Dear On-Fire Christian...

Dear On-Fire Christian(/legalist):

First of all, I have to say that as infuriating a conversation with you can be at times, I really do love you. And I understand where you're coming from because that is where I have come from. Maybe that's why your words are so frustrating to me, I remember so clearly not so long ago living the 'life' you're living, speaking the same words to people, feeling the self-righteous rush of satisfaction when I thought I'd pleased God with my 'ministry'. I remember how good it felt to have said the right thing at the right time to someone who obviously needed my help to do better or be better, to get their life in order. What a high you can get from giving someone the answer to all their problems, the exact prescription they need, what they need to do to get what they want in life, to get closer to God, to become more holy and righteous and respectable in the church. Yes, I remember...

So thank-you for your good intentions, I appreciate your sincere concern and care. But you needn't waste your time worrying about me! I admit I don't go to church right now, I even admit that I don't want to go to any church I know of. I admit that church is either mind numbingly boring or alternately infuriating to me and I avoid going like the plague. I say 'church' with your idea of church in mind; the so-called organized church of any and all shapes, sizes, denominations,systems, theological slants, or various creative versions of it. And I don't think less of anyone who is part of that church, if you enjoy it then more power to you! I'm glad you can, and part of me wishes I could too...I'm sad that for me the 'meeting together' happens less often and regularly at my house or someone else's, on the phone or online...

It's a little lonely sometimes, and sometimes I dream of packing up and moving far away to live closer to people who know what we're talking about when we say 'gospel' or 'grace' ! But we belong here, here with the chickens and ducks, rabbits and cats, one dog and four children...and no grace church. But as lonely as ever I get, I can't come to your church and sit by while everyone is slowly crushed to death by the weight of the law, either by a little law or much more. Don't tell me all proud of yourself and your church that you only mix in a little bit, that really won't impress me. I'd rather you went the whole way and preached the entire Old Covenant and left Jesus completely out of it, you're tarnishing his Good Name, the name I love. So if you think you can guilt me or in some way manipulate me to go to church, yours or somewhere else, I think you might sooner convince me of my need to go to synagogue. Honestly I stay away from your church out of respect, I know I won't fit in there. I know I might get up some day in the middle of your service and scream because I can't take anymore of that bull dung (I forego using the appropriate word out of respect for you). See? Now you made me cry. I can't stop thinking about all the words you spoke to me, words of condemnation though you don't even know enough to see it. Condemnation is second nature to you in your spiritual world. You are the serious christian, and now, thank God, I am not. I'm just a beloved son of God with whom he is well pleased.

And I don't spend even a second of my days anymore worrying about the right or wrong of what I'm doing. I'm not busy trying to get close to him, to try and figure out his will about what I should be doing. I'm not anxiously trying to please him and there are no special conditions I need in order to worship him or experience his presence. So please forgive me if I politely ignore your advice to seek his face, to pray and ask him to show me his will, as though you already know exactly what his will for me is and what I should be doing. In fact, if you're right, why do I need to pray? You already graciously told me exactly what his will for me is, and if I don't do it then you can continue to graciously pity me because I must be miserable in my rebellious disobedience to your christian rules and regulations.

I don't mind you pitying me, really I don't. I am happier and freer than I've ever been in my life. I don't want to kill myself or divorce my husband, and attribute this largely to have gotten out of the horrible guilt system that we call the church. I am part of a happy church now, one that will hopefully materialize here physically some day soon...which is, after all, why we moved here in the first place. But it's hard to be in such a hurry when I'm resting in God, knowing that his timing is good and perfect. I'm sorry that it freaks you out to see me so calm and peaceful when you think I should be striving and working. How can I even tell you that I'm happy in God and he in me? You have no category for such a statement, you wouldn't even know what I'm talking about, it would just worry you more that I'm so casual about 'sin' and 'righteousness'. But you miss the passion I have for the gospel! Passion and burning joy in the truth that we have already been given everything need for life and godliness in Jesus! I lack nothing. I am excited to grow and learn more in grace, to receive more and more glorious revelation of what I've received, but I LACK NOTHING!

So though I love you very much on-fire christian, I will not join you in YOUR lack. I am not judging you, you have admitted your lack with your many different words and arguments and I can see that you want me to join you in your lack and your striving to be filled by God. You will never find what you seek as long as you are operating by old covenant strategies. There is only one way to have God and his loving blessing on your life and that is only faith in Jesus, not ever ever ever ANYTHING you may do. Not prayer, not fasting, not worship, not obedience of any sort...and conversely, not praying, not fasting, not worshipping, not obeying can never remove the loving blessing of God on your life once you have received him by faith.

But I too would love to talk more. I would love to talk about the gospel next time we talk, to revel in the goodness of God's love for both of us, instead of worrying about the knowledge of good and evil, trying to figure out right and wrong. Has that ever helped anyone do better or meet God's perfect standard of righteousness? I have probably heard thousands of such sermons and teaching over my lifetime and can tell you it never did me any good. I spent my days up and down between self-righteous triumph and suicidal self-hatred according to my perception of how well I obeyed the church's (God's?) law for me. Ironically I am still respected as a very godly person in many of my past circles because I was such a legalist! I hope that God uses my past legalism to give me some credibility when I meet these people and with you now that I am able to share the good news!

Sorry for my long long rant, and I apologize for rolling my eyes so much as we talked on the phone, I hope I will remember not to do that if you ever come over and talk in person...

Sincerly,
Jul

The Ten Commandments and the New Covenant Believer...

Exodus 20


And God spoke all these words, saying,
"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

"You shall have no other gods before me.

"You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

"You shall not murder.

"You shall not commit adultery.

"You shall not steal.

"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

"You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s."

Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die." Moses said to the people, "Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin." The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.

2 Corinthians 3

Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.

Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Now for those who claim that the Holy Spirit was given to help us obey the Law, to empower us to keep the Old Covenant, they must be crazy. It is so clear that the ministry of the Spirit is something separate and completely different from the Old Covenant, perhaps that's why God chose to call this the NEW Covenant. It is a whole new system, built on different and better promises, in that these promises depend on Christ's work and not on our obedience to any commands or standards. It is such an all-encompassing and vastly superior system that the old crumbles away to nothing as the temporary prop it was meant to be. You see, Jesus disarmed evil, that is, Satan and his principalities, by cancelling the written code that stood opposed to us. When our record of debt was cancelled on the cross, God no longer opposed us because our sin was completely removed.

If you try to incorporate any part of the old system, the law, that is the knowledge of good (morality), you will be blind to the truth of who Jesus really is and what he has done. You will nullify faith, because the law is not of faith. The Law KILLS faith,and faith, my friend, is your only hope. No amount of earnestness or zeal or striving will help you draw any nearer to our God who is perfect and holy, not able to bear any amount of sin in his presence. And no amount of fear or grovelling on your part will change that, only simple trust in the loving kindness of Jesus whose sacrifice has been examined and accepted by the Father. So if you will not accept the sacrifice God has called perfect, there is no hope for you. If you truly accept the sacrifice, you will not feel the need to add anything AT ALL to it yourself. You will not feel compelled to pay him back by your love or gratitude, by your songs of worship, by making hard choices, by tithing or going to church, by being in relationships with people you don't like, to clean your house or submit to your husband or love your wife, etc,etc,etc...

So what will be your motivation to live righteously and shun sin? You won't need motivation to behave yourself anymore! Because you will be free.

Grace, Not Your Safety Net!

Well, I guess I haven't written anything for a long time. Don't worry, I'm just pregnant. I've been wasting a lot of time trying to find worship music that is not depressing/legalistic and have not come up with much. How sad! According to the Christian music industry, I guess grace is that thing that kicks in every time you fail to obey the law. Grace is just a safety net for those times you fall down and mess up, it's your 'get of jail free' card for every time you happen to sin. It picks you up and dusts you off and sets you back up to try harder next time.

What a bunch of lies. What else can I say? The truth is we live only in grace, to go back to the law is to fall from grace. We must choose between law and grace, not choose law thinking that grace is our back-up plan. If you choose law, then don't expect to find grace when you fail, expect to find judgement, condemnation, and shame. Until you finally give up that is...grace is always waiting for you to turn your back on the law and find life in Jesus.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law (Tithing)

Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law



What makes our faith great is not how strong our faith is, but what we believe. What we believe is very important, for the power that drives our lives derives from what we believe. What we believe is a direct result of what we hear. I believe that correct doctrine is of utmost importance in having a stable relationship with God. Stability in our emotions can only be attained from stability in what we hear. Let’s have a look at a scripture that explains this truth.

Pro 4:20 My son, attend to my words; incline your ear unto my word.

Pro 4:21 Let them not depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart.

Pro 4:22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

Pro 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the power of life.

Pro 4:24 Put away from thee a forward (twisted) mouth, and perverse (deviating) lips put far from thee.



Let us see this as God speaking to us from a New Testament perspective. He states that we should incline our ears to HIS Word and stick to it without deviation. He also states that the power of life manifested in our lives is from the heart. I think it’s important to define the “heart of man” at this point. The heart of man is the belief system established in man, from where he functions. The belief system of man is powerfully influenced by what we hear and see. As believers we put a high regard on what is preached from the pulpit and what we read in the Bible. If what we hear from the pulpit is twisted and deviating from the basics of the Gospel (which I will explain) it will influence our hearts in a bad way and it will cause us to be driven by deadly and destructive emotions.

The basics of the Gospel: Jesus and what He has done on behalf of man, as the foundation of everything in our lives.

One of the most powerful deviations that I've seen in modern day churches, especially in Pentecostal and Charismatic circles, is robbing many people from the peace that Jesus came to give us, and is manifesting its deadly nature to the disadvantage of many..

We need to understand that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. He is the substance of every type and shadow that is in the Old Covenant.

1. Col 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days:

Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.



2. Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.

Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one title shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.



Let’s have a look at how Jesus was the tithe and brought a blessing to all of man by what He did. For many years we have tried to apply the tithe principle outside the fact that it is also merely a type and a shadow of the true substance - which is the manifestation of Jesus and what He has done for and on behalf of us all.

I have found revelation in the type and shadow of the tithe.

MSG Translation



Deu 14:23 Bring your tithe into the Presence of GOD, your God, at the place he designates for worship and there eat the tithe from your grain, wine, and oil and the firstborn from your herds and flocks. In this way you will learn to live in deep reverence before GOD, your God, as long as you live.

Deu 14:24 But if the place GOD, your God, designates for worship is too far away and you can't carry your tithe that far, GOD, your God, will still bless you:

Deu 14:25 exchange your tithe for money and take the money to the place GOD, your God, has chosen to be worshiped.

Deu 14:26 Use the money to buy anything you want: cattle, sheep, wine, or beer--anything that looks good to you. You and your family can then feast in the Presence of GOD, your God, and have a good time.



KJV Translation



Deu 14:26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,



We can see that the tithe was taken to the place of worship and then eaten by the person that brought it. It was not consumed by the priests, the tithe was eaten, a significant point. Remember, the person who tithed could not do with the tithe as he wished – he had to EAT it. Should he not use the tithe as commanded, it would be a sin, for he would be messing up the truth it represented.

Mal 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

Mal 3:3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

Mal 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be MEAT in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.



Mal 3:10 Bring935 ye (853) all3605 the tithes4643 into413 the storehouse,1004, 214 that there may be1961 meat2964 in mine



The Word “ye”

את

'e^th

Brown-Driver-Briggs HebrewDefinition:

1) sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative



This wonderful word is a sign of the definite direct object, which in the case of Mal 3:10 is the tithe. So this word directly refers to the tithe which is the object in this sentence.

According to BDB it is not suppose to be translated into English for there is no English word for this. Even in the Hebrew and Greek there is no definition for this word. This word is a sign consisting of two Hebrew characters א (the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet) and ת (The last letter of the Hebrew alphabet). This is awesome when we see it in the Greek, for there it is translated as the alpha and the omega. We know that scripture clearly states that Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega.

If we translate Mal 3:10 into this truth it should read as follows “Bring Jesus Christ, (who is) the tithe, into the storehouse that there might be meat in my house...”.

When we read Mal. three from verse one to ten we see that he is speaking prophetically about the restoration of priesthood in order that the curse that they were under should be removed from them. What God was concerned about is that there will be meat in His house so that His people can eat and be delivered from the curse pronounced in verse nine. The only thing that manifests a curse is the LAW. It is clearly stated in Gal 3:10 and 13 that any person who is under the LAW is cursed.

Gal 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:



In verse thirteen we see how the curse is removed: by the death of Jesus. In Mal it states that it is removed by the tithe. By this we can conclude that Jesus is the tithe that brought meat into the house of God, and as people partake of it the curse is broken for His body is the meat we need to eat. When God was talking about the tithe that will come to the storehouse he wanted his people to eat it. Jesus is our lamb, He is our offering and He is our tithe, to be eaten before God.

HIS FLESH IS MEAT INDEED

Joh 6:54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Joh 6:55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

Joh 6:56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

Joh 6:57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.



Jesus is the perfection of tithing. To think that we need to give ten percent of our money to a church so that God will bless us is just as ignorant as thinking that by circumcision we will become part of God’s people and be saved.



IN CONCLUSION

Let’s look at our tithe and eat His flesh and drink His blood for in doing so we are fulfilling the Law. The truth of the LAW is that it points to Jesus, and as we believe on Him we are partaking of Him i, without there being any accusation against us. Never again do we have to think that we come short in any area of life, especially when it comes to money. When we believe in Jesus, all is done concerning our redemption from the curse and we don’t have to add a thing.

I have seen that not even God brings any accusation against His people, but many are willing to condemn the priceless CHURCH OF GOD when it comes to giving.

WORD FROM GOD: “Be free from the condemnation that is destroying you, it does not come from Me”

Bertie Brits

Access into the NEW LIFE

There is a discovery waiting for each of us that brings us to a powerful new life. It is discovering what Christ has done on our behalf 2000 years ago. Once we grasp that and continue to look into its reality, we find the power of Jesus' obedience, death and resurrection influencing and manifesting in us effortlessly. Let’s put it simply: If we can see Jesus not as an example of what we must do to be saved, but as a man representing us, that brings us to the reality of ourself in Christ. We are new people, truly new by the blood and life of Jesus. This new life is not manifested according to our willpower or efforts to be like Jesus – NO! – it manifests in His resurrection power by us resting our minds in His wonderful work. We have been resurrected into newness of life. Oh, the power we have, to lead an incredible GOD LIFE!!

Eph 1:19 oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him--endless energy, boundless strength!

Eph 1:20 All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven,

Eph 1:21 in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever.



We can have this life, have access into this truth, by simply believing in what He has done. As we hear the truth, it produces the faith we need for it to manifest in our life. IT'S AS EASY AS THAT!!

Bertie Brits