MAX KLEIN BIBLE MINISTRIES
The Seven Baptisms
Written by: Max Klein
Baptism means identification or association:
Introduction:
1. This meaning began in Homer's time. Homer wrote of the one-eyed giant, Cyclops who had trapped Ulysses and his men in a cave and was eating them one at a time. The ingenious Ulysses devised a plan. He had his men sharpen a large log and together they rammed this log into the eye of the one-eyed Cyclops rendering him blind. They identified (baptized) the sharpened log with Cyclops’ eye which changed Cyclops from a seeing giant to a blind giant. Having blinded the Cyclops, they were able to maneuver their way out of the cave. Another example by Homer: Homer's Odyssey, book 9, used baptism for hot metal identified (baptized) with water when a smith dipped a piece of hot iron into water. This is how a blacksmith would temper swords in the ancient world. After this identification, the sword was made stronger and so less likely to bend.
2. Xenophon said that the Spartan military recruits after finishing infantry training would identify (baptize) their spears with pig’s blood. They would run by a barrel of pig’s blood and thrust their spears into this blood. This ritual, identified their spears with killing and the soldier’s readiness for combat with the enemy.
3. Euripides used the word for a ship identified with the bottom of the sea when it sank. Before sinking, the ship was valuable; after sinking it had no value at all.
4. So "baptize" in the classical Greek meant to identify one thing with another so that the characteristics of the original thing were altered. Therefore, the interpretation of the word "baptism" is identification with something that brings about a change.
5. There are a number of cognates related to this Greek word such as bapto, baptizo, baptisma, baptismos, baptistes, and embapto. A few examples follow:
6. John 13:26, “Jesus then answered, ‘That is the one for whom, I shall dip [the future of the Greek word bapto] the morsel and give it to him. So, when he had dipped [the aorist participle of bapto; the sop now takes on a new meaning that of honor] the sop [the morsel], He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.”
To give someone a sop [a special bit of food usually a piece of bread or meat with a tasty sauce] was the highest honor of a banquet. At a banquet a special piece of bread or meat was prepared along with a special sauce for the guest of honor who would then honor someone by giving it to that person. Jesus as the guest of honor took this sop and dipped it into a special sauce and gave it to Judas. In this way, the Lord Jesus Christ honored Judas as a member of the family of God, and for his ministry as an apostle to the Lost Sheep of Israel. This honor should have given Judas second thoughts regarding his plan to betray Jesus to the Sanhedrin.
7. Matthew 3:7, “but when he [John the Baptizer] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism [identification: the Greek word baptisma], he said to them, “You brood of vipers [poisonous snakes], who warned you to flee from the wrath to come [Baptism of Fire: identification with the fire of Torments and then the Lake of Fire]?”
8. Hebrews 6:1-2, “Therefore, leaving behind the elementary teaching about Christ, let us advance to maturity, not laying again the foundation [of the basics such as]: a change of thinking about dead works [just as an unbeliever must have a change of mind about Christ to obtain salvation, so the believer must have a change of mind about legalism (dead works) in order to obtain the spiritual life], and of faith toward God [Faith-Rest Drill], (2) doctrine of baptisms [the Greek word baptismos; a reference to the seven types of baptism as found in Scripture] as well as the laying on of hands [ritual rebound in the age of Israel], and of resurrection from the dead, and of eternal judgment [the Great White Throne Judgment].
9. Matthew 3:1, “In those days John the Baptizer [the Greek word baptistes; when John baptized someone into the Jordan River, the converts were identified with the plan of God and his kingdom.] came proclaiming [as a herald] in the desert of Judea.”
There are two categories of identification in Scripture namely an actual identification or a real baptism and a representative identification or a ritual baptism which uses water.
The four real or actual identifications with something that has significance.
1. The Baptism of Moses: 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 presents the baptism of Moses, "For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; (2) and all were baptized [the Greek word baptizo] into Moses in the cloud [the Lord] and in the sea." This was a real identification in which Moses was identified with the Lord and the open path through the Red Sea and the Jews were identified with Moses. By the way, none of the Jews got wet, only Egyptian unbelievers who were immersed in the water as a means of death.
2. The Baptism of the Cross is found in Matthew 20:22, “But Jesus answered [Salome by addressing her sons] and said, “You [plural: a reference to James and John] do not know what you [James and John] ask. Are you [James and John] able to drink of the cup [bear the punishment of all the sins of the world] that I am about to drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism [the sins of the world identified with Christ followed by the Father judging them] that I am baptized with [identified with]?” They [James and John] said to Him, “We are able. [the dumbest statement that James and John ever made]” [I selected the longer text as did Jerome.]
3. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Retroactive Positional Truth and Current Positional Truth) occurs at salvation for Church Age believers only.
Colossians 2:12. Having been buried [aorist participle] with Him [Jesus Christ] by means of the baptism [God the Holy Spirit identified us with the burial of Jesus Christ as part of our salvation] by means of which [Baptism] you have been raised up [main verb] with Him [in union with Jesus Christ seated at the right hand of the Father] through faith [at the point of salvation] in the operational power from the source of God who has raised Him [the humanity of Christ was given a resurrection body] out from the dead [physical death].
Romans 6:3-9:
Romans 6:3: Or do you not know that all of us who [a correlative] have been baptized into [identified with] Christ Jesus [Current Positional Sanctification: we are in union with Christ in his life in heaven], have been baptized into His death [Retroactive Positional Truth and so identified with his substitutionary spiritual death on the cross]?
Positionally, (in union with Christ) we share His righteousness, heirship, priesthood, destiny, election, eternal life, royalty, sonship etc. All these making us a new spiritual species in Christ Jesus. The plural correlative hosoi (á½…σοι) means that if we were identified with Christ in heaven and we were, then also we have been identified with Christ in his substitutionary spiritual death in which he removed the power of sin nature. Thus, the sin nature should not have power over our lives.
A few more points will be noted:
1. Note that the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation enters the believer into union with Christ at the right hand of God the Father which union is called current positional truth.
2. This verse also mentions identification with Christ in His spiritual death on the cross which identification theologians call retroactive positional truth. Retroactive positional truth also includes identification with Christ in His physical death and burial as well.
3. Identification with Christ in His death, then, has a two-fold connotation namely all personal sins were judged at the cross and since that is the case, God the Father is free to provide in grace, the Recovery Procedure. The second connotation is that good and evil were rejected by Jesus on the cross since good and evil are a part of Satan’s policy and plan. On the cross, Jesus relied on the proto-type spiritual life which operated under the two power options namely God’s power system.
4. So, the old sin nature’s ruling power over the Christian has been broken since all sins were judged on the cross and the Recovery Procedure has been provided. So, Retroactive Positional Truth has destroyed the sovereignty of the old sin nature over the life of the Christian.
5. Also, since Jesus rejected the good and evil policy of Satan so should the believer reject Satan’s policy of good and evil as the believer applies Retroactive Positional Truth.
Romans 6:4: Therefore, we have been buried together with Him through the identification [Baptism of the Spirit] into His death [physical], in order that just as Christ has been raised up from the dead [on Resurrection Sunday], through the glory of the Father [through the Father’s power], [So also we, the dead in Christ, will be raised from the dead by the power of the Father, and those alive at the Rapture, by the power of the Holy Spirit.] in this manner we also might walk in newness of life [Experiential sanctification should reflect our future ultimate sanctification.].
Christ had to die physically “and Jesus having shouted clearly with a loud voice said, Father, into your hands I deposit my [human] spirit, and having said this, he exhaled” (Luke 23:46). This last exhale caused His soul and spirit to depart from his mortal body resulting in physical death. Just as Christ had to die physically in order to obtain his resurrection body, so we must depart from our body of corruption, or mortality in order to receive our eternal body called our resurrection body.
The Newness of Life:
1. The newness of life provided through the baptism of the Spirit includes positional freedom from producing good and evil. Not only are we free from the tyranny of good and evil but we are also free from having to produce good and evil.
2. The believer has no obligation to improve the devil’s world through social action, socialism, welfare state, communism, environmentalism, or any social gospel, social action, getting involved, etc.
3. The human race is protected from Satan’s policy of good and evil through the laws of divine establishment which promote freedom instead of improvement at the cost of freedom.
4. In addition to the Laws of Divine Establishment the believer is insulated from good and evil positionally through the baptism of the Spirit.
5. Divorced from the Old Sin Nature positionally and its useless activity of human good and the function of evil, the life of the believer can be devoted to glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ through maximum knowledge and application of Bible doctrine.
Romans 6:5: For if we have become united with Him [Christ, the new husband] in the likeness of His death [the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross], and we have, and not only this, but also, we shall be [united in the likeness] of His resurrection [Current Positional Truth: in union with the resurrected Christ].
Romans 6:6: Be knowing this [through Retroactive Positional Truth], that our old man [our former husband, the sin nature dates back to the Garden] has been crucified together [with Him], in order that the [human] body, with reference to its sin nature, [the sin nature located in the body] might be rendered powerless [when we use Recovery Procedure and the two power options], that we should no longer be slaves to the sin nature.
“Our old man has been crucified with Him” meaning that the power of the sin nature has been broken on the cross. Since the power of the sin nature was broken by the work of the cross, we as believers have no excuse for not executing the spiritual life. We will not be able to say to Christ at our evaluation that our sin nature was too powerful for us to execute the spiritual life.
A few points for further clarification:
1. Retroactive positional truth is that phase of the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation which identifies the believer with Christ in His spiritual death, physical death and his burial.
2. In the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross all the personal sins in human history were imputed to Christ, but at the same time the other two trends of the old sin nature were not imputed for judgment.
3. Good and evil is the policy of Satan as the ruler of this world and the function of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life. In fact, the sin nature functions as the agent of Satan.
4. Good and evil were not imputed for judgment on the cross. Hence, in the spiritual death of Christ on the cross they were rejected to remain an issue in the angelic conflict, rejected to be perpetuated in human history as an issue every believer must face, and either overcome through the intake of doctrine or be entrapped by ignorance of doctrine and therefore lose out in glorifying God in time.
5. We are identified with Christ in His spiritual death, which means that we must understand that our sins have been judged and that good and evil has been rejected.
6. It all adds up to the fact that the sovereignty of the old sin nature over human life has been made powerless through retroactive positional truth.
7. The imputation of all personal sins of the human race to Christ on the cross means that the believer through the rebound technique is instantly forgiven sins, cleansed from all wrong doing which includes Satanic good and evil, restored to fellowship and filled with the Spirit.
Romans 6:7: For we who have died [the Christian is identified with the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ: theologically called Retroactive Positional Truth] have been acquitted [positional deliverance] from [the power of] the sin nature.
A few points for further clarification:
1. A dead person is discharged from the obligations of his former sphere of life. This is why the word “death” is used in this context. It is not a literal, physical death we are discussing but identification with Christ in His death.
2. As unbelievers we were under the authority of Satan as the ruler of this world, and under the authority of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life.
3. Both the power of Satan and the old sin nature have been abrogated through the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation.
4. This passage, then, emphasizes the annulling of the power and the authority of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life.
5. Positionally, the power of the sin nature has been broken. Experientially, the old sin nature controls to the extent that we fail to understand and utilize the provision and support of logistical grace.
Romans 6:8: Now if we have died with Christ, and we have [retroactive positional truth], we also believe that we shall live in association with Him [the instrumental of association; a reference to Current Positional Truth].
In this verse, the 1st Class conditional sentence shows the relationship between Retroactive Positional Truth with Current Positional Truth. The protasis, the ‘if’ clause states the reality of Retroactive Positional Truth and the apodosis, the concluding clause states the doctrinal inference and the reality of Current Positional Truth. While Retroactive Positional Truth presents positional rejection and separation from good and evil as the policy of Satan and the function of the old sin nature, Current Positional Truth relates the believer to the function of the royal family of God. In other words, they have separate functions.
Romans 6:9: Knowing that because Christ has been raised from the dead [He received a resurrection body], no longer can He die; [physical] death is no longer a master over Him.
Analysis:
1. Retroactive positional truth destroys the sovereign authority of the old sin nature over human life. Current positional truth, on the other hand, destroys the limited authority of physical death in human life.
2. Instead of being ruled by the old sin nature located in the cells of the human body and influencing our souls toward sin, good and evil, we now have a new sovereign, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are identified with Him in His deaths, in His burial, resurrection, ascension and session.
3. Before salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit our lives were under the absolute rule of Satan who is the ruler of this world and under the rule of the old sin nature which is the ruler of life, and under the limited rule of physical death. All of that, of course, has been changed since salvation.
4. Now both retroactive and current positional truth have abrogated the authority and power of these former rulers. The power of Satan over our lives has been broken through identification with the rejection of good and evil namely Satan’s policy and plan and through our position in union with Christ. The power of the old sin nature is broken through retroactive positional truth and the power of physical death is broken through current positional truth.
5. Therefore, having studied these things by principle and by implication we are now ready for application, verses 12 & 13 specifically.
6. Having been positionally liberated from the sovereignty of the old sin nature as an absolute ruler, and the authority of physical death, we must recognise and apply doctrine for the experiential victory commanded in verses 11-13.
Galatians 3:25-28, “But now that faith has come, we are no longer under the authority of [have need of] a school bus. (26) For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (27) For all of you who were baptized into Christ [identified with Christ through union with Him] have clothed yourselves with Christ. (28) There is neither Jew nor Greek [no racial distinction], there is neither slave nor free man [no social or economic distinction], there is neither male nor female [no gender distinction]; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [All Christians have the same privileges and opportunities to execute the spiritual life.]”
Current Positional Truth, Elaborated:
In the Church Age, Current Positional Truth establishes our relationship with Christ as opposed to religion. It refers to the Church Age believer in union with Christ and is the key to understanding the Church Age and how the royal family came into being. Therefore, it is the basis for distinguishing between Christianity and religion. Christianity is a relationship with God without merit whereas religion is a system of works to gain the approbation of God. Never shall the twain meet!
The mechanics of Current Positional Truth is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, whereby the Spirit enters us into union with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:13, “For also by agency of the one Spirit we are all baptized [identification resulting in becoming a new spiritual species] into one body [in union with Christ], whether Jews or Greeks [racial distinctions are removed], whether slave or free [class and economic distinctions are removed], even all were made to drink [the aorist passive, the voice of grace] the one Spirit [The Holy Spirit did not ask us whether we wanted to be put into union with Christ or not.].” Ephesians 4:5, “One Lord [becomes our Lord positionally at Salvation]), one faith [faith alone in Christ alone; Acts 16:31], one baptism [Baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place at salvation].”
Current Positional truth guarantees that there will be no judgment for believers in eternity, Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Thus, the condemnation which occurred at the first birth was removed at the 2nd birth. As a result of being born with the sin nature and the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin, we were condemned to the Lake of Fire for all eternity, but now that has been removed. Romans 5:12, “For this reason just as through one man [Adam] the sin [nature] entered into the world [procreation], and so spiritual death through the sin [the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin to the sin nature], and so spiritual death spread to all mankind, because all sinned when Adam sinned [since we were all genetically in Adam when he sinned, we will receive Adam’s Original Sin].” However, at our spiritual birth, the 2nd birth, our pre-salvation sins were all forgiven including Adam’s Original Sin. After which, the Spirit entered us into union with Christ where there is now no condemnation (Romans 8:1).
Current Positional truth qualifies the believer to live with God forever. To live with God forever, the believer must have eternal life and God’s perfect righteousness, 1 John 5:11-12, “And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life, and this life is in his son [Since we are in union with Christ, we share this life.]. (12) and he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].” 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And He [the Father] made Him who knew no sin [perfection] to be a sin offering [imputation of sins on the cross] as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [current positional truth].” To live with God forever means you must have His life, and you must be as righteous as He is.
Positional truth guarantees the believer’s eternal security, Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death [nothing in death] nor life [nothing in life] nor angels nor principalities [ruling angels] nor powers [human organizations] nor things present nor things to come (39) nor height [nothing in heaven] nor depth [nothing in Hades] nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Eternal life in Christ is for all eternity!
Positional truth belongs to all categories of believers whether they be apostate, mature, immature, spiritually adult, or carnal. Since Current Positional Truth occurs at the point of salvation before experience in the Christian life begins, it doesn’t depend on that experience. 1 Corinthians 1:2, “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus [at salvation], called saints together with all who call upon the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours.” So, even though you may be carnal or in reversionism, you still have positional truth. Being in union with Christ has nothing to do with what you do [experiential righteousness], or don’t do [failure to execute God’s plan]. Current Positional sanctification is completely the work of God the Holy Spirit and so is not based upon our volition, but on the sovereign decision of God. We make the decision to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, but we don’t make the decision to enter into union with Christ “all were made to drink the one Spirit” as per 1 Corinthians 12:13. God the Holy Spirit graciously did that for us and so it cannot be undone.
Current Positional truth creates a new spiritual species in Christ as per 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ and he is, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power; behold, new things have come to pass.” You become a new spiritual species at salvation by being put into union with Christ. It is what God does for you, and therefore it is grace. It is not what you do after salvation, such as the self-righteous works of legalism. The “old things” have to do with spiritual death and those things related to that death; the “new things” refer to things you receive at salvation such as the 40 assets and the unique spiritual life.
Positional truth should motivate the production of divine good and a pattern of life compatible with royalty as per Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his creation, having been created in Christ Jesus [a new spiritual species with many assets] for the purpose of divine good production [via experiential sanctification] which the God [the Father] has prepared in advance [in eternity past, God the Father provided election and predestination as part of our Portfolio of Invisible Assets], that we in the sphere of them [election and predestination] may pattern our lives.”
Even though a Christian may die the Sin on to Death, he will not lose his position in union with Christ (1 John 5:18-20), and so cannot lose his salvation. In order for a believer to lose his position in Christ, he would have to sin in that status, but since the believer cannot sin in union with Christ, he cannot lose his position in Christ and so cannot lose his salvation. Thus, it is comforting and reassuring to a believer to know that even though a loved one may have died the ‘sin on to death’, he has not lost his salvation.
Because we are in union with Christ, we share His:
1. Eternal life, 1 John 5:11, “And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life [At salvation, God the Father imputes this life to the human spirit], and this life is in his son [The Christian also shares the life of Christ through union with Him]. (12) and he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].”
John 14:6, “Jesus said to him [Thomas], ‘I am the way, the truth and the life [eternal life]; no person [in human history] comes face to face with the Father [having an eternal relationship with the Father] except through Me.’”
2. Perfect righteousness, 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And he (God the Father) made him [Jesus] who knew no sin (perfection) to be a sin offering as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in him [positional truth]. Sharing the righteousness of Christ, we become the objects of God the Father’s love as per Romans 8:39.
3. Election, Ephesians 1:4, “just as He [the Father] has elected us for Himself in Him [Jesus Christ] before the creation of the world [in eternity past], that we may be set apart [experiential sanctification] and blameless [ultimate sanctification] in the presence of Him [Father].”
4. Destiny, Ephesians 1:5, “By means of love, He has predestined us for the purpose of adoption as adult sons to Himself through Christ Jesus our Lord according to the grace purpose of His will.”
5. Sonship, Galatians 3:26, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
6. Heirship, Romans 8:16-17, “The Spirit Himself testifies together [bears witness] with our [human] spirit, that we are the children of God. (17) Now, if we are children and we are, also heirs, on the one hand heirs of God [the Father], and joint heirs with Christ. If indeed [if it is true that], we suffer with Him [pass all three stages of undeserved suffering], that also we might be glorified with Christ.”
7. Sanctification, 1 Corinthians 1:2, “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints together with all who call upon the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours.”
8. Priesthood, Hebrews 7:12-19, “For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change in the Law also. (13) For the One [the Lord Jesus Christ] concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe [the tribe of Judah] from which no one has officiated at the altar. (14) For it is evident that our Lord has descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests, (15) and this is clearer still, if another priest arises similar to Melchizedek, and there has, (16) who has become a priest not on the basis of physical requirement [a reference to the Levitical Priesthood] but on the basis of indestructible life [the Lord’s priesthood is forever]. (17) For this reason, it is witnessed, ‘You are a priest forever similar to the order of Melchizedek.’” [We are in union with Christ. Therefore, we are royalty and priests forever. We represent ourselves before God as royal priests.] (18) For, on the one hand, there is a rescinding of the former commandment [the Mosaic Law that authorized the Levitical priesthood] because of its weakness and uselessness (19) (for the Law brought nothing to completion), but on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope [the second door of hope for the Church Age believer—a personal sense of destiny—by which we enter the adult spiritual life] through which we draw near to God.”
Hebrews 7:26-28, “For it is fitting that we should have such a high priest, impeccable integrity, the One who cannot do evil, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; (27) Who does not need daily, like those Levitical priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for their own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He [Jesus] offered up Himself. (28) For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of His [God the Father’s] oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, who has become perfect forever [Jesus Christ is a perfect high priest].”
9. Royalty, 1 Peter 2:9, “ But you and only you are an elect [elect by God the Father] race [as a new spiritual species], a royal priesthood [since Jesus is a king-priest], a holy nation [God’s entity: a nation of priests: every Christian is a priest], a people for God’s own possession [a protected people], so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him [Christ] who has called [in eternity past] you out of darkness [spiritual death and the Cosmic Systems] into His amazing light [his plan];”
10. New Spiritual Species, 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ and he is, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power [Old Covenant]; behold, new things have come to pass [This would include the New Covenant to the Church.].”
Current Positional Truth changes our relationship with Angels.
1. Through current positional truth the believer is higher than angels positionally.
2. Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, and so superior to all angels. By virtue of being in union with Christ, every believer is now positionally superior to angels.
3. Positional truth has fulfilled the believer’s triumph with Christ in the angelic conflict. We are victorious with Him already.
4. Furthermore, positional truth demands compatibility with experiential righteousness. Therefore, the believer’s walk on this earth must be compatible with positional truth since we have perfect security in Christ, we have the freedom to choose for Jesus Christ, to love Jesus Christ, to respond to His love, and to fulfill our purpose on this earth.
What positional truth is not?
1. It is not an experience, emotions or ecstasies.
2. It is not progressive; it cannot be improved in time or eternity.
3. It is not related to human merit or ability.
4. It cannot be changed by God, man or angels. It is eternal in nature.
5. It is not obtained gradually as you grow in grace, but in toto at salvation.
6. It is not known apart from the metabolization of doctrine.
7. From understanding the doctrine of positional truth, we progress in our spiritual life, but we cannot improve it since it is perfect at salvation.
8. We are not in Christ because of what we do (execution of the spiritual life) or fail to do (fail to execute the spiritual life), but because of what God has done.
A few points of explanation:
1. The conclusion from positional truth, whether retroactive or current, is that the Christian must apply these doctrines to his spiritual life.
2. In Romans 7:1-4 where we have an illustration of a woman whose first husband has died freeing her to marry another. This is what actually happens to us as believers at salvation. The old sin nature is the husband up to the point of salvation, but at the moment we believe in Jesus Christ positionally the sin nature is dead, as it were, the first husband has died and we have a new husband through union with Christ. Retroactive Positional Truth removes our first husband, the sin nature whereas Current Positional Truth enters us into union with Christ, our new husband.
3. The old sin nature-husband is still around, still seeking to regain his control over his former wife, the believer. But union with the second husband, the Lord Jesus Christ, has broken the first husband’s authority over the former wife.
4. The Baptism of Fire:
Matthew 3:11, “On the one hand I [John the Baptizer] baptize you [believers] by means of water because of a change of thinking [about Christ], but the one coming after me is mightier than I whose sandals I am not worthy to lace [loosen, remove]. He himself will baptize by means of the Holy Spirit [a reference to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in the Church Age] and by means of fire [a reference to the Baptism of Fire at the 2nd Advent].”
Baptism of Fire: The baptism of fire (identification with fire) is defined as the judgment of unbelievers both Jew and gentile at the Second Advent. They will be removed from the earth and placed in fire for 1000 years until the Last Judgment, Luke 3:16-17; Mathew 25:31, 33. The analogy to the Baptism of Fire is found in Matthew 24:36-41. The one left in the field is the mature believer; the one taken is the unbeliever.
Parables of the Baptism of Fire:
1. The wheat and the tares (the unbelievers), Matthew 13:24-30, 36-40.
2. The good and bad fish (unbelievers), Matthew 13:47-50.
3. The ten virgins: five wise, five foolish (the unbelievers), Matthew 25:1-13.
4. The sheep and the goats (the unbelievers), Mathew 25:31-46.
5. The talent test, Matthew 25:14-30. The one talent man represents the unbeliever.
If Jesus Christ had not been rejected by the Jewish people, then the age of Israel would have continued until its completion (the Tribulation completes the age of Israel). (However, they did reject Jesus Christ as Savior and Messiah and so the client nation was destroyed, and the Church age was intercalated that is inserted before the age of Israel was complete.) After the completion of the age of Israel at the end of the Tribulation, comes the wrath of God namely the Baptism of Fire when the Lord removes both Jewish and gentile unbelievers from the earth and identifies them with fire forever. After which, the Millennial reign begins.
The Three Ritual Baptisms. None are extant at the present time. They are representative identifications in which water is used as a training aid to represent some principle of doctrine.
1. The Baptism of John is found in Matthew 3:2-6, “Saying, ‘Change your thinking [regarding Christ] for the kingdom of heaven is near.’ [The future king was already on the earth] (3) For this is what was communicated through Isaiah, the prophet saying, ‘The voice of one [John the Baptizer] proclaiming loudly in the desert [of Judea]. Prepare [the aorist tense is a one time-decision] the way of the Lord [an idiomatic expression for salvation]. Keep on making upright [the use of the Recovery Procedure followed by the development of experiential righteousness] His paths!’ (Isaiah 40:3) (4) Now, John himself kept on having a garment of camel’s hair [very uncomfortable] and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. (5) Then [after John went where God wanted him to be] Jerusalem kept on going out to him [face to face] and all Judea and all the districts around the Jordan. (6) and they were being baptized [identified with the kingdom] by him [under John’s authority] in the Jordan River [where Israel crossed when they entered the land], and they kept on confessing their sins [post-salvation confession of sins].”
MAX KLEIN BIBLE MINISTRIES
Establishment, Divine
Written by: Max Klein
A few points of Introduction:
1. God has ordained certain laws for the survival and freedom of the human race (believer and unbeliever) during the course of human history. Anarchy exists when segments of society ignore these laws for the Laws of Divine Establishment provide the freedom to fulfill the divine plan as ordained in the divine decree under many types of government.
2. They operate from the fall of man to the Second Advent, as well as in the Millennium with some modifications in compatibility with perfect environment.
3. These laws directly affect freedom, civilization, authority, evangelism, spiritual growth, and the perpetuation of the human race. They are as important to us as is the Law of Gravity.
4. The Laws of Divine Establishment define freedom in terms of privacy, property and legitimate authority. There is no such thing as the enjoyment of life or freedom without the proper use of authority. All systems of freedom function under authority. Freedom without authority is anarchy; however, authority without freedom is tyranny.
5. The Laws of Establishment function through the four Divine Institutions: the individual, marriage, family, and nationalism.
The Divine Institutions: institution one, the individual; institution two, marriage established in the Garden; institution three, family established at the Fall; institution four, nationalism established after the Flood.
The First Divine Institution is the Individual with free will. The use of his volition is his authority, a component of the soul which is made up of self-consciousness, a conscience which must be filled with divine norms and standards, a mentality which operates through the biological brain, and volition as the authority of the soul.
The spark or breath of life is imputed to biological life at birth resulting in a soul having life which we call human life. Remember that in the Garden, God breathed into the biological life of Adam the breath of life, a spark of His own life which resulted in a soul having life aka human life. At the point of one’s death, this soul having everlasting life will be transferred to an interim body until the Rapture at which time the soul having everlasting life will be transferred into the resurrection body.
Freedom does not imply equality. While people are not born equal or live in equality, they must have freedom of choice and the right to live in a free society pursuing a course of action compatible with their own aspirations or lack of the same. You have a right to go as far as your abilities and motivations will take you. If the individual uses his volition to adhere to the Laws of Establishment and avoids arrogance, he will develop great capacity for life, with humility and integrity. If he should be a Christian who has advanced spiritually all the way to spiritual maturity, he will be qualified for the next divine institution namely marriage along with the unbeliever who has developed his capacity from the Laws of Establishment only.
The Second Divine Institution is Marriage with the authority vested in the husband. Monogamy is a permanent relationship between one man and one woman as ordained by God to remind mankind that He has from the beginning a design. In other words, if God intends for a man to get married, he will bring the right woman to him at the right time as per Genesis 3:22-24, “and the rib which the Lord God had taken from the man he fashioned [literally built] into a woman and brought her to the man [The Lord brings the woman to the man at the right time]. (23) Then, the man said, ‘This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh [the same species]; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out from Man.’ (24) Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother [form their own corporation] and have sexual intercourse with his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
Their relationship, established in the garden, was continued after the fall. It has never been cancelled in any generation. Thus, marriage is the most basic and fundamental organization in the human race. Even the unbeliever, whose life is a total failure, can have great temporary happiness by marrying the right woman, Ecclesiastes 9:9, “Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life [describes the life of the unbeliever] which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil [his occupation] in which you have labored under the sun.”
Marriage is the basis for stability in society and for the formation of civilization. Marriage rejects the theory of revolution, anarchy, promiscuousness, or communal living. It is the protection for the home where the parents exercise authority over the children.
The Third Divine Institution is the Family with the authority vested in the parents. God has provided certain divine laws, such as the authority of the parents, to protect, care, nourish, provide, train, and discipline children to prepare them for a normal life. Children must be trained to respect the privacy, property, and rights of others, not to abuse freedom, and to have respect for authority. Furthermore, parents must teach poise, objectivity, respect for police, patriotism, and their sons, the willingness to serve in order to protect national freedom. Christian parents must also evangelize and provide pre-doctrinal training for their children, Deuteronomy 6:6-9, “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. (7) You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. (8) You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. (9) You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” It is the responsibility of parents not only to instill respect for the Word of God, but also the recognition of the authority of their pastor-teacher.
The Fourth Divine Institution is Nationalism. If the entire human race were under one rule with the exception of the Millennial reign of Christ, it would self-destruct. To perpetuate the human race and bring history to its logical conclusion, God has designed the nation to protect the freedom and rights of its citizenry. The formation of the Jewish nation set up the perfect standard of what a national entity should be. The Biblical proof that nationalism is authorized by God is found in Genesis 10:5, “From these the coastland peoples spread. These are the sons of Japheth into their lands, each with his own language [formed at the Tower of Babel], by their families, in their nations.”
Since there was no nationalism before the Flood (circa 10,000 B.C., the approximate date of the Fall to 5,000 B.C., the approximate date of the Flood) evil spread quickly during the Prediluvian period. So, the Lord instituted nationalism for the post-diluvian civilization.
After the Flood, God’s policy was nationalism, but the descendants of Noah wanted internationalism. Genesis 11:1-9, “Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words. (2) It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the Land of Shinar and settled there. (3) They [the descendants of Noah] said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.’ And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. (4) They said, ‘Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower [equivalent to the United Nations] whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth [as separate nations].’ (5) The Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. (6) The Lord said, ‘Behold, they are one people [one international community], and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do [a movement toward internationalism and centralizing world power], and now nothing which they purpose to do [in consolidating power into the hands of a few] will be impossible for them [there will be no limit to their evil]. (7) ‘Come, let us [the Godhead] go down and there confuse their one language [by creating many languages to encourage nationalism], so that they will not understand one another's speech.’ (8) So, the Lord scattered them [via the introduction of languages] abroad from there over the face of the whole earth [for many languages encouraged nationalism and separation]; and they stopped building the city. (9) Therefore, its name was called Babel [the ancient United Nations’ building], because there, the Lord confused the one language [by creating many from it] of the whole earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth [via the introduction of many languages].”
Well defined Nationalism was on the basis of Israel and the Mosaic Law. Deuteronomy 32:8, “When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, When He separated the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the Gentile peoples [formed nations] on the basis of the number of the sons of Israel” [In the Old Testament five Client Nations came from Israel which Client Nations were a blessing to other nations such as Assyria via Jonah; In other words, everything revolved around Israel even when they were out of pocket, they were still a blessing to Persia.]
All nations who follow the norms and standards of divine establishment possess the following characteristics.
1. Interior protection of freedom is provided through a proper system of law enforcement, jurisprudence, and a system of law whereby a person is innocent until proven guilty, where only proper testimony is allowed and no hearsay is permitted, and where double jeopardy does not exist.
2. The exterior protection of freedom comes through a strong, well-prepared military.
3. A government of whatever category must protect the freedoms and rights of its citizens without interfering with those rights by the illegal use of power for power can be used to seize property, remove rights and destroy privacy.
4. An economy must be based on free enterprise and capitalism for it is these that bring prosperity to a nation. Labor has no right to dictate the policy of management. Smart management always takes good care of its workers however. Government, labor, or criminals do not have the right to superimpose their policy on management. The separation of business and state is an important distinction.
5. There must be a system of common law which prohibits crime and thereby protects the freedom, rights, life, and property of individuals. It must be a system of law which does not overstep the law by using the law to try to solve social problems. Law, therefore, must always be objective. Subjective distortion of the law uses legislation to invade individual rights, to steal personal property, and to erode human freedom; all in the name of the common good.
6. There must be a common culture which reflects the spiritual life, morality, esprit de corps, nobility, patriotism, and integrity of a nation through its literature, art, music, and drama.
7. There should be a system of government which functions under its power without abusing its power to destroy freedom and establishment. There should be an administrative body to represent the functions of taxation, law enforcement, honorable jurisprudence, maintenance of the military, and enforcement of law and order without the destruction of human freedom.
The Decalogue, the believer’s responsibility related to freedom; even though given to Israel only as per Exodus 20:1, it is for our instruction as well:
The Decalogue is found in Exodus 20:1-17 (Deuteronomy 5:6-21). As these commandments are written in our English Bible, they are prefaced by the phrase, "You shall not," which is the imperfect tense in Hebrew used as the imperative. The phrase indicates the believer's responsibility in protecting human freedom through compliance with the Laws of Divine Establishment. The Decalogue doesn't deal with the subject of sin per se but with the subject of human freedom. It just so happens that certain sins are an attack on human freedom.
The Ten Commandments define human freedom in terms of attitude toward God, people, and property: just a brief statement about each.
The first commandment is not only a prohibition of idolatry, but national recognition that Jesus Christ controls history. "You shall have no other gods before Me.”
The second commandment: While the first commandment prohibits mental or soul idolatry, the second prohibits overt idolatry, "You shall not make for yourself an idol.” Demonism destroys human freedom, while overt idolatry destroys a nation.
The third commandment prohibits the use of taking the name of the Lord God in vain. This means to use God as a front for your lying, cheating, stealing, or perjury. God's name is used properly in worship, prayer, praise, thanksgiving, the expression of personal love for God, and doctrinal communication. God's name should not be used to persuade people into a false position. God's name is not to be used for human projects which allege the will of God. “It is God’s will that we do this.”
The fourth commandment is a memorial to the grace of God. The Sabbath recognizes that people who work for a living must have time to rest and time to consider the grace of God. Doing nothing is a reminder of grace. Just as the body needs rest for function, so man needs rest for freedom. Man with no rest becomes a slave. He has no opportunity to exercise his freedom and personal volition in relationship to time.
The fifth commandment establishes the principle of authority under the Laws of Divine Establishment. The first authority in life is that of parents. "Respect your father and mother that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives to you." Recognition of authority is the basic principle of orientation to life. Recognition of authority is the secret to a long healthy life and it all begins with respect for one’s parents.
The sixth commandment emphasizes the establishment-principle of live and let live. "You shall not murder." Killing is authorized for capital punishment and for those in the military fighting for freedom. Murder on the other hand is not only a sin but the basic violation of human freedom. The right to live under God is removed when a person is murdered. If you intrude on God's right to take life in His timing, you violate the Laws of Divine Establishment and commit the worst overt sin.
The seventh commandment "You shall not commit adultery." Adultery is the voluntary act of sexual intercourse of a married person with someone other than his or her lawful spouse. Adultery refers to sexual activity outside the divine institution of marriage. Sex was designed by God to be an expression of love inside a marriage between a husband and wife. Therefore, adultery is both a sin and an attack on human freedom. Capacity for love and life is distorted and ruined, so that adultery not only abuses freedom, but destroys the possibility for happiness in life.
The eighth commandment emphasizes the right of private property under the Laws of Divine Establishment. Since a person’s property is sacred, stealing is prohibited. Just because someone has accumulated wealth under the free-market system does not mean you have the right to steal either directly or indirectly via legislation. It belongs to them. There is nothing wrong with being wealthy, or successful. It is not anti-Christian. Some people will become wealthy under free enterprise. "You shall not steal." Thus, stealing is a sin, a crime, and a violation of the Laws of Divine Establishment. The command demands that government protect both the lives and property of those in the nation.
No one has the right to steal. Stealing is a basic disorientation to life. People who have accumulated things in life have a right to those things. When oriented to life, you never have to steal even to stay alive. When you are tempted to steal, that is a warning that you are not oriented to life properly. Legislators in governments steal through high taxes and through the dilution of their currency causing price-inflation. In effect these governmental officials are functioning as criminals.
The ninth commandment emphasizes the protection of human freedom through objectivity in the function of the law. "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Laws of evidence demand truth in courtroom testimony. This verbal sin is sinful and anti-establishment. Hearsay is not admissible as testimony. You can't live and let live and gossip at the same time. Law cannot function objectively with perjury; society cannot live objectively where gossip and maligning goes unchecked.
The tenth commandment demands restraint on the lust pattern of the old sin nature. "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 belongs to your neighbor."
Establishment and Evangelism
1. None of these things would be meaningful without knowing that establishment was designed to allow evangelizing where positive volition exists, and to protect where negative volition exists.
2. Divine institutions and the Laws of Divine Establishment are designed to protect human freedoms for the purpose of true evangelism. Unbelievers must be free to accept or reject the Gospel without coercion or punishment.
3. Regarding the local church, as long as a government allows religious freedom and self-determination, such a government fulfills its establishment norms. Therefore, the separation of church and state becomes a basic standard for human freedom.
4. The state must never adopt an official religion supported by taxpayer's money. All religion should be free from taxation and never be supported by taxes based on the Separation of Church and State.
5. A person's relationship with God or lack of it should be a matter of privacy and personal choice.
Establishment and Christianity should support each other
1. Romans 13:1-7, “All human beings [literally ‘every soul’], obey governing authorities, for there is no authority except delegated by God, that is, those which do exist have been delegated by God. (2) Therefore, those who resist the authority have opposed the ordinance of God [divine institutions]; in fact, they who oppose shall receive discipline [personal judgment or punishment] onto themselves. (3) For governing authorities [of an establishment type nations] are not a cause of fear for good function [those who follow the Laws of Establishment] but for evil function [criminality]. Really, do you desire not to fear the authority? Keep on doing the good [be lawful and obey the mandates of the Laws of Establishment] and you will have recognition from it [from the authority of an establishment-type of government]; (4) For he [the governmental authority] is a minister of God to you for the purpose of good [use your freedom to advance to maturity under the plan of God]. But if you do evil [the criminal] keep on being afraid for he does not wear the sword for nothing [the sword was used in the ancient world for capital punishment of crime]; for you see he is a minister of God for the purpose of divine wrath to him who practices the evil. (5) For this reason, it is necessary to be subordinate to governing authorities, not only because of punishment [literally wrath, in other words fearful of punishment], but also because of conscience [where your norms and standards are located]. (6) So, for this reason [an inference from the above verse] also keep on paying taxes, for they are public servants of God who make a career out of this same thing. (7) Therefore, discharge your obligations to all: to whom taxes, taxes, to whom custom, custom, to whom respect, respect, to whom honor, honor.”
2. Matthew 21:22, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's [obey the Laws of Divine Establishment], and to God, the things that are God's [execute the spiritual life]."
3. 1st Peter 2:13-14, “Subordinate yourselves, because of the Lord, to every human institution [those in authority in the structure of a national entity] whether to a king [the system of authority in a national entity, common in the ancient world] as the one in authority, (14) or to governors [other forms of government: the Roman procurator] as sent by it [Rome] for the punishment of evildoers and the honor of those who do good.” [You became an establishment person the day you believed in Christ. So, you should be a true conservative as a Christian.]
You cannot have freedom, use freedom, enjoy freedom until you recognize the authority that enforces freedom/provides freedom. All freedom depends upon authority. There is no freedom where there is no duly constituted authority. Government represents the principle of authority. So, just because there are scoundrels in government, does not change the principle. Sooner or later the Supreme Court of Heaven will catch-up with the scoundrels. The same is true for police organizations. This organization may have a few scoundrels, but this does not mean that we should eliminate the police organization. Furthermore, it does not mean that we should take the law into our own hands.
The royal family-honor code includes duty to state or nation, patriotism as opposed to internationalism. Two erroneous extremes of Christianity: a) The state should be subordinated to the church which is erroneous. b) The church should be subordinated to the state which is also wrong. The correct view is separation of church and state. However, the government has the responsibility to protect the church in its civil rights, while the church sustains the state by the formation of a pivot of mature believers. For example, Paul himself was protected by Roman authority from Jewish legalism in Jerusalem in 58 A.D.
All authority is delegated authority from God:
A few points for clarification:
1. Governmental authority does not derive its power from the people; the power is derived from God.
2. Whether hereditary kings or rulers in a republic their authority has one source namely the integrity of God.
3. What God has ordained the believer has no right to contradict.
4. All rulers at all levels are responsible to God for any abuse of their authority.
5. For example, God permitted the Russian revolution of 1917 because the Romanov rulers abused their God-given authority through anti-Semitism.
6. God does not sponsor revolution, but God permits revolution as the natural historical result where authority is abused without check. Even though a country is moving toward a revolution, it may not occur if there should exist a pivot large enough (a large group of mature believers) to offset such a catastrophe.
7. The Lord many times uses evil to punish evil. For example, even though Adolf Hitler was extremely evil, the Lord Jesus Christ who controls history squelched all the assassination attempts against this evil man. For you see, the Lord was going to use Hitler to punish the Germans for their anti-Semitism and the murder of millions of Jews. At the right time, He would remove this monster.
8. However, when civil power contradicts the Word of God, it subverts and denies the very source of its own authority.
9. Human arrogance and rejection of authority leads to anarchy. Human power in anarchy leads to despotism and tyranny.
10. The elevation of establishment and morality in compliance with the Laws of Divine Establishment via the intake of truth will accomplish more than revolution ever could, no matter how justifiable the revolution appears to be.
11. While military victory provides freedom for a nation that adheres to truth, establishment authority in obedience to the Laws of Divine Establishment maintains that freedom so that evangelization and spiritual growth can easily function within the national entity.
Establishment and National Discipline
1. This includes the concept of the Pivot (a group of mature believers), which when large enough, means that mature believers having maximum influence on their nation under historical impact and blessing by association. It also includes the concept of the five cycles of discipline, which occur when the pivot shrinks and becomes too small.
2. When divine judgment falls, it always comes in the form of historical disaster. Idiotic governmental policy is a warning that the end is near.
3. If the pivot of mature believers is large enough or there is sufficient numbers of pleroma believers (those who have successfully taken Evidence Testing), the nation will be delivered. If these groups are too small, the nation will be destroyed. Every nation also has relationship with the justice of God through the Laws of Divine Establishment.
4. Religion is the greatest enemy of a nation, because in the name of good, it produces great evil. For example, in the United States in the year of 2023, most Christians are trying to execute the spiritual life outside of God’s plan which in effect becomes a religion.
5. Historical disaster separates the pivot from the spin-off (those in apostasy and reversionism), but the pivot is preserved, Isaiah 28:3-8, “That wreath, the pride of Ephraim's drunkards, will be trampled underfoot [in 721 B.C. by the Assyrians]. (4) That fading flower, his glorious beauty, set on the head of a fertile valley, will be like a fig ripe before harvest-- as soon as someone sees it and takes it in his hand, he swallows it. (5) In that day, the Lord Almighty will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of his people [protection for the advanced believers]. (6) He will be a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. (7) And these also stagger from wine and reel from beer: Priests and prophets stagger from beer and are befuddled with wine; they reel from beer, they stagger when seeing visions, they stumble when rendering decisions. (8) All the tables are covered with vomit and there is not a spot without filth [drunkenness was their national sin].” A nation which has gone mad is destroyed so that history and the human race can be perpetuated.
6. If the nation is preserved, there always follows a great period of prosperity. An example was Judah in B.C. 701. When the apostate believers of Judah were destroyed, the nation prospered. If a nation doesn't cleanse itself under the Laws of Divine Establishment, then the justice of God cleanses that nation if He intends to preserve it.
7. Historical catastrophe is designed to destroy the infection of apostasy and degeneracy so that a nation can be preserved.
8. Historical disaster as the cleansing of a nation is taught under the concept of the five cycles of discipline in Leviticus 26:14-38. The first four cycles are cleansing, the last one is eradication.
The following was penned by R. B. Thieme Jr.
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Apostasy in the Land
In times of apostasy government seeks to control its citizens from the cradle to the grave. Free men are treated as criminals, and criminals are treated as free men. Freedom of thought, decision, and speech by which the Gospel and Bible doctrine are communicated merge into the shadows of tyranny and slavery.
The tentacles of socialism and bureaucracy strangle and destroy free enterprise. Freedom to succeed or fail in life through one's own motivation and decisions is neutralized.
Individuals no longer take the responsibility for their own decisions and actions. Apostasy and evil, along with dishonesty and hypocrisy, immorality and greed, power lust and racial prejudice, become the tools of politicians and the dissension of the hoi polloi.
The heritage of regeneration is traded for Esau's mess of pottage. The glory of God is exchanged for the arrogance of the social gospel.
These historical trends provide a system of temptation luring the born-again believer into that sphere of emotion combined with arrogance called Christian activism. The plan of God is buried in the potter's field of whitewashing the devil's world.
Believers in Jesus Christ are distracted from God's will, plan, and purpose for the Church Age by trying to reform Caesar and ignore God. Suddenly God's plan for the believer is covered with the spider webs of neglect and put in the mothballs of false doctrine.
Spiritual values related to Bible doctrine are exchanged for chasing butterflies whose gossamer wings carry the heavy burden of redistribution of wealth all the way back to the island called Utopia.
The Supreme Court of Heaven sends bolts of lightning in the form of the law of volitional responsibility and divine punitive action to the wayward children of God.
When this punitive suffering called divine discipline is ignored, and carnality is perpetuated, the loser-believer marches to the beat of a different drum and gets his bugle calls from the cacophony of heavy metal and hard rock.
What is the legacy to the generations of apostasy in this great dispensation called the Church Age? The sin unto death! They are entombed in the barren field of spiritual failure where once that fertile field of metabolized Bible doctrine produced the remnant according to the election of grace–invisible heroes fulfilling the will of God through the spiritual mechanics of the plan of God for the Church.
But now unbroken clods of human lust bury the loser-believer in the tragedy of lost opportunity for becoming winner-believers and invisible heroes.
The only bulwark against the onslaught of apostasy in the land is the believer advancing to spiritual maturity.
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (2 Peter 3:18)