Hebrews 2:18
Part 1 – Suffering Being Tempted
For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. (James 1:12)
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: (James 1:13)
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. (James 1:14)
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. (James 1:15)
Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. (Hebrews 4:14)
For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)
The sufferings of Christ are so vast, and different in so many various forms. The Prince of Life suffered for us, and because of us. The first time that we see the word ‘suffer’ or ‘suffered’ in the New Testament is in Matthew 3:15. Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. We are introduced to the sufferings of Christ at His baptism. Even though the people were ignorant of God’s divine purpose, God the Holy Spirit reveals to us the beginning of the journey that Christ would take to the cross. This was the beginning of His suffering; for in this He went into the Jordan, the river of death to fulfill the righteousness of God by the death of Himself which would take place 3 ½ years later at the battleground of Calvary. When John the Baptist baptized the Lord Jesus the divine counsels of God knew exactly what was before the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As I said, this was the start of His journey to the cross as the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. He could say to the Father, a body hast thou prepared me.
Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: (Hebrews 10:5)
By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:10)
That body was the body that God had prepared for Him from before the foundations of the earth. Up to this point He had walked amongst men as merely the son of Joseph, but now God the Father would take His Son and reveal Him, not only to Israel, but to the whole world. According to Isaiah 53, one of His divine titles is ‘man of sorrows.’ He was here to bear not only the sorrows of the people, but to bear their sins as well. Examine these sufferings so that you can see the depth of them. One of the most preeminent sufferings before the cross can be seen as He looked over the multitude of Adam’s race, when He looked upon the poor descendants of Adam, He knew their burden of sin. He also knew that He had been sent by God the Father to be the sin-bearer. He suffered along with them every day, suffering as a man; at times He knew hunger and thirst, at times He knew sorrow and grief. He knew the suffering of rejection, He felt the travail of His soul, He felt the suffering of His people Israel under the Roman law, and the corrupt priesthood of the Jews. He suffered when He looked over Jerusalem; the Lord of glory suffered through His entire journey to the cross. Then on the cross, He finished His suffering with the exclamation, ‘it is finished.’ (John 19:30) When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
To this end was I born were the words that He spoke to Pilate before Calvary. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. (John 18:37)
Man only sees the outward sufferings of the Savior’s flesh. Do you not see the mental suffering, or that His spirit suffered, or that His soul suffered? Even His very Deity suffered at the hands of man. The nails in His hands and in His feet only brought suffering to the flesh, even though they were rudely or violently torn, it was the hatred and the sin of man that caused Him to suffer the deepest of sufferings. They hated Him without a cause, and He suffered them. He suffered the little children to come unto Him, for He knew what was before them in life. He entered into suffering that no human mind can comprehend. I speak as a man, and with man’s understanding; when the Lord of life and glory said, ” My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
<<To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David.>> My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? [why art thou so] far from helping me, [and from] the words of my roaring? (Psalm 22:1)
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46)
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Mark 15:34)
There are 3 different applications in these 3 verses. One, the Holy Spirit of God in Psalm 22:1 is telling us, prophetically, the exact words that the Son of God would say as He was rejected from above. Psalm 22 takes us into the depth of the suffering Savior’s soul, man could not see these sufferings, but these sufferings brought on the travail of His soul. (Isaiah 53) The 2nd application is found in Matthew 27:46, now we have the exact hour that He would cry out, the ninth hour is the hour that brought darkness over the entire earth. And out of that darkness the Savior cried, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? The third application is recorded in the Gospel of Mark 15:34, this is the gospel of the servant. Here as the divine servant of God fulfilling all the prophets, and all the prophecy that were given for this day, He gave His total obedience as God’s righteous servant when He laid down His life for His friends.
The sufferings of the Son of God in His rejection from above, how great was the darkness, for it was He who brought light into the world. He was rejected of man, the ‘man of sorrows.’ He was rejected by His own, He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. (John 1) So now, on the cross, in the deepest darkness that He had ever known, he cried out My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Crucify Him
There is more to the sufferings of Christ, for on the cross He looked back to the suffering of Abel at the hand of Cain. And Cain was a murderer from the beginning like his father, the Devil. We see in the Jews and the Romans crying out for His crucifixion, the continued seed of Cain. This was the fulfillment of Cain’s desire when he killed Abel, and so his seed crying out Crucify him, crucify him.
But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. (Luke 23:21)
When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify [him], crucify [him]. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify [him]: for I find no fault in him. (John 19:6)
In our 2 verses the heart of Cain was exposed. In Luke’s gospel, it was the cry from the people, the sin of Adam had spoken in a unified manner from the people. The crowd or mob wanted blood, and they wanted the blood of the Son of God. In the Gospel of John, the Holy Spirit takes us deeper into the heart of Adam’s son, Cain. These are the religious leaders, those who claimed to know Jehovah, those who attended in the Temple of the things of God, those who professed to teach the people the truths, cried out Crucify him, crucify him. Lastly, we have Roman rule, although Pilate was just a pawn of Rome, he was the representative force of his government. He wielded the sword of justice, yet allowed the children of Cain to persuade him to take the life of the King of kings. I view Pilate washing his hands, seeing the very blood of the Son of God in the water of his escape. He was looking for a way out, yet his perverted heart would not allow him to go free; so he also said, crucify [him]: for I find no fault in him. Man prides himself in what he calls, ‘the scales of justice,’ but when it is convenient, or becomes a threat to his well being, he overturns those scales as Pilate did on Pilate’s fatal day. He joined with Cain in sentencing his own soul to the lake of fire.
The Temptation
In Hebrews 2:18 we also see the temptation of the Lord Jesus Christ, for this we must turn to Matthew 4. Immediately after the Lord’s baptism, He was led into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted of the Devil. But first He must fast for 40 days and 40 nights. He was without food, He was tempted in all parts, every part of His Being as the divine man and the divine Son — all parts. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15) There was no temptation that was excluded, although He was a Son He endured temptation as a man. He suffered all that could come against Him, yet without sin; glory to God in the highest. After fasting for 40 days and 40 nights, the total of 960 hours without food, the Holy Spirit made sure that we understand that by Him not eating day and night, this was part of His suffering as a man. There would be no dispute that when the tempter came he would tempt Him with the very first request,
Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. (Matthew 4:1)
And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. (Matthew 4:2)
And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. (Matthew 4:3)
We see in the very first words that the tempter came to Him, notice that the Lord was led up into the wilderness. It was down to the Jordan, it was down into the water, He was receiving the burden that He would carry to the cross. Then after, He was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit of God. The tempter came to meet Him. The name of ‘tempter’ is the Devil or Satan. The first word that the Devil used is a small word, ‘if.’ If is a word of doubt, how many times have we used this 2 letter word in regard to our own failures, ‘if I had only done this,’ or ‘if I only had more time,’ ‘if I had only seen that sin for what it really is, the instrument of death.’ If we take the I F and look at ourselves we can declare I Failed, and failure is common to man. And man is a sucker for temptation, so the Devil throws out doubt, If thou be the Son of God. How bold is this deceiver of men that he could believe that he could bring doubt into the mind of God. For God cannot be tempted. (James 1:13)
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: The Devil knew that the Lord Jesus had fasted for 40 days and 40 nights; therefore, he began his attack or temptation directed at the flesh of the Lord Jesus. Satan commanded the Lord to change the stones into bread. How bold and arrogant, he assumed that he can command God the Son. The One who placed the stars in the sky, the One who laid the foundation of the earth is commanded to command the stones be made bread. Now, Devil, and this evil world listen to Deity. (Matthew 4:4) But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. What an answer to the tempter, for truly man does not live by bread alone. We are surrounded by a present evil world full of temptations of all kinds. The only place we can find refuge is in our God, and His Holy Word. Without the Word of God there is nothing in man to sustain him. One always looks at the outward flesh, and the need it has to sustain itself, but the greater being is the spirit within, and this spirit is fed only by the Word of God. How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (Psalm 119:103) The word of God is like honey, for by it I receive the sweetness of God’s grace. The symbol of honey also opens my eyes to the very deceptive things that are around me. So I must hide the word of God in my heart. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. (Psalm 119:11)The Divine Being of God has given His word to feed His children of His Spirit, and He has given His word that we might hide it in our hearts as we walk through this perverse world preserving our walk in His presence.
The Devil now takes Him, first the Devil came unto Him, now he takes Him. I am sensing a spiritual set-up here. The Devil takes the Lord Jesus into the holy city, would not your guard drop, after all, we are in the holy city. Then the Devil takes the Lord Jesus to the Temple of the Lord, and it is here where all should be safe, this is the place of spiritual well being. The Devil is now tempting the Lord’s spirit, he took Him to the Temple, and then up to the pinnacle of the Temple. This is a house of prayer, all should be well, then to add to his deception the Devil quotes from Psalm 91:11 and 12 in Scripture.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. (Psalm 91:11)
They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. (Psalm 91:12)
And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. (Matthew 4:6) Notice that the Devil leaves out to keep thee in all thy ways. The Devil is a slick tempter, also the world loves to pick things out of the Scriptures, out of context, and even changing the verbal expressions of the words. They twist God’s holy word for their own gain, and to deceive others. If you want the full value of Psalm 91, read the entire Psalm and it will enlighten your soul in the things of God. Now back to Matthew 4 . . . .
Man had made the temple of God into a place of merchandise. In verse 6 of Matthew 4, that little word ‘if’ comes rolling off the tongue of Satan again. ‘If’ thou be the Son of God? This is the question that all of us have to answer. Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? ( John 9:35) The Lord Jesus asked this question of the man who had been born blind. He had restored his sight, and now presented Himself to the man, who could now see, as the Son of God. The answer to this question was not only ‘I believe,’ but ‘help thou my unbelief.’ In another instance the Lord speaking to the Pharisees, asked, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. (Matthew 22:42) Both verses have to do with belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. The blind man saw the Lord Jesus as the Son of God, and believed. The Pharisees, however, rejected His claim as their Messiah, and the Son of God, and simply replied that he was the Son of David, they only saw their earthly domain and not His heavenly domain. They wanted an earthly king to rule over them, but not a King from heaven in the Person of Christ; for they had cast off the cords of God a long time before the manifestation of the Son of God. They were blind to their own blindness and spiritually dead to the things of God.
The Devil said to the Lord Jesus cast thyself down. The Devil had taken Him into the holy city, and into the temple, and up to the top of the pinnacle; and now he said cast thyself down. The Devil does this a lot to men in all of life’s circumstances. He will lift man up by deception, by lust, by sin; he will give him great wealth, political power, fame, and religious power, but when he is done, he will kick the chair out from underneath man, and let him swing on the end of the rope of sin. But now, the Devil was up against God. The Lord Jesus again rebuked the Devil when He said, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. (Matthew 4:7) This is the 2nd part of the Devil’s temptation of the Lord Jesus Christ — it was the spiritual side of this temptation. Notice that this temptation brought in the angels which are above, linking the Lord Jesus with all that was above.
Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; (Matthew 4:8)
And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. (Matthew 4:9)
The first temptation was of the flesh, the 2nd was of the spirit, and now comes the pride of life. Once again the Devil takes Him up, this time, into an exceeding high mountain. Now think, He who is higher than the heavens, how does one, as the Devil, really take Him up? Nevertheless, the Spirit of God wants us to see the path of the Devil, and the tools of His deception —so once again, the Devil took Him up. This mountain was the symbol of power, a symbol of might, and from this point or height the Devil showed the Lord Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. This left out none, whether in the past, or in the future, or in the present temptation — all was shown to the Lord, but it was Christ who created all things; and yet, the Devil declared that all the kingdoms of the world were his, all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; All these things will I give thee. One can see the pathetic desperation of the Devil. Why didn’t he quote Scripture again, for example Psalm 24:1, The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. In my recollection, one must own something before you can give it away, but here we see the desperation of Satan. In this life, we would call him a ‘flimflam man.’ Giving away what is not his to give away in hope of a reward, or to take possession of the strong man’s goods. How do you tell the Lord of lords, and the King of kings that you will give Him His own kingdom or even kingdoms of the world? Look at what God did to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon when he got too big for his britches.
At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. (Daniel 4:29)
The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? (Daniel 4:30)
While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. (Daniel 4:31)
The Devil uses that little word ‘if’ again, he looked at the Lord Jesus and said, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. (Matthew 4:9) In our travels through life, we have met people who are self-seeking, egotistical, or simply maniacs; they have many characteristics that resemble the tempter. The Devil had lifted the Lord Jesus up several times in hopes of casting Him down. Well now, in verse 10 of Matthew, Chapter 4, we read, Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. In verse 10 the Lord Jesus turned the tables on Satan. He affirmed that the Devil should worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. It is Satan’s turn to be cast down. A little reminder from Isaiah 14, for now the Devil must be humbled before God. This last temptation by the Devil ended in his failure to tempt the Lord of glory, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He was tempted in all parts — the flesh — the spirit — and the pride of life; yet, without sin — what a Savior! After this temptation by the Devil we have a period of refreshing given to the Lord Jesus Christ. The holy angels came and ministered unto Him, this also showed the severity, and the depth of His temptation. In Luke’s gospel 4:13, the Devil leaves Him for a season, but he would return later in battle at Calvary where the Lord Jesus would defeat him through His death on the cross.
The Other Tempters
The Devil is not the only tempter, for we are tempted as the children of Adam by the world, and all the things around us. Adam brought sin into the world, and left sin as our inheritance. Sin dwells within us, and is part of our lives, it dwells in our hearts, and in our minds, and throughout the entire body of man; whenever temptation comes the ground has been well ploughed. Just plant the seed of temptation and sin begins to grow till sin brings forth the dark harvest of death. But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. (James 1:14) Temptation is common to all men, the only deliverance from temptation is the throne of grace. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:6) We beheld Satan as the tempter, now let’s see man in his role as tempter. In Luke’s gospel 10:25, we read this, And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? It is now a man, a lawyer, who tempted the Lord. He asked the Lord a question that showed no soul searching. This lawyer wanted to skip repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; his question revealed his own want and not his need. The old saying that ‘he wanted to put the cart before the horse,’ so many today do the same thing, they want the glories of heaven without the death of the cross. The Spirit of God picked out a particular man, as He did in Matthew 22:35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, (Matthew 22:36) Master, which is the great commandment in the law? There were these 2 lawyers, both tempted the Lord Jesus Christ; one lawyer tried to pervert the way to heaven, the other had perverted the law of Moses. At this particular time in the history of Israel, the Levitical priesthood was almost nonexistent, only a few followed the law of Moses. It is recorded that the father of John the Baptist, Zacharias, who was a direct descendant of Aaron, as well as his wife, Elisabeth both honored the law of Moses.
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. (Luke 1:5)
And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. (Luke 1:6)
The religion of the Jews, however, had become a hodgepodge of sects; under the political groups there were those who used their position, not for God, but for power and political gain. Among them where the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Herodians, and a unique group of Pharisees who were also lawyers. These lawyers understood the law of Moses, but perverted it to the people, using their spiritual and political power to burden the people. And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. (Luke 7:29) But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him. (Luke 7:30) This is a clear statement by the Holy Spirit concerning the Pharisees and lawyers, who had rejected the counsel of God against them. They had been told of their wickedness and would not repent.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them. (Luke 11:44)
Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also. (Luke 11:45)
And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. (Luke 11:46)
These lawyers chided against the Lord for His word against them. Then they complained that they were suffering reproach, and yet, they were the ones tempting and reproaching God. The Lord reaffirms His position about lawyers in Luke 11:46. They twist the law for their own gain, and take the living of the people to fill their own treasures. They put burdens on the people that they themselves are not willing to bear. Then in Luke 11:52 we read, Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. We see that it was the lawyers who had taken away the key of knowledge, which is the word of God. They had destroyed all the spiritual fiber of the nation of Israel. They had ripped out of the hands of the people the knowledge of God.
Removing the Knowledge of God
When I was young, the public school that I attended, teachers would read from the Bible. We would recite the Lord’s prayer, and in some classes, there were Bible verses on the walls. In the foyer there was a bronze plaque about 4’x6′ with the 10 commandments; and no one was upset or insulted until lawyers found a way to line their pockets with civil suits against the word of God. As it was in the days of the Lord Jesus, so now, lawyers in the United States began attacking and taking away the knowledge of God. Their plan was, as the Jews of old, to increase their wealth and their political position by denying the word of God. Look at where we have come as a nation. Is there not a correlation between the removal of the knowledge of God and where we, as a nation, have become degraded in all segments of life? Remove the knowledge of God, then remove the sanctity of marriage; in the 50’s divorce became popular, and family’s were tragically ripped apart without the word of God. We have lost all value to the point were we kill our children while they are still in their mother’s womb. In God’s plan a mother’s love is undivided. Ask Solomon.
Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him. (1 Kings 3:16)
And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house. (1 Kings 3:17)
And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house. (1 Kings 3:18)
And this woman’s child died in the night; because she overlaid it. (1 Kings 3:19)
And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. (1 Kings 3:20)
And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear. (1 Kings 3:21)
And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king. (1 Kings 3:22)
Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living. (1 Kings 3:23)
And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king. (1 Kings 3:24)
And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other. (1 Kings 3:25)
Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it. (1 Kings 3:26)
Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof. (1 Kings 3:27)
And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment. (1 Kings 3:28)
Children they have grown up with no moral fiber, and have no understanding of the word of God, because lawyers of taken away the word of God. They have taken away knowledge in their own lusts, and deceive the people. They will not enter in to the kingdom of God themselves, so they hinder those who would. The Lord Jesus saw the wickedness of the depth of the souls of ungodly lawyers, and so it is today.
When our forefathers founded this country there was only one faith, belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. There was only one God and one Savior, why? because they had suffered the tyranny of England. They had escaped from a nation of tyranny for a freedom to worship the Lord Jesus Christ without government meddling, and denying them the right to worship the Lord Jesus Christ. When these men wanted a separation of religion from the government, it was to keep the government out of their faith. Our modern lawyers, however, have painted true Christianity as a danger to government. Originally, our forefathers wanted the government to stay out of the church, for they knew that if the church was separated from the government that godly men would rule in this country. The state, however, with it’s lawyers became jealous of the church, and began to take away her right as the Body of Christ. One of the most profound moves of the government was to institute a taxation system that seized the wages of it’s people, seized lands, seized holdings, seized businesses, and seized churches. To counter act their deception, they offered the churches, that were financially burdened, tax exemptions. This was only a ploy to jump into the church with both feet. So much for separation of church and state. If we uphold their reasoning, then churches should not have to file or give any account to them concerning their spiritual, financial, or tangible possessions. If you want separation, get out of the physical church, for religion has their rights to, and all this has come from deceptive lawyers who will not enter in to heaven, and hinder others who would.
When the Lord Jesus was speaking to the lawyers, and their availability for heaven, He spoke in the past tense. We all remember that for these men, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. (Matthew 19:24)
If Christianity was really the backbone of our country we would be ruled by godly men. Remember that I said that in the days of the Lord Jesus there were Pharisees, and Sadducees, and Herodians, and a group of Pharisees who were lawyers, can we not see all the false religions around us today denying Christ? only using His name for their own gain. We have lost the sense of true Christianity contained in the word of God, and so we suffer for it. There is no longer any separation of the government from the church. In some cases, they even dictate the messages that the preachers should preach, or condemn them if they preach on certain topics. It is little known that the government has the power to seize any church building, or tie them up in court with their lawyers until all their resources are gone. We have come full circle and are under the same tyranny as our forefathers were under the king of England.
I see that the only existence of true Christianity is in an unseen church, completely cut off from the state, and preachers with a heart for God who will not bend to the tyranny around us today. Is not the Church mystical? Is not the Church a supernatural entity? Some of us see the state as it really is, and others are so caught up with material possessions that they see nothing, hear nothing, and know nothing, and because ungodly lawyers have told them what to believe and what to think. (Most of our political leaders are lawyers!)
In Luke’s gospel we see the lawyer before us, this is a man who is so twisted that he can try to tempt God. He is of his father, the Devil, and it is harder for this man to enter into the kingdom of God; in fact, it is an impossibility. Without the true God in the individual’s heart, or the heart of a nation, one will have contention, strive, moral decay which will lead to physical decay; there will be no wisdom in leadership, and what is good for the leadership will only be expanded; until the people find themselves in bondage to not only a spiritual tyranny, but a physical tyranny — all these things are on ungodly lawyers. They have given their own nation to the Devil, and the Devil will reward them, for they will join him in the lake of fire where there is wailing and gnashing teeth, for our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:29. Amen
© Copyright 2015, Michael Haigh
Article may be used, but not for gain. Freely ye have received, freely give.
All Scripture references are from the Authorized King James Bible. (KJV)