Intro

This is Dreamwalker1960. As a reminder you can read the transcripts of all my podcasts at dreamwalker1960.com. You can use most podcast platforms if you wish to listen. All you need do is do a search for Dreamwalker1960.

Discussion

Several years ago, I made a blog post entitled “The Hard Truth.” This ended up in three posts, because as usual those that embrace the false doctrines of OSAS and all you need is faith challenged what was posted. So. Let us begin this retrospect.

Day 1

Most that attempt to read or listen to this won’t like it. However, it is not my mission to make you comfortable, but it is to challenge all willing to listen to improve their standing with God.

Right here someone will scoff, saying that we are not required to increase this standing. That God loves us as we are. Then you have just made the Bible moot, and the crucifixion a waste of time.

Matthew 16:24-27 NKJV – Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

So, what does it mean to “let him deny himself….”

Let him deny – G533– aparneomai – to deny, looking back to what was originally refused; “strongly reject” (especially the source). That is, utterly refusing to recognize the original source involved. Can imply “ignore, disown, or repudiate”

Now as we live our lives all of us make plans and have desires. Many of these desires are focused upon one thing. Us.

The desires for wealth, for luxuries, for leisure. These are all things that become something to not continue to seek after, but to, if not totally reject, lower its import in our lives.

Why?

Because you are hanging on to your life, and Jesus Christ made it clear, doing so will lead to you losing your soul, not saving it. This is fortified by 2 Peter 2:

2 Peter 2:20-22 NKJV – For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A DOG RETURNS TO HIS OWN VOMIT,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”

Humanity will always seek after the here, the now. Yet Christ made it clear that we are not to do this.

Matthew 6:19-21 NKJV – “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

To store up treasures is seeking to have more money than you need to live. This is not what Christ tells us how to live. We are not to seek after a comfortable life, but a life that will sustain our existence till we are called unto the next life. To seek after fancy clothing, and fancy vehicles are things that are able to be eaten by moths and rust away. Fancy possessions that others would seek to steal are of the world and not needed by those that truly seek to follow Jesus Christ.

1 John 3:16-24 NKJV – By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

“But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?” 

The answer is: It does not. Therefore, if God’s love is not in this person are they still of the vine of Jesus Christ?

John 15:1-8 NKJV – “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

Many think they are a part of the Vine. Yet due to not following the commandments of the Bible are not bearing fruit upon the Vine. God Himself cuts them from the Vine and they are burnt within the fire. They are no longer apart of Jesus Christ, they are no longer saved, but are of the world. They are cast into the fire of damnation by their own actions and desires for worldly wealth and possessions. The very things they are required to give unto their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, then unto those of the rest of humanity that are in need. They, however, keep and horde it for themselves.

This is how most that call themselves “Christian” are today, and they are blind unto the Truth, and it is truly something to weep about. For they are the lukewarm and spit out of the Body of Christ.

Revelation 3:15-22 NKJV – “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Follow the commandments of the Bible as commanded by Jesus Christ Himself. Live modestly, do not break the laws of man that do not go against the Bible and change those that do. Stop seeking after the here, the now, the contemporary. Seek after the eternal life that we are promised by Jesus Christ and not after the riches of the world. For as long as you do, you seek to lose your salvation, by your own hand.

Day 2

In yesterday’s post I spelled out the need to follow the commandments in the Bible and showed with the Bible the foundation for this belief. I received a response by someone challenging the Word of God.

Part of my response to one challenge was as follows:

“Due to how my post was received yesterday someone used a quote from John MacArthur:

‘I cannot be saved by keeping the law, and I will not be sanctified by ignoring the law.’

“Just following the commandments alone cannot save you. I completely agree.”

He goes on to say this important statement: “I will not be sanctified by ignoring the law.”

What does this mean?

It is very simple. Everything I discussed in yesterday’s post fits perfectly with this.

Only through accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior can we be saved. However once saved and to grow in our sanctification we must follow the commandments, as Jesus Christ Himself said we must do.

As was witnessed by the response I received, most do not wish to grow in their sanctification. They would rather live their lives as they deem to be enough. This again is counter to the teachings of the Bible, as I have been trying to point out for years.

There is only one destination with this type of mentality, and it is a place that most think they will never encounter, yet as I have made clear this is the furthest thing from the truth. Thus, why these articles have been entitled “The Hard Truth.”

Ponder and think readers, ponder and think.

Day 3

Today’s society is a culture that in reality no longer qualifies as the word “society.”

Society as defined in the Cambridge dictionary as: people considered as a group, or a group of people who live together in a particular social system.

Today in the United States as well as in Europe, in addition to other countries throughout the world, people may live in the same geographical regions, but they no longer follow the same social system.

A social system or social structure is described as: the internal institutionalized relationships built up by persons living within a group (such as a family or community) especially with regard to the hierarchical organization of status and to the rules and principles regulating behavior per the Marion- Webster dictionary.

What is lacking in today’s society is the “principles regulating behavior.”

What were these principles?

They are what is referred to as ethics.

The defining ethical code that originally controlled and governed these nations was Christianity. Christianity works from the Bible. Within the Bible are a list of rules and regulations that are called commandments. Yet most have decided these commandments are antiquated and useless so as a result nations around the world are falling into chaos and disorder, which results in the beginning sentence of this days post.

Jesus Christ said this about the commandments and laws:

Matthew 5:17-19 NKJV – “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

“For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.”

So, the commandments for the most part are still in effect. This does not mean we are to stone people for their sins. That was taken out of our hands by Jesus Himself hanging upon the cross. However, we are to follow those commandments or laws as they were defined by Jesus and His apostles within the New Testament, and if they were not listed in the New Testament we were to refer to how they were originally addressed for the most part in the Old Testament. Especially those that deal with personal interaction with others within a society.

Most in today’s world diminish the commandments and their meanings especially within the “societies” we live within. This is witnessed daily as people speed down the roads and highways going faster than the posted speed limit. This is just one minor example of how the commandments of the Bible have become irrelevant. But what did Jesus say was the result of doing this?

“Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven.”

You are making of yourself to be the “least in the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Yet millions if not billions do this very thing and think nothing of it. In fact, they go about saying that those that say you should follow the commandments are teaching “legalism.”

Yet the true meaning of legalism is to go about performing rituals without knowing or even caring why these rituals are done. A very visual example of this is found within the Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church.

However, why do these two churches now have these rituals? Both of these churches date back to the beginnings of Christianity. So, in some way they recognize the need to follow the commandments, even though they have lost their way.

Following the commandments does not require nor is legalism. It required love of God and His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.

John 14:15-21 NKJV – “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

Jesus knows that we cannot do this fully on our own, which is why being filled with the Holy Spirit is something we should seek after. For it will help us to fulfil and follow the commandments. For Jesus makes it clear that we must accept the commandments and obey them.

“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me.” (KJV)

He that hath – echo – I have, hold, possess

Possess – to have or own something, or to have a particular quality.

We are to not just accept but to take as our own the commandments that are within the Bible. To live them and reflect them. Yet most reject this. Most per Jesus Himself are saying that they do not love Him, but in fact love themselves more. They refuse ownership of the commandments and choose to live their lives as they see fit to live it.

They embrace chaos over order and as a result we have the world we now live within. For all evil comes from humanity, while all love and peace comes from God.

So, this is the end of the look into the past. Those with an ear will hear. While those that still embrace the World will not take ownership and openly reject God.

God Bless