“For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little,” Isaiah 28:10.

I often find myself wondering if many within the body of Christ have been given teaching that is incomplete and oftentimes has left the foundational truth in what it was intended for.

This is something that is not seen in merely just one area of scripture or theme, but it is a universal application in that which has been taught.

We need to adhere to true doctrine for from that then we rejoice with our heart that will also be enlightening to our eyes and mind.

When the true word of The LORD is sent forth, then our very bones are nourished and given life.

It is like the honeycomb for as sweet it is, it satisfies our hunger and we don’t need to look further.

“The precepts of The LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of The LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes,” Psalm 19:8.

It is certainly true that those who teach are given a greater responsibility and they are held to a higher standard because of what they preach.

And yet without proper teaching then we are left without a rudder upon this sea that we are adrift upon.

We have that Spirit of truth that proceeds forth from God Himself. We have been given the Comforter which has been promised to us that will guide us into all truth, as well as declaring to us those things that are to come.

“When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come,” John 16:13.

And yet God has still set up within the church the various ministries that are vital in bringing us unto the fullness and statue of the measure of Christ.

For without these then the bride will not come to its much needed maturity that it was intended for. But those who teach will be held to a greater standard of strictness because of their position.

“Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness,” James 3:1.

I had recently shared a message that documented how I believe many have misunderstood and characterized who or what a false prophet is.

I see this as one of many false teachings that many have misunderstood within the church.

We label someone who has given a prophetic word that didn’t come to pass, and we quickly label the person as false based upon the tenets from the Old Testament.

Much of this misunderstanding is because we apply Old Testament standards to New Testament guidelines.

And yet we sorely need a greater accountability within the prophetic community.

We need to look to scripture as a whole rather than pulling a certain segment out of context and then apply it to all situations. We should know that all scripture is beneficial to us for our training, and is given for our correction and reproof.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” 2 Timothy 3:16.

I still believe that many confuse the gift of prophecy with the office of a prophet . I find that this principle is even still confused within the church.

Of course there are many churches that are not open to the gifts of the Spirit, let alone recognizing the office of a prophet or apostle.

We are told in Hebrews six that we should no longer continue with our talk about baptisms, the resurrection of the dead, but that we should go onto maturity.

And yet I wonder if we ever will go onto maturity when our discussions, our teachings, and our sermons are filled with the same content and theme Sunday after Sunday.

But without a sense of unity within the body of Christ we will never reach this maturity that would be our goal.

When our continual divisions widen and become more and more pronounced, then our stature becomes dwarfed and keeps us from reaching manhood.

“Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on to perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment,” Hebrews 6:1. emphasis added.

And even within the very words of this section of scripture many misinterpret that we must go onto perfection, when the meaning of the word is meant to be maturity.

God has not called us to be perfect. We will still sin and yet we have an advocate with the Father who cleanses us and makes us clean.

According to Strong’s Concordance, the word perfect (perfection) in this verse was derived from the Greek term teleios, τελειότης, teleiotēs, tel-i-ot’-ace.

Teleios is defined this way:

1. complete in all its parts,
2. full grown, of full age,
3. especially of the completeness of Christian character.

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness,” 1 John 1:7-9.

“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One,” 1 John 2:1.

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective,” James 5:15.

Some draw relevance to the following scripture below citing that no one who is born of God will continue to sin because of God’s seed that remains within him.

What many I believe, fail to see however, is that this is referring to the “new man” that resides within us that is now being transformed.

There is still our sinful nature that is slowly being chipped away, and yet it is still there.

“No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him,” 1 John 3:6.

“No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God,” 1 John 3:9.

I think that perhaps one of the issues with this matter is that we would not “continue” to “willfully sin against God,” because we want to strive to become more Christ-like in our walk with him.

To say that anyone of us will NEVER sin again because of a second birth, second commitment, or whatever, is a very dangerous thing to propose.

Let me go on with this and say that there are indeed, two different natures fighting within us.

We know of this because of Paul’s deliberation from Romans 7:14:20,

“We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do — this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”

The sin that we commit is not committed by the “Christ in us” but is done by the sinful nature that is “within us.”

“So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God — through Jesus Christ our LORD!” Romans 7:20:25.

It may come as a surprise but I believe that what we preach or teach from our pulpits should not include our political preferences.

For this very thing is helping to bring about and strengthen this division that is now widening every day.

Our soap boxes should not be filled with preferences of one candidate over another one, but rather we should speak those very words that come forth from scripture in truth.

For when the word of scripture is given then all other cancers would diminish. When the true word of God is given, then the demons of division would flee.

But you see, some still hold onto that precious scrap of anger and bitterness, that now their hearts and minds are closed.

The guns are lifted and others better flee because you may well be the next target. And it doesn’t matter what is said, because scripture can be twisted to fit their own aim.

And yet that same scripture is living and active. It is sharper than any two-edged sword separating between soul and spirit.

But it is not to be used as a weapon in it sharpness to harm one another. The devil smiles when some would use it this way because his very aim is in separating us.

“For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart,” Hebrews 4:12.

 

Selah,
~ Stephen Hanson

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Stephen Hanson of In His Truth Ministries came to The LORD is a special way in 1975 and has prophesied regularly since. In these end-time birthing pangs we are reminded that judgment must first begin with the household of God. Will we be prepared and ready?

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