We are told time and time again, that, due to Adam’s downfall, sin is an innate, natural, irresistible part of the human condition over which man has no control. Is this true? Is Adam’s sin the overpowering force within mankind that renders him powerless in the face of temptation? Is it man’s “nature” to sin? Thousands of preachers and billions of parishioners have said, say and will continue to say “Yes.” What does God say in His Word about sin, its origin and its power in the life of mankind? Let us answer these questions by doing what we are commanded to do relative to all things spiritual. LET US STUDY THE “WHOLE COUNSEL OF GOD” ACCORDING TO HIS RULES OF ENGAGEMENT AS STATED IN ISAIAH 28:9-13. LET US STUDY HIS WORD “PRECEPT UPON PRECEPT, PRECEPT UPON PRECEPT, LINE UPON LINE, LINE UPON LINE, HERE A LITTLE, THERE A LITTLE.” He teaches knowledge and wisdom only to those who study His Word in this manner. Let us be part of that tiny church.

First, let us identify God’s Truth. In John 17:17 Jesus identifies God’s Truth with finality in His prayer to Him: “Thy Word is Truth.” Notice that He did not say that God’s Word contained the Truth. He said His Word IS TRUTH. Period. Note in this passage that it is only through His Truth that His Very Elect are sanctified (set aside for holy use). Let us always view God’s Word as unquestionable Truth, even when we do not understand it. In many cases understanding comes only after years of study, and comes only to those who know that it is God’s mind in written form. In this series we will study the Holy Scriptures in search of God’s mind relative to the Jesus-Satan connection. The Institutional Church has made this  “truth” the second most important doctrine upon which she is built. The number one doctrinal “truth”–the cornerstone of her foundation–is that Satan is God. Though she would never admit it, Satan is not only the “god of this world,” he is also the god of the Institutional Church.

Because I will be using both Old and New Testament passages I will warn the reader about another of Satan’s lies that the church has embraced–the “truth” that the Old Testament was done away with by Christ at His death and therefore plays no part in the life of the New Testament Church. Because she has embraced this Satanic heresy, the church rejects approximately 80% of God’s Word written to those who seek Him. This has the same effect as ignoring 80% of a road map when traveling in unfamiliar territory. Let us believe and follow God’s road map to His eternal kingdom by believing and obeying His Word. THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO GET TO HIM. To do so we must rid our minds of all Catholic and Protestant doctrines which are either totally or partially wrong as this ministry has proven time and again.

In the first ten verses of 1 Corinthians chapter 10 we find the Apostle Paul warning the New Testament Church not to ignore what had been written by God’s Old Testament prophets concerning His dealings with ancient Israel. In verse 11 he tells us why: “Now ALL THESE THINGS happened to them (Israel) for EXAMPLES, and were WRITTEN for OUR instruction.” Paul then identifies who “OUR” refers to: “(those) upon whom the ends of the world have come.” The Old Testament prophets recorded and preserved their writings for the benefit of THE END-TIME CHURCH–the church that was established in 31 A.D., exists today and will rise to meet Christ upon His return to earth to establish His Father’s kingdom.

Paul was not alone in emphasizing the writings of the prophets. In 2 Peter 1:21 the apostle tells the New Testament Church that “HOLY MEN OF OLD spoke as they were moved upon by the Holy Spirit.” They or their scribes then recorded what they had spoken. Their words were TO BE USED FOR INSTRUCTING THE END-TIME CHURCH. The Apostle Paul, in his second letter to Timothy the evangelist, instructed him in things concerning his (Timothy’s) future salvation: “ALL SCRIPTURE IS GIVEN BY INSPIRATION (VIA THE HOLY SPIRIT) of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness” (3:14-17). The only Scriptures in existence at that time were those in the Old Testament. It would be many years before the New Testament would be codified by the Apostle John. By that time all of the other apostles would have been martyred.

Proof that the apostles used the Old Testament when teaching the New Testament church the ways of the Lord is found in Acts 17:11 where Paul noted that the men of Berea were more honorable than those of Thessalonica because they “searched the Scriptures daily” to see if what he was teaching them was true. THE NEW TESTAMENT APOSTLES TAUGHT THE CHURCH FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT.

We will now begin to study specific Scriptural passages in search of God’s Truth concerning the theory of Original Sin. We will use that Truth to expose the soul-destroying lie that has caused the destruction of so many salvation seekers over the past 1900 years. L.J.