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New Gnosticism |
Dear Brethren,
We have come to a point in time when it is fairly
easy to be good Christians. We live in times wherein we have freedom to practice
our religion in relative peace and safety. Religion is abundantly
available in many ways, from the Bible and religious publications,
to the mass media, including the internet and televangelism. If it
seems to you that all we really have to do is keep the Sabbath Days
and a few food laws for salvation to be assured – please read on.
There was a time when being a Christian was really tough. The apostles,
Paul, John, and the other writers of the New Testament Scriptures,
wrote about the many spiritual attacks that the brethren
experienced. One after another, severe trials of heresies assailed
the true Church of God as it moved toward the second half of the
first century. Varied heretical doctrines inundated the true
teachings of Jesus Christ, bringing confusion to many brethren and
causing some to go off track entirely. “There were false
prophets also among the people, even as there shall be
false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in
damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them,
and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” (2Peter 2:1)
True Christians were tortured and martyred. False prophets took their
toll on the brethren. Persecutions scattered the Church of God.
Read about the horrible persecutions that afflicted the churches of
Revelation 2 and 3. The epistles are replete with warnings and
instructions to the brethren to beware of false teachers and false
doctrine. “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in
sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” (Matthew 7:15)
Why then, do so many of our brethren have it so
easy and so good in the Church today?
Could it be that much of the Church of God is not heeding the obvious
warnings that God is directing to His end-time Church? We face the
same spiritual threats that endangered the first century Church.
“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common
salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you
that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was
once delivered unto the saints.” (Jude :3)
It is clear that Jude is admonishing the brethren, who should have been
holding dearly to the teachings of Christ, to get back to the
original faith. They had lost the knowledge and the practice of the
true faith they once held and cherished. How could they have lost
it? They lost it the same way that so many are letting down today,
and by not striving for the high standards that our faith demands of
us. Too many brethren are only warming a seat at church and going
through the motions. They are the five sleeping virgins of Matthew
25 who lacked oil [God’s Spirit] for their lamps.
Why does God call them foolish virgins? It is because they foolishly
believed that they had it made. They were not doing what it took to
have a Christian relationship with their Creator God. They assumed
that they could get ready at the last possible moment. “And
while they went to buy [oil], the Bridegroom came; and they that
were ready went in with Him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to
us. But He answered and said, Truly I say unto you, I know
you not.” (Matthew 25:10-12)
How could Jesus say to the five foolish virgins, “I know you not?”
The answer is that they took for granted that they were just as
entitled and prepared to marry the Bridegroom as the five wise
virgins who were truly spiritual – but they were not. A consistent
tool of Satan through the ages is deception. He causes ineligible
people to believe that they also have the key to salvation. In
fact, Satan causes many to believe that their group is
uniquely
qualified to be the bride, to the exclusion of all others.
There have always been “foolish virgins” who thought they were in
the know. They are known as “gnostics.” From the Greek
word, ‘gnosis,’ meaning, “knowledge,” we get an anglicized
“gnostics,” that simply means, “those that know.”
The early Gnostics believed that God was not concerned with physical
things, and that they possessed secret information known only
to them. They taught that all material substance was evil and that
people had a divine nature ensnared by the material universe by an
evil spirit. They equated that evil spirit, called the demiurge,
with the God of the Old Testament.
Paul, John, and the other writers of the epistles continually confronted
the gnostic heretics, who claimed to be in the know. Those writers
vehemently defended the true faith against gnostic counterfeit
religious doctrine. Can we seriously think for a moment that Satan
has let down his attack on the Truth? Do we honestly believe that
we do not face this same evil tactics today – and that the Church
can rest easy because it is not under assault by a new Gnosticism?
The answer is, we are every bit as much in peril as the Church of
God was all down through the ages. Gnosticism is alive and
flourishing right now!
Let me be very simplistic for a moment. Let’s ask some straightforward
questions. Do you believe that you are straight with God because
you keep the Sabbath and do not eat pork chops? Do you suppose that
your salvation is assured because your Pastor General, Presiding
Evangelist, or Prophet would not let you down? Do you think that
your doctrine, your calendar, or your congregation is better than
all the others? Do you believe that the knowledge you possess
will bring you to salvation? If your answer to any of these
questions is “Yes,” then you might be a new-gnostic, or
neo-gnostic. Why?
Because, salvation is by God’s grace. It is not enough to confess
the person of Jesus Christ or accept the historical Jesus; we must
believe, profess, and live
the precepts, doctrines and principles of
Christ. “Neither is there salvation in any other [except Jesus
Christ of Nazareth]: for there is none other name under heaven given
among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:10, 12)
The major heresy
confronting the apostles in the first century Church of
God was Gnosticism. Paul, John, Peter, and the other writers of the
epistles continually confronted the gnostic heretics, who claimed to
be in the know. The heresy of Gnosticism was rampant in the early
Church of God.
Let me be perfectly clear – nothing about Gnosticism is rooted in the Bible
– it is of entirely
Pagan origin – which as you know is a clever
counterfeit of God’s Truth. "Sanctify them through thy truth:
thy word is truth." (John 17:17) God's Word
is what the true Church always goes by.
Gnostics routinely infiltrated the early true church. Gnosticism
was the antithesis of Christianity – it was the exact opposite of
the Christian way of life. God is displeased when men mix the true
worship of Him with pagan adoration. Gnostics believed that they
possessed superior knowledge – even secret knowledge by which they
could save their souls.
The early Gnostics believed that God was not concerned with physical or
material
things. One of the main objectives of the apostle, John’s
writings was to combat
Gnosticism. John fought Gnosticism because
it ethically and morally destroyed character and ruined lives.
Gnosticism is heresy – heresy against the Truth of God. Gnosticism
wars against the true principles which
Jesus Christ taught.
Gnostics would share with Protestants, a rejection of the Law of Moses and
the notion that the God of the Old Testament was harsh – and even
evil. Up until this day, Gnostic ideas continue to influence the
philosophies of
worldly religions. There are clear traces of
Gnostic
teachings in contemporary Catholicism,
and Protestantism.
Other religions, like the
Mormons (...Latter Day Saints)
utilize
angelic intervention and emphasize the necessity of
dead
ancestors in their belief systems.
Gnosticism sought to attain to the highest
and brightest
enlightenment through a program of salvation – by a kind of
progressive illumination. They saw the cosmos as
different levels or degrees of brightness of a series of
emanations, or planetary planes. The highest level was a
heaven, while the very lowest degree of
light or knowledge was the
earth. The different levels were degrees of brightness – degrees of
knowledge – or emanations of light. They believed that knowledge
increased as one progressed upward, while the lower one descended,
the
greater the darkness. Humans were thought to
be divine souls trapped in a dark
material world created by an
imperfect god, the demiurge.
The Gnostics
had a superior entity,
their godhead,
or the “One,”
at the tip-top emanation. Next, the
angels, (actually demons) whom they
worshipped,
were
a little lower down. Below that, they
placed
various classes of men,
as one descended downward.
Gnosticism taught that by a process of emanations or a fall from a
higher state, man's spirit had become trapped in the
physical
world. The very lowest emanation was
the demiurge,
an inferior creator deity which was the
embodiment of evil,
who
created the physical universe as a place of restraint for the lives
of men, divine souls trapped in a material world. The
esoteric
knowledge,
which the Gnostics believed themselves to possess,
enabled the spiritual elements of humanity to regain their true
origins within the superior godhead, being thus permitted to escape
materialism.
The Gnostics attributed to the demiurge the creative actions
of
Yahweh. Gnostic heresy, then,
is the antithesis of the
true
Creator God who is Jesus Christ,
the God of the Old
Testament as clearly
seen in 1Corinthians 10: "Moreover,
brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our
fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And
were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in
the sea;
And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
And did all drink
the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that
followed them: and that Rock was Christ."
(1Corinthians 10:1-4)
The Gnostics identified their evil creator, called the demiurge, with
the God of the Old Testament. They
taught that all material substance was evil and that people had a
divine nature ensnared by the material universe by an evil spirit.
Notice again how Peter refuted the wisdom of the
Gnostics in 2Peter 2:1-3:
"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as
there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in
damnable heresies, [speaking of Gnosticism]
even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves
swift destruction."
Does this problem exist in today’s
church? Why do so many of our brethren think that they have is so
easy and so good in the Church today?
Where are the damnable heresies –
today???
Peter continues: "And many shall follow their pernicious ways
[The King James Version center reference margin has “lascivious
ways” – that is, lustful sexual
sin ]; by reason of whom
the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness
shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you." [That
is, exploit you and seduce you, as John said.] A lot of people
fell into that trap because the Gnostics were out recruiting
converts to Gnosticism. Brethren, what we need to realize is that
dangers to the Christian community prevail today.
Gnostics taught that there were differing parts of a man's nature or
class of men. That was a very divisive damnable heresy (quoting
Peter)
because it said that for some men there was no hope of
salvation, while others were
able to develop into higher emanations
or planes. Those Gnostic classifications were as follows:
There were the Soma, the Psuche, and the Pneuma.
The Soma, referred to
the carnal man,
the body, the
fleshly, animalistic, and classed at the very
lowest emanation – and
he was considered evil and contemptible, with no hope of salvation.
They were sometimes referred to as
Ulikoi (material), Somatics,
or,
called by a few,
Sarxikoi.
The Psuche, was a lower men, a lot like the animals,
but possessing a spirit, life energy,
or soul which could advance to
a higher emanation. They were sometimes referred to as the Psychics
or
Pseuchikoi.
The Pneuma were the elect, akin to God,
the
enlightened, and considered good. He was the spirit that attained
to the highest emanation of all. They were sometimes referred to as
the Pneumatikoi. The Gnostics claimed to be of the class of the
Pneumatikoi.
The Gnostics
believe that one is saved through attaining the
mysterious
esoteric knowledge they alone possessed as the chosen ones. The
Pseuchikoi were like
second class citizens who lacked the true
knowledge of the higher
Pneumatikoi. But, the Pseuchikoi could be
saved in spite of their ignorance of the true knowledge that the
Pneumatikoi supposedly had. The
soma, however,
had no hope of
salvation whatsoever for they were created by the demiurge – a
capricious god, without the
possibility of salvation under any
circumstances.
Brethren, I hope that you can see how divisive that religion was.
If men were thought to be that different – how could there be any
fellowship or unity
of the brethren. John wrote in
1John 2:26 "These things have I written unto you concerning
them that seduce you." [The Gnostics seduced
God’s people into their vain philosophy – and that seduction could
be very tempting] Those Gnostics mingled with the converted
brethren as though they were members of the congregations. Some
of the Gnostics were pagan Jews.
Over
and over, John confronted Gnosticism by admonishing the brethren to
love one another. That was the test of true Christianity, and a
requirement for
even salvation. John wrote in 1John 3:14: "We
know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the
brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death."
It is
obvious that Gnosticism took a significant toll on the membership of
the early Church of God, and it is also clear that Jude is
admonishing the brethren, who should have been holding dearly to the
teachings of Christ, to get back to the original faith. That
is why Jude wrote: "... contend for the faith which was
once delivered unto the saints." This applies to the
Church of God today! Early Christians had also lost the knowledge and
the practice of the true faith they once held and cherished. How
could they have lost it?
The
main attack of Gnostics was against Jesus Christ, the son of
man. (Jesus refers to himself as the son of man some 80
times in the Gospels.) The Gnostics attacks were against His
person, because, as they claimed, He was evil flesh – the demiurge –
the creator of the evil world. They went against the Biblically
revealed
truth of Jesus Christ
as God in the flesh – "Emmanuel,"
which being interpreted is, God with us (Matthew
1:23).
The
issue here was the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ. The
Gnostics could not handle the Truth. Since they taught
that flesh
was
evil, they reasoned that
Jesus never really came in the flesh at
all – that He only seemed to be in the flesh – and their
theory started to get really convoluted. When they came into contact
with the teaching about Jesus Christ being God in the flesh,
Gnostics could only reason that He was just an apparition. Since
Gnostics considered the material universe to be evil, they rejected
outright, the idea that God would manifest Himself in a fleshly
body.
For Gnostics the world was altogether evil, and so its creator Yahweh
and his religion must be absolutely evil as well. Gnosticism
twisted the words of the New Testament into a false
spiritual
teaching that liberated man from material existence – giving
man
freedom to sin.
The Gnostics denied Christ’s Messiahship. John identified the Gnostics
as liars in 1John 2:22: "Who is a liar but he that denies that
Jesus is the Messiah? He is antichrist, that denies the Father and
the Son." The Gnostics denied the incarnation of Jesus, and
that God was Jesus’ Father
as being utterly ridiculous.
There was
no way, in their minds, that God would come in the flesh.
In order to refute the clear Scriptural evidence of Jesus being born in
the flesh of the virgin, Mary, Gnostics came up with their false
doctrine of “docetism.”
They taught that Jesus
only “seemed” to come in the flesh – but He was
really a phantom,
ghost or spirit. Docetism is called by some,
"Seemism." Docetism teaches that Jesus and the Christ can’t
possibly be same person – the fleshly one died on a cross – while
the spiritual one looked on.
In exposing the false teachers of Gnosticism, John wrote to the
saints: "That which was from the beginning, which we have
heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon,
and our hands have handled, [you cannot touch a phantom]
of
the Word of life... This then is the message which we have heard of
him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and
in him is no darkness at all...
But if we walk in
the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with
another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all
sin."
(1John 1:1, 5, 7)
"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they
are of God: because many false prophets are gone
out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit
that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh
is of God: And every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is
come in the flesh is not of God: [ If it’s not of God – it is
of Satan the devil. ] and this is that spirit of antichrist,
whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is
it in the world." (1John 4:1-3)
There were two forms or approaches of the Gnostics:
They denied the flesh with
fasting in order to give the soul or spirit a
chance to go to heaven. They practiced self-denial as a form of
worship. They did
penance, crawled distances on their knees, and
even practiced self-flagellation. Asceticism made them feel
spiritually superior to everyone else. They were the wise ones in
their own eyes. They thought they had supernatural knowledge and
could look down on other's lack of spirituality. Paul
said in 1Corinthians 1:26 "…not many wise men after the flesh,
not many mighty, not many noble, are called." The Gnostics
appealed to the high I.Q., and to the vanity.
From their misdirected standpoint, the Gnostics did not
suppose that they
were trying to destroy the Church of God or the true Faith. They
believed they had a higher knowledge than the apostles. They wanted
to cleanse the Church of the "dead-wood," and make Christianity
an
intellectually respectable philosophy. Some of their favorite catch
phrases were: "Being born of God." "Walking in the light."
"Dwelling with God." "Knowing God." And, "Having no sin." That is
why we find John refuting the Gnostics like in 1John 1:8: "If
we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us."
Speaking of some of the brethren, Paul wrote in Colossians: "That
their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and
unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the
acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the
Father, and of Christ;
In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge... [Not the mysterious knowledge of the
Gnostics.] (2:2-3)
"Let no man [Gnostic]
beguile you of your reward in a
voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, [actually demons]
intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly
puffed up by his fleshly mind...,
[not
spiritual] Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ [in the
baptism covenant] from the rudiments
[material elements]
of the world, why, as though living in the world, are
ye subject to ordinances, [not God’s ordinances, but Gnostic
decrees of denying the flesh – such as]
Touch not; taste not;
handle not;
Which all are to perish [cease to exist any more]
with the using; after the commandments and doctrines of
men? Which things have indeed a shew of [they pass for]
wisdom in will worship, [of demons] and [depravation]
humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour
to the satisfying of the flesh. [there is the ascetic
discipline] (Colossians 2:18, 20-23)
There
were probably a thousand versions of Gnosticism – just like there
are endless versions of Protestantism. Like the Catholic Church of
today, Gnosticism also relied heavily on the theory of
progressive revelation, meaning they took license
to
reinterpret
the
Scriptures and Law of God. Paganism loves
innovation and adaptation. Paul warned Timothy about the Gnostics
methods
in 1Timothy 1:4: "Neither give heed to fables
[myths / mythology] and endless genealogies, which minister
questions [endless speculation], rather than Godly edifying
[edification] which is in faith: so do.
[in other words –
spend your efforts encouraging others in a Godly fashion]
The second form of Gnosticism:
2.
Antinomianism (Also known as: Libertine
Gnostics)
Gnostics
rejected God as the Lawgiver. They rejected the Law of
Moses – in effect teaching that
the Law was done away with. This
produced lives of Lawlessness, Lasciviousness, and Licentiousness.
Lasciviousness is
lewd carnality, eroticism, morbid sexual desire,
and lustful behavior. Licentiousness is the lack of moral
restraint. Gnostics claim to be, knowing… Notice what Jesus says in
Matthew 7:23: "I will profess unto them, I never knew you:
[play on words there] depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
[Gr. anomia – lawlessness]
You might ask, "How in the world could anybody think that
the
licentiousness lacking of moral restraint, could, in any way, be
a form of Godly worship? They believed that the more God had to
forgive you of – the greater it made God – because forgiveness is to
the glory of God. Paul addresses that exact question in Romans
5:20-6:1 "Moreover the law entered, that the offence might
abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
[Where there was a lot of sin to be forgiven – God came through
abundantly with His free unmerited pardon and forgiveness – grace
did much more abound.]
That as sin hath reigned unto death, even
so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by
Jesus Christ our Lord.
What shall we say then? Shall we
continue in sin, that grace may abound?" [See, that’s
what the Gnostics taught, and the
answer is an unequivocal, No!]
That was one of the more destructive tenets of Gnosticism in that
it
prevented the development of Godly character. Not only does
the
practice of
more sin not produce more grace, nor give glory to
God, it brings about the ruin of the sinning individual. “Beware
of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but
inwardly they are ravening wolves.” (Matthew 7:15)
The Gnostics did not discern the Lord's Body, the brethren of
the
Church. They were elitists, who set themselves above others
because of their supposed intellectual superiority. It is a carnal
proclivity to compare one's self to others. That causes two
separate dis-unified classes of men.
This is prevalent in the Church
of God
today. There exists a two tiered systems – no doubt about it
– and God hates it – God is not a respecter of persons.
Sometimes the division is between the "higher-up" ministry, and the
"lowly" brethren.
What John did, was to write an exposé for the Church. Gnosticism was
rampant in the early Church of God – there was, in
effect,
a plot by
Satan to destroy the Truth. Protestantism and Catholicism do not
follow the precepts of Biblical Christianity. The entire western
world considers Catholics and Protestants to be Christian faiths,
but they are not. Why aren’t they? Because, Protestantism and
Catholicism follow the thinking of
the Gnostics who do not adhere to
the teachings of Jesus Christ. They
are remnants of Gnostic belief systems that incorporated syncretism
– the melding of
distinctly different doctrines, mythologies,
traditions, and theologies to form a hybrid religion.
It is not so important that we know all the ins and outs of first century
Gnosticism – it is just that we recognize that the true Church of
God was under attack and bombardment from those seemingly religious
people who claimed to have a deeper knowledge and the right
connections to obtain salvation. At about 50 AD, Paul described how
the Gnostic believers left the true Faith:
"Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ,
and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)
And all the
brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:
Grace be
to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus
Christ,
Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from
this present evil world, according to the will of God and our
Father:
To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
"I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him that
called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
Which
is not another; [The Greek is clear - it is a
different gospel from the gospel of
Jesus] but
there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of
Christ.
But though we, or an angel [The
Gnostics claimed that angels gave them knowledge] from heaven,
preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached
unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now
again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you
than that ye have received, let him be accursed." (Galatians
1:1-9)
The Church of God is just as capable of being foolish today as the first
century church was is the days of the apostles. Satan is just as
subtle today as he has ever been. What makes us think that we are
impervious to Satan’s ways? The Church of God is in danger and has
always been in danger of substituting false understanding for the
truth of the Bible.
Why do men universally think that what they know and believe in beyond
question – and that it is all other men who are deceived? The
answer is given in Revelation 12:9 – it is because men are deceived
without
God's Spirit: "The great dragon was cast out, that old
serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the
whole world." Yes, Satan is deceiving the entire world –
but what makes us believe that we can’t be deceived – we, too,
must
be careful.
The Gnostics had a very elaborate, complicated, highly
defined salvational process that was beyond the scope of mere men.
Paul explained, "I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent
beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted
from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he
that comes preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if
ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another
gospel, which ye have not accepted..." (2Corinthians 11:3-4)
The New Gnosticism or Neo-Gnosticism is in the Church
of God today. In the Church of God today, there are those who treat
our faith with a blatant disregard of deeper things of Jesus
Christ. Paul
said: "God has revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the
Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God."
(1Corinthians 2:10)
Could it be that much of the Church of God is not heeding the obvious
warnings that God is directing to His end-time Church? The purpose
of our Christian faith is to guide us into changing our lives for
the better – to become like Jesus Christ – with His character – to
put on Christ, (Romans 13:14, Galatians 3:27), and to become fully like God –
in the family of God.
We
face the same spiritual threats that endangered the first century
Church. The early Christians lost their faith the same way that so
many are letting down today, and by not striving for the high
standards that our faith demands of us. Too many brethren are only
warming a seat at church and going through the motions. Have we
become a church that follows our own Talmud of simplistic do's and
don'ts that miss the mark of true Christianity?
True,
our brethren
do not hunt Easter eggs on Easter, or give
Christmas presents at Christmas time. But
they think that when they do not hunt Easter eggs – that was the
main thing – an end in itself! That is not the goal. The reason we
don’t hunt Easter eggs and give Christmas presents is because
of what that false religious system stands for. Not doing those
things, does not make us good Christians.
Our faith must be leading us to be a better person, with a better life
at home and at work. Our faith must be leading us to have a better
relationship with God. "The goal of the commandment is charity out
of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned."
(1Timothy 1:5) Easter eggs and Christmas presents are symbolic of a
much deeper spiritual problem – the
false religious system is rooted
in the philosophy of the Gnostics. We do not want to be like them
because the beliefs and practices of the Gnostics lead to all the
destruction and misery through licentious practices of sin, and
disobedience to God in general.
The ideology of the Gnostics is responsible for the
world of hurt
and
human wretchedness that comes from that sin – in the form
divorce,
hate, greed, selfishness
– those things that break the human spirit
– bringing the insanity
that afflicts all of mankind. And, most
important, the philosophy of the Gnostics engenders disrespect for
the true Jesus Christ who came to this earth that we might have
life, and that we might have it more abundantly.
Knowing – is not enough. Yes, we know more of
God's Truth than anyone in history. The "knowledge of
the mystery of Christ,
Which in other ages was not made
known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy
apostles and prophets by the Spirit." (Ephesians 3:5) Even
though we have more true knowledge of God, we must remember:
“For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required."
(Luke 12:48) Like the Gnostics of the past, do we think that the
knowledge we possess will bring us to salvation?
Our Christian beliefs, of forgiveness, faith, mercy, perseverance,
justice, love of one another,
repentance, reconciliation –
must be lived. The evidence of true religion is that
through God’s direction and correction in mercy and love, it will
touch and purify every area of our
lives – and change us. When we
are really in contact with the one true God, change will take place
gradually as we grow spiritually. Those Godly influences will
change us to be like Christ – and He will have us serve with Him in
the World Tomorrow.
But,
Christians today, who suppose that their salvation is assured
because they: serve at
pot-lucks, sing in the choir, calculate the
calendar, interpret prophecy, warm a seat on the Sabbath, and
do not
eat pork chops, are not fully exercising the Spirit of God in those
actions. Those things alone will not change anyone to be like Jesus
Christ.
For those brethren who these things represent the extent of their faith,
they are the five sleeping virgins of Matthew 25 who lacked oil
[God’s Spirit] for their lamps. Why does God call them foolish
virgins? It is because they foolishly believed that they had it
made. They were not doing what it took to have a Christian
relationship with their Creator God. They assumed that they could
get ready at the last possible moment, or that they were already
prepared.
“And while they went to buy [oil], the Bridegroom came; and
they that were ready went in with Him to the marriage: and the door
was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord,
Lord, open to us. But He answered and said, Truly I say unto you,
I know you not.” (Matthew 25:10-12)
How could Jesus say to the five foolish virgins, “I know you not?” The
answer is that they took for granted that they were just as entitled
and prepared to marry the Bridegroom as the five wise virgins who
were truly spiritual – but they were not.
A consistent tool of Satan
through the ages is deception. He causes ineligible people to
believe that they also have the key to salvation.
In fact, Satan causes many to believe that their group is uniquely
qualified to be the bride, to the exclusion of all others. There
have always been “foolish virgins” who thought they were in
the know. Can we seriously think
that, today,
Satan has
let down his attack on the Truth?
Do we honestly believe that we do not face this same evil tactics today –
and that the Church can rest easy because it is not under assault by
a new Gnosticism? The answer is, we are every bit as much in peril
as the Church of God was all down through the ages. Gnosticism is
alive and flourishing right now!
We do not gain salvation by
the things we know. It is not enough to
confess the person of Jesus Christ or accept the historical Jesus;
we must believe, profess, and live the precepts,
doctrines and principles of Christ. Speaking of the Gnostics, John
wrote:
"He that saith, I know [gnosis] him, and
keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in
him." (1John 2:4)
Brethren, let us not fall into the same trap that has plagued
mankind for so long. The True Knowledge of God comes only from the
Bible. Do not add or take away from those words (Revelation
22:18). "Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the
knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
According
as his divine power hath given unto us all things that
pertain unto life and Godliness, through the
knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue." (2Peter 1:2-3)
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Sermon: |
"New Gnosticism"
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