What Do I Believe?
This world was created by Yahweh God of the Bible as a means for the Creator to fellowship with His creation of mankind for His own good pleasure and to share in the inheritance of eternal life (Rev 4:11, Phil 2:13, Col 1:16). However, that experience has been contaminated from the beginning by rebellion and sin that has separated us from Yahweh God (Gen 3, Isaiah 59:2).
As foreshadowed in the law and in the visions of the prophets, Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah as written in prophecy, and was offered to redeem mankind from the penalty of sin. The law was a tutor to bring us to Christ. God promised He would come in the flesh to redeem man by being born into mankind through a virgin (Isaiah 7:14). This is His Son who would represent Yahweh God as well as be made flesh to inherit the penalty of sin for mankind.
In order to see the Kingdom of God, one must be born from above (John 3:3). Jesus made that possible and if we look upon Him, despite our own merit, and we trust in Him, we shall be saved (Romans 10:8,9). We cannot see the Kingdom of God otherwise and will perish in our sins if we do not accept the Redeemer (John 3).
The god of this world had persuaded men to follow him and has blinded the eyes of man from the glory of the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 4:4). If one desires, despite that he can call out to Jesus Christ and be saved.
No amount of works or good deeds can save us (Eph 2:8,9). This is because we are not in qualified standard to offer good enough works to forgive sin. And sin has contaminated us. We need to be redeemed (bought back) with a price. Jesus Christ paid that price to pay for that redemption (Gal 3:13).
Once grafted into the root, a person is considered born into Israel. Both Jew and Gentile become one new man (Eph 2:15). Israel isn’t replaced by the church (the ones called-out as saints), but rather Israel has extended to include Gentiles under the auspices of Israel, which is both Jew and Gentile. Some believe God will once more put aside His church to focus again on Israel and His people the Jews (I do not believe in the Pretribulation Rapture theory as it has been expressed under John Darby and Scofield).
The Nature of God
There is One True God, Yahweh. The Father begot His Son Jesus Christ for our salvation, and the witness of the Holy Spirit verifies it. Some call this a trinity, which isn’t mentioned in the Bible. Jesus was with the Father from the beginning as the Word. All things were created through Him. The Father has given glory to His Son Jesus to have authority and represent Him as One God, having one mind with the Father in purpose (Rom 1:20, Col 2:9). Therefore Jesus represents God and in Him is the full godhood bodily. Some call this a Trinity of “God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.” This sounds like passing off three gods as one. There is only one God, expressed in three persons as Jesus having been made flesh represents the godhead in its fullness, and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of them also representing God.
The Problem and Remedy
The relationship between man and the Father has been hindered by sin, which requires a means of restoring a relationship with our Father in heaven [Genesis 3, Isaiah 59:2]. Sin has separated us from Yahweh God so much so that some do not even seek Him. Therefore He must seek us (Romans 3:23).
God made a covenant with people whom He called His own. Because of transgression, those that were Hebrews and Jews were given the Commandments (the law taught under the Torah) to follow and obey, with the illustration of sin and of obedience through laws, rituals, of atonement, and practices. But the Israelites had broken the covenant. God provided a promise of a new and better covenant in that the first was a tutor to bring them to the knowledge of a Messiah (Jer 31:31; Hebrews chapters 7,8).
Despite our sin, in His grace and mercy, God has provided the means of returning us in right standing, not by our own works, nor by human standards (Titus 3:5, Eph 2:8,9), but through His covenant. While the first covenant offered a foreshadow through the Hebrews and Jews, and the law a tutor to bring us to Christ, it has been revealed in our time through Jesus/Yeshua* for all mankind, both Jew and Greek (Gentile) (Col 2:17, Matt 21:42, Isaiah 53:3, John 1:11). This was according to the plan to save mankind by the same promise of the same covenant renewed and by His merit, not our works.
Man is born into sin in the flesh. Therefore he is dead in spirit. So there needs to be a regeneration of the spiritual man. The first birth is physical. In that state man doesn’t know God. In the flesh we cannot see the kingdom of God in our fleshly self righteousness that falls short of the glory of God. Nor is religion a channel for spirituality. But unless one is “born again,” or born from above, he cannot even see the kingdom of God because in the flesh he is tainted by sin that is against the righteousness of God (John chapter 3). And is corrupted (1Cor 15).
However, the Father provided a way. God gave His only begotten Son as a sacrifice offered once and for all to those whom would look upon Him as the Savior, and would recognize His Lordship. That if one believes in (trusts in, adheres to, puts ones whole weight upon) Jesus Christ for the remission of sin, he will not perish but have eternal life. And the merit of Jesus would save those who put their trust in Him (John chapter 3).
A New Creation
Jesus Christ became the redemption provided to merit for our shortcomings of sinfulness against a Holy God. But each one of us called to salvation and eternal life must be born again from above to have eternal life (John 3:3). That is we must hear the call to repent – to turn from our evil ways (Matt 3:2, Acts 2:38, 3:19), believe in the Savior and in His resurrection, trust Him as Master, thus receiving the Holy Spirit deposited into us that seals a person for salvation (2 Cor 1:22, Eph 1:14), and becoming a new spiritual creature before God. The Spirit witnesses to our spirit that we are saved. This spiritual act is a resurrection of the spirit that regenerates a person’s soul and makes everything old pass away and all things become new (2 Cor 5:17).
As a new born child of God, the person has a relationship with the Almighty Father of heaven through His Son Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit helps one transform to become a workmanship unto God, which is a process called sanctification – meaning to be a work in progress (Eph 2:10). While this does not ensure a person will escape trials and tribulations, it allows the person the strength to endure it with His comforting help, and uses these trials to mature the person to the image of Christ (James 1:2, 1 Pet 1:6).
While we have been given the power to overcome sin, we may not always express the ability, because the flesh is weak. Therefore Jesus Christ provides the grace to obey as well as the mercy to cover us while we are being sanctified (worked on). We strive not to sin, but to please the Father, even though that does not add to our salvation. That merit was paid by Jesus, and our merit is merely to believe in Him. That is the only work in which we can achieve to properly apply salvation.
In the World But Not Of It
The world is led by a great conspiracy. As we live in this matrix given over to Satan as god of this world, and are susceptible to his wiles and tactics (2 Cor 4:4, Eph 6:11), we have the ability to discern and overcome his spiritual stronghold since within those who are of Jesus is a greater power than he who is in the world. There is free will that we act upon, whether for good or evil. As we recognize the temptations and stumbling blocks, we are free to give them over to The Father through Jesus Christ and submit to the Father’s will. By having been revealed the hope of Jesus Christ, and discerning the tactics of the enemy, we can divert from his deceptions and lean on Jesus Christ for power to endure (Eph 4:27, 1 Cor 15:57, Eph chapter 6, 1 John 4:4, 5:4).
Some await for Jesus Christ to restore His kingdom here on earth and bring God’s will “on earth as it is in heaven.” I believe this is more allegorical in that once a person is a new creation born from above, he represents that heavenly kingdom simultaneously while the fleshly kingdom of Satan exists. It is through the Spirit that we represent the heavenly Kingdom and bring God’s will to the earth. His principles, His ways, His message is what we herald. And that despite the principles of the world that have been adopted.
The hope of Jesus Christ is the answer to all life’s problems, in the person of Jesus, and by His allowing us access to the Father through Him. The scriptures represent the record of knowledge and revelation of Yahweh God to the people, and that its message is inspired by the Holy Spirit to apply to every need and hope of man, and to apply wisdom to our heart, and mode of living. The scriptures also provide answers as to who God is, why we need Jesus Christ, and how to have access to the Father and gain everlasting life (2 Tim 3:16).
We are IN the world but not OF the world. We as believers are sojourners, as on a journey through to our destiny. We are ambassadors of another kingdom, one that is heavenly, and we represent THAT kingdom while here functioning and existing in the present one, that has been tainted by sin and rebellion, and that the God of the World, Satan, has mastered.
The True Church
New and older believers alike need to glean off one another and work together in the gifts to mature, edify, and encourage one another as we turn to Jesus Christ individually as well as corporately. We are to assemble in a congregated manner, whether in a home, in a facility, in a barn, on the street, or wherever is practical. Those will arise from amongst us who function in various giftings to oversee, teach, and prophecy as the Holy Spirit leads. The elders (seniors) in the faith teach the younger to maturity to be equipped to and sent on as well. And for whatever mission is distributed by the Holy Spirit unto good works.
The true representation of church is not a building, institution, or organization of various denominations, sects, or independent establishments, but is the activated body of believers who are called out and considered the ekklesia that Jesus stated in Matthew 16:18 that He is building. And that believers are the extension of Jesus Christ as His body, the living temple, a witness of Him on this earth. Jesus Christ is the founder, creator and Head of His Church and is the sole mediator between man and God. There is no clerical or religious hierarchy or exalted, earthly religious leader whom one must recognize as mediator to come to Christ.
Jim’s View of the modern Christian Church
Several years ago I had became frustrated with the direction of the church. While Christianity as a whole is his passion, he identified many structural and internal issues with the modern church, having focused on the institution and organization more than the faith, and deviating from the original model given by Jesus and His disciples. Jim sees that it has turned into a business structure apart from its intent to be the gathering of the saints as the congregation. And that Man has made it an enterprise, and devised schemes to keep people active and obligated to attend their facility called “church” with the one man called the “Pastor” managing the organization like a membership club.
I agrees with the issues of William Tyndale and his struggles to identify the “church” as a congregation operating as a organism of the Holy Spirit with Jesus Christ as its head, rather than an institution of man. And believe that the gifts are to function for the edification of the body, not for the sake of the clergy. That the “pastor” be a humble role of nurturing and teaching the believer to maturity rather than prize himself as the popular icon of the community, recognized in honor by municipalities.
For this reason, I prefer a more intimate fellowship, and rather connect with like-minded believers who share, edify, and encourage one another. My views may be considered to be “fringe Christianity.” However, I believe it is just “organic Christianity.” There may need a modern reform in the faith of Christianity and how we conduct our services in the future.
As a member of the household of faith, I seek out fellow believers and meets with them whom he can share in the edifying, encouraging, and teaching of the faith. I also do not contribute to this all out circus of charismatic chaos, flaunting gifts, manufacturing manifestations of the holy Spirit, or
The Name Jesus
Jesus rendered in English is a transliteration of the Latin IESUS, which is from the Greek IESOUS. The modern version of His name originated from the Greek, which was a character for character transliteration of the Hebrew. While the Hebrew “Yeshua, Yahshua, Yahusha” expresses the nature of Jesus as being “Yahweh Who Saves,” in itself, the Greek into the modern English actually doesn’t have any real meaning. But it represents the Hebrew which is a rendering of the meaning of His name. However, even the modern Hebrew does not correctly render the original paleo-Hebrew pictograph characters. But we know of whom it refers. And what it means. Jesus is the “I AM who SAVES. The very name of Jesus represents God Saves and that Jesus is the Savior in His very name.
For further examination on this, refer to my article Jesus, Yahshua, Yahusha, Yeshua – oy vey, which is His real name?