What Christians never do?

An article that appeared at NewsWithViews.com on August 24, 2003 that addresses Mel Gibson's movie The Passion has encouraged me to set aside the final article concerning the constitution and address the source of some basic confusions concerning Christians and Jews.

In the article "Who is responsible for Jesus' death?" by Pastor Kelly Boggs his conclusion is reasonable but I would like to make a few comments. He quotes Rabbi Daniel Lapin in his book "America's Real War" as stating, "It is true that during certain historical periods, some factions of the Christian church hurt and killed Jews, but it is also true that in America, Christianity has not been a threat to Jews."

Did factions of the Christian Church ever hurt and kill Jews? The word "faction" is defined as, "A group of persons forming a cohesive, usually contentious minority within a larger group... Conflict within an organization or nation; internal dissension..."¹

There are two definitions for the word Christian when used as a noun:

1. One who professes belief in Jesus as Christ or follows the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus.

and,

2. One who lives according to the teachings of Jesus.²

The first definition only includes those who profess a belief in Jesus Christ or follow a religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus.

There are also two definitions for profess.

1. To affirm openly; declare or claim:

2. To make a pretense of; pretend:

To openly affirm something simply does not make it so and to pretend a belief in Jesus Christ does not make you a real Christian.

As always we see that words may have multiple meanings. There are evidently two kinds of Christians. Those who live according to the teachings of Jesus and those who are only pretending to be Christians and are either self deceived or deceived by others or are liars.

If we define a True Christian as one living according to Christ's teachings we may distinguish all others, who only profess Christ but are following something or someone else. The first definition above of a Christian does not conform to the teachings of Christ.

Matthew 7:21, 23 "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

Matthew 12:50 "For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother." [repeated in Mark Chapter 3 verse 35]

1 John 2:17 "And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."

Matthew 25:11 "Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not."

Luke 6:46 "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"

John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments."

John 15:10 "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love."

Jesus makes it clear that those who "shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven" are the brethren of Christ. It is not enough to profess him as Lord. He evidently does not even accept you as loving him if you do not keep his commandments.

Doing the will of God is part of the precepts, doctrine and ordinances of Jesus. If a Christian is one who has repented, turned around and follows Christ's teachings, then one who is not following those teachings is not a Christian and Christ seems to be making a point of it over and over again.

There are those who say that all you have to do is believe and you are saved. I cannot disagree with that statement but the question is, "Do you really believe?" Are you just professing, pretending or saying you believe with your mouth but doing contrary to the teachings of Jesus?

These are not a new question or controversies. James makes it clear:

"Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?" James 2:18-20.

Before I go further there should be a distinction made between someone who is following Christ and stumbles along the path and one who turns around and seeks the kingdom of God and His righteousness or possibly never has truly repented at all but has just taken on the name of Christ-ian in vain. The latter is not Christian except as a pretender. They may never have been Christian though they profess to be and are members of a religion based on Jesus life.

"For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many." Mt 24:5

Many religions have risen up who do contrary to what Christ taught though they call themselves Christian.

Jesus made it clear that professing him is not enough. One needed to know and do the will of the Father as opposed to doing works of iniquity.

"When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:" "Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all [ye] workers of iniquity." Luke 13:25-27

This is not to say we are saved by works.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:" Ephesians 2:8

We know we are saved by grace less we boast. But would have that father run out to meet his prodigal son if his son had only told everyone he was going back to his Father but merely went to another country and pretended to have repented of his wicked ways?

If we have real faith in Christ that faith will generate a certain kind of activity compatible with the teachings of Christ. If it does not then our faith is brought into question as being false. Is the faith professed by those calling themselves Christians true or is it merely something professed by liars?

James points out in 2:24 that, "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." He also says in verse 20, "But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?" If a body has the Spirit of God dwelling in it then it will manifest that Spirit in its works.

"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." Jas 2:26

It is fairly clear that the works or deeds of an individual or a body will help us determine whether they are really Christian or not. We see the same precept repeated over and over. It is not what they say they are but what they do that speaks truth.

"They profess that they know God; but in works they deny [him], being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate." Tit 1:16

Even Jesus made this idea very clear in the Gospel of John when he spoke to his contemporary ministers of the kingdom of God.

"Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." John 8:44

Who was he talking about? Jews? At least some of the Jews, yes.

Who were the Jews? Again the same word may be defined several ways.

Some times the word Jew referred to the tribe or Kingdom of Judah of which some of its members were converts to that Kingdom. Judea like Israel was not merely a religion but a nation and a government. All governments are systems based on faith and allegiance. All governments have some religious precepts, rituals, ceremonies, moral and temporal creeds.

Jews, or Ioudaios as it appears in the Greek, means someone belonging to that nation. Jews were the citizens of Judea which was the remnant of God's Kingdom, known earlier as Israel before it was divided by the election of rulers who could exercise authority. Jews were not just a bloodline or a race but they were citizens of a country and included many nationalities who had converted or joined that system of government.

The duties of government were divided in Israel. On the right hand was the civil power which was once vested in the individual free people before there were kings³ and on the left hand was the charitable aspect of government⁴ which was vested in the living temple, or church in the wilderness, through the discretion and freewill contributions of the people. This was of course the Levites who came out of the camp of the golden calf at the call of Moses.

Even Levites were not always levite by blood. Anyone could become a levite by adoption and any Levite could become a part of another tribe in the same manner. A Levite played a role in the governance of this free nation by the binding of the community through a system of charity. They served the tents of the congregations in ways poorly understood by modern Christians or Jews. This is no doubt the result of misunderstandings passed down from groups like the Pharisees.

By the time of Christ the two branches of government had centralized and mixed under the earlier influence of the Hasmonian Dynasty and the continued Edomite and Hellenistic influences.

The Romans had added their own brand of influence to this national cauldron and actually restored some of the ancient divisions between the right and left hand of government in that kingdom of God on earth. Rome had been invited into Judea to settle a civil dispute as to who should be King. We should never loose sight of the fact the election of a king by the voice of the people was counted as a rejection of God. The building of a temple out of stone instead of living stones was a falling away from the ways of God.

The Judean courts could execute their own laws and criminals except for one. If there was a dispute over who was to be king Rome claimed, as international peace keepers, the right to the final word. They had been invited into Judea for that exact purpose, first by Aristobulus and then by the Pharisees.

Judea was the remnant government of Israel which was a government established by Moses, who was the prophet of God. Citizens of that government were called Ioudaios translated Judeans or Jews. Jesus preached a kingdom, was proclaimed a king (though he did not appeal to Rome for aid) and He appointed His disciples to the service of that kingdom.

"And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;" Luke 22:29

The word Jew or Christian today has been associated with religious philosophies that have some basis in the Bible but is not always in conformity to what Moses or Jesus were teaching. Jesus and Moses were in agreement, but modern Jews and the Christian are not always in agreement with each other or their founders. Some of those religious Jews have formed a nation called Israel and enjoy dual citizenship much as they did in the days of Rome and Judea.

Jesus said there was a group of Jewish citizens, a powerful faction, who claimed that the patriarch of their nation was God the Father who was in heaven, but they were really "liars". They eventually told the truth and denounced the rightful king, Jesus, and therefore His kingdom and proclaimed another ruler, Caesar.

"But they cried out, Away with [him], away with [him], crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar." John 19:15

When they denounced the king, one Jesus, and proclaimed another government benefactor who exercised authority one over the other, Caesar, they literally were expatriating from their Father in Heaven to their new Father in Rome and no longer qualified as "Jewish" citizens of God's government but only Rome's. They kept up the show with all the robes and rituals, words and of course their salaries. They continued to run for political offices, take their oaths of office, applying and paying into Corban, and to work daily in the stone temple but they were not Jews. We see them later mentioned in Revelations.

"I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and [I know] the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but [are] the synagogue of Satan." Re 2:9

These were the same people who denounced Christ as king and John says they were not Jews but blasphemers. A blasphemer is by definition a "malicious liar". So, it wasn't Jews who killed Jesus but a bunch of "malicious liars" pretending to be Jews. They did not no the Father, nor Christ nor were they in agreement with Moses.

Remember, Jesus was king. It was for that cause he came into the world. He actually was going to take the kingdom from those false Jews and give it to another who would bear fruit.

"Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." Matthew 21:43

Jesus appointed that kingdom to true Jews, the Apostles. So the followers of Jesus Christ were Jews who became known as Christian jews because they followed Christ. Others joined that kingdom that did not have the customs of the jews but were still recognizing Christ as the anointed King of the Kingdom of God at hand. They went about saying there is another king, one Jesus, and doing so as His Apostles or Ambassadors.

It was not the Jews who killed Christ, but men professing to be Jews and followers of the king of Judea and Moses but were not.

Is this the same thing that happened in history where Christians supposedly killed Jews?

Christians were considered Jews by Rome as Christ's ministers who served that kingdom. They worked daily in the temple and preached the kingdom from synagogue to synagogue. They rightly divided the bread from house to house. They had their own Corban which did not make the word of God to none effect because it was based on faith, hope and charity rather than force fear and compliance.

When they deported the Jews under Claudius they also deported the Christians like Paul and Aquila. These Christ loving Jews and converts did not call themselves Christians but rather the followers of the Way. They for the most part were Jews at first and thought of themselves as citizens of the Kingdom preached by Jesus Christ, the king. Jesus was the highest son of David and was proclaimed the rightful heir to that royal throne by many people, priests, and Rome itself.

"And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew,

THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS." Luke 23:38

A modern Jewish historian once told me that Christianity was an off shoot of Judaism. Well if Jesus was the king then what we call Judaism today was an offshoot of the Kingdom of God and the true Christianity is the kings loyal citizenry.

Those who denounce the king became the lost sheep, or strangers to the kingdom, even traitors to the king. Jesus, as king, made some very specific royal proclamations to his faithful citizenry.

"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;" Mt 5:44

"But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and [to] the evil." Lu 6:35

"But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Mt 6:15

"Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots." Luke 23:34

"But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." Mr 11:26

Jesus made it clear that we should be a people who forgive not persecute. This was not a new law in the kingdom. Moses had said the same thing centuries before.

"Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt." Ex 22:21

"[If] ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:" Jer 7:6 [Zec 7:10... Mal 3:5.].

For any Christian to attempt to oppress strangers in their midst or persecute or kill people because of their beliefs would be a violation of the basic tenets of True Christianity, the Law of the Anointed King, and the judgment of God. Can Christianity be redefined by such apostate activity? Christianity is not defined by Christians but by Christ and such Christians would not be a faction but a fraud. They would not be Christians but would be blasphemers,

Jesus made it clear:

"And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so:" Luke 22:25 [Mt 20:25... Mr 10:42...]

What part of, "ye shall not be so" don't people understand?

The fact is throughout history people calling themselves Christians have been exercising lordship over other people persecuting them, oppressing them, killing them. Not just the Jews but Christians also have suffered at the hands of those who say they are Christians. These prevaricators have been giving Christianity a bad name for a long, long time. These are not Christians doing these wicked things but the workers of iniquity, pretenders, liars and blasphemers. Their mouth says one thing but their deeds and works another.

Christianity and the Church, called out, and appointed by Christ to serve the kingdom are defined by Christ and those who attempt to redefine them are anti-Christ.

Even the world understands as we see in Black's Law Dictionary in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th editions says the:

"CHURCH In its most general sense, the religious society founded and established by Jesus Christ, to receive, preserve, and propagate his doctrines and ordinances."
"A body or community of Christians, united under one form of government by the profession of one faith, and the observance of the same rituals and ceremonies."

If a "Church" as a body is founded or established by an authority other than Christ then it would not be a Church by this definition.

If it receive, preserve, or propagate someone else's doctrines and ordinances that are contrary to Jesus Christ then it would not be a Church by this accepted definition.

If a body or community was composed of people not following the teachings of Christ it would not be a Church by this definition.

If a Church was not united under one form of government then it would not be a Church by this definition.

This would mean if a Church incorporated by the authority of a state government immediately becomes a "body" [e.g. corpus] established by an authority other than Jesus Christ. It would no longer be His corporation and by this profession of faith and allegiance to another ruling power would no longer qualify as a Church according to this definition.

If the governing powers that united this Church 'exercised authority' or oppressed the stranger, policies forbidden by Christ, then it would not be Christ appointed Church by His definition.

It would not be very politically correct for Christians to call a particular group of Jews the synagogue of Satan as John did nor call particular groups of Christian the churches of Satan. if we understand that the Greek word translated into Satan is satanas which is defined as the "adversary" we can understand that the true meaning is that the were the adversaries of Christ's Church.

In truth it could not be classified as hate speech to do so, since, Christians are told to love their enemy, forgive them that persecute you... There is nothing more loving than telling someone the truth. Telling the truth has been the policy of the prophets of God's kingdom from its inception. The truth exposes the lie and dismantles the false altars of apostasy which are first constructed in the minds and hearts of men and women.

As a matter of policy and practice Christians have never persecuted Jews or other Christians. Any organized body who persecuted, oppressed or killed others could not be considered a Faction of Christianity but would be a Fraud.

We know the works and blasphemy of them which say they are Christians, and are not, but are the Church of Satan, e.g. The Adversary of Christ.

After 2000 years of alteration, modification and permutation the modern Church looks little to nothing like that first century Church born out of the teachings and appointments of Christ. A fresh look at what Christ actual taught and propagated as the gospel of the kingdom could undoubtedly raise the persecuting ardor of many modern professing Christians as it once did with professing Ioudaios or jews , those Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees, who said they were children of God but knew him not.

So, who are the real Christians, and who are the pretenders? Well, ask yourself, who is bearing fruit, who is keeping the commandments, who is coveting their neighbors goods, who is taking oaths, who is praying to benefactors who exercise authority one over the other, and who is living by faith, hope and charity and the perfect law of liberty.

Who repented and got baptized and who just got all wet.

---

¹  : The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

² Idedum

³ Jud 21:25 In those days [there was] no king in Israel: every man did [that which was] right in his own eyes.

⁴ Mt 6:3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: