<p><span>Keely,</span></p>
<p><span>Thank you for your thoughtful response.<span> </span>Thank you also for showing me that I have failed badly to express myself clearly.<span> </span>If you did not follow what I was saying, then those that need to consider that message most certainly did not appreciate its intentions.
</span></p>
<p><span>Hence, I will try in my very best but human way to answer your concerns and comments in the context of wealth and salvation as taught by Christ Jesus in the <i>New Testament</i>. </span></p>
<p><span>First though, you should know the principles I base my words upon.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><span>1.<span> </span>There is a Mighty God who created the universe and all things in it in a manner by which we do not, and perhaps cannot, totally understand.
</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><span> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><span>2.<span> </span>This Mighty God gave us Jesus Christ to tell us of the gift of eternal salvation and the curse of eternal punishment and to tell us through Jesus how we can come to enter either of these two states.
</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><span> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><span>3.<span> </span>That what Jesus taught was true and that he was painfully punished and slain on the cross by those who feared the consequences of the Power and Truth of His Message.
</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><span> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><span>4.<span> </span>Some of theWords of God are found in <i>The Holy Bible</i>, and God's latest written message to us is found in the <i>New Testament</i>.</span>
</p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><span> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><span>5.<span> </span>Since the Bible was written by men (the Bible might have been far different if they had been written by women), it is neither perfect nor inerrant.
<span> </span>Though the pure thoughts of God may be Perfect, when they are taken by, retold, used, or written by man with their faulty and incomplete understanding, they lose their perfection.<span> </span>Hence, the Perfection of God's thoughts have been marred and distorted by human frailty, imperfection of understanding, miscommunication, ignorance, and, I am afraid, pride, ego, the desire to control, selfishness, and meanness of spirit.
<span> </span>Those that tell us that the Bible is inerrant are at least fools, if not blasphemers, as they are telling us that something produced by humanity can be perfect.<span> </span>Some of these who insist upon the "inerrancy of the Bible" do so not to urge God's Way, but for their own personal recognition, gain, and the false achievement of authority.
<span> </span>To assert that the Bible is inerrant is to say that some men were as wise and as perfect as God.<span> </span>Sacrilege!</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><span> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><span>6.<span> </span>Since the Bible is not in errant, we must use the tools that God gave us to discover those parts of the Bible closest to his Divine Intentions.
</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><span> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><span>7.<span> </span>In my previous post to Vision 2020, which you have so graciously read, I wrote some of my views on this matter, which views are also held by a very unorganized group of other wayfarers:
</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><i><span>Matthew</span></i><span> is the first book of the <i>New Testament</i>, God's last written message to us.<span> </span>In <i>Matthew</i> God gives us the clearest, most clear, unadorned vision of what God wishes for us to do and the consequences of following or not following his Commands.
<span> </span><span style="COLOR: blue">The great majority of competent biblical scholars, past and present, agree that <i>Matthew</i> is the most accurate human record we have of the teachings and life of Christ.</span>
<span> </span>Some, too much I am afraid, of what comes after <i>Matthew</i> is not only a perversion of it, but sometimes a masculine ego-driven contradiction of it.<span> </span>This is not to say that all that follows
<i>Matthew</i> is false, but rather that if it disagrees with <i>Matthew</i>, it is a human, sometimes intentional misrepresentation of God's True Intentions and Ways, and thus is an unrighteous travesty of false doctrine.
</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><span> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><b><span>Therefore</span></b><span>, if something in the <i>New Testament</i> seems inconsistent with the clear, unadorned words found in <i>Matthew</i>, believe the words of Christ found in
<i>Matthew</i>, not the other.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>We are now in a position, Keely, to discuss wealth, salvation, and the issues of dress, ostentation, tithing, and kindness you have graciously commented upon.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>I hope you will let me begin by quoting the most remarkable passage found in any of the scriptures of any western religion, and<b> one whose understanding is absolutely crucial</b> to an understanding of the Will and Way of God.
</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>Gods' Word from Matthew 25: 31 through 46</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.
</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue"> </span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.'
</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing?</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?'</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.'</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue"> </span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'
</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?'</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>Please take a moment to reread and to carefully understand these words and their impact.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>At the end of earthly time, all who have lived are going either to eternal reward or eternal punishment.<span> </span>How will one's fate at end of earthly time be solely determined?<span> </span>It will be solely determined by how one treated the unfortunate!
</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>In this passage God tells of what the future after the end of earthly times will be like and the <b>only</b> way we can help control the kind of participation we will have in that future.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>For these reasons alone, this passage would be remarkable.<span> </span>But what adds to its remarkableness is God's Great Generosity of Selfless Spirit:<span> </span>The price of eternal reward <b>does not depend in any way
</b> whether one believes in God, prays, asks for salvation, goes to church, or in any way uses or endorses the trappings of organized religion!<span> </span>To those that cannot believe this for whatever reason, then I urge them to read and to reread that passage over and over again until the meaning of these clear, unadorned Words of Christ become clear and become a guide for their life.
</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>God will not judge a person at the end of earthly times by what church they went to, or how many times, or if they went at all, or how much money they gave to a church, or how loudly they prayed and pled.</span>
</p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>God's criteria of judgment are simply and clearly given.<span> </span>We will be judged on how well, within in your means, that we gave food to the poor, gave potable liquid to the thirsty, gave welcome to strangers, gave clothing to the naked, gave care to the sick, and gave visits to those in prison.
<span> </span>Sound unlikely?<span> </span>Read again the Words of Christ above!</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Further guidance is given by Jesus to those with an abundance over which they need to live a basic, simple, plainly comfortable life:</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>Gods' Word from Matthew 6: 19 through 21</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue"> </span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.
</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue"> </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>Gods' Word from Matthew 19: 16 through 24</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue"> </span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">Then someone came to him and said, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?"</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good.</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">He said to him, "Which ones?"</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">And Jesus said, "You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">The young man said to him, "I have kept all these; what do I still lack?"</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue"> </span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue"> </span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>It is not easy to be a Christian when living in wealth or abundance over a simple, basic, plainly comfortable life.<span> </span>The price of eternal reward is not a life of ease and disregard for the unfortunate but a reward
<b>earned</b> by life of helping others in the most generous way one can.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>No one is to go hungry or unclothed in order to help the unfortunate.<span> </span>But the message from Christ is clearly:<span> </span><b>Avoid extravagance always</b>.<span> </span>Give that which is more than you need to live simply and in plain comfort to the unfortunate so that they may enjoy a simple and plainly comfortable life also.
<span> </span>Do not buy ten dresses when just three will serve you.<span> </span>Do not pay $500.00 for a suit when one that cost $75.00 will do.<span> </span>Give the resources you do not need over living a simple basic, if not plainly comfortable life, to help those that cannot do so because of their lack of resources or their misfortunes.
</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Sound hard?<span> </span>It is!<span> </span>Why should you do it?<span> </span>What will happen if you don't?<span> </span>Read again Christ's Words above.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Let us now deal, Keely, with your comments on dressing for church in the context of the above.<span> </span>Again adding </span><span>Gods' Word from Matthew 6: 28 through 30</span><span>:</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">"And why do you worry about clothing?<span> </span>Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.
</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you — you of little faith?"</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>You say:</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">"I also know that many sincere believers are convinced that their finest attire -- finest, not flashiest -- is appropriate for the congregational service, and I respect that."</span>
</p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>I am sorry if you take this as a rebuke, but it is not what those who wear their "finest" falsely believing they are honoring God think.<span> </span><b>What counts is what God says.</b><span> </span>
Many times one's "finest" represents extravagance – unjustifiable expenditures over what is really needed for a basic, plainly comfortable life, and thus represents the denial of giving the overage to the unfortunate.
<span> </span>In addition, wearing one's "finest" is a prideful, self-loving expression to be avoided, as clearly commanded by Christ in the passage quoted just above.<span> </span>Honor God not by fancy dress or many of them, but by using your money and doing all you can to help the unfortunate.
<span> </span>That is the only way to earn eternal reward and to show your love and respect for God.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>You request that I not mention Christ Church.<span> </span>I am sorry but I cannot honor that request and at the same time do my evangelistic duty.<span> </span>Jesus frequently used stories and parables to make his message clear.
<span> </span>Since I cannot be but a poor, thin shadow of The Master, I will not egotistically forsake the tools he used to deliver his mighty Word.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>How much more help could have been given to the unfortunate if the Pastor's of Christ Church wife and other kin and also all the affluent among the congregation did not dress so extravagantly and stylishly but gave the money so spent to help the unfortunate?
<span> </span>How much closer would they be to eternal reward and how much farther would they be from eternal punishment if they dressed simply and humbly.<span> </span>How much closer to eternal reward would these affluent people be if they gave all their high-flown finery to Good Will or the like so that the unfortunate might buy at an affordable price these garments and alleviate suffering the shame and embarrassment wrought by their torn and threadbare clothing?
</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Do choirs need fancy robes to honor God with song?<span> </span>Or would God prefer that the cost of these fancy robes be instead diverted to helping the unfortunate?<span> </span>Is it not the same for altar boys and other celebrants including priests, pastors, and other players in the contrived dramas of worship?
<span> </span><b>Where</b> does Jesus direct you to spend that which is over what you need for a simple, plainly comfortable life?<span> </span>Does Christ urge you to spend it on finery, on the buildings and other entrapments of organized religion to honor him?
<span> </span>Or does he urge you to spend it to help the unfortunate?<span> </span>Is Christ so incomplete and so spiritually poverty ridden that He needs your worldly offerings or does He say to give them to the unfortunates?
</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>If you are having trouble answering these questions then perhaps a rereading of <i>Matthew</i> 25: 31 through 46 above will help you answer them</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>And it is not just the extravagant clothing of some of the congregation of Christ Church that is an abomination to God and a sure ticket to eternal punishment.<span> </span>There are many who build on the mountain and in the valley vain, grossly extravagant dwellings.
</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>For example, there is one in the congregation of Christ Church who name is the same as what might be used to describe the dwelling he is erecting on the mountain -- a very extravagant, ostentatious, expensive, unseemly structure.
<span> </span>Has he not read or understood the words from <i>Matthew </i>above?<i></i></span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>If this fortress building man has read these words, will he sell these trappings, erect a modest abode on a modest lot, and give the difference to help the unfortunate?<span> </span>Or will he seek solace from the wealth amassing Pastor Douglas Wilson – some explanation showing that the clear, unadorned words from
<i>Matthew</i> are somehow in error?</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>And what will the prideful, greedy, Pastor Douglas Wilson say?<span> </span>Probably:<span> </span>"You are fine.<span> </span>Your material success is a sign that you are among God's chosen.<span> </span>
You will be saved for certain.<span> </span>It is all the more reason for your money to continue to be given to support and to forward my true ministry of God."</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Gods' Word from Matthew 7: 15 through 20</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">You will know them by their fruits.</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">Thus you will know them by their fruits."</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>To the fortress builder and others like him:<span> </span>Hello!<span> </span>Three comments:</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><span>1.<span> </span>Not only would such egregiously blasphemous pastoral advice as represented above be directly contrary to the words above from <i>Matthew</i>
, but would show the Pastor in his true colors as an avaricious, vain, empire-building false prophet.</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><span> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><span>2.<span> </span>The chosen of God are those that follow his command to care for the unfortunate, not others who believe that their church going and prayers are what matters.
<span> </span>No one should believe an errant, vain pastor, who thinks he is smarter than God, when he tells them that they are "saints" bound for heaven and all others are lost sinners.<span> </span>Believing such tripe and pridefully acting as if it is true is not the sign of sainthood but rather the Mark of Cain!
</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><span> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><span>3.<span> </span>In <i>Matthew</i>, Christ said:<span> </span></span></p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"> </p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><span style="COLOR: blue">"If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."</span>
</p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"> </p>
<p style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><span>Christ did not say "give the money to the church," he said, "give the money to the poor."<span> </span>You do not get points for tithing, but rather points are subtracted for that money given to a church could and should, according to Christ, be given instead to help the unfortunate.
<span> </span>If you have read the first passage cited from <i>Matthew</i> above, you will understand that a physical church is not even necessary for worship.<span> </span>One can worship with one's family or friends in one's home as easy as or even better than going to a church.
<span> </span>In fact, worshiping at home and with your actions is superior to going to some church where false prophets may lead you from eternal reward with false or distracting doctrine, and were money is spent mostly on entrapments rather than on the unfortunate.
</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Sound unchristian to you?<span> </span>Then you have failed to understand the true meaning of the clear, unadorned words from <i>Matthew</i> first cited above.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>I was distressed to hear about the treatment your friend Ellen received at New Saint Andrews, a claimed ministry of Christ Church.<span> </span>Instead of dwelling on the rude, belittling comment Ellen received from a representative of that school, we should ask what Jesus might have done.
<span> </span>Clearly, Jesus would have offered a friendly, non-judgmental greeting, genuine solace, comfort, and love.<span> </span>It is mockery, then, for New Saint Andrews to call itself Christian if the reported behavior has occurred.
</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>I have noticed in my short time here that it is not Christian Love that flows from the Ministries of Christ Church, but rather invective, insolence, blasphemy, and prideful arrogance.<span> </span>They continue this fusillade of unchristlike behavior even though it has been pointed out to them many times by believers and nonbelievers alike that such acts are contrary to God's Word and are in fact blasphemous acts in themselves:
</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Gods' Word from Matthew 5: 38 through 48</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer.</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.
</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue"> </span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.
</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?<span> </span>Do not even the tax collectors do the same?</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect".</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>The behavior of Douglas Wilson, the pastor of that cesspool of spiritual sewage and corruption called the Christ Church Ministries must make Jesus weep, and must give Him more pain than the spikes which transfixed His Body to the cross.
</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>But, I fear, there is worse.<span> </span>If I am reading some of the posts on Vision 2020 correctly, this so-called Pastor Douglas Wilson has willfully committed a very, very grievous sin against God and humanity.
</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>The pastor in an act violently in opposition to the just above cite from <i>Matthew</i> deliberately and with anger struck out at an apostate who had the courage to reveal Wilson's fraudulence and thus threaten his authority, wealth, comfort, and ease.
<span> </span>Wilson did this by willfully arming one of his current bitter, misbegotten parishioners with information gained in trust and confidence in God's name during a private, pastoral counseling session.<span> </span>
Worst yet, that poor misbegotten, armed with information and soul destroying venom publicly used that information to threaten, to intimidate, and to inflict great pain upon the apostate.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>How could any real pastor continue to represent himself as a messenger of God after such a cruel, willful, retaliatory, contemptuous deed?<span> </span>Hence:</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">Gods' Word from Matthew</span><span style="COLOR: blue"> 7: 15 through 20</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue"> </span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">You will know them by their fruits.</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.</span></p>
<p><span style="COLOR: blue">Thus you will know them by their fruits."</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>I hope, Keely, that you have been enlightened by the above and not bored by it.<span> </span>Please permit me to repeat form my first post the following:</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Confidence men (and women) are called that because they excel at winning your confidence while stealing your purse.<span> </span>The last persons to recognize and to disavow a confidence man posing as a pastor (who greedily disputes God's, clear unadorned words from
<i>Matthew</i> about wealth in order to forward themselves) are found among the wealthy.<span> </span>These wealthy, ill-starred persons selfishly love themselves and their riches so much more than they love God.<span>
</span>They do not appreciate the Great Treasures God offers in Eternal Life, and so these poor, soon to be wretched for eternity pretenders to Christianity choose to be the doomed marks -- clinging to their wealth for the short time we are here on earth -- of a pastoral confidence man.
</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>To help you find the truth of what I speak of above, I append below a few relevant passages from <i>Matthew</i> from the <i>Holy Bible</i>, New Revised Standard Edition.<span> </span>I have also attached an MPC file with a reading of these same words.
</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>To all women and men, but especially to those ensnared by the false, mocking-of-God debris coming from Christ Church of Moscow, Idaho and its opportunistic Pastor, Douglas Wilson, I urge you to read and hear these clear, unadorned words of God.
</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>For those unfortunate students of Logos School and of New Saint Andrews, their misled parents, and all others in the world who have been led astray by false prophets and who have MPC players, I urge to load this MPC file into your players, to put your players on Repeat, and to listen to these clear, unadorned Words of God many times daily until you have not only memorized them, have understood them, but have made them part of the guiding principles of your lives.
</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>After you have read or listened to these Words of God, you will know what to do about any Viper's Nest you find yourselves in.<span> </span>But a word of caution:<span> </span>Do not wait too long to escape these unholy pits or the toxins you are being injected and inculcated with therein will inoculate you strongly against receiving the Truth, perhaps forever.
</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Glory to Christ!<span> </span>Let us hear His Words and thus love and honor Him by emulating his Way!</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Amen.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>A simple wayfarer flitting through your midst,</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Paul Sunneth</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^</p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>Selected Verses from <b><i>Matthew</i></b>, God's Truest Words, from <i>The Holy Bible</i>, New Revised Standard Version</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Gods' Word from Matthew 5: 38 through 48</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'</span></p>
<p><span>But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer.</span></p>
<p><span>But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.</span>
</p>
<p><span>Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'</span></p>
<p><span>But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.
</span></p>
<p><span>For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? <span> </span>Do not even the tax collectors do the same?</span></p>
<p><span>And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?</span></p>
<p><span>Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect".</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Gods' Word from Matthew 6: 1 through 8</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>"Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.</span></p>
<p><span>"So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.
</span></p>
<p><span>But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.</span></p>
<p><span>"And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.
</span></p>
<p><span>But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.</span></p>
<p><span>"When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.</span></p>
<p><span>Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Gods' Word from Matthew </span><span>6: 19 through 21</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.
</span></p>
<p><span>For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Gods' Word from Matthew</span><span> 19: 16 through 24</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Then someone came to him and said, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?"</span></p>
<p><span>And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good.</span></p>
<p><span>If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.</span></p>
<p><span>He said to him, "Which ones?"</span></p>
<p><span>And Jesus said, "You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
</span></p>
<p><span>The young man said to him, "I have kept all these; what do I still lack?"</span></p>
<p><span>Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.</span></p>
<p><span>Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Gods' Word from Matthew </span><span>6: 28 through 30</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>"And why do you worry about clothing? <span> </span>Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.
</span></p>
<p><span>But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you — you of little faith?"</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Gods' Word from Matthew</span><span> 7: 15 through 20</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.</span></p>
<p><span>You will know them by their fruits.</span></p>
<p><span>Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?</span></p>
<p><span>In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.</span></p>
<p><span>A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.</span></p>
<p><span>Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.</span></p>
<p><span>Thus you will know them by their fruits."</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Gods' Word from Matthew</span><span> 25: 31 through 46</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.</span></p>
<p><span>All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.</span>
</p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.'
</span></p>
<p><span>Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?</span></p>
<p><span>And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing?</span></p>
<p><span>And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?'</span></p>
<p><span>And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.'</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'
</span></p>
<p><span>Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?'</span></p>
<p><span>Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.</span></p>
<p><span>And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span>Amen.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>