Where Do You Stand in the Faith?

The Body of Christ is in a crucial state of unrest today. It is searching and seeking out alternatives to the life Christ wants to live in their flesh. This reality has caused many to turn away from the true principles of the Faith, to go into hot pursuit of what I call pseudo-Christianity. The Faith is not pure anymore, it is tainted with wantonness, lust and iniquity. These are the days of the Great Falling Away. This is a time when the forces of evil are given unobstructed access to our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I know most of the problem lies with the fragmentation of the Church. The Body of Christ is out of order. Therefore, most of the churches do not receive apostolic influence from a real apostle. But it is the apostles who receive a complete revelation of Christ. This, we will do as the Father opens the doors of utterance. But in the meanwhile, we must also face some other facts. Regardless of the absence of revelatory teachings, it is the ability of every born again believer to live holy unto God.

Philippians 3:15-16

15. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

16. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.

As you can see from the verses above, the Lord expects us to walk in the word we have received. It is the conscience of a son that allows him to distinguish good and evil. The conscience, having been purged of sin, will never agree with sin again. Therefore, it is possible to live according to the truth provided by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost. Oh yes, there is the mind of Christ we inherited at salvation. What about him? Is he sleeping in you as he was in the ship on the Gadarene Sea; totally unaware of the things you are faced with? Because Jesus lives in your body, it has been quickened alive unto God and good works. It will never betray you with sin. No, that will be the option of your soul alone. Therefore, it is a reality and you are able to be led by the Spirit; because he will never lead you into sin. If you do not understand some of the things I just mentioned, then it would be good for you to acquire my book, “The Image of God,” at www.marybanksfaithlibrary. com. But I think you get the point that without all the deep revelations, we are still capable of living holy. Before we move away from this letter to the church at Philippi, Paul points out his concern for those who do not walk after the rudiments of the faith.

Philippians 3:17

17. Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.

The Body of Christ must have examples as to how we should walk in the way. I often ask myself, “Are you living a life of character that others would like to follow?” This is a question we all should ask ourselves. This also implies that God will always have a witness to His word. He did not develop a salvation plan that no one was capable of walking in. “Be followers together of me,” simply means to use me as a model. He was confident that he and his fellow workers in the gospel, were true examples of the living Christ. He went on to say, “mark,” or identify and follow those among you who do walk as we do. That brings us to another matter. In this verse we see that Paul had reproduced himself among the members of the Philippian church. He was not always with them, but he wrote to them. They received the same letters as the other churches received. Apparently, there were some who took these letters to heart and proceeded to make the Word law for their lives. However, the apostle renders a very sad emotion on thought of those who have heard the word; and have even been partakers of the Holy Ghost, but have chosen not to walk in the Spirit.

Philippians 3:18-19

18. (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:

19. Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

Paul knew these people; he wept for them. I know the feeling. In spite of all he had taught, and the example he lived before them, they chose to focus on earthly things. They wanted what they wanted; and the righteousness of God was not going to hinder them. Therefore, they freed themselves of this righteousness so that they could live with all the overrides they made against their own conscience. This is a very serious condition. It caused the apostle to weep. These people have made themselves enemies of the cross. But the horror is that they had already been judged by God. Paul declares their end to be destruction. Here is the discerning of the apostle. He knew God had cast these people away from Him. They are reprobates, the rejected of God. So he wept. “Whose glory is in their shame,” is a phrase Paul uses to describe the mindset of the reprobate. They glory in their evil devices. They marvel at the way they are able to accomplish some of the desires of their heart; even at the expense of others.

One day in a counseling session, I made mention of how the individual was able to manipulate people to do her bidding; like moving pieces on a chess board. She looked at me unaffectedly and said, “Yes, I do that.” Without blinking an eye, and absolutely no emotion, she moved on to the next issue. I knew then that this person had no heart for the people of God. You see, the reprobate has none of the sentiments that come with righteousness. They can mimic those sentiments which are righteous when it serves their purpose, but the true heart of the reprobate is hard and self-serving. Many are driven by the preservation of the image they want others to see and worship. On another occasion, one of the other ministers engaged in a conversation with this person. She reportedly said, “I am good.” Meaning, I am good at what I do. But what she did was manipulate the people of God to serve her interests; and to work against one another, if it served her purpose. One might ask, “What about repentance? Can’t such a person repent and get back to their place in God?” The answer is no. You see, the reprobate mind cannot bring itself to true repentance. For instance, some of us were saved after many days of seeking the Lord. During that time, we wanted to make sure nothing hindered us from receiving the Holy Ghost. If when we prayed and the Lord brought people or situations before us, we hastened to correct the matter or to ask for forgiveness from those whom we wronged. The reprobate cannot render a heartfelt regret for the wrong they do. They only put on a show, if it needs to be done. Now the scripture speaks on this wise, Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? (2 Corinthians 13:5). If you truly believe all that I have said about becoming a reprobate, then you would examine yourself and make sure you are doing the things that please the Lord and not serving your own wantonness. As Paul, I was broken-hearted when I saw the truth of the matter. This person is an enemy of the cross of Christ. She is free from righteousness and glories in the things that are shameful to the Body of Christ. She is reprobate concerning the faith. There is no coming back.

Philippians 3:20

20. For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

Our citizenship is in heaven. I love this part of the gospel. It really places the sons in the kingdom of God. We look for things from heaven, not from this earth. Our earthly pilgrimage is financed by God. We are instructed to take no thought for what we shall eat or what we shall wear. He provides for us in whatever situation he guides us into. Jesus taught this principle which has been totally ignored by the church.

Matthew 6:25

25. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

The body is the Temple of God; it is the resurrected Christ. And the life of the flesh (body) is sustained by more than bread alone. It is the life of Christ, (the Holy Ghost), that keeps the body alive.

Matthew 6:26-33

26. Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

27. Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

28. And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29. And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

31. Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32. (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

The obvious question is, “Why has this teaching been ignored by the church?” The truth is, most of those who lead the Church do not believe in this Word. The nearest they have come to it is the old “Name It and Claim It” doctrine. That doctrine is a perversion of the truth. Notice how many times he says the same thing. He is desperately trying to turn our focus from striving in this world to trusting in the Father. But don’t forget that he makes a promise here as well. Seek the kingdom first, and once you obtain citizenship there, food and raiment will be provided. This is where the offense is with this scripture. The sons of God want more than food and raiment! They want a guarantee that they will live a life of prosperity and comfort. But that is not what the Father promised. So now, theologians must go into the Old Covenant and pull out the promises of Deuteronomy 28 (blessings attributed to the nation of Israel if they continued to obey God). However, according to Paul in his letter to the Hebrews (the very ones who would know in detail the promises of God), declared that Covenant would be abolished.

Hebrews 8:6-9

6. But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

7. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.

8. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

9. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

Although I think the passage above makes my point about a New Covenant for a New Testament Church, there is something we need to bring attention to in this passage; and that is verse nine; “Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers.” This ‘not according to’ is very significant. It means that the New Covenant is not consistent with, in agreement with, nor in harmony with the previous covenant. This means that there is nothing about that Old Covenant that is to be used in the government and teachings of the church today. Therefore, it is unlawful for the leadership in the Body to preach and teach such things as promises for the sons of God. We are a spiritual people and therefore, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: (Ephesians 1:3).

Finally, my friends, you must decide what you truly believe. But in doing so, be sure to ask yourself, “Why do I believe, what I believe?” Is it because the Lord instructed me to, or is it because it satisfies my wantonness for the things of this world?” Now to get to the heart of the matter, you must consider if you have factored in the eternal purpose of God for your very existence; who you are and what you are. Once again, we are the offspring of God, this world is not our home, our citizenship is in heaven. Though we are in the world, we are not of the world.