In the World But Not of the World

The Word of God reveals to those who seek His Truth that in the end times the Ecclesia (Those who have been called out and made separate, aka “The Church”) will fall away into apostasy, or false religion. However, most people, even proclaiming believers, do not think that these warnings apply to them. This writing is dedicated to informing the Ecclesia as well as seekers of the Truth about the signs that the Prophets, Yeshua ha Messiach, and the writers of the New Testament gave to us, and that those signs exist as an overwhelming presence in today’s “Church”. Before continuing it may be helpful to read Jeremiah 6:16 in context with the verses that follow. 

Also, I am accountable to God to be “willing to be wrong” in pursuit of the Truth. Please exhort me by pointing out errors and omissions, as I dearly hope to mislead no one through my own faults. I rely on my discerning brothers and sisters of the remnant to do so and to keep me, and others, from harm. But please – before confronting me, do as Paul commended the Berean folks for doing: They searched the Scriptures to see if these things were so.

Do you think that something is “missing” from your life with God? It may well be – and I hope the Word of God in Yeshua ha Messiach will be where you turn to for help!

Commentary:

In the World But Not of the World

Before writing “On the Way,” I wrote a piece called “Philadelphia Fellowship Property Agenda.” In this article I was attempting to show what a true refuge/healing ministry should consist of. I was writing this piece both from the viewpoint of what is “missing” in today’s Christianity as well as from my experiences as a Facility Operations Manager for a well-known Midwestern refuge ministry, considering improvements that could be made on the “industry standard” of operating procedures in such ministries. I must admit at this point that several observations and recommendations I made in that piece were incorrect; there was too much worldly “management” experience speaking, and my study of God’s instructions for us since that time have led me to review the very spirit of what I wrote.

In the time since, I have learned that even the most well-intentioned aspects of the wisdom of man are faulty to the extreme. What seems to us at times to be tiny variations from the Word of God, often thought to be inconsequential and covered by “grace” because of our good intentions, are truly working instead against the Gospel, the Law, the Prophets, and the Epistles. I have learned since that only willing and unwavering obedience to God’s Word will bear true fruit. I hope to be able to explain that this “wisdom of men” may truly be “loving people right into oblivion.” Please allow me to show some Scriptures and explain their importance in the context of this observation.

I John 2:15 – “Do not love the world or the things of the world.”
I Timothy 6:6-8 – “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these things we shall be content.”
Acts 4:32-35 – “Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of Yeshua ha Messiach. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.”
Acts 2:44 – now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.”

It says in the New Testament that Yeshua learned obedience. The apostles were flawed men who learned obedience. The Word says that Yeshua, The Apostle, and the disciples of Yeshua, flawed men who became apostles when they learned obedience, are our guides. If anyone is claiming to follow a guide through treacherous territory, and goes off on their own path, out of the way that the guide is leading them in, they are likely to end up lost. And so it is today. We’ve stopped following the guides. Every man does what is right in his own eyes, and goes his own way. The Word exhorts us to turn from our own works and back to the path of the guides. Our ways won’t work.

The absence of, and need of, communities of disciples:

“You are the salt of the earth; if the earth loses its saltiness, how will it be salted?” It’s clear in the Word of God that the disciples, the true believers and followers of Yeshua the Holy One, pitched in their lots together and lived as communities within the communities (Acts 2:42-47, Acts 4: 31-35, Hebrews 10:23-27). They did not withdraw completely from the society around them, but became not of the world while living among those who were of the world, as a testimony. They did not live the same as those around them, and so they stood out as a living testimony, a living sacrifice, of Agape. They lived simply, being content without worldly gain, for they knew from their Lord they could take none of that with them; in fact, they knew from the Scriptures and from the teachings of Yeshua and the apostles that such things would bind them to the world and keep them from the Kingdom on That Day. They were instructed to beware 1)the things of the world, 2)the lust of the eyes, 3)the lust of the flesh, 4)the pride of life, and 5)the desire for other things.

They were instructed, even commanded, to “aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing” (I Thes. 4:11). This was a part of their testimony to the unbelievers of the world – and one of the “big three” weapons by which the True Ecclesia Church, the Saints, will overcome the enemy (Rev. 12:11).

The early church knew this well: “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city” (Rev. 22:14). Living in one accord, as one community of Agape’ (unselfish love), without which we are “nothing,” was essential to their obedience, their testimony, and their walk of Faith. To be sanctified from the world, not of it though they were in it, was following the spirit of what had been repeated throughout the entire Word. “Live in the world since you can’t leave it, but don’t act like you live in it; be separate from the activities and contrivances of the world” (Author’s paraphrase). Sanctified means “separate from; not of.” When one is sanctified from the world, and in the Lord, they are also holy. To be merely separate from the world like a monk or a hermit is only worldly asceticism. It is a dead work of the flesh. But to live as the community family of God, in one accord, with all things in common, in the midst of a lost community, while rejecting the things and practices of the world, is clearly obedience. So what keeps us from practicing this obedience today? For one, many believe that they are doing nothing wrong. But keep in mind what Yeshua said about the many, and about the few. It is clear that many have been deceived by the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, the desire for “other things” than the Kingdom and His righteousness, and the pride of life because of the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh, and the lack of obeying God’s Word. Many have been mis-taught, but they won’t be able to blame the teachers they’ve hired unto themselves on That Day. We each have a responsibility to receive the Love of the Truth and to obey the Word. We can’t simply add Yeshua to who we already are, because that is like trying to put a “new patch on an old garment.” Most people would say that they want God “in their life”, but don’t realize that unless Yeshua ha Messiach and the Kingdom ARE their life, they can’t “have” God in their life. True repentance, a true turning away from our old lives and a true death to self, is necessary before putting on Christ. A simple “patch” won’t take.

It always bothered me deep down when a pastor or teacher would dismiss the way the Acts church lived their daily lives as “communism.” Yes, there is a worldly communism that is secular, not of God, an imposed, legalistic order, an attempt at man-made nirvana, but this is not what the Word is exemplifying when it says “all things in common” and “of one accord.” The reason for this is in the reason. The hope for worldly communism is in the works of man, and of the world, that nirvana can be reached secularly, without God. The hope in a community of believers is in the fact that there is no hope in the things of the world; in the things and means of the world there is only bondage to the world. The hope of the disciple, the True Believer, is the faith of the evidence of things not seen – we’re obeying because we’re beginning to practice the things that are not seen – the things not of this world. The things of the Kingdom of Agape’.
The world system is evil and pervasive – it has penetrated into the church and assimilated it unto itself. This is not my opinion – it’s what the prophets, and Yeshua, and the writing apostles said would happen. To doubt what they said would happen is to doubt the very Word and foresight of God (…we have the MORE SURE WORD of prophesy…). It also says that when, not if, this happens, that the True followers are to “come out from among them.” This is the predicament we find ourselves in today. “‘Stand in the ways and see, and look for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it.’ But the people said, ‘We will not walk in it.'” Jeremiah 6:16-17

The life of two-car households, TVs, washers and dryers, refrigerators, stoves, furnaces, video games and computers, savings accounts and college educations, is clearly “of the world.” The inventions of man (“You have destroyed My creation with the works of your hands”) are clearly worldly, and not godly. The desire to aspire in the world is clearly not of the Kingdom of God. We save up for ourselves while our brothers and sisters have needs, instead of having “all things in common, and there were none who lacked anything.” We call this wisdom, but it is the wisdom of men and not of God. We sit next to people in “church” who have needs, and we do nothing to meet those needs. We have become “lovers of ourselves, lovers of money, having a form of godliness and denying the power thereof (which is death to self and putting on Christ).” We ourselves have fulfilled the prophecies by our disobedience. Will “grace” cover us? No – because just as we can’t have INDWELT “grace” without obedience (Hebrews, James), neither can we attain to the Kingdom without obedience (Paul). “Oh, but we don’t love all those things more than we love God!” Good. Give them up. “You show me your faith by what you say, and I’ll show you my faith by what I do” (James).

What are we to do then? I strongly suggest doing what Yeshua and the Apostles (and the Law and the Prophets) said to do. Forsake all, and cast ourselves naked and hungry before God so He can clothe and fill us (Rev. 3). This is clearly in accordance with the Word, so why is no one doing it? I suggest, once more, that it is because we “think we are warm and well fed when really we are naked and hungry (Rev. 3:16-20).” Also, we wait for others to “make the first step.” But others already did make the first steps of example – those others were John the Baptist, who “came in the way of righteousness” to “prepare the way of the Lord,” and Yeshua, and the apostles, and their disciples in the early church. There have been others, who have been persecuted and martyred for their efforts, but they are more often than not obscured by the denominational doctrines of men that have “crept in unawares.”

It is our very desire to hang onto the things of the world, our comforts and our securities, that keeps us from obeying. When it comes down to it, we don’t righteously fear God and we don’t truly trust Him. We don’t think we have to. We think “grace covers all,” but we’re quite wrong. Grace does not cover continued disobedience (Hebrews). In fact, grace isn’t covering for ongoing sin or unbelief at all! Grace is the manifestation of the power of the presence of God that comes as the result of obedience, as exemplified throughout the Word and explained quite well by Paul.

How can we go about doing this? What prevents us from obeying God? Why do we not forsake all, sell our possessions and goods, live together as the family of God, and so receive His promises? The truth is that if those who had no debt helped to pay off the debts of their brothers and sisters, they would both be in accordance with obedience (help the afflicted and oppressed) and they would open the doors to living the way we were instructed to live (I Tim. 6:17-19, James 2:14-17). It is taught and considered to be unwise to do this in today’s church – but that is in accordance with man’s wisdom, and not with the Word. If we see a brother or sister in debt, and we have extra, we should pay their debt. There can be no doubt about this in the whole counsel of the Word of God (esp. Isaiah 58). Think about it. If our congregations were to pitch everything into one pot, and then pay off the corporate debt of everyone in our bodies, the whole group would then be free from those debts, and better able to act as a whole unit in serving God and dedicating themselves to the Gospel of the coming Kingdom. The key then is to not again get into debt – “to owe no man anything” – and therefore eliminate at least some of our “earthly masters.” From then on, we would live “one day at a time unto the Lord.”
Mortgages, car loans, college loans, etc. – these should all be treated as disobedience to the Word (because they ARE disobedience, and bondage to another master), but we see them as “necessities,” and not as disobedience. We “lean on our own understanding.” These things have become our worldly masters, therefore preventing us from obeying the Word. We have these masters, so we “worry about tomorrow” – how we’ll pay our bills. So why doesn’t the corporate body work to eliminate their corporate debt? We could then work together and establish a community within the community. We would then be a witness – they would “know us by our unselfish love one to another.” They would know that we are sanctified – we are different from the world around us. It wouldn’t be long before they started asking why. It would also not be long before we were persecuted and martyred. “There is nothing new under the sun.”

I suggest that a body would then purchase a piece, or pieces, of property where they could live together with all things in common, and in one accord. They would not build it in the boondocks – away from society and not a light to the world – but close enough to the communities of the world to be seen. Of course, they would only do this if it could be done with no worldly loans. Folks, if you borrow from a “christian lender,” you’re still borrowing from the world, and the world then becomes your master.

They would strive for simplicity, to not need the things of the world. Wood burning stoves instead of furnaces, etc. None of the “comforts of the world” provided by machines. The land would be farmed for food, and hard work would provide shelter and clothing and food. All would take off for the Sabboth together for rest and prayer. This would all be in accordance with the Word. So why haven’t we done it?
We’d give up our corporate jobs and “work with our hands and mind our own business” (I Thes. 4:11-12). Why strive for earthly wealth and be involved in worldly politics? The entire Word is clear that we’re not to strive for the things of this world. Why do we ignore the Word? We’d have a couple of changes of simple clothes instead of closets full of them for every occasion. This is in accordance with the Word as well – why do we ignore it? No, it is not a testimony to the Lord to be well dressed and have a good job. Just the opposite (Psalm 49:16-19). It’s a testimony to worldliness, and our prosperity will “descend with us.”
How to pay taxes? First of all, many churches do everything they can to avoid paying taxes, even though Jesus instructed us to “render unto Caesar.” So, sell some of the produce and perhaps some hand-made or hand-baked goods, obey the laws, and use some of the proceedings to pay taxes. It’s not that difficult a problem. Money wouldn’t be needed for mortgages or cars or washing machines or extra clothes or vacations or pagan holidays any more. We would live simply, taking no thought of tomorrow, as Scripture says to do and as Jesus told us to do. So why don’t we do it? Look to the Word for why we don’t do it – we’ve been deceived, and we’re living in unlawfulness and unrighteousness. Please, look at what Yeshua says about those who claim to belong to Him and yet live that way.

I must exhort you, and reason with you from the Scriptures, concerning what is possibly the biggest and most dangerous deception occurring in what is called the church today. The Word is clear that the only ones who are protected from the fate of the world are those who are in Yeshua. It is also clear, from James, and from Yeshua Himself, that belief is not the same thing as being in Him. Those who are in Him are those who “hear His words and do them.” Yeshua said, “Be not deceived…many will come in My name…” Who is it, then, who is in Christ? Were the apostles in Him? Did they do what He said to do after the Resurrection and Pentecost? What did they do? (Acts 2:42-47) Also, Yeshua instructed the apostles, before the Ascension, to “go into all the world, making disciples (mimickers, followers) of all the nations, teaching them to do whatsoever I have told you.” What was the first thing after their repentance (turning away, dying to self) that the apostles had the new disciples do? The Word says that the gospel, doing what Yeshua said to do, is the power of God unto salvation. Praying the sinner’s prayer, and not leaving your old life behind you as dead (“reckon as dead the old man…”), is not the answer Jesus provided, nor the Way He said it must be done. Yet today pastors speak “great swelling words of liberty” and deny the very gospel that Yeshua came, and died, to show us (II Peter chapters 2-3). We have been “blinded by the god of this age.” Materialism, self-comforts, security, and entertainment have taken the place of obedience to God’s Word and following in the footsteps of Yeshua ha Messiach and His disciples. Going to church and singing worship songs on Sundays and Wednesdays? Dead works, and not obedience (Amos 4:10-24). Examine these Scriptures, and the many in one accord with them, and weigh the Words of God carefully. Be not deceived.

How do we then, who seek this and see this in the Scriptures, make it practical and livable? I agree; in many ways, in today’s world, it is not “practical,” but that does not give us permission to disobey. It would not have been “practical” for the Israelites to go up against the giants, either. We are to walk by the obedience of Faith, and not by sight. There are a few, one or two in each congregation, who see these things and yet have remained silent, and who have gone along with the crowd because they’ve been (mis) taught that it is wrong to speak out, and that it is wrong to leave. I encourage you to seek out, in your own congregation, those few who are likeminded in the Scriptures, and to speak out, and once you’ve been rejected, to leave that assembly. For the most part, you will be rejected – Yeshua said so. And then start seeking out these few anywhere you can find them, and then obey what the Word of God says to do. Don’t follow the crowd – Yeshua told us what their destination is. Turn away from your old lives – completely. Start walking in obedience to the Word. Yeshua meant what He said – take it literally. Unless you forsake all that you have, you cannot be His disciple. His words, not mine! Anyone who tries to save his own life will lose it…
I am currently seeking out others who desire to obey the Word of God and do this. In my own mind, and yet to be tested by the Lord, is the idea of finding a few who are willing to forsake all, sell everything that they own, pay off their debts, pay off the balance of the debts of their brothers and sisters, and take what remains and purchase a small piece of land, perhaps one that has trees and water that can be utilized. Then, having all things in common, they would build and share housing, grow their food, and learn the old ways (there is plenty of material available on the “how to’s”). As they did their work, others would have their work to do as well – to go into the community, door to door, proclaiming the imminent coming of the Day of the Lord. Live simply, live and proclaim the Truth. Live the Way and the Life. I know already that there are few who will do this – the Word says it, and I have seen it, Glory to God. Proclaiming christians desire more to hold onto their lives; their traditions, their comforts, their securities, and their entertainments are more important to them than obedience to the Word. There will be very few, as in the days of Noah. In fact, Yeshua wondered if on the Day of His coming He would find any in the Faith. No, the Word does not support millions upon millions being raptured in the last days, unless the tribulation finally forces them to see the light and accept the Truth and obey.

Yes, I am judging – not by my own judgment, but by the Word of God. I know that I will be weighed according to how I judge. I am ready, I believe, and Glory to God and His Word, to take the “next step” in “dying daily.” If I must walk it alone, then I must – I won’t be the first one, and hopefully I won’t be the last. Perhaps I am. But I also have now seen (Glory to God and Praise to Yeshua ha Messiach!) some of the meaning of “unless a grain falls into the ground and dies, it can bear no fruit.” Have I attained yet? No. Unless I myself die to all these things, and walk in it, no true fruit will be born. If no one else will do it with me, I must do it alone, but do it I must, if I’m to be obedient, forsake all, and walk as a disciple of my Lord.

Anything else would be unbelief.

“One thing that I desire of the Lord, that will I seek after: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.”