Steps Out of Darkness

[CHB]

http://www.tentmaker.org/Dew/Dew8/D8-StepsOutOfDarkness.html

I just finished reading this article by Gary and I was thinking...I wish every person going to Church could read this. I bet 90% of people who go to Church don't realize or understand how all of the things associated with it came about. If only they knew!!! I knew these things already but it really helps to read about some things more than once.

Maybe there is someone out there reading these boards who might benefit from this article. 

CHB

[Cardinal]

 :cloud9: It's true.... :mshock: :msealed:

[jabcat]

It's all good, I'd read much of the information about the "church traditions and rituals".  This part jumped out at me for its clarity and putting some complicated things in a nutshell.  This is something I want to hang onto for future reference.   :thumbsup:

"Jesus gave physical Israel, those Jews who Jesus and the apostles preached to, forty years to repent and turn to the New Covenant of Grace. During those forty years the so-called "Great Commission" was fulfilled. The commission was to reach every Jew in the world with the "Good News." Jews didn't live in America, or Australia, or China. They lived in the Roman Empire which was considered "the world." From God's point of view, the world was where there was an Israelite and the Levitical Priesthood. This Priesthood was coming to an end. God sent His messengers to tell all those who trusted in that Priesthood that He was ordaining a new Priesthood. From the beginning of John the Baptist's preaching to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., the message was sent to all Jews to turn from the Mosaic Law to the Law of Life in Christ Jesus received by grace through faith, not through the Law of Moses.

In 70 A.D., the Priestly genealogical records were destroyed, the Temple was destroyed, Israel was destroyed and it lost its "favored nation" status with Rome. Jews were no longer allowed to offer sacrifices in Jerusalem, the only city in the world where God would accept animal sacrifices. During these 40 years, two gospels went out: Peter's gospel to the circumcision, and Paul's gospel to the uncircumcision. Peter's gospel, (also James') was what I call a "transition" gospel. The transition from Mosaic Law of works to grace through faith, a gift, not of works, was an extremely difficult message for Jews to grasp hold of. After all, they had been under the Mosaic Law for 1500 years. This transition was much harder for a Jew than for a heathen. Therefore, God allowed the Temple to remain for one generation after Christ ushered in the New Covenant, New Priesthood, new temple, etc. During this time, God allowed animal sacrifices to continue, but through Paul and others like the writer of the Book of Hebrews, God was preparing the Jews for the end of the Temple system which would come about in 70AD. If we look to this period of time to discover true Christianity, unless we can see the difference between the two gospels and God's mercy and wisdom for allowing them to stand side by side for a season, we will come away with great confusion. Many denominations and sects have sprung up through mixing these two gospels. Not completely understanding this transitory time has results in bringing forth many sects of Christianity which have mixed Mosaic law with the New Covenant of Grace. Most Holy name, Sabbath-keeping, Law-keeping, Mosaic dietary groups, Messianic Judaism, and various other denominations and movements have sprung from this error.

In order to see pure Christianity, we must focus on Paul's gospel. His gospel was not completely accepted by most Jewish believers until the Temple and all it stood for was completely destroyed. While the Temple was still in operation, Paul had great difficulty preaching salvation by grace through faith. There were always those from the Jerusalem church which would come into Paul's work and mix Mosaic law into Paul's labors. It was like planting weeds in his garden. Paul made some very strong comments regarding those who were upsetting his work. He pointed to the end of the Mosaic system in many of his writings. At the end of his life, he knew the end of the Old Covenant was fading away. He died just a few years before Jerusalem was destroyed. When it was finally destroyed, Jews that believed in Jesus as the Messiah, then knew that Paul was right. They had to go on to full grace through faith, there was no longer any hope in the Temple and all it had stood for.

To truly understand pure Christianity, one must thoroughly understand Paul's writings. One must also understand that Paul did not have a complete grasp of this transition himself until later in his life. His later writings were markedly different from some of his earlier ones.

Even though Paul's gospel was vindicated in 70AD, it wasn't too long before the simplicity of the gospel was again mixed up with all sorts of other systems. The list of early heresies is rather lengthy. But by the third century, the church had become a Christianized paganism. In the fourth century, it became the official religion of the Roman Empire under Constantine, a sun worshipper. By this time, the message of the leadership of the church bore little resemblance to Paul's gospel."

[dajomaco]

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

You can know about God by observing his creation.
You can only know who God is through revelation.
God has kept it his purgative to reveal himself to whom ever when ever.
The cross will and is being lift up for the greatest revelation one can ever experience

[jabcat]

Amen!  Each in his own order.