According to Webster’s Concise Dictionary of the English Language the word “nobel” is defined as excellent, honorable, worthy, righteous, fine, impressive, magnificent and splendid.  “Nobility” refers to an individual who is part of a class of nobel people.  In the spiritual realm “nobel” defines a true saint of God.  The qualities the word entails is what God uses to differentiate between spiritual people and religious people, between sheep and goats, wheat and tares, good fruit trees and bad fruit trees, good fish and bad fish.  Within professing Christendom the ability to determine nobility, or the lack thereof, in an individual or group is vitally important in that it separates the real from the counterfeit.  Notice in the spiritual versus religious analogy that all church people are collectively called “Christians” even though the Lord tells us that the vast majority who profess to be and believe themselves to be, aren’t.  Jesus Christ spoke to this misidentification problem in His message to the church at Philadelphia whom He praised becaused they had “… kept My Word” and therefore had “… not denied My name.”  However, He went on to say that there were some, even in that church, who false Christians and therefore were “… of the synagogue of Satan.”  He identified them as those “… who say they are Jews (true Christians) but are not ….” (Rev. 3:7-13).  The Philadelphia Church corresponded with God’s modern day church whose members are His sheep, wheat, good trees, good fish.  To the contrary, the church at Laodicea (3:14-22), whom He chastizes severely in His Word, are those who operate alongside and identifiy themselves as His true church, who say they are God’s people but are not.  They are the goats, tares, etc. that call themselves and are called by the world, “Christians.”  In the military such fake soldiers are guilty of “stolen valor.”  They are soldiers in name only (S.I.N.O.s).   By Christ’s definition of true Christians (those who have kept His Word and have not denied His name), false believers are Christians In Name Only–C.I.N.O.s.  Note that, in His eyes, when we do not keep (obey) His Word we deny His name (rulership over our lives).

Let us understand that false Christians have wormed their way into God’s church from the beginning.  Many of them have attained high status levels.  There are pastors and evangelists today who are as well-known as movie stars, athletes and musicians.  Jesus mentions such false believers in reference to the first church era, represented by the Church of Ephesus (Rev. 2:1-7).  In verse 2 He calls them counterfeit apostles (ministers) whom He referred to as “LIARS.”  He said in Revelation 21:8 that all liars will burn in the Lake of Fire.  Today the vast majority of ministers are self-called, or momma-called, or church-called.  Because they refuse to preach God’s Word WE KNOW THAT THEY ARE NOT GOD-CALLED.  This is not merely a New Testament phenomenon.  In Jeremiah 23:25-40 the Lord warned about false prophets of that day.  They were known by their fruits, as their religious descendants are today.  As we will see, the most visible and identifable fruit of a true saint is “nobility” as the Lord defines the word.  A church person is nobel or not.  There is no middle ground.  From the highest to the lowest, nobility is the virtue that separates true saints from their false counterparts.  In Revelation 3:9 we find Jesus referring to false Christians (rejecters of His Word-deniers of His name) in His letter to the second (Smyrna) era of God’s church.  He called them “BLASPHEMERS.”  His characterization of rebellious churchites has not changed.  See the Introduction to this website for a list of some of the ways in which the church rebels against God’s Word and embraces the doctrines and practices of heathenism.

Nobility is the characteristic which distinguishes between God’s true saints and Satan’s counterfeit saints.  It is imperative that we understand the difference between the two groups and separate ourselves from all C.I.N.O.s on a spiritual level.  Read 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 to understand why we are to “come out from among them” on a spiritual basis.  We are commanded to not touch that “unclean thing.”  Paul noted that we cannot separate ourselves from them physically, for then we would have to leave the world.  In many cases Satan’s goats, tares, etc. are the family members, neighbors, work-mates, etc. of the true saint.  Jesus warned in Matthew 7:13,14; 20:16 that many would be called to enter His strait gate and walk his narrow way to nobility/holiness/salvation, but that few would choose to do so.  The “many” He referred to are the goats, tares, bad trees and bad fish (C.I.N.O.s) who “… say they are Jews (true Christians–sheep, wheat, etc.) but are not.”  Jesus and His Apostles warned that false believers would blend in among the true believers and would outnumber them millions (“many”) to one (“few”).  Catholics and Protestants not only greatly outnumber true Christians everywhere, they view us as reprobates.  Jesus said that C.I.N.O.s would quote Scripture, and in so doing, deceive the masses into following them (Mat. 24:4,5).  It is the saint’s responsibility to identify religious fakes.   The question is, How?

The only way to know who is kand who is not a Bible Christian is to create a “Nobility Index” (my term) of everyone who claims to be a child of God.  This can be done only by examining their words and actions, which reflect their thoughts.  However, in order to test someone’s Nobility Index one must understand the Standard against which to judge them.  Identifying that standard and learning and how to use it is what this series is about.  How well one knows the Standard and follows it determines his Nobility Index.  And in the process we must also judge ourselves against the same Standard.  As Peter said, “judgment begins in the church” (1 Pet. 4:17).  If we judge ourselves now we will not need to be judged by God later (1 Cor. 11:31).  We will now identify the Lord’s Standard of judgment as He speaks to us through His chosen apostles, specifically Paul, who received his gospel directly from Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:12).  If anyone should understand the Standard it is Paul.

In Acts17:10-14 we find that Paul and Silas, having arrived in Berea, have gone to the local “synagogue of the Jews” where they preached to the people inside.  Note that when Paul arrived in a city he always went directly to the city’s JEWISH SYNAGOGUE.  Why would he go there?  The only thing people heard in a synagogue was the Old Testament Law.  Wasn’t the Law nailed to the cross? as we are told by church leaders.  Read God’s Royal Law.  Use “Royal” as your key word.

Before arriving in Berea Paul and Silas had taught in the synagogue in Thessalonica where their message had not been well received.  In fact, they were forced to flee from the city.  They found the people of Berea to be more receptive to their ministry.  They noted that the people of Berea were “more nobel than those in Thessalonica because “THEY RECEIVED THE WORD OF GOD WITH ALL READINESS OF MIND AND SEARCHED THE SCRIPTURES DAILY” in order to determine if what the apostles was telling them was true–whether their words matched what was written in THE OLD TESTAMENT LAW (vs 11).  Note it: Paul and all of the New Testament apostles TAUGHT THE OLD TESTAMENT.  There was no New Testament available.  The New Testament would not come into existance until all of the apostles except John had died.  The Book of Acts was writtten during the mid-50’s A.D.  The New Testament was codified by John in about 90 A.D.  The Old Testament–“all that Jewish stuff” that the church belittles and rejects–was the very gospel taught by Jesus and the apostles.  It is still taught today by God’s true messengers.

Note that the Bereans were “nobel” because they heard the apostles’ message with a “READINESS OF MIND” which led them to SEARCH THE OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES DAILY to verify what Paul and Silas were teaching them.  In verse 13 the writer refers to what the apostles taught at Thessalonica and Berea as “THE WORD OF GOD.”  Note that the writer of Acts called the Old Testament Scriptures taught by Paul and Silas “THE WORD OF GOD.”  Jews of Thessalonica had run them out of their city for teaching God’s Word because It spoke about the Messiah whom Paul and Silas identified as Jesus of Nazareth.  The Thessalonians had then traveled to Berea where they turned the people against the apostles, but not before “many of the people believed,” including some “honorable” women and men.  These were the “nobel” people of Berea who, upon hearing the apostles’ Words, compared them to what was written in the Old Testament.  Note it: the believers in Berea were “nobel” because they STUDIED THE OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES DAILY.  They insisted on knowing the Truth that could only be found in the Holy Scriptures.  They did not consult the synagogue priests.  They did not go to Jerusalem and ask the high priest’s opinion.  They did not say, “Well, that’s not what I’ll always been taught,” or “But that’s not what my denomination teaches.”  I have heard many excuses for disobeying God, but my three all-time favorites are as follows.  A pastor from Austin, when confronted by Scripture, replied: “We are going outside the Bible in search of truth.”  Then there was the local pastor who, after reading a newspaper article I wrote in which I used the Scriptures to destroy a number of church “truths,” a local pastor, whcn confronted by one of his parishioners, said, “Everything he (I) wrote in that article is true.  However, we’re going in another direction.”  Then there was the queer priest who, when confronted by what God says about sexual deviance, replied with a straight face: “God has changed.”  The Bereans went straight to the source of all spiritual Truth, studied it and believed it.  Why?  Because they were NOBEL, EXCELLENT, HONORABLE, WORTHY, RIGHTEOUS, FINE, IMPRESSIVE, MAGNIFICENT AND SPLENDED.  I’ll take that label anytime.  In that God calls “noble” those who diligently and daily search the Scriptures for Truth, what must He call those who take their hireling’s word concerning His Truth (Jn. 10:12,13) because they hear what scratches their itching ears (2 Tim. 4:3)?  “LIARS” and “BLASPHEMERS” leap to mind–God’s words, not mine.   L.J.