THE REDEEMER MAGAZINE- The Magazine for Thinking Christians.

Foreword: This article expounds on the subject "The Enemy of God". Would not it free your heart to know that the enemy of God is not learking around some dark corner trying to consume you and your worldly possesions. On a normal day we can just look around and see the enemy of God among most sunday morning congregations. In other words the Bible explains that the enemy of God are those who still practice and worship under the guides of the Old Covenant.

THE REDEEMER®- VOLUME 37 ****EDITION 3- OMPS® INC. 2014
 All articles in this magazine are written in whole or part by Otis T. Williams Sr. Th.D.....© 2014  These articles are the literary properties of Otis Media Publications Syndication Inc. ©

The Enemy Of God - Digital Version

        Ever wonder why the pulpit is always talking about the enemy? Ever wonder who or what the enemy is? All through our church lives we have been lead to believe the enemy was this thing called Satan, the Devil or the great Serpent.
        Wouldn’t it make sense to first find the definition of a word before we run with what some one tells us all the time. Most Christians will believe whatever they hear come out of the pulpit without ever proving or testing the pastor. Just does not make sense. Knowingly this is what takes place. Has it ever occurred to you that the pastor may not know what he is talking about? Of course it has. However: most are even afraid to challenge the pastor even when they know the pastor is wrong. Does challenging the pastor make you the enemy? In most case you will become the enemy(according to the definition of “enemy” using our western mind-set)because most pastors cannot except being wrong or challenged. Even though we mentioned this atrocity called “pastor fear”; our main message in this column is trying to figure out who or what the Bible says is the enemy of God.
        First let’s look at a couple of verses starting with  James 4:4:  Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.  In this particular verse we see that whosoever is friends with the world is the enemy of God. Now let’s look at 1 John 2:15:Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. In reading these two verse one would get the impression that if anybody loves the world and the things that are in the world is the enemy of God. “How can that be say so?” That is the question we ask ourselves. Are we not to love the world and all the great splendor that God has created? Am I not to be friends with those in the world that the Bible says are my neighbors?  Did not Jesus say "Love Our neighbors as we love ourselves"? What is the message here if we are not to love the world to keep from being enemies with God? The average pastor would probably let those questions remain unanswered or would refer to those people who do not call themselves Christians as being the participants of the world or worldly people. According to the Bible neither is correct when making sense out of the above scriptures. While most commentaries would guide you along the same direction it is not only slothful but passively inactive to not study for yourself.
       In determining the true definitive meaning of the passages you must first try and determine what is being written and said in the original language of the text. One of the better sources to help with the the Greek and Hebrew language is the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. It combines the King James Bible version with Greek and Hebrew lexicons.  The word “world” is translated in the Greek as being ko'-smos. It is listed in Strong’s as being number 2889. The first entry from the Expository Dictionary is: ko'-smos(world)-an apt and harmonious arrangement or constitution, order, government. That is the definition when the above scriptures are read in the first century context.  So what does this mean? It means that the bible is conveying the message explaining that those who were friends with a particular government or harmonious arrangement were the enemies of God. What particular government or agreement is the bible talking about? It is talking about nothing more than the Old Covenant government or agreement. The Old Laws as given to Moses and the Israelites.

       The writers of the New Testament had received the Gospel of Jesus Christ and part of that Gospel was the eliminating of the Old Covenant Hebrews 8:13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. A number of the things implicated in the Old Covenant that was to be done away with can be found in the Book of Hebrews. However; there were those Christians who did not want to leave the things of the Old Covenant behind and move on to the New. These people would become the enemies of God for not embracing the sacrifice of His son Jesus Christ. They had fallen in love with a system that God had no pleasure in. It was an old system that was full of death. 2 Corinthians 3:7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:. In the scripture above it shows how the Old Covenant was called the administrator of death. Jesus had come to bring life. That of eternal life. Those that did not want to except the New Covenant and all of its better promises are the ones that the bible says are the enemies of God. We have been taught over the years everything but what the bible truly means. It does not say that Satan was the enemy of God. It does not say that the serpent was the enemy of God. (It would Help if one knew the real definition of the word Satan from the original Greek and Hebrew languages.)
       Now; do we see how easy it is to bring the scriptures alive if we take time and study? The way to become the enemy of God is to ignore the New Covenant and the better promises that came with the death of Jesus Christ. Ask yourself; are you an enemy of God? Do you fully accept and abide by the sanctions of the better promises of the New Covenant? Or do you still participate in the rituals of the Old Covenant? Here are a few things that can help you determine if you are still living under the Old Covenant.
1. Do you participate in Temple Worship nearly every Sunday at your local Church building? Must you go to church to get a word from the Lord? Where are the Spirit & truth worshippers that God seeks?
2. Do you let the pastor place a burden on you to tithe? Tithing is not true in spirit.
3. Do you still believe in curses? Do you believe in a fallen Angel, Satan?
4. Do you still go to the altar and sacrifice your prayers for forgiveness even though God says He would remember your sins no more? Do this remind you of the yearly sacrifices in the Temple that God destroyed along with the sacrificial system?
5. Do you think that a person must go to Church to be considered a Christian when they are aready the church. How can they go some place where they already are?
6. Do you believe Jesus did not return to the first century generation with judgement as He stated in the Book of Matthew? How can we have salvatiion if He has not already returned?
        If you answered yes to any of the above questions it’s quite apparent that you are still living and worshiping under the Old Law which has been abolished by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  Let’s say for instance. If you believe in Tithing which was part of an ordinance of the Old Law then you must keep the whole Law. Paul says that if you practice any part of the Old Law it avails nothing in Christ and you become a debtor to the Whole Law. Galatians 5:4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. 5: For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6: For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
       So we see that most of the rituals that goes on in Church on Sunday morning is basically Old Mosaic Covenant rituals associated with the Old Law. We are left with two choices: Jesus fulfilled the law for us and  freed us from the dominion of the Old Covenant, or we must keep every part of the Old Covenant. These are our only choices.  By keeping parts of the Old Covenant we become enemies to God. Now Paul's statement in Rom. 7:6 becomes crystal clear, “But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.”  Its a matter of thinking....... These articles are the literary properties of Otis Media Publications Syndication Inc. © E-MAILpreacherotis@juno.com

The Enemy Of God - Digital Version 

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THE REDEEMER®- VOLUME 37 ****EDITION 3- OMPS® INC. 2014
 All articles in this magazine are written in whole or part by Otis T. Williams Sr. Th.D.....© 2014  These articles are the literary properties of Otis Media Publications Syndication Inc. ©