Hungering and Thirsting
For Righteousness
Reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great
patience and instruction.
2 Timothy 4:2
One of the greatest perpetrators of wrong and sin
in Christianity today, if not the greatest, is the false conception regarding grace
and an abject failure to see the absolute necessity of bearing what John the
Baptist called fruit in keeping with repentance, and in equal regard Paul
called performing deeds consistent with repentance. As so clearly forewarned in Jude 1:4,
they Òturn the grace of our God into licentiousness.Ó But it ought not and must not be this
way, and all the more so with the coming of Immanuel. Peter charged, Ò. . . what sort of people must [to bind]
you be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening [quickening]
the coming of the day of God . . . ?
But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new
earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for
these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless .
. .Ó (2 Peter 3:11-14). And, this
is not spotless and blameless by the blood, but by our affirming and obligated
actions. And once again, Peter’s
charge here is all the more true for us today, for verse 3 directs this
specifically for, Òin the last days.Ó
And, Immanuel is coming for a bride, Òhaving no spot or wrinkle or any
such thingÓ (Ephesians 5:27).
Symptomatic of the tragic moral fate of the church
and its false and licentious application of grace, there are VERY few places
within it—as though nonexistent—where you can find uncompromised
calls to righteousness:
righteousness in behavior, righteousness in what is spoken,
righteousness in dress and how one presents their body, righteousness in their
response to authority and how one handles roles or authority entrusted to them,
righteousness in what one allows to enter into their eyes and into their ears
and even into their mouth, and more.
Jude opens with the grave concern for the
compromising state of the church, a concern that is MOST applicable today: ÒI felt the necessity to write to you
appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered to
the saints. For certain persons have crept in
unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation,
ungodly persons,Ó then adds the already noted judgment, Òwho turn the grace of
our God into licentiousness . . .Ó (1:3 and 4).
The church today is a fulfillment of this warning,
whereby fatal compromise has crept into it unnoticed. Like a chameleon, and even with
complicity, the church has changed with the corruption of society; and as Paul
stated, they measure themselves by themselves, and compare themselves with
themselves, and for this reason they entirely lack understanding (2 Corinthians
10:12). Here again, they turn the
grace of God into licentiousness, wholly failing to hold themselves to the
higher standard of personal righteousness, falsely leaning upon a straw cane of
supposed ÒimputedÓ righteousness.
This we will address. As
Paul likewise warned, they foolishly and destructively sin as though thereupon
grace may increase (Romans 6:1).
And, Peter wrote regarding Paul’s words: Ò. . . in which are some things hard to
understand, which the untaught and unstable distort/twist, as they do also the
rest of the Scriptures, to their own destructionÓ (2 Peter 3:16). This is precisely what people do today
with Paul’s words regarding grace.
They distort/twist them to their own destruction.
Furthermore, some of their sin is due to willful
blindness—e.g., women pastors and teachers, and women dressing so worldly
and immodestly. Their sins are
breathtakingly shameful! And by
their immodest dress, following in the ways of Eve, women cause men to
sin. As will be addressed, fleshly
lusts wage war against the soul (1 Peter 2:11), and women’s immodesty and
sensuality today launches that war within men, and in women as well with their
vanity and naivety and weakness.
And frankly, a righteous man deeply resents women presenting this temptation,
when in fact they should be attesting to righteousness, and thus complete
modesty—fully covering their bodies in a concealing and modest
dress. Thus, a righteous man is
MOST grateful for and delighted with any woman or girl who dresses with complete
modesty and humility and lack of worldliness. Again, women need to cease causing men
to have to continually fight that war with fleshly lusts.
To better understand the state of the church, and
this judgment and warning to it set forth at the outset of Jude, let us look at
where else this same Greek word, Òaselgeia,Ó here
translated Òlicentiousness,Ó is used.
Examining these will help us understand what it is that has indeed crept
into the church—especially evidenced, as you will see, before the coming
of Immanuel. When reading these
passages, do so with an examination as to how they so clearly apply to the
church today. In each case, this
same Greek word is now translated ÒsensualityÓ and Òsensual,Ó and will be
highlighted in bold. (Also in bold
will be the word Ònations,Ó so one can see how sensuality is tied to
worldliness.) And remember, this is
a MOST important matter for us today, necessitating that we carefully examine
and give wise heed to these verses.
Hereupon we can understand the problem that is rampant in the
church. Therefore, read these
verses very carefully and contemplatively.
First, in 2 Corinthians 12:21, here
again the concern is for the compromises that take place in the church:
I am afraid that when
I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of
those who have sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity, immorality,
and sensuality which they have
practiced.
Oh how all the more true this is today
with the church. Before stating
this, Paul warned that when he came, if he did not find them the way he wished
them to be, they would not find him to be the way they wished him to be. How much moreso today is the church
guilty of these sins? And with
Immanuel’s coming, does He not say the same? ÒIf I do not find you the way I want you
to be, you will not find Me the way you want Me to
be!Ó
Next, in Galatians 5:19 we read of the
deeds of the flesh, something we must deal with on a daily basis:
Now the deeds of the flesh
are evident, which are: immorality,
impurity, sensuality . . . .
In Ephesians 4:17-24, we are warned not
to walk in the ways of the world:
So this I say, and
affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the nations also walk, in the futility of
their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of
God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their
heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every
kind of impurity with greediness.
The remainder of
those verses continue to apply in this message directed to the believer:
But you did not learn
Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him,
just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life,
you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the
lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on
the new self, which in the likeness of
God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
And you could go on reading there as
well. Furthermore, the phrase,
Òlusts of deceit,Ó is such a fitting and entirely relevant statement for the
rampant sins in the church today.
It is deceived by the lusts of the world so as to wholly accept,
justify, and boldly practice them.
This is the same blind fate mentioned in the preceding verses: Òthe futility of their mind, being
darkened in their understanding.Ó
Such indeed is the state of the church.
In 1 Peter 4:3 we read:
For the time already
past is sufficient for you
to have carried out the desire of the nations,
having pursued a course of sensuality,
lusts, . . . .
And again the warning concerning the inevitable
fate of the church, evidenced so clearly today, is set forth in 2 Peter 2:1-2:
But false prophets
also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among
you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master
who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way
of the truth will be maligned . . . .
Then in verses 7-10 in the same
chapter, Peter continues:
.
. . and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by
the sensual conduct of unprincipled
men (for by what he saw and heard that
righteous man, while living among them, felt his
righteous soul tormented day after day by their
lawless deeds), then the
Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous
under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the
flesh in its corrupt desires
and despise authority.
Those who choose to live unrighteously today, even
though making a lame profession of Yahshua, suffer the same risk. They would be wise to heed the warning
given by James: ÒYou believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe,
and shudder. But are you willing to
recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? . . . You see that a man is justified by works
and not by faith alone. . . . For just
as the body without the
spirit is dead, so also faith without works is deadÓ (James 2:19-20, 24, and
26).
Concluding this list of passages that point to the
certain and evident corruption of the church and its sensuality, while under
the guise of grace, let us examine yet another that will begin to open our
understanding as to what the only solution truly is. In Revelation 18:3-5 regarding mystery
Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth,
we read:
ÒFor all the nations have drunk of the wine of the
passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the
merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.Ó I heard another voice from heaven,
saying, "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in
her sins and receive of her plagues; for her sins have piled up as high as
heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.Ó
Most people tragically fail to understand who
mystery Babylon truly is. They want
to make this a natural fulfillment such as a financial system, when in fact
Yahweh God has one focus, and that is His kingdom—the church! As clearly set forth in the writing, The Great
Tribulation, and more
specifically in page/section 9, as well in All’s
Well That Ends Well, this
great whore who sits upon a scarlet beast with seven heads and commits abomi-nations
with the nations, is none other than
Christianity.
In page/section 9, you will see that the seals are the first Remnant, the trumpets are
the second Remnant, and the Òseven bowls of the wrath of GodÓ (Revelation 16:1)
are Christianity. And, immediately
following the bowls in chapters 15 and 16, the great whore—again,
Christianity—is addressed in chapters 17 and 18. All four chapters address the same
work—the corruption of the kingdom of heaven given to earthly man. Affording further evidence of this,
mystery Babylon is clothed in purple and scarlet (Revelation 18:16), the very
two colors identified with Yahshua at His crucifixion and torment at the hands
of the nations as well: purple in Mark 15:17 and 20, and John
19:2 and 5; and scarlet in Matthew 27:28 and 31. Mystery Babylon clothed in purple and scarlet, is the afflicted Body of Christ clothed in purple
and scarlet.
As we read from Revelation 18:3-5 above, as well
as indicated by the verses we examined leading up to this, the nations who
commit immorality with her have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality. This has indeed been evidenced
throughout the time of the church, beginning with Constantine and accelerated
with the Catholic Church, and is accentuated today with the biggest shopping
extravaganza in the history of man—Christmas! There are many companies that succeed
based solely on this worldly holiday.
What would the nations do without it?
And in addition to all of this testimony solely
associated with Òsensuality,Ó clearly there is far more evidence that the
church today is very much corrupted, and as we have just seen is destined to
receive the wrath of God. Paul
directly forewarned that the church would fall into this present corrupted
state. In 2 Timothy 4:3-4 he forewarned:
For the time will
come [and is here now] when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled,
they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own
desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to
myths.
This, again, includes the fate spoken of in Jude
where they turn the grace of God into licentiousness. Then in Acts
20:29-31, towards the end of his work, Paul wrote:
I know that after my
departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from
among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away
the disciples after them. Therefore
be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I
did not cease to admonish each one with tears.
Here again, Paul knew of and forewarned regarding
the corruption of the church. And
there is yet another passage he wrote that is even more compelling regarding
this corruption, referring to the very time in which we now live—the time
of the coming of Immanuel. In 2
Thessalonians 2:1-2 he declared:
Now we request you,
brethren, with regard to the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be
quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a
message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has
come.
No, there could be no such letter at that time,
for that day would not come for another 2,000 years. Let us now see what he wrote
Let no one in any way
deceive you, for it will not come
unless the apostasy/forsaking comes first and the man of lawlessness is
revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every
so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of
God, displaying himself as being God [2 Thessalonians 2:3-4].
As addressed in The Great
Tribulation, page 6, we find that the apostasy spoken of here has
nothing whatsoever to do with some beast man who comes on the scene, as
Christian fiction teachings present today, but as clearly stated only three
verses later, that lawlessness was at hand even when Paul wrote this:
For the mystery of
lawlessness is already at work; only the restraining one will do so until it comes out of the midst [verse 7].
We will not address the restraining one right now;
but rather, let us see who the man of lawlessness is. Verse 4 tells us that he takes his seat
in the temple of God. In The Great
Tribulation, page 6, we see that Paul consistently uses the phrase
Òtemple of GodÓ to refer to our bodies.
However, in 2 Corinthians 6:14-16, he uses it to describe the Body of
Christ, the male element of the church that he began out of Antioch. Here we read:
Do not be bound
together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness
. . . ?
Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple
of the living God; just as God said, ÒI will dwell in them and walk among
them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.Ó
But the fact is, the man of lawlessness did indeed
enter into that temple, even into the Body of Christ, and it has meant its
abomination of desolation for 2,000 years.
This fact is clearly proven in the opening section of The Great
Tribulation. Keep in mind,
Christianity began with Paul out of, specifically, Antioch—the claimed
mother church. That is when men
were first called Christians. And
it was Antiochus IV, who as a type of what would happen to the Body of Christ,
effected the abomination of desolation of the natural temple for precisely
three years—attesting to what would take place in the church for 3,000
years. So here once again, the
church we have known to this very day is a corrupted work where sensuality reigns.
And if all of these testimonies of the corrupted
state of the church are not sufficient evidence for someone to be convinced,
then accept the words of Yahshua Himself.
In Matthew 13 He clearly stated that the church would be a field with
both wheat and tares. It would be a
tree in which the birds of the air would nest—the false teachings from
demons. And most clearly, again
with the testimony of the 3,000 years of the church, it would be three measures
of flour in which a woman hid leaven, which is corrupting sin, and it would ALL
be leavened! If the church was
given another 1,000 years, it would be all 3,000 years leavened with corrupting
sin we read of in all of these accounts, and is so clearly evidenced in the
church today. It would be three
hours of darkness, whereupon there would be the fateful cry, ÒOur God, our God,
why have You forsaken us?Ó
In summary, all of these passages, and many, many
more, tell us that the church was going to be, and presently is,
corrupted! This now leads us back
to the opening statement: that the
church turns the grace of God into licentiousness, and does little to nothing
to correct their grave and even disqualifying actions. So, what then is the solution to
this? Let us now see.
Continue to page 2 of Hungering and Thirsting For Righteousness for THE FULFILLING BRIDE