The Gospel (“good news”) of the Kingdom of God has been around as long as God has been speaking to man. The Old Testament God (the “Word” who became Jesus of Nazareth–Jn. 1:1-4,14) spoke face-to-face with Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham and others. We are told that He specifically preached His Gospel to Abraham (Gal. 3:8), the progenitor of the nation of Israel whom God would use to take His good news to the world. It is said that Noah was a “preacher of righteousness” (2 Pet. 2:5) which means that he preached the Gospel to the wicked world of his day. Both Old Testament prophets and New Testament apostles preached the good news of the coming Kingdom of God. On Mount Sinai the Lord codified its central theme in stone and placed it in an ark guarded by two angels.

When the Word came to earth as Jesus the Son of God He preached that same Gospel to the Jews of the Middle Eastern area today known as Israel (Mk. 1:14). He then sent His apostles to preach His message to the other tribes of Israel who had been scattered abroad because of their sins. Read Who and Where is Israel Today? Key word–Who. Those scattered Israelites who embraced the Gospel brought to them by the apostles formed churches and later invited believing Gentiles to join them. Later, Saul of Tarsus, who came to be called Paul, joined the apostles’ ranks and was used by God to tell the Gentiles about His Gospel.

However, there was another god on the scene who was intent on keeping people away from God’s Truths. He did not give up on those who gravitated to the Lord’s church. Over time he inserted his own apostles (false prophets) into their midst in order to spread his false gospel among those salvation seekers who wanted a more self-determining, user-friendly method of gaining it. Over time their numbers far exceeded those of the true saints, resulting in a two-headed, many-bodied religious organization. Read Simon of Samaria: the Legacy. Key word–Simon. Following the splitting of organization into two parts, one of the parts, called “Protestants” (protesters), later splintered into hundreds of sub-churches called “denominations,” each with its own version of God’s Gospel, its own Jesus, its own God and its own version of right and wrong, etc. Today this two-headed organization calls itself “the church.”

The problems Satan injected into the Lord’s spiritual body began to materialize within a few years of her founding in 31 A.D. By the mid-50’s Paul was wrestling with false teachers who had sneaked into the churches he had founded. This comes to light in his letter to the churches scattered throughout Galatia in which he wrote: “I marvel that you are so soon separated from Him that called you into the grace of Christ and have accepted another Gospel.” He goes on to say that their new Gospel was not actually a new entity, but was in reality a perverted version of the Lord’s true Gospel (1:6-9).

Jesus had earlier warned Truth seekers about false ministers who would rise up among them and claim to be God’s servants sent to them by Him. They would proclaim that He, Jesus, was the true Messiah and, having gained the trust of the people, would DECEIVE MANY (Mat. 24:4,5). The inference was that the deceived ones would far outnumber those who remained true to His Gospel. He had earlier warned about such deception in Matthew 7:13,14 where He prophesied that “few” would “find” the entrance to His church, enter it and walk His path while “many” would enter the devil’s portal and walk his path. Both groups , called Christians, would be convinced that they were headed in the right direction. Read The Mustard Seed. Key word–Mustard.

Paul’s statement that the churches had embraced a perverted Gospel that had replaced God’s true Gospel is as true today as it was then. He had warned the church at Corinth that if someone came in touting “another Jesus,” they would embrace him. Which is exactly what happened, causing that church to abandon the Lord’s way. It took much work and the death of one of their parishioners to turn the congregation around. Other apostles had to deal with similar situations within the churches they served.

Nothing has changed in the church system in that thousands of false prophets still preach their perverted Gospels to billions of people who follow them into the waiting arms of God’s enemy. The Lord declares that such people are “accursed”–separated from God (Gal. 1:8). Isaiah confirms this by stating that sin separates salvation seekers from the God who offers the very salvation they seek. Their sins serves as a wall between the seeker and the Provider of salvation.

Sin is the breaking of God’s Law (1 Jn. 3:4). However, churchman “knows” that is no longer true, that the Law is no longer in effect, that it was nullified by none other than Jesus Himself. God, through Paul and others, states that those who preach such a supposed “truth” are evil imposters, vile deceivers who, being themselves deceived, in turn deceive others who believe their perverted Gospel. The true Gospel must be believed and obeyed in order to qualify for salvation (2 Tim. 3:13-17). That too, we are told, is just another lie in that one need only accept Jesus as one’s Savior, then repent after each inevitable sin.

Such perversions of God’s true Gospel are designed to please men (Gal. 1:10). Those who embrace the various perverted Gospels do not judge themselves by comparing their “walk” to the Biblical standard, but rather “judge themselves by themselves” (their own truths) (2 Cor. 10:12). Jesus spoke about such people in His day, saying that they honored Him with their lips but their hearts were far from Him (Mat. 15:8). Today their religious descendants make themselves “workers of iniquity” (Law-breakers) (Mat. 7:22,23 by refusing to obey God’s Law

This heresy has evolved from the belief that religious leaders must interpret the Holy Scriptures in order to eliminate those passages that no are no longer part of the “Christian life.” However, God declares in Second Peter 1:20 that it is a sin to interpret His Word. In First Peter 1:25 the apostle states that the Word of God “remains forever,” meaning in its original form that has been preserved for thousands of years by its Author. Obviously, man cannot improve on the Truths of Almighty God. According to Jesus, only a few of those who claim to be His people actually believe those statements of Truth. Over time church leaders have introduced many interpretations (corrections) of God’s Word that have become foundational “truths” upon which their various church bodies rest. At this point we will look at some of the “errors” religious man has found in God’s Word and the “truths” with which they have replaced those errors. As we explore the mind-set of God’s correctors and would-be counselors, let us bear in mind what Jesus told the rich man who asked Him what he needed to do in order to be saved. Jesus told Him he had to OBEY HE TEN COMMANDMENT LAW. The man replied that he had obeyed all of them since childhood. However, he later “went away sad” because he had failed to obey God in ONE area of his life and refused to change. As Jesus said, “ONE THING YOU LACK.” That ONE THING cost him eternal life. Interpreting God’s Word qualifies as “ONE” of those “THINGS” which will disqualify the salvation seeker from receiving eternal life which he has been told he already has. Breaking the fourth commandment is also “ONE” of those salvation-denying “THINGS.” Sadly, 99% of professing Christendom commits that sin twice each and every weekend. Read the series on the Sabbath. Key word–Sabbath.

It is imperative that we understand the importance God places on His Word. EVERYTHING we know about Him and His Son is found in the written covenant They made with mankind. Jesus said that He will judge everyone who has ever been born by the contents of that covenant that we promise to obey when we are converted. God does not allow man to edit His stone-etched will. As He points out in plain language, to change, add to or remove from His Holy Scriptures so much as a jot or tittle (comma, period, etc.) is a sin that separates the change agent from Him and proves that he/she HATES BOTH FATHER AND SON and causes Them to hate the agent (Deut. 5:9/ Lk. 10:17/ Ps. 5:5). True saints are “bought with a price”–the very highest of prices (1 Cor. 6:20). The saint’s Purchaser will not accept a defective product. L.J.

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