblical statements concerning the spiritual path to walk in our quest for immortality–1 John 2:6. This short statement contains an all-important nugget of Truth that is rejected by the “only believe” crowd who profess to be nothing more than “sinners saved by grace” because of Adam’s supposed sin dna generational transfer. God arranged for the transferal of physical dna traits in His seed-produces-like-kind law (Gen. 1:24,25). However, He nowhere mentions the transfer of spiritual traits. Sin is spiritual (Jam. 1:14,15). The physical aspects of sin are merely the end results of a sin that has already taken place in the spiritual realm. For example, sexual lust (spiritual sin), if allowed to germinate, produces a sexual act (physical sin). Contrary to popular opinion, both the spiritual and physical sins are avoidable. As God told Cain, Satan can tempt us to sin but he cannot force us to sin (Gen. 4:7). Cain could not blame his father for his individual choices. In spite of God’s statement to Cain concerning overcoming temptation, religious people still blame Adam for their sins.

In 1 John 2:6 we are told that if we claim to be Christ’s brethren we must “walk (live) as He walked” while on earth. The Apostle Peter confirms this Truth in 1 Peter 2:21,22 where he tells us that we are called to follow the sinless example set by Jesus, and as proof of our righteousness, to suffer the consequences–the “cost.” In the Old Testament we find two men who “walked” with God–Enoc and Noah. Abraham also obeyed His command to “… walk before Me and be perfect” (Gen. 17:1). Genesis 26:5 tells us that Abraham did indeed walk before God in perfection: “… Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws.” It was for this reason that God chose him to be the “father of the faithful.” Those who claim to be “sons of Abraham” will walk in strict obedience to God’s voice, charges, commandments, statutes and laws, specifically the Ten Commandment Law which summarizes His will.

True members of God’s “Little Flock” are His “friends.” In several places God calls Abraham His friend (2 Chron. 20:7/Isa. 41:8/Jam. 2:23). Friends talk with each other as did God and Abraham (Gen. 18:17-19,23-33). He also talked with Moses (Exo. 33:11/Deut. 34:10/Num. 12:7,8). In John 15:13-15 Jesus tells us how to be His friends–by obeying His Father. Only those who do so will spend eternity with Him.

Most church people believe that God’s church (ekklesia–“called out ones”) came into being on the Day of Pentecost, 31 A.D. However, the Lord called the wandering Israelites his “church (ekklesia) in the wilderness”–the Sinai Desert (Acts 7:38). He talked with them through Moses, telling them that they must walk in all His ways, meaning that they must obey His Law which He had given them on Mt. Sinai. They failed to do so, which is why He sentenced them to wander in the desert for 40 years. As their physical and spiritual descendants, God’s New Testament ekklesia/church must also obey His Ten Commandment Law which the Apostle Paul called “holy, just and good” (Rom. 7:12). This is the same Law that the Catholic/Protestant religious system claims He destroyed. Because they reject His rules of life, He does not deal with them directly, but rather “stands at the door” and “knocks” (Rev. 3:20), telling true God seekers inside to “come out of her” (2 Cor. 6:17). God seekers will obey His command. Most church people will deny that they reject the Ten Commandments because the obey nine of them. However, God tells us through the Apostle James that because they break #4, they in fact break all ten commandments, making them workers of iniquity–Lawbreakers (Jam. 2:10,11) whom Jesus will reject at judgment (Mat. 7:23;13:41;23:28;24:12). Note in Matthew 24:12 that disobedience to the Law is a sign of one’s lack of love for God Who said: “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (Jn. 14:15). He said through John: “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments” (1 Jn. 5:3). He tells us in 1 John 3;4 that sin is the transgression of the Law–His commandments. Because the Institutional Church rejects commandment #4, she lives in sin. Not having believed the commandment, church people have never confessed to breaking it and have therefore never asked forgiveness for doing so. Because of their lack of repentance they are workers of iniquity whom Jesus said He would reject. L.J.