The Root of Christianity: A Layman's Response

By Michael Helfrich

WORDS MEAN THINGS AND HOW YOU USE THEM EITHER MAINTAINS THEIR MEANING OR BELITTLES IT AND DESTROYS ITS TOTAL VALUE. SUCH IS THE WORD AWESOME.

When our youth use the word awesome for cars, Androids, or even their girlfriend, they are belittling the world's characterization. The word awesome should only be used for the greatness of the Lord

• Language: English
• Publisher: Writers Branding LLC
• Release date: Sep 22, 2021
• ISBN: 9781639451432

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Contents

A Layman’s Response

Bold but True

God the Creator

Abraham, Our Father

The Mystery or Mysteries of the Kingdom of God

Gospel of Jesus Christ

Why Jesus Only

The Gospel of the Kingdom

The Hierarchy of God

Christian Church

Modern-day Israel

Cults and Isms

Little Things Mean a Lot

A Layman’s Response

Being a layman with regard to theological perspectives, I say that I am free to present my understandings without being hampered by any group, such as the Roman Catholic Church, Protestant Church, Judaism, Islam, Hindu, or cults such as Mormonism or Jehovah’s Witness. I am free from any encumbrances, except the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, the sixty-six books of the Bible.

Having studied the Bible since 1972, I have gone through many different stages of understanding; most have been false teachings from different churches that did not match up with clear understanding from Scripture. A friend of mine has a favorite saying that I adhere to, that is, Always pursue truth, until something better comes along. What is better than truth, and what better truth is there than from the Word of God?

God is Sovereign over all His creation, and He has given us laws and commandments to live by. We must then remember that it is His creation and not ours so that we are to live by His Will and not our own. Living by our own will is rebellion against God, and we will suffer the consequence. Jesus said that The Scriptures cannot be broken; that means there are no errors between Genesis 1 and Revelation 22. The Roman Catholic Church has accepted the apocrypha into its bible, which has visible counter-dictions in them that goes against the sixty-six books of the Bible, which are error-free. In reading the apocrypha books and the Scriptures, we can see why there are so many problems within this church, much like Mormonism. However, Mormonism is a cult, which I think the Roman Catholic Church is not, even though it retains many non-biblical practices created over the centuries by their leadership.

God is very specific about His Word, and He gives fair warning against not following His Word to the letter. However, God understands that man is a sinner and is not perfect and is very religious in his fallen nature. God says that His ways are above our ways and His thoughts are above our thoughts. God in His Law/Word has given us fair warning, as in the following verses, that He will remove from the Lamb’s Book of Life the name of anyone who adds or takes away from His Word.

Deuteronomy 4:2, "You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you."

Deuteronomy 12:32, "Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it."

Revelation 22:18, 19, "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."

We must remember that there is no void in God’s Word, for if you remove something from God’s Word, you have to replace it with something; and if you add something to God’s Word, you have to remove something from God’s Word to replace it. For example, God is very clear that all men are sinners and fall short of the Glory of God. So how is it that some teach that man is basically good? This is false teaching, and it leads many into thinking that they have something God wants or needs from them; they do not look at the big picture, and they become self-absorbed!

How many times have you heard someone say that they are saved, yet because of their sin, they can lose their salvation? Salvation is of the Lord and not of man: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:8–10).

Who can forgive sin but God alone! Yet how many times have you heard within the Roman Catholic Church of priests forgiving sinners of their sins? This is false teaching, and man cannot forgive another person’s sins except God. It is God that man sins against, and it is He and He alone that can forgive sin; otherwise, it is blasphemy.

Mark 2:3–7 says, "Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven you.’ And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, ‘Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’"

The Roman Catholic Church has many such errors within its teachings, but let’s move on to Mormonism. The cults, such as Mormonism, captivate many individuals unawares, and some will fight to death to defend it. I asked an old-time preacher, J. Vernon Magee, many years ago during a prophecy conformance why God allows cults, such as Mormonism to exist, and his response was that he did not know, except to weed out the un-save from the true church. And he may be right, and I don’t know.

In referring back to Revelation 22:18 and 19, we have to say that this book had to be written around AD 66 and no later than early AD 68 because it makes no sense for it to be written later then the destruction of Israel in AD 70. Even if it was written as late as AD 100 as some proclaim, it still condemns Mormonism and many other cults, such as Jehovah Witness (JW) and Islam, that came into being after that date, which is adding to the Word of God. Mormonism was started by Joseph Smith sometime in the mid-1800s. The Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, and their Doctrine of Covenants are adding to the Word of God, which is a direct violation of God’s Law/Word in Revelation 22. The entire Bible was completed by God and warning was given to not add to it, which Mormonism has done. Mormons are unskilled in Scripture, for if they would read the King James Bible, which they adhere to as a lesser part of God’s Word, they would see the inconsistencies between these books. For example, they teach that Satan and Jesus were brothers, which is a counter-diction from God’s own words, which state that God created Lucifer, while Jesus did the creating, which we will go into later.

Islam is much the same as Mormonism, for Mohammed created his false teaching around AD 600, long after God’s Holy Word was completed. These cults are humanistic, or should I say human religiosity. The Koran has some of the Old Testament in it, and it even mentions Jesus as a prophet of God. All religions except Christianity (and I must further state Orthodox Christianity) are false religions. Islam is a hateful religion, and as all human religions, it takes people’s eyes off the true God of the Bible and His salvation for false religiosity. Although Islam is false and hateful, there is no difference between it and all other religions, except Orthodox Christianity, because they build false hope and they get man to thinking he is not responsible for their own actions, which God’s Law/Word clearly teaches along with the truth that all are under sin and in need of a Savior.

Now to an area that is most concerned by many Christians, and that is Israel! Judaism is also a false religion. Many think that Israel is God’s people, and I have to admit I once believed this as well. In the beginning of this article, I said I was not beholden to any organization and not obliged to speak for or uphold any theology and support any religion. Israel was once God’s chosen people; however, in reading God’s own words in the sixty-six books of the Bible, I see something amiss with what the church teaches and what Israel adheres to in our day.

In chapter nine of Isaiah, God tells Israel that He is going to send His Son in the form of a Child and He is Mighty God and the government will be upon His shoulder and there will be no end. This Child is the Savior of Israel and the world, and yet Israel rejected Him and murdered Him by nailing Him on a cross. This pronouncement to Israel is also a declaration of war upon Israel for their rejection of God. Isaiah 9 is that which took place from AD 4, at the birth of Christ, through AD 70, when God destroyed this nation.

Isaiah 9:6-8 "For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. The Lord sent a word against Jacob, And it has fallen on Israel."

Put away you’re predigests and be honest with yourself and read the Synoptic Gospels and look at what Jesus is teaching in them. In many places, you will see that Jesus was not happy with Israel and its religious leaders, for He tells us that they teach the traditions of men and that not of God’s commands. In His three and a half years of ministry on earth, we see Him condemning Israel for their violation of His Commandments. In Matthew 23, Jesus condemns Israel; and in verse 38, He tells them that their house (Israel) is left to them desolate. Then in Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, and the book of Revelation, He destroys them. When the Jews murdered Jesus on the cross, it says the veil was rent in two from top to bottom. This veil separated the Holy place from the Holiest of Holies, which was there to show the difference of not only Israel and the Gentiles but Israel and the Holiness of God. In AD 70, when God did destroy Israel using the Roman Armies, the Glory of God (cloud by day and a fire by night over the temple) was removed from Israel; thus, their house was left to them desolate. Israel violated the covenant for so long that God replaced that covenant with a better covenant (Jer. 31:33).

On the day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter gave a quote from Joel, which he says that these were the times of Israel’s demise. This transition period, from the cross to AD 70, is what the New Testament is all about, the destruction of Israel after the flesh and the coming of the Church, the Body of Christ, with a new covenant.

Many in Israel believe that they can trace their ancestry all the way back to Israel’s beginning, which in the Apostle Paul’s words is nothing but loss for Christ.

Philippians 3:3–7, "For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ."

What good is any ancestry of human origin except that which is named in Scripture as the genealogy of Jesus Christ? In reading Romans 9 through 11, you will see that there were two Israel’s: one of the flesh and one of the promise. The Israel of the flesh is not the Israel of God, but the Israel of the promise or Spirit of God is the Israel of God. God says that He loved Jacob, but Esau He hated. In studying out these three chapters of Romans, it becomes clear that God’s plan was not for everyone that came out of the twelve tribes of Israel but only those whom God has chosen from the foundations of the world. God loved Jacob; thus, he was one of the chosen, while Esau He hated and was one of flesh and had no hope in the resurrection.

This speaks of election, for only those whom God has chosen from the foundation of the world are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. When the Jews murdered Jesus Christ, He did not condemn all of Israel, for not even in the beginning of Israel were they all saved, which will be a hard thing for some to follow. As what was said before, God’s ways are above our ways and His thoughts are above our thoughts, so we must listen to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and not fall into the trap of accepting the false teachings of the natural man, Israel, or the Church. Israel was destroyed by God for not keeping His commandments, for their covenant was a covenant of works, for God says in Deuteronomy 28, If you keep my commandments, I will bless you and if you do not keep my commandments I will curse you. Verses 1 through 14 is blessing and from verses 15 through 68, or 80% of this chapter, is cursing. This should teach us something; that is, God is a Sovereign God of law and order. This even goes on today, for we are told in several places to look at Israel as examples for all the gentile nations. Now, Israel was not always a good source of righteousness, for they had good kings and bad kings, but we can learn from the good as well as the bad.

I spent a little time on Israel because of the closeness of the church with Israel; however, we must not accept this nation in our day as Israel, as God’s chosen people, for God destroyed them at the Cross, through the transition period to the destruction of Israel in AD 70. Now, I speak here of what we know as the nation of Israel in our day in the Middle East. Has God rejected all of Israel? By no means, for the Apostle Paul makes it very clear that all of God’s chosen people are from every nation, and it is known as the Church, for we are all one in Christ, which is known as Israel.

Galatians 6:14–18, "But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor un-circumcision avails anything, but a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen."

Do these words make me anti-Semitic? No! I have even heard some pastors say that Jesus was anti-Semitic. We must forget this name-calling when it comes to God’s holy and righteous Law/Word, for it only muddies the waters in understanding truth. I know that there are many who will deny all that has been said here, and I can accept that; however, every person in this world needs Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. God in His Law/Word has established that all are under sin and are in need of the Savior Jesus Christ, and this speaks of those in the Land of Israel. Those at the Wailing Wall, bobbing their heads, are in need of their Savior that their ancestors murdered on the Cross. Jesus Christ is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, and we are told in Scripture that only when Jews repent and accept Jesus Christ will their blindness be removed.

Acts 5:29–32, "But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: ‘We ought to obey God rather than men.’ ‘The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree.’ ‘Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.’ ‘And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.’"

When it says, As it is written, it speaks of that which has come from the Old Testament—in this case, from the Psalms of King David but quoted by the Apostle Paul.

Romans 3:10–24, "As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.’ ‘Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit’; ‘The poison of asps under their lips’; ‘Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.’ ‘Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace they have not known.’ ‘There is no fear of God before their eyes.’ Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

If we can understand one thing from these verses, it is this: that man is in trouble with God, for God sees us as sinners and incapable to doing anything that is pleasing a Holy, Righteous, and Just God. Many think that keeping the law can please God, but it’s through faith and righteousness in the Holy Spirit that we can please Him. What the Jews have not understood these last two thousand years is that there is no righteousness in keeping the law, (for if you break one law, you have broken them all) for it is the law that reveals our total depravity. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5–7 that it’s not only the act of following the law but what’s in the heart, for He says that if you hate your brother without a just cause, you have committed murder in your heart; or if a man looks upon a woman with lust in his heart, he has already committed adultery with her. Man’s problems are a heart problem, and we need to repent and turn our thought and desires toward those things God has commanded us to do. It starts with being honest with ourselves and admit we are in total depravity and need to repent of all our sins.

1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

As it says, If we confess our sins, He will cleanse us and make us holy before Him. Accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior and turn from your wicked ways and grow in grace by studying God’s Law/Word and asking Him to direct your path in all that you do. "For by grace you are saved and Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths" (Prov. 3:5, 6).

Many years ago, a pastor/teacher said that he repeated himself several times in his messages because it was no bother for him but was the best way for the hearers to retain what he was saying. In this book, there are several precepts that are repeated several times not only in each chapter but in different paragraphs in each chapter. When you see these repetitions, look at them as setting the stage for better understanding; and if you ponder them in your heart, you will open many doors into faith and works of God.

Bold but True

Here is a BOLD statement that I would like to make, and that is, Christianity is the oldest and only true religion in the world. Now I have to recant, for even though this is true, it is hidden in plain sight between the pages of Scripture, from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. Anyone can find this information if they know what they are looking for. Yes, they were first called Christians at Antioch around AD 46 (Acts 11:26).

However, this does not nullify the substance of what a true person of God is from the Foundation of the World. The true person of God bears the marks of God in his innermost being, even before they are born, for God elects those whom He wills to become conformed to the image of His Dear Son, Jesus Christ. Below gives us a clue on two brothers (twins) of whom God chose one and rejected the other, for He loved Jacob but hated Esau. God chose one and rejected the other before the foundation of the world, even before they did anything good or evil, but for only one reason—because God willed it so!

Romans 9:10-13 "And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), it was said to her, ‘The older shall serve the younger.’ As it is written, ‘Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.’"

We must remember what God said, that His ways are above our ways and His thoughts are above our thoughts. This is God’s Creation, and He has total Sovereignty over every aspect of it. He allowed sin to enter it to show His love and grace to His people and justice in every area of violation of His Law/Word. He has not given mankind His Law/Word for no effect, but everyone will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ to give an account of all things they have done in their life, whether good or evil.

In speaking of the oldest and only true religion in the world, we would like to separate them; however, they cannot be separated because they are both connected