Holiness vs. Man-Made Rules

[Vince53]

What is better Than Man-made Rules?

Some years ago, a Ruckmanite pastor took a church running 19 people and built it up to 400 in two years. He established a Christian school, teaching a strict set of man-made rules in both his church and school. About a year ago, he began an affair with one of the married teachers, while both of them continued to follow the man-made rules. Three months later, a high school student saw them kissing, and while lying and slandering the student, the two of them continued to obey the man-made rules. Six months later, they got caught and he was forced to resign, still without having violated the rules.

How was this possible? Proverbs 6:32 tells us: Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding

The woman later wrote in to a Christian hate site, blasting both the pastor and the student, claiming that the pastor had deceived her. How could that have happened? Proverbs 2:11-12 tells us that "Understanding will keep you, To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things"

The man-made rules didn't make either one of them holy, but understanding would have. Job 28:28 tell us "...to depart from evil is understanding." So how do you get understanding?

Ps 119:99 I have more understanding than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation.

Ps 119:104 Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.

Ps 119:130 ¶ The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.

Reading God's Word will give you understanding, and understanding will separate you from sin. Let's spend more time in God's Word today.

 

[Hammster]

What is better Than Man-made Rules?



Some years ago, a Ruckmanite pastor took a church running 19 people and built it up to 400 in two years. He established a Christian school, teaching a strict set of man-made rules in both his church and school. About a year ago, he began an affair with one of the married teachers, while both of them continued to follow the man-made rules. Three months later, a high school student saw them kissing, and while lying and slandering the student, the two of them continued to obey the man-made rules. Six months later, they got caught and he was forced to resign, still without having violated the rules.



How was this possible? Proverbs 6:32 tells us: Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding



The woman later wrote in to a Christian hate site, blasting both the pastor and the student, claiming that the pastor had deceived her. How could that have happened? Proverbs 2:11-12 tells us that "Understanding will keep you, To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things"



The man-made rules didn't make either one of them holy, but understanding would have. Job 28:28 tell us "...to depart from evil is understanding." So how do you get understanding?



Ps 119:99 I have more understanding than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation.



Ps 119:104 Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.



Ps 119:130 ¶ The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.



Reading God's Word will give you understanding, and understanding will separate you from sin. Let's spend more time in God's Word today.

So your rule is to spend time reading the bible, and that will make you holy? Got anything else we should do?

 

[Jeffwhosoever]

What is better Than Man-made Rules?

How was this possible? Proverbs 6:32 tells us: Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding

Matthew 5:27:

Jesus said: "You have heard that it was said, you shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

This is not a man made rule.

The man-made rules didn't make either one of them holy, but understanding would have. Job 28:28 tell us "...to depart from evil is understanding." So how do you get understanding?

Proverbs 3:5

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding"

Reading God's Word will give you understanding, and understanding will separate you from sin. Let's spend more time in God's Word today.

1 John 1:8

"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."

The bible shows us that we all sin, and only through knowledge of God's word do we see our sin. It is only through the Grace of the Holy Spirit that we can see those sins and repent, but we are NEVER in this life without sin. Fortunately for those who are converted and regenerated, the blood of Christ has already provided atonement for our sins. It is through Faith in our saviour the Lord Jesus Christ, given to us freely and without merit on our part by the Grace of the Holy Spirit that we are saved and can even begin to repent. As we walk in our relationship and obediance to Christ, we see more and more of our sin and repent in a continuous cycle until we die and are glorified in Heaven, but it is a false delusion of Satan that any of us stops sinning in this world of evil. We inherited our evil nature and that cannot be defeated completely, though it is our responsibility to live by the Spirit and die of our nature, but we ultimately cannot succeed in totally getting rid of our sinful nature. This is IMPORTANT to understand.

 

[Vince53]

THE FEAR OF THE LORD vs. MAN-MADE RULES

We have seen that reading the Bible and getting understanding produce holiness. There are other things as well.

Proverbs 16:6 tells us "And by the fear of the LORD one departs from evil." Some commentaries and study Bibles are quick to state that "the fear of the Lord" refers to "reverential awe." But when I looked up the Hebrew and Greek words, I found that the words translated "fear" mean "fear."

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; it is a springboard from which many other strengths can eventually grow. An interesting Bible study would be to take a colored marker, and the next time you go through the Bible, mark every time the phrase "fear of the Lord" appears. God pours out many blessings on a Christian who fears the Lord. But there are no blessings promised to those who obey a list of man-made rules.

 

[Hammster]

Oh good. More of Vince-made rules for holiness.

 

[Jeffwhosoever]

The only holiness any of us have comes through the Grace of the Indwelling Spirit. Our decisions to follow His commands as outlined in scripture (not man made) determine whether we grow as Christians.

 

[Hammster]

The only holiness any of us have comes through the Grace of the Indwelling Spirit. Our decisions to follow His commands as outlined in scripture (not man made) determine whether we grow as Christians.

I might put it differently, although I know where you are coming from. I would rather say that we are holy because Christ's righteousness has been imputed to us. (2 Corinthians 5:21).

God commands us to be holy, not obtain holiness. And I know of only one way to be holy.

 

[Vince53]

Hating Evil Without the Rules

Proverbs 16:6 tells us that by the fear of the Lord, one departs from evil. Proverbs 8:13 sheds more light on this: " The fear of the LORD is to hate evil;"

Some sincere Christians have lists of man-made rules that they follow. They believe these lists are necessary, because they won't know how to live holy lives without them. Furthermore, they believe that obeying these lists will keep them out of situations that will bring them into sin. Yet, these groups have as many scandals in their leadership as other groups. One such group, the Ruckmanites, have more scandals than most other Christian groups.

The fear of the Lord does for Christians what man-made rules fail to do. The lists don't make you hate evil (many people under the authority of those lists don't want to obey them, but their church makes them). The fear of the Lord, on the other hand, makes you hate evil and makes you depart from it.

 

[Vince53]

Sorry, double-post.

 

[Vince53]

Fearing God Without the Rules

What happens if a Christian fears the Lord, but rejects man-made rules? Many sincere Christians will insist that such a Christian cannot be used by God. Let's see what God says:

Ps 25:12 "Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses." This Christian doesn't need a list of man-made rules, because God Himself teaches him what he should do.

 

[Jeffwhosoever]

Romans 3:10-22 (NLT):

"As the scripture say, No one is righteous - not even one. No one is wise, no one is seeking God. All have turned away, all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one. Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tounges are filled with lies. Snake venom drips from their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. The rush to commit murder. Destruction and misery always folow them. They don't know where to find peace. They have not fear of God at all."

"Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever the made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are."

"But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And it is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are."

 

[childofGod31]

When Strict Rules Fail

A successful Ruckmanite pastor would post on the internet, insisting that Christians had to obey a list of man-made rules in order to live holy lives. The list included various dress codes, restrictions on music, places where Christians were not allowed to go, and others.

Another pastor, who had graduated from a strict Bible college that had commanded those same rules, wrote in to ridicule him. He had turned against those rules, and he now practiced scorn and ridicule on those who obeyed them. Later, it turned out that the second pastor was having an affair while still pastoring his church.

The first pastor went on in triumph, until his wife caught him having an affair that had lasted nine months. A few weeks later, he was back on the internet, teaching with authority, as if nothing had happened.

While there have always been scandals in the ministry, Ruckmanites (people who believe that the King James Version IS the Word of God, and it is sinful to use any other translation) have had a far heavier share than most; yet they have stricter rules than most.

Is it possible to live a holy life without obeying a list of man-made rules?

Yes, it is. A holy life is when you don't participate in the things of the world and when you love God with all your heart soul and mind.
Jesus said that the entire law hangs on these 2 commandments:
Love the Lord and love your neighbor. This is all we have to follow in order to be holy.

2CO 6:17 "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you."
1JO 2:15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

"Righteousness" is not what we think. We say we wear Christ's righteousness on us, and yet, we act like a pharisee who went into the temple to pray and started saying to God about all those things he did as a "nice good Christian". God said that this kind of "righteousness" is your own rigtheousness and therefore is like dirty rags. Jesus told to luke-warm church in Revelation: you are naked. In other words, they were wearing their own righteousness just like a pharisee. God's righteousness is to "love God and love your neighbor". And when you start truly loving God, when you truly come close to Him, then JESUS's righteousness will show up in your life. It is GOD HIMSELF who will THEN work in you to produce the fruit of rigtheousness (aka: righteous deeds).

I talk about it in this post if anybody is interested:

http://www.christianforums.com/t7417339/#post53491499

 

[Hammster]

As has been clearly demonstrated, Vince has replaced the Ruckmanite's man-made rules (which surely were, at least from their point of view, biblically based) with his own. He has failed to demonstrate how following his rules will make one holy.

 

[Vince53]

"Vince has replaced the Ruckmanite's man-made rules (which surely were, at least from their point of view, biblically based) with his own."

Uhm, no. I've been showing from the Bible that God's Word will make you holy, understanding will make you holy, and the fear of the Lord will make you holy.

 

[JustAsIam77]

Off the cuff..

There are two ways for holiness, (rightiousness), in the NT. They come together seamlesly. On one side are the apostles who were speaking to the circumsised..then there is Paul, who was given the revelation of redemption by grace alone and speaking to the uncircumsised, after Christ had been crucified and resurrected.

The apostles and Christ Himself were speaking under the Mosaic law at the time before Atonement. If my memory serves, Peter came to understand Pauls revelation after Christs crucifiction.

 

[Jeffwhosoever]

I've been showing from the Bible that God's Word will make you holy, understanding will make you holy, and the fear of the Lord will make you holy.

You are made Holy by only one way, and it is none of these. You are made Holy by the indwelling Holy Spirit, period. No amount of God's Word, no amount of understanding, and no amount of fear of the Lord makes a person Holy. Demons know God's word, understand it, and fear the Lord. Are Satan's demons therefore Holy?

 

[Vince53]

CLEANING HOUSE

2 Timothy 2:20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.
21 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.

Despite being saved, we live in a world full of sin. God wants to use us, but sin in our lives hinders our usefulness. By purging ourselves of this sin, we became sanctified (separated, holy) and useful for the Master.

 

[Hammster]

CLEANING HOUSE



2 Timothy 2:20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.

21 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.



Despite being saved, we live in a world full of sin. God wants to use us, but sin in our lives hinders our usefulness. By purging ourselves of this sin, we became sanctified (separated, holy) and useful for the Master.

Do you see everyone in v. 20 as being saved?

 

[Jeffwhosoever]

CLEANING HOUSE

Despite being saved, we live in a world full of sin. God wants to use us, but sin in our lives hinders our usefulness. By purging ourselves of this sin, we became sanctified (separated, holy) and useful for the Master.

OK now something I can agree with! Yes, through the indwelling Holy Spirit for those of us who are born again, we enter a lifelong process of sanctification, whereby the Spirit shows us sin, we repent and get that sin under control to some extent, then the Spirit peels the onion and exposes a deeper layer of that sin we were formerly unaware of. This continues until the day we reach Heaven, where we are then Glorified and without any further sin. One illustration: our message in church a few weeks back was in "anger management". When the Pastor began the service, I was already patting myself on the back that "well here is one area where I shine". By the end of the service, the Pastor had shown me that I was completely wrong, that I still have an anger problem though it's all internal now rather than being externally visible, and now I've got much more work to do in controlling my thoughts. I think if we saw all our sins at once, we would be overwhelmed, so the Spirit in His wisdom works on us one layer at a time.

 

[Vince53]

Genuine, born-again Christians have a strong tendency to divide into groups. These groups then tend to choose leaders from their own midst, and members of the groups are encouraged to follow the leaders, because the group has determined that the leaders are Godly examples.

What happens when the leaders strongly support man-made rules, and the rules are enforced on the group?