Overview
To keep a personal apostasy from happening we need to prepare for our life challenges. By preparing we can have the surety that God will always be with us even during our darkest hour.
To keep our society from apostasy we need to remember God as individuals. To do that we need to share what we know.
To keep a church wide apostasy from happening (again) we need to make sure that we ourselves don't fall away and that in turn will help society. I put the word: again, in parenthesis' because of the passages in Amos and 2 Thessalonians. Some say nether has happened yet. Amos prophecy of a "famine" and Paul's prophecy in Chapter 2 that a "falling away" is required for the second coming tell me it has happened. Without an apostasy there cannot be a Second Coming. With a falling away there usually is a return or restoration.
Conclusion:
Even though the Christian faith as a whole has lasted for centuries it leaves one question: Is the mainstream Christian faith teaching the same gospel Christ taught? Are you living the same gospel Jesus Christ taught? Thank you for the time you took to read this lengthy message.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
What does the bible say about an apostasy? Part Three and Four...
...continued from part two...
3. Apostasy of Early Christian Church
First we must ask ourselves has this happened? Is it necessary? We learn from these following verses that it is necessary for certain events to happen. Let's go over them.
2 Thessalonians 2:3
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be releavled, the son of perdition."
When you first read it is doesn't sound straight forward. However going over it in context we see that 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 is about the Second Coming. When you realize this the understanding of verse three becomes this. A "falling away" has to happen before Christ comes again. The Anti-Christ has to come before Christ to be revealed as the "son of perdition."
Again, has this happened? If you ask any LDS member they will say that an Apostasy has happened. It happened to the Early Christian Church. While the basic teachings of Christianity are still around today, they are not the full teachings of Jesus Christ himself.
Let's move on.
2 Timothy 4:4
"And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."
Almost sounds like what it happening now. Some believe that certain churches are based on fables, that the people have in fact turned "away their ears from the truth..."
Are you listening for the truth?
Titus 1:16
"They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate."
People do works, but do they have faith? Some people believe like I said before that "all you need is" faith. God doesn't want hypocrites. Faith and works go hand in hand. We will discuss this in great detail at a later date.
4. Apostasy as a whole
Isaiah 24:5
"The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant."
Questions with my answers:
Can something everlasting be broken? Covenants are promises between two parties. In this case the parties involved are God and an individual. I personally have made covenants with God. So how do I keep from breaking those covenants? I abide by his teachings.
Have ordinances changed? I believe they have. Throughout time it is natural for things to change. The world has changed a lot just in the last 10 years. Laws have changed, people change. However, the one thing that should never change is worshipping God.
What ordinances? Let's put this one on our list to go over in detail. I don't want to miss anything here.
What Laws? God's laws; all of them. We find them in scriptures.
So has this happened?
Amos 8:11
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:"
So, there is supposed to be a "famine of hearing the words of the Lord". Meaning there is/was a time when the Lord didn't speak directly to his people. Interesting.
Romans 11:20
"Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear."
If we don't believe God will cut us off from his presense. We need faith and we need to fear.
3. Apostasy of Early Christian Church
First we must ask ourselves has this happened? Is it necessary? We learn from these following verses that it is necessary for certain events to happen. Let's go over them.
2 Thessalonians 2:3
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be releavled, the son of perdition."
When you first read it is doesn't sound straight forward. However going over it in context we see that 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 is about the Second Coming. When you realize this the understanding of verse three becomes this. A "falling away" has to happen before Christ comes again. The Anti-Christ has to come before Christ to be revealed as the "son of perdition."
Again, has this happened? If you ask any LDS member they will say that an Apostasy has happened. It happened to the Early Christian Church. While the basic teachings of Christianity are still around today, they are not the full teachings of Jesus Christ himself.
Let's move on.
2 Timothy 4:4
"And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."
Almost sounds like what it happening now. Some believe that certain churches are based on fables, that the people have in fact turned "away their ears from the truth..."
Are you listening for the truth?
Titus 1:16
"They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate."
People do works, but do they have faith? Some people believe like I said before that "all you need is" faith. God doesn't want hypocrites. Faith and works go hand in hand. We will discuss this in great detail at a later date.
4. Apostasy as a whole
Isaiah 24:5
"The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant."
Questions with my answers:
Can something everlasting be broken? Covenants are promises between two parties. In this case the parties involved are God and an individual. I personally have made covenants with God. So how do I keep from breaking those covenants? I abide by his teachings.
Have ordinances changed? I believe they have. Throughout time it is natural for things to change. The world has changed a lot just in the last 10 years. Laws have changed, people change. However, the one thing that should never change is worshipping God.
What ordinances? Let's put this one on our list to go over in detail. I don't want to miss anything here.
What Laws? God's laws; all of them. We find them in scriptures.
So has this happened?
Amos 8:11
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:"
So, there is supposed to be a "famine of hearing the words of the Lord". Meaning there is/was a time when the Lord didn't speak directly to his people. Interesting.
Romans 11:20
"Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear."
If we don't believe God will cut us off from his presense. We need faith and we need to fear.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
What does the Bible say about an Apostasy? Part Two
...Continued from part one...
2) Apostasy of Israel
Again there are lots of passages. The following made an impression on me.
Ezekiel 34:8
"As I live, saith the Lord God surely because my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepards fed themselves, and fed not my flocks;"
I almost sense an underlying theme here. It's called missionary work. Some religions rely on their own faith to bring in the masses. They believe that all they have to do is claim Jesus Christ as their savior and they are saved. Now, I know I am getting off topic for a moment but time and time again I hear, "All you need is faith."
Well, just as false as the music lyric, "All you need is love," faith and love are just the beginning. Next to faith is to study and then proclaim the "good word."
Okay back to the passage. Let's pick it apart.
"My Flock" -- Who is this? -- Israel -- Now a days it would be those that follow God's law.
"Shepherds" -- Who are they? -- Prophets -- Are they needed today?(We will go over this another time in great detail!)
It almost sounds more like what is happening in our time. We are God's Flock. Because he can't physically be here he sends prophets to be our shepherds. Every dispensation had on or more; or so shows the bible. While Jesus Christ is our head shepherd the prophets are the under-sheperds. Every shepherd has under-shepherds.
The next one I am going to be brief:
Hosea 4:6
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget they children."
This I see as a warning: If we forget God, he will forget us.
...to be continued... Part three coming soon...
2) Apostasy of Israel
Again there are lots of passages. The following made an impression on me.
Ezekiel 34:8
"As I live, saith the Lord God surely because my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepards fed themselves, and fed not my flocks;"
I almost sense an underlying theme here. It's called missionary work. Some religions rely on their own faith to bring in the masses. They believe that all they have to do is claim Jesus Christ as their savior and they are saved. Now, I know I am getting off topic for a moment but time and time again I hear, "All you need is faith."
Well, just as false as the music lyric, "All you need is love," faith and love are just the beginning. Next to faith is to study and then proclaim the "good word."
Okay back to the passage. Let's pick it apart.
"My Flock" -- Who is this? -- Israel -- Now a days it would be those that follow God's law.
"Shepherds" -- Who are they? -- Prophets -- Are they needed today?(We will go over this another time in great detail!)
It almost sounds more like what is happening in our time. We are God's Flock. Because he can't physically be here he sends prophets to be our shepherds. Every dispensation had on or more; or so shows the bible. While Jesus Christ is our head shepherd the prophets are the under-sheperds. Every shepherd has under-shepherds.
The next one I am going to be brief:
Hosea 4:6
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget they children."
This I see as a warning: If we forget God, he will forget us.
...to be continued... Part three coming soon...
What does the Bible say about an apostasy? Part One
Biblically an apostasy is spoken of in one main topic and three sub topics. They are as follows:
1. Personal
2. Israel
3. Early Christian Church
4. As a whole(or as one)
What does the word Apostasy mean? www.dictionary.com defines it this way:
a total desertion of or departure from one's religion, principles, party, cause, etc.
Let's go over a religious apostasy.
1. Personal Apostasy
In researching there are quite a bit of passages about this. However, I would just like to go over a few.
Proverbs 29:18 states:
"Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he."
I have noticed Proverbs verses to each have two parts. The first being the lesson we need to apply to our lives and the second how to apply it.
We all have dreams or "visions" of what we think our lives will be. If we didn't have aspirations our lives would have no meaning. No dreams, no life. So, how do we keep our dreams alive? That is the second part of the verse; the "how to" part. We need to "keep the law". What is the law? The commandments, the teachings of Christ, and if you believe in them; modern day prophets.
Next is Matthew 13:21 which reads
"Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended."
This one is harder to define. This is what I got out of it though. The first part is telling us we need to have roots "in" ourselves. To me it means we need to know ourselves. If we are unsure of who we are then, when trials come we might falter. So, if we know ourselves we will be able to go through anything.
On to Luke 12:47
"And that servant, which knew his lord's will and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes."
With this passage it is important to know it comes from a parable. The Parable of the Unjust Steward. The parable in context is Luke 12:41-48
I am a firm believer that a verse should not only be able to stand alone but be understood in context as well.
By itself you can see that if we do not follow God's will, or in this parable the master, we need to suffer consequences. In this parable the fictional servant represents those that either serve God or have the desire to serve God(they just may not know where to start). Then there is a warning to the servant(us) to not only follow God's will but also prepare for it.
Lastly is Hebrews 10:26
"For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,"
This one I believe needs to be pondered by each individual. Although one question: Have you found "the truth"?
To be continued...
1. Personal
2. Israel
3. Early Christian Church
4. As a whole(or as one)
What does the word Apostasy mean? www.dictionary.com defines it this way:
a total desertion of or departure from one's religion, principles, party, cause, etc.
Let's go over a religious apostasy.
1. Personal Apostasy
In researching there are quite a bit of passages about this. However, I would just like to go over a few.
Proverbs 29:18 states:
"Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he."
I have noticed Proverbs verses to each have two parts. The first being the lesson we need to apply to our lives and the second how to apply it.
We all have dreams or "visions" of what we think our lives will be. If we didn't have aspirations our lives would have no meaning. No dreams, no life. So, how do we keep our dreams alive? That is the second part of the verse; the "how to" part. We need to "keep the law". What is the law? The commandments, the teachings of Christ, and if you believe in them; modern day prophets.
Next is Matthew 13:21 which reads
"Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended."
This one is harder to define. This is what I got out of it though. The first part is telling us we need to have roots "in" ourselves. To me it means we need to know ourselves. If we are unsure of who we are then, when trials come we might falter. So, if we know ourselves we will be able to go through anything.
On to Luke 12:47
"And that servant, which knew his lord's will and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes."
With this passage it is important to know it comes from a parable. The Parable of the Unjust Steward. The parable in context is Luke 12:41-48
I am a firm believer that a verse should not only be able to stand alone but be understood in context as well.
By itself you can see that if we do not follow God's will, or in this parable the master, we need to suffer consequences. In this parable the fictional servant represents those that either serve God or have the desire to serve God(they just may not know where to start). Then there is a warning to the servant(us) to not only follow God's will but also prepare for it.
Lastly is Hebrews 10:26
"For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,"
This one I believe needs to be pondered by each individual. Although one question: Have you found "the truth"?
To be continued...
Welcome To My Religious Blog...
Before I get started I want to introduce myself. I'm Sandy and I am LDS/Mormon. I was born LDS and I still live it today. I was married in the Salt Lake City Temple almost 7 years ago. I have a three year old son. I currently work outside the home at Sonic Drive In as a manager. Yes, I skate!
While I am still learning about the history of my faith, the more I research the more confidant I am that the LDS faith is right for me. If you don't believe, fine. My main reasoning for starting this Blog is to study the Bible. Another reason is to get people to think about what they are reading when/if they read the Bible.
I hope all who find this blog will participate. Whether or not you believe. I am going to try and stay as unbiased as I can, although with the background that I have it may be hard. Please let me know if I cross the line. There will be some posts that will be what LDS believe and why? I am not making you read these posts. Feel free to change the page if you would rather not learn about the LDS faith. One more thing I will be using the King James Version of the Bible. Feel free to use your own translation to compare verses that I will be using.
I hope you all enjoy it. Let's begin...
Sandy
While I am still learning about the history of my faith, the more I research the more confidant I am that the LDS faith is right for me. If you don't believe, fine. My main reasoning for starting this Blog is to study the Bible. Another reason is to get people to think about what they are reading when/if they read the Bible.
I hope all who find this blog will participate. Whether or not you believe. I am going to try and stay as unbiased as I can, although with the background that I have it may be hard. Please let me know if I cross the line. There will be some posts that will be what LDS believe and why? I am not making you read these posts. Feel free to change the page if you would rather not learn about the LDS faith. One more thing I will be using the King James Version of the Bible. Feel free to use your own translation to compare verses that I will be using.
I hope you all enjoy it. Let's begin...
Sandy
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