“But a Faithful man who can Find?”...the Wayfarer 5/22/14

“But a Faithful man who can Find?”
5/22/14

“Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?”

(Proverbs 20:6)

Faithfulness to Christ, and the teachings left by Christ, obedience to the teachings left by Christ are apparent only in those who have comprehended their own lack of goodness, their own lack of righteousness and the fact that they themselves are not God, but that Jesus both was and is.

The most judgmental among us proclaim loudly their own righteousness, constantly seeking ways to deny the righteousness of Christ himself simply by doing so. They fail to accept the words left by Him, and instead of seeking a way to prove their faithfulness through living the commandment left by Him to love one another, seek instead to be judges of men.

Paul wrote to those in the church at Rome about the dangers of attempting to be judges instead of being faithful to the TRUTH given by Christ.

Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.

But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.

And thinkest thou this, O man that judgest, them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?

Or despiseth thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

But after thy hardness and impetinent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life:

 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,

 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also the Gentile;

 But glory, honor, and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:

For there is no respect of persons with God.

 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;

 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

 Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel”

(Romans 2:1-16)

The perfection proclaimed by those who would be judges, instead of followers of what is taught and demanded by Christ for salvation in no way grants them that salvation, but instead the condemnation for thinking themselves on the same level of perfection of the only one that is in fact perfect, whose perfection provides that salvation.

Proclamation of the perfection of man is the denial of the perfection of Christ, whose perfection alone may grant that salvation.

If it were possible for mankind to be perfect, there would have been no need for God to have sacrificed His Son, the Law that was given through Moses would have been sufficient in and of itself.

That law was perverted, twisted, and reinvented to the point of being ineffective, and unworthy to God by those proclaiming their own righteousness, while continuing to twist, pervert, add to that law all the things they did for an outward show in justification of themselves before men, instead of seeking to simply obey what had been demanded of them by God.

Those same laws are still being perverted, twisted and reinvented by those seeking that same justification before men, the same popularity among men, the same elevation of themselves above men, and by so doing their own elevation above Christ himself.

The concepts given in those laws, the actual intent of those laws, reality of those laws, are denied, choosing instead the elaborations and perversions of them instead of the absolute TRUTH of them as defined by Jesus.

Jew or Gentile seeking salvation and redemption through the righteousness of any other than that of God alone fails to accept that there was ever a need for Christ’s having been sacrificed, and continue to place the teachings of men above those of Christ himself.

 Jesus spoke to these, the Pharisees of His time, which proclaimed that, the same righteousness of men above that of God when he stated:

“Woe unto you, scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise, and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye make clean the outside of the cup and platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.

Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.

Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Woe unto you, scribes, and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous,

 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.

Wherefore ye be witness unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.”

(Matthew 22:23-30)

Gnats are still being strained at while camels are swallowed whole by those continuing to forget the weightier matters of the law. Judgment, that of God, not of man or of man’s organizations and perversions of that law, mercy, God’s mercy as given both to us and through us by the gift of His Son who exemplified that mercy, and faith, faith in that Son and his message of redemption through repentance and through His commandment to love one another.

The platters are still filthy, still full of extortion for personal gain instead of the glory of God;

 whether that extortion is the attempt to steal and use God’s money for personal gain, or to steal the glory due only God by proclamation of a righteousness that belongs only to Him in an attempt to gain fame and the favor of mankind, rather than to honor and glorify God, through the acceptance of Christ Jesus’ perfect interpretation of that law, despite the perversions that were and still are being offered in place of the teachings He left us, to guide us;

 to assure that eventual perfection and righteousness would be attainable; not through proclamation of that righteousness by unrighteous men, but through the gift of His intercession on the cross, continued intercession still for those in recognition of their own inability to be perfect; 

those who take his teachings and guidance seriously, retain those teachings and that guidance in their heart, and listen carefully and quietly to the guidance given through the Holy Ghost, in order to learn what is and is not righteous, what is and is not acceptable to God, what is perversion of the intent of the law given, that was and is inadequate for attainment of that redemption and salvation.

Those proclaiming the perfection of themselves, the pure righteousness of whatever dogma is offered by means of their own teachings and those of organization, denomination or division created by man fail to accept the actual perfection and true righteousness of Christ, and deny the very reason for his having made that sacrifice on the cross.

Those individuals, organizations and other divisions that are set up by men, clinging to the teachings of men, remain whited sepulchers; full of the bones of dead men. They continue be partakers in the blood of Christ, never accepting that that blood was given for themselves and others to cleanse and overcome sin, that Christ alone was and is perfect and the only authority to be honored and glorified.

When that realization of the perfection of Christ is attained, then and then alone, can the acceptance of imperfection of self and others be obtained. Then and then alone can what is required be given, not taken.

The commandment left us by Christ was not that we be loved by all men, but that we love one another as He loved us.

Following that commandment is not done through proclamation of righteousness, and judgment, but by sincere, honest, and complete subjugation to that commandment that does not glorify or enrich men, but glorifies God and returns the riches of that glorification to Him alone.

There are many words in red in the bible, left us by Christ. Those words are highlighted because of their importance, and should be given the attention demanded if we are to give that honor and glorification where it belongs, if we are to follow the intent of the law that He fulfilled, instead of attempting to fulfill the perversions given through imperfect men.

I close in prayer, that those words in red be heeded:

 All of them!

I remain that same simple sinner saved by the grace of God, not through any righteousness, or perfection of my own, but through faith in the righteousness and perfection of Christ Jesus, and in His promise that I know cannot fail that the inside of both cup and platter were cleansed by the blood He shed for ME, as well as all willing to accept that same blood that purifies the soul before God who judges all souls, who sees and knows all, who recognizes no righteousness in mankind, but recognizes only the righteousness of the intercession given through that blood.

I remain also that same, imperfect, but willing soldier, chosen by him to proclaim His righteousness, His power, His glory…Not my own or that of any man.

2 Timothy 1:12 King James Version (KJV)

¹² For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Amen and Amen

the Wayfarer