The question I am trying to answer is, “Are we fooling ourselves the way we customize our religious experience to fit the life styles we want to live and believe it to be good? This blog is going to discuss the internal issues we are facing as the body of Christ with our own brothers and possibly ourselves. This blog may trigger some introspection, which is a positive thing.

Today too many believers are choosing to customize their salvation, mixing their own beliefs with the word of God. Choosing to believe one section of the bible, while disregarding the other portions as just stories told by the prophets for effect. Some even doubt that the bible we read today is the inspired word of God written by man. They read the bible as if it is a good book, not the word and instruction of our Father in Heaven. This approach to the word leads them to the assumption they have the authority to decide what they will or will not believe and follow in the word. This trickles down to how they live, considering themselves righteous, not by the definition in the word of God, but by their own account. They base their idea of living Holy, on how good they believe they’ve been. Such behavior leads to a lack of revelation, leaving Christians vulnerable to false doctrines such as Zionism that has no biblical support, but has garnered so much support in the Christian faith in America. It leads to the belief of a first and second coming of Christ, tied to the rapture doctrine that is not represented in the word of God. A lack of a comprehensive knowledge of the word of God, while seeking understanding, will cause any believer not to see the heart of God in his Word. You can’t see the heart of God without believing everything he says in his word, regardless of whether we agree, understand or accept it.

I know this is a touchy subject, that can cause you to lose friends in the Christian circles, but I believe it is time to address it. Especially witnessing the signs of the times and the great falling away of Christians from church. This is not only for the readers, but for myself as well. It is worth investigating this for the introspective purpose of re-evaluating the basis of our salvation.  Some people may say why delve into this topic? Once we all believe in Christ it should be okay? I am writing this blog to dispel those ideas and put forward a case for complete surrender to the inspired word of God by putting our faith into action. Simple worldly logic dictates that if you want to be part of a club, you have to agree to the rules in the rule book. If you refuse to follow the rules, or adhere to some and ignore the others, your membership in the club may be at risk of being terminated. Even the validity of your initial commitment to become a member of the club could come into question. Why? The club manager expects that if you truly wanted to be a member, then following the rules (obedience) should not be a problem.

I started my journey by reading the following verses.

Matthew Chp 21:28-32

²⁸ But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard.

²⁹ He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.

³⁰ And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.

³¹ Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.

³² For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.

This parable Jesus told, tells of the true revelation of our salvation in Christ. The parable spoke of two sons, these are two individuals that have a close relationship with their Father. The key question here is what kind of relationship? Well the parable tells us by their actions, what kind of relationship they had with their Father.  One son refused their Father’s request initially, because it was something they did not want to do. Then the bible says he repented, had a change of heart and fulfilled his Father’s will. The other son on the surface appeared to accept his Father’s request with utmost respect, calling him sir. In the end he did not fulfill his Father’s will. Christ then asked which of the two sons fulfilled their Father’s will. They answered correctly choosing the first one. This expressed their understanding of repentance and the need to follow up with obedience, in fulfilling the will of the Father. Christ then explained the parable, stating that the sinners would enter the Kingdom of God before the Pharisees because of their unbelief. The sinners repented and followed up with obedience, by having John baptize them as an outward expression of their transition from their old life to a new one under God’s rule.

The revelation is, the sons in the parable are believers in Christ. To transition from God’s creation to being a Son of God,  you would have to accept his Son Jesus Christ and be born again. So as believers we are given an option as we work out our salvation to grow in the word of God. That means read the word, hear the word and become doers. Only until we become doers are we walking in obedience to the will of God. In the case of the first son, he out right refused to follow the word which is the will of God, but then repents. His act of repentance was a form of surrender to his Father’s will. His initial rebellion was short lived. The second son agreed to follow the word of God, but his true intentions were rooted in rebellion. In other words he lied to his Father on accepting his will, with the intention to follow his own direction in life.

Isn’t that what some Christians do? They believe on Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior, then as the Holy Spirit begins to guide them in the word to live a Holy life, they rebel. Their rebellion is based on the desire to maintain as much of their worldly life and beliefs as they can, but remain seemingly Christian. Instead of following the word of God as written in the bible, they use excuses of translations and human error in the bible, as reasons not to be obedient. In other words they are living a double minded lifestyle. Just believing in God or Christ is not the end all to Christianity, as the demons believe that God and Christ exist. So did the two brothers in Christ’s parable believe in their Father. The difference is the relationship of obedience between you and the Father as it relates to his will (word).

 

James 1:5-7

⁵ If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

⁶ But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

⁷ For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

James 1:22

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Revelations 3:13-19

¹³ He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

¹⁴ And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

¹⁵ I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

¹⁶ So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

¹⁷ Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

¹⁸ I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

¹⁹ As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

 

This is just a sample of the verses that talk about double mindedness and the rejection of God to such people. Can you truly say that refusing to acknowledge and obey the entire word of God as his will, picking and choosing what you will follow is not double mindedness?

Jumping back to the parable, the second son’s rebellion to the will of his Father, cost him the enrty into the Kingdom. How important is the Kingdom to a Christian? Well the definition of the word Kingdom may lead to some clues:

KINGDOM:

• The eternal Kingship of God
• The realm in which God’s will is fulfilled
• The realm or region in which something is dominant
• An area or sphere where one holds preeminent position.

So based on the definition above when we pray the Father’s prayer given to us by Christ.

‘Our Father who art in Heaven, Halloweth be thy name.

They Kingdom come, they will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.’

The prayer makes the distinction between Heaven and the Kingdom of God. When we refer to the Kingdom of God we are referring to by definition the realm or area in which God’s will is fulfilled. Heaven is a place in the realm of God’s rule, that his will is fulfilled. This is why we are urged to pray for his Kingdom to rule here on earth as well. We are not asking for heaven to be on earth, we are praying for his will to be obeyed on earth as it is in heaven, which will extend his rule into the realm of earth. How can this be done? Each and every Christian, that is surrendered to the will of God, is a walking extension of God’s rule here on earth. That is how he gains influence and is effective here on earth, it is through us.

Remember, through Adam humanity was given dominion over the earth and lost it to satan when Adam sinned. Christ, referred to as the second Adam, defeated satan’s power over sin that hindered humanity from reconnecting with God. Now through Christ, man can experience the Kingdom rule of the Father here on earth once again, even though the earth is fallen and currently not under his will. He is the creator of the earth, but does not have dominion over it, he has chosen to rely on the redeemed man to assert his dominion on earth. God is God, he is Sovreign, but his word as King also cannot be broken. He gave man dominion of the earth so he is working through man to regain dominion and influence on the earth. Not for his sake, but for humanities salvation. Does God need us, no, but he wants us and wants to use us. To be chosen out of love and used by God to fulfill his will is a blessing. Christ was used by God to bring about the redemption of humanity. We should be privileged as a Christian to serve the Creator of everything.

Okay so why am I pointing all this out? Because all the promises of God’s provision, protection, prosperity etc. only exists in the realm, that God’s will is being fulfilled. Are you getting the picture? When you reject the Will of God, which is in his Word, you not only place yourself in a dangerous position of living outside the Kingdom rule of God, but also you are in the position of rejecting Christ.  As a born again Christian you are no longer of this world, but in it, as an amabassdor for Christ. The Kingdom of God is where your sustenance exists, not in this world. According to  John 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” Christ is the word of God in flesh, so essentially, rejecting the word of God is rejecting the corner stone of all Christianity. The will of the Father, the Word of God and Jesus Christ are all connected. That is why you can’t have one without the other or be double minded on what you choose to believe from the word. You can’t have all of Christ but harbor disbelief for the parts of the Word of God you don’t like. You can’t have all of God if you reject the parts of his Will which you don’t like. It makes you a luke warm Christian. Unable to fully enjoy the fruits of the Kingdom or embody the fulfillment of the power of God. All of which, is available for those who choose not to rely on their own wisdom, but obey his word in its entirety. Christ said that he would rather us be cold or hot, because he will spew us out his mouth if we chose to be luke warm. One foot in Christianity and one foot in your worldly beliefs.

This leads me to a portion of scripture in Matthew, where Christ tells another parable on what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. It always bothered me greatly the meaning in these scriptures, but I bring it up because I believe it is relevant to the topic in this blog. In these scriptures the reference of Kingdom is tied to Heaven the dwelling place of God. Not just his sphere of influence and rule, but his abode.

Matthew 22:1-14

And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said,

² The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,

³ And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.

⁴ Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.

⁵ But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:

⁶ And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.

⁷ But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.

⁸ Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.

⁹ Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.

¹⁰ So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.

¹¹ And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:

¹² And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.

¹³ Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

¹⁴ For many are called, but few are chosen.

Christ offered this parable after Matthew chapter 21 where he indirectly indited the Pharisees for their treason of rejecting the will of God and his Son Jesus Christ as their Savior. We can learn from these moments in scripture, so as saints, we don’t fall into the same posture of obstinance in our own walk with Christ. The Pharisees knew well the Old Testament and believed on the words of God describing his supernatural interventions into the affairs of man. Including believing in the Patriachs that were present to witness and experience them. They knew the law of God so well, they leveraged its power over the masses for their personal gain. When Christ’s ministry came into the picture with the sole purpose of fulfilling the requirements of the law, they chose to reject his teachings. His ministry affected their status quo and reduced their influence, power and prosperity. Even with the evidence of Christ fulfilling prophesies written in the old testament (Zechariah 9:9  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.), it was not enough. If men were set free from sin, capable of going directly to God in worship, they were no longer needed in the capacity of an intercessor. The pharisees did not reject Christ or John for their doctrine, but for their own self interest. Their hearts were hardened by self preservation. No more financial gain or adoration from the people. The Sandedrin and the Israelite elite, chose the status quo over their salvation through Christ. It is interesting in the parable the reasons the ‘bidden’ refused to go to the wedding was for similar reasons the Pharisees and Israelite elites rejected Christ. They retreated to ‘Their Farms’ which represents their lifestyles, ‘Their merchandise’, which represents prosperity and they ‘Resorted to violence‘, assaulting and killing the messengers of God when they could not subdue them.

I believe this parable was more of a prophesy on what would happen after Christ died on the cross. The parable says the King (God), was preparing a wedding for his Son (Jesus).

• The ‘bidden’ in the parable were to be his Son’s bride (the chosen Jews). Initially Christ said he came for the Israelites first, then the gentiles. The Jews rejected the invitation to marry the King’s Son (Jesus).
• They assaulted the disciples and killed them to prevent the message of repentance through Christ. ——NB: They did this to maintain status quo among the people. Keeping themselves as the religious elite and the people subject to their laws and instruction. In other words they killed the Son of the vineyard owner in an attempt to steel his inheritance, which is the harvest.——
• Then as Christ prophesied, God destroyed Jerusalem for rejecting Christ the corner stone, to hold onto their earthly power, prosperity and lifestyles. Rome in 70 AD destroyed Jerusalem.
• God then mentioned that the ‘bidden’ were now unworthy and his workers were to go out to the gentiles and invite them to the wedding.( Matthew 21: 32 “ For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him. )
• All those gentiles who accepted Christ as their groom, came to the wedding to be presented as the bride (the Church).
• Prior to the wedding the King appeared with the intention to inspect the guests. He was ensuring that no one entered the wedding without the correct garments. This parable insinuates that God himself will be searching those who call themselves Christians, to ensure they have surrendered and have truly accepted his Son Jesus Christ as their savior.
• Finally the person who was not dressed appropriately was cast out of the wedding into darkness, which we know as hell.

Please bear with me as I seek understanding on the most disturbing part of this scripture, verse 11-14. How did the man end up in the wedding without a garment? The servants called everyone good and bad and all who accepted the invitation (Salvation), to be part of the bride of Christ (the Church), were brought to the King. So I am assuming that man accepted the invitation and followed everyone to the wedding hall. If he did not accept the invitation he would not have been told about the wedding and its location. He was also inconspicuously among the other guests who were clothed properly. They did not notice him and neither did the servants. Only the King (God) saw he was not clothed properly. Is it the righteousness of Christ, God will be looking for on us? Is it the armor of God as in Ephesians Chp 6: 10-18? Could it be the presence of the Holy Spirit living in us bearing witness to God? Either way without it, the King threw the guest out of heaven into what was described as hell. My belief on this topic is aligned with the following scripture from Revelations.

Revelation

⁷ Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

⁸ And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

God will be looking for the righteousness of Christ resting upon us to enter the wedding banquet. The righteousness of the saints can only be attained through salvation in Christ. The following verse confirms that the righteousness God will be looking to see on us as fine linen is not our own self righteousness based in following the law, but righteousness we receive from Christ based in our faith in him and his salvation.

Phillipians 3:9

And be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—

This scripture is similar to the statements made by Christ in Matthew 7:21-23

Matthew 7:21-23

²¹ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

²² Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

²³ And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Here again Christ speaks of the importance of fulfilling the Will of God as a pre-requisite to receive his righteousness and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This reference to the Kingdom is a place and it is where God resides and rules from. In Matthew Chp:7 the verses insinuate that using your God given gifts, using the name of Jesus to defeat the enemy and do good works are not sufficient, if you are living a life of obstinance(rebellion). The last verse says it all, ‘depart from me, you that work iniquity(sin)‘. What could be that iniquity? Maybe the sin of constantly rejecting the guidance and instruction of the Holy Spirit in our lives? The sin of being luke warm in our belief of God’s word? Our failure to truly surrender to the Will of God in our lives? That can only mean, allowing God’s dominion to rule over our will and life, is true surrender to God. It is the definition of taking up our cross daily and following Christ in obedience to the Word of God.

All the above questions are related to living a life of obstinance. What does obstinance mean;

OBSTINATE (adjective to noun obstinance):

It appears from scripture and the definition above, that it does not matter if we do good works, or we’ve used our God given gifts for good. What matters is are we in the Will of God when we do it? Whose council are we following as we make decisions and take action in our lives? A life outside the Will of God is living in obstinance, constantly resisting God’s call and direction for our own purpose. Is God in control of your actions, influencing all your decisions through His Holy Spirit? Can He truly use you to fulfill His plan here on earth for humanity? We have to begin searching ourselves to see where we have allowed obstinance to seep into our relationship with God.

• What is God asking us to do that we ignore because it is inconvenient to our lifestyle.
• Who is God asking us to forgive, but we won’t release the loss and the grudges.
• What financial investments is God asking us to make on His behalf using the funds he has graced us with.
• Where is God asking us to move in faith to fulfill his Will through you, but we refuse because of our comfort where we are.
• What ministry is God asking us to join or create, so he can reach more lost souls?

Here is an analogy to help you understand the pridefulness of an obstinate life in the eyes of God. “An employee is hired to perform a certain task in order to complete a project his boss is working on. At orientation the employee agrees to the employment terms and begins to follow his bosses instructions. Until he decides his bosses way is too hard, so he decides to do things the way he thinks they should be done making things easier for him. Using the bosses resources, he does his work the way he thinks it should be done, ignoring the requests and guidelines of his boss. At the end of the month, the employee goes to his boss to be paid and his boss points out he was the least productive employee, also he was insubordinate refusing to listen to the instructions from his boss. The employee says I have worked so hard for you this past month, hasn’t my work counted for anything? The boss said all you have done was good, but not what I hired you for, in order to complete my project. In fact the work you did was being done by someone else on the team that I collaborated with to get my project done. The employee says what team? I was never told about a team or meetings. The boss says because you were too busy following your own path, ignoring my requests and direction, I could not lead you to work with the team. The employee says well am I still going to be paid? The employer says no you are going to be fired. I will use the money I expected to pay you to replenish the resources you wasted. I no longer need an employee that I cannot trust to do what they are told so I can complete my project.”

In layman terms the parable above says it all. You were hired by your boss to fulfill a duty that will help them achieve a desired outcome. How helpful would you be if after you were hired, you ignored all they wanted you to do and did the work the way you saw fit, not knowing their desired outcome. No wonder why in the scripture above Christ said I never knew you. We are bought by the blood of Jesus Christ and belong to the Father in Heaven as his children. Following his Will, which we can find in his Word, should be our only priority. Christ says it best, in John Chp. 14:15, ‘If ye love me keep my commandments’. If we have truly surrendered our lives to Christ and love him as our Savior, then obedience to his word would be considered a privilege. There are three main influences to living a life of obstinance as a Christian; a lack of trust (belief) in the word of God, the desire for babylon’s lifestyle out weighs your loyalty to Christ or a belief in wrong doctrine.

These three main influences above are similar to the reasons the Pharisees and Sanhedrin rejected Christ as their Messiah. It is all rooted in rebellion, birthed on the day Adam and Eve doubted the word of God and ate of the fruit. Same tactic played on Christians today. When a Christian’s belief in the Word of God is challenged, they should automatically pray for understanding and discernment. Instead of relegating their response to carnal and worldly explanations for spiritual things. In some cases they ignore the Word altogether. All of it leads to obstinance. We are required to figure out if the rejection of the Word, is rooted in ignorance or a desire to continue living in moral mediocrity and sin. Our goal is to grow closer to God by being more like Christ. That natural progression will cause us to change, because our mindset is reformed by the Word of God. The things we used to like we would like no more, the things we used to do we would not be able to do them any more in good conscience. The revealed Word of God gives us wisdom, understanding and a new perspective on the world. That is what you call working out your salvation according to Apostle Paul. Doing this in the obedience of the Word and Will of God, will release the power needed to succeed.

I cannot stress enough, how important it is for us to daily revaluate our level of surrender to the Will of God in our lives. It is not only imperative for our safety, guidance, spiritual sustenance, provision, healing and strength, which exists only in the realm of God’s Kingdom rule. It is important for our salvation and eternal resting place. None of us want to enter the wedding hall to be told we are not wearing the right garments, or that Christ does not know us. The Vatigen, Catholic Church and many Christian organizations embody these self righteous attributes that prevent them from performing God’s Will. This behavior is born from the seed of self preservation, which is the catalyst for the falling away of the elect. Completely opposite of the humility and surrender required to follow Christ. We are children of God created to serve him through Christ in love. In these last days God’s direct wisdom and discernment is what will help us navigate the evil that is being unleashed in the world. It is our obligation to ensure we are surrendered, carrying our cross and allowing God’s Will to rule in our lives. How can we do this? Not by will power, but through The Holy Spirit who is the key to us accessing Kingdom provisions as it’s citizen and navigating the beast system that is increasingly becoming more evil. As the world descends into a new babylon, dream, plan, take adventures, but subject them all to God with the intention to obey his redirects in our lives. Our goal now is to endure and fight the good fight. Christ is clear on who will not enter the Kingdom, self righteousness and religiosity always leads to rebellion and unbelief. There in lies the difference between true repentance and obstinate religiosity.