Chapter 6: The Heart of an Apostle

Page 9

If your doctrine says that we can be perfect through Christ Jesus in the

eyes of God, then I fully agree. If, instead, the doctrine says we are perfect per se’ [in and of ourselves after accepting Christ], then the doctrine is false and fails to understand how the grace of God actually works within our newborn souls. Such a doctrine acknowledges John’s words in 1 John 3:9-

10 but fails to understand the ramifications of Paul’s words in Romans 7:19.

When I pointed out “unknown and unintentional” sin to the truth squad, they dismissed the Old Testament as being irrelevant. However, if

you have the heart of an apostle, you understand that the Old Testament remains true today and that God has not changed. You also understand from your heart that the New Testament cannot be fully understood without first understanding the Old Testament. Was God Almighty changed when Jesus Christ arrived? When Christ was crucified? Not according to Malachi 3:6.

Another problem posed for the truth squad on Thursday was that the very idea of “lawlessness” implies you have to obey God’s laws. Their doctrine seemed to dismiss God’s laws. The word “practice” also does not

show up in the vernacular of the King James Bible and, of course, it does run counter to their doctrine and idea of “instantly becoming 100% perfect.”

We can look at Moses who walked with God daily and marched the

Israelites out of Egypt. Since Moses was in direct contact with God and walked with Him, can we surmise that perfection was in Moses? No, and Moses is a prime example of what our lives will be like walking with God. Moses struck a rock prematurely for water and it angered God. He made an

error in judgment. Such error prone behavior is the nature of our human existence, even when we walk very closely with our God.

We are not 100% perfect on our own accord. Yet, we can choose to

make righteous choices to honor God each and every day of our lives. We understand what “Thou shalt not” means. And, we don’t. God’s laws are obvious and meaningful to us and we don’t think twice about obeying them. Indeed, God’s law is written on our hearts and placed in our minds. Having

accepted God and his Son Jesus, we carry “His brand.” We belong to God.