biblestudy: Matthew (Part Twenty-One)

Matthew 16:1-19
John W. Ritenbaugh
Given 10-Mar-82; Sermon #BS-MA21; 79 minutes

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Matthew 16:1-4 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed.

Now there are not very many times in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John that we find the Pharisees and Sadducees together—amalgamated; combined; joined together—against Christ. Generally, they were fighting one another as much as they were fighting him. But the Sadducees and Pharisees—very diverse in their thinking—have by this time, in the chronology of the events (by the time we get to Matthew 16) have joined together against a common enemy.

Now, just repeating a few things just to help you to understand how different they were. They were about as far apart as the Republicans and Democrats. Uh, maybe, maybe it'd be better to say that one kind of represented the Republicans and the other ones were much further left in one sense of the word, in another sense of the word. They were very far to the right. I'm thinking of the Pharisees here. But uh just for the, the sake of an, an, an analogy, I'm going to compare them to the Republicans and Democrats. Uh The analogy is not exact, but can you imagine both parties in the United States joining together against a common enemy within the United States? Uh It's, it's very difficult for me really to uh see them getting together unless there was something that they felt was so serious that they had to join together or both of them were going to lose their position. And that's exactly what they feared. Now, the, the Pharisees uh believed, I think I gave this the last time they believed in what is called today, the oral law. Now, the oral law is contrasted to the written law that is the written law as it appeared in, in uh Genesis, Exodus Leviticus, numbers and Deuteronomy. The oral law were uh regulations, decisions, judgments that had been handed down by word of mouth and they were in many cases made because the people desired more specific legislation regarding God's law and God's law in most cases, is given in broad principles and we have to work within the spirit of it. And so it doesn't take a great deal of legislation that way. And so uh people always wanting more specific guidance began to add little things here and there. And uh it did not rank with scripture in anybody's mind at the beginning. But by the time we get to the Pharisees, the Pharisees were equating it with scripture. Now, the sad you see, on the other hand, uh they said that they adhered to the written word only that is to what we would call the Old Testament. The sad, you were primarily the aristocracy. They tended to be very wealthy, they controlled the business within the nation. Uh They were the people who were in charge of selling uh at the temple. You know, when Jesus overturned the tables at the temple, it was the sad uh who were involved in that. They were operating the money changing and uh selling animals for sacrifice. Uh They did not believe in angels or the resurrection of the dead. They did not believe in spirits at all. On the other hand, the Pharisees did believe in spirits. They believed in the resurrection of the dead. The Pharisees tended to uh align themselves with what we would call the middle class and the poorer class. Although the fa the Pharisees themselves did not tend to be poor themselves. That is those who were part of the, let's just say the organization, they tended to be reasonably well off by the common man standard, but they tended to align themselves politically or maybe, let's say the poor and middle class tended to align themselves politically with the Pharisees rather than the sad. You see, it was probably, probably really a money issue, prejudice in the minds of people that tended to e uh uh cause them to align with the Pharisees rather than the sauces. Now, here were these two diverse groups who did not have very much in common when it came to the rulership of the land and yet when they had a common enemy in Jesus, they decided that they would join together and try to uh get rid of him. Now, Jesus said that they did not uh read properly the signs of the times. Now, here were these people who were the leaders in business in education and religion. They should have been the ones who were passing on to the people. The knowledge that this Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the Messiah. There was plenty of proof available that he was, all they had to do was check into his background and check into the the scriptures. They would have found as it says in the book of Micah that the savior was going to be born in Bethlehem. They would have found that he would be begin his preaching in Galilee, it says that out of the land of Nap, which is where Galilee is. They would have known that he was to be of the tribe of David, of the family of David. They would have known if they would have just listened to his preaching with an open mind and if they would have just watched him carefully studying him, but in a good attitude with an open mind, they would have recognized that what he was saying and what he was in, what he was doing was in harmony with, with what the prophecy said about him, with what Isaiah especially said that he would be like that he would, he would be a man who would be magnifying the law, expounding it. Uh making more clear the uh understanding of the law that he would be healing the people as it says in Isaiah 61 setting, those who were in bondage free, just all kinds of signs all over the place that Jesus indeed was the Christ, but they refused to admit it. That's what he meant that they would not uh understand the signs of the times. Now, the lesson to you and me is of course, are we aware of the signs of the times? Jesus said in Luke 21 to watch you there for and pray always he meant watch what is happening in the world. He said that in Luke 21 in verse 36 at the very end of one of the, well, the longest prophecy that he gave the one we call the alphabet prophecy. And it is the prophecy that is the framework for all in time events. Matthew 24. Luke 13 and Matthew and Luke 21. Did I say Luke 13, Mark 13, Matthew 24 Mark 13 and Luke 21 have essentially the same things within them. And so we are to watch what he gave as evidence that we are approaching the end. Ok. Now what was the sign that we are at the end? Ok. The gospel will be preached around the world. Matthew 24 verse 14 in Matthew in Mark 13, he said, this gospel shall be published in all the world for a witness and then shall the end come. Now notice the way he did it. He began by showing that there would be false Christs. Then he said wars and rumors of wars. Then he talked about uh famine and pestilence and earthquakes in different places. Then he talked about martyrdom. Now, all of those things have always occurred in any time in history. There have been people dying as a result of wars. There have been people being deceived by false Christs. There have always earthquakes occurred, there have always been martyrdom but never until this generation was the gospel preached all around the world. That is the sign that we are at the end. Now, if there is nothing else that you watch you better keep your eyes on Herbert W Armstrong. Now, there have been gospels. If I can put it that way that had been preached Galatians, one Paul used that word. He says, I, I'm surprised that you have been so soon turned aside by another gospel. If indeed there be any such thing. Now men have gone around the world preaching about Christ, but they are not preaching the message that Christ preached, they are preaching about the messenger, but not the message. This is the distinction between Mr Armstrong and the others. He is preaching the message the messenger brought. And of course, it includes information about the messenger, but primarily it is the good news of the Kingdom of God and it opens up for man. What his purpose is that His purpose is to be born into the family of God, to be in the kingdom of God, executing the laws of God, the government of God on this earth, that this earth is going to be ruled by Jesus Christ and those who are born into the family of God by means of a resurrection. Now, that's the good news that all a man's troubles and trials and difficulties are going to come to an end because there is a superior being coming to this, coming to this earth to rule over it. God is coming to rule and man's problems with warfare and nature with one another in families are going to come to an end. Now, that's the good news and it hasn't been preached until Mr Armstrong picked up the baton. If I can put it that way and began to do it in 1934 we are coming on the 49th year and it just makes you wonder about these things. You know, God gives us little indications here and there little signs to look for seven times seven and then the, the next year is a year of release. The 50th year of the preaching of the gospel will something significant happen in 1984. I do not know, but it's certainly good to think about those things. Ok. In verse four, he says, a wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign. Now, the only sign that he gave them was the sign of the prophet Jonas, which was the length of time that he would be spending in the tomb three days and three nights, even as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly. Now notice a wicked and adulterous generation. Now, the term adulterous is used consistently for the sinning nation of Israel. A dory is used when there is an illicit relationship between unmarried or married people. God and Israel were married when they made the Old Covenant. I think you understand that, that several different times in the old Testament, God uh equates the Old Covenant with a marriage agreement that Israel became his wife. But when Israel turned aside and went to the ways of the world. He even calls it a whoring after the world a whoring after the gods of other countries. It eventually got so bad that is her adultery got so bad that he had to divorce her. And so he says in Jeremiah three that he gave her a bill of divorcement. Now, just as consistent as the Old Testament is with Israel's adultery. The New Testament is consistent in warning the church, not about adultery, but about fornication. Now what? But because we are not married yet, we are the bride of Christ. We are being prepared for marriage, but we have not yet married Christ. We have entered into the espousal stage. I I think is what they called it of a Hebrew marriage where we have been promised to the groom, but we have not yet been joined together in marriage. Now in Romans eight and in verse three, it says that the flaw or the fault with the Old Covenant was with the people. Now under the New Covenant, the flaw or the fault is being removed before the covenant is entered into. Now, God knew that Israel could not keep the covenant because they did not have the spiritual power to enable them to do it. They did not have his Holy spirit, they were physical and carnal in their thinking. And so he made a physical agreement with them. But with the New Testament Church, he has made a spiritual agreement and the agreement is that we are to give ourselves over to him in order that the flaws may be taken away from us before we enter into marriage. Now turn with me back to Second Corinthians, the sixth chapter, second Corinthians six in verse 14. Now Mr Armstrong used a couple of these verses in the uh taped sermon that we had last uh Sabbath B you not unequally yoked together with unbelievers for what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness and what communion has light with darkness. Now, you see there are comparisons being made. Here. On the one side, we have uh good symbols and on the other side, we have bad symbols. Verse 15. And what Concord has Christ with be Lyle Satan or what part has He that believes with an infidel. And what agreement has the temple of God with idols or you are the temple of the living God. That is the church, as God has said, I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be their God and they shall be my people where come out from among them and be you separate. Now, there is our responsibility. We are not to have elicit relations with the world. Now, Israel had illicit relations with the world. They entered into agreements with the world that they never should have. They followed the world's gods, the world's business practices, the world's educational systems. Now, you name it. Israel wanted to do it to do everything like the Satan devised world did it. Now, the lesson for us ought to be fairly obvious that in order to avoid the illicit relations that Israel had, we have to do things not as the world does them, but as God does though, we have to think the way He does. We have to have the same attitude that he does. We have to have the same spirit that He does. We have to have the same love, the same joy, the same peace, the same business practices, the same religious system, the same educational system, we have to get in harmony and practice everything from God's point of view. Now, that's what conversion is about. And when he says, come out from the world, he means to drop the ways of thinking and doing things that you have been doing or taught, taught uh to do by the world. Now, let's go back to first Corinthians, the sixth chapter, first Corinthians six. Now, here we have what amounts to a play on words. Let's begin in verse nine. And you'll see that Paul is obviously talking about something that is, let's say in the general sense, physical says, do not, you know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God, be not deceived, neither fornicators nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind. You know, sexual perversions, neither thieves nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God and such were some of you that you are washed, that you are sanctified that you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus. And by the spirit of our God. Now think about the Corinthians and what you know about the background of the people. Corinth was the center of, of idol worship. It was filled with idols filled with temples, probably had about as many temples as Colombia does one for every corner. OK. Part of the worship that they practiced though involved the use of temple prostitutes and fornication was a common accepted practice of the people. In fact, that's how the temples raised their money. They were actually operating brothels in the name of religion. And so there was uh you know, no public scandal at all for any young man to go to a temple in order to get sexual release. Now, something like this is of course very foreign to you and me have been, have been reared in this society. So the subject involves whether or not uh young people should continue to commit fornication. Well, of course, we know that that ought not to be done. Now, I want you to think of this though in terms of spiritual fornication, because in the spirit of God's law, which is what we have to learn to obey and grow to obey fornication, of course, could be entered into by a person's mind. His intent. I notice in verse 12, all things are lawful unto me. Now, it doesn't mean that fornication is lawful or adultery is lawful or that thievery is lawful. He just said in verses nine and 10, that those things uh if they are committed are not going to get those people into the kingdom of God. And so what he means is all lawful things are lawful. Things contained within the law of God are lawful for him to do. But all things are not expedient or helpful. Sometimes it is not good to even do things that God permits. All things are lawful for me. But he says, I will not be brought under the power of any very powerful important statement. He is saying that even of the good things that God permits, he will not allow himself to be enslaved by them. You'll see here that He means even things like eating good food. Paul is saying I am not going to allow myself to be enslaved by food. I'm not going to become a glutton. God permits us to drink alcohol, but Paul says I'm not going to allow myself to be enslaved by it. I'm sure that He would still drink some wine, but he would never allow himself to get out of control. So he's talking here about control of oneself. Me, for the belly meats, for the belly and the belly for meats, but God shall destroy both it and them. All physical things are eventually going to disappear. Now, the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord and the Lord, for the body, he's talking about your body and my body. He's talking physically and yet in the background is a spiritual intent. Now, do you look upon the things this way that your body is to be used for the glorification of God? That it's not uh conversion is not just a matter of, of the mind. It's a matter of using physical things in the right way. The end being always to glorify God verse 14 and God has both raised up the Lord and will also raise up us by his own power. Don't you know that your bodies are the members of Christ. He's talking about the individuals being a part of the church. Then uh shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of an Harlot God forbid. Now think of this spiritually, shall we take the members of the church and they be permitted to be worldly committing spiritual fornication. Well, God forbid, he says, you see, we are to come out of the world and for us to do what Israel did would be breaking the seventh commandment spiritually, to allow ourselves to continue to have attitudes like to think like to act and react like the world would be spiritual fornication. We would actually be joined to the world spiritually. That's what we have to come out of. Remember, Mr, the reason I'm going into this a bit is because Mr Armstrong in his sermon said, I do not think you people get it about what it means to come out of the world. It means to quit thinking like the world, it means to quit having attitudes like the world, it means to quit acting like the world. So what, what is involved is a complete reeducation of our thinking and attitudes. He says, what know you not that he which is joined to in Harle is one body for two says he shall be one flesh that he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee for an occasion. Every sin that a man does is without the body but he that commits fornication, sins against his own body. What do not you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have of God and you are not your own for you are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are gods tell you there is really some meaty stuff there in regard to oh common, ordinary everyday life, even to the case or to the point of how we take care of our own bodies, what we eat, what we drink things of that nature. Now, in Deuteronomy 22 10, now when Paul wrote that scripture back in Second Corinthians six and verse 14 about being not being unequal and yoked together, he was very likely thinking of this scripture. You shall not plow with an ox and an ass together, you shall not plow with an ox and an ass together. Now, why? Because they are unequally yoked now, I'm not a farmer and I do not know what the problems are if one would yoke an ox and an ass together. But the inference is obvious that there are some animals, some things that just cannot be put together because there absolutely cannot be any agreement between them. It is impossible. They are so different in their mentalities, in their attitudes, thinkings or ways of doing things that there cannot possibly be unity and harmony. Now, two such things are you and the world, God's way and the world's way, they cannot be blended together. It is a total impossibility and any time that we get yoked with the world, we are going to be on the short end of the stick, you're going to be at a disadvantage even where there is a 50 50 agreement, supposedly legally on paper. I guarantee you you're unequally yoked. The world has the upper hand. God just tells you in, in wisdom, do not do it. You single people. You think maybe that, that you can get along with a very nice young, beautiful, unconverted man or woman in marriage. Impossible. You're going to be on the short end of the stick, you're going to be on the losing side. Just do not try it. That's God's wisdom because the world's way and God's way are totally incompatible. One is from the mind of Satan who is hatred personified. The other is from the mind of God who is love personified. And let's go back to the New Testament again in second Corinthians seven and verse one. Now think of what God's message from the very beginning to his people has been the first one that he called of his people was Abraham. What, what's the first thing you read that? He said to Abraham? Who? So who knows what the first thing was that? He said to Abraham? Ted? Yeah, he said, get out, get out from among your people. OK. What did he tell Moses to do with, with Israel? He said, go get them out. What did he tell a lot about Sodom and Gomorrah? He said, get out. Now, what did we just read in second Corinthians six? Where to the church come out from among them and be used separate? Because any time that you are allowing yourself to be influenced by the ways of the world, you are committing spiritual fornication and Jesus called that wicked. Now in chapter seven and verse one, having therefore these promises dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness on the flesh and the spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God. It's a beautiful verse so filled with instruction. What he is saying there is, look, let's learn the way God does it and let's do it that way, whether it has to do with the way we think our attitudes in marriage, child rearing, what we say with our mouth, right? You name it every, every aspect of life is covered to come out from among them and be used separate. Ok. Back to Matthew the 16th chapter. Now, while you're turning there, let me ask you a question. We're coming out of the world. How is change, affected? How is change, affected, affected? How is it brought about? Well, I'll tell you simply how it is done. The only way that we can be changed is to change our beliefs. We make our decisions according to what we believe. If we believe that something is right or good. If mom and dad taught us, if we learned it at school, if we've learned it in the business world, if we've learned it by experience, if we believe a thing to be right, then we make decisions based upon what we believe. Now, the only way that there can be change is to change the beliefs and if the beliefs change, then our decisions will change. No, this is why God at the very beginning of the process demands repentance because unless we re we repent, we will not change our beliefs. And if we do not change our beliefs, our decisions will not change. You see, we have to come to the place where we know that we are wrong, that we have been wrong. That we have made many mistakes and that we are wrong in what we have believed. And unless we are willing to admit that very little change will take place. Now notice the next section of verses here because they are very instructive along these lines. And when his disciples were come to the other side. Now remember in chapter 15, they were in the area of the Capus, which was the 10 cities that were on the eastern side, the Gentile side of the Sea of Galilee. Now they have come to the other side of the Sea of Galilee and incidentally uh on the other side, when they were in the decapua side, that's where the feeding of the 4000 took place. You remember they had 12 baskets of of uh bread left over and has seven baskets of fish. Now, here they are on the other side is just a few days later and guess what, all that food they had on the other side, they forgot to bring some with them. And so it says that they had forgotten to take bread. Well, then Jesus said unto them, take heed and beware of the love of the Pharisees and of the sauces. Now they were puzzled. And so it says they reasoned among themselves saying it is because we have taken no bread which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, oh, you of little faith. This 11 has something to do with faith. Remember that whatever he's teaching here has something to do with faith, something to do with belief. Why reason you among yourselves? Because you have brought no bread. Do you not yet understand neither. Remember the five th five loaves and the 5000? And how many baskets you took up? Neither? The seven loaves of the 4000? And how many baskets you took up? How is it that you do not understand that I speak it not to you concerning bread that you should be aware of the lea of the Pharisees and of the sauces. Then understood they how he that, that he bade them, not beware of the lea of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the SADs. OK. Now let's first address why they did not get it at the very beginning, why they reasoned among themselves. Well, the reason they did so is because they were not yet converted. And so they immediately being carnal minded, thought of a physical thing. It's the first thing that came to their attention. Now again, let's go back to first Corinthians two and beginning in verse 12, 1st Corinthians two and in verse 12, now we converted Christians have received not the spirit of the world but the spirit, which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us, of God. See that we might know the things of God, which things also we speak like Jesus was speaking to the uh apostles, not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual, but the natural man receives not the things of the spirit of God. For they are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. Now, that's why the apostles did not get much of what Jesus said because they simply did not have the mind to be able to understand it. Let's go back to that other scripture that Mr Armstrong used in John the eighth chapter John eight and beginning this time in verse 42. Now, to me, the intriguing thing here is that if you go back in verse, uh it's too far there 30 it says, and as he spoke, these words, many believed on him. Uh He is speaking here to people who believed on Him, the apostles believed on him. And yet the apostles did not understand what he was talking about half the time. And the reason we see is because they did not yet have the spirit of God and they did not get it until Pentecost. Uh after Christ died. Now here in verse 42 of John eight, Jesus said unto them, if God were your father, you would love me for, I proceeded forth and came from God, neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do you not understand my speech? Even because you cannot hear my word. You are of your father. The devil and the loss of your father, you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning. He obeyed. Not in the truth because there was no truth in him. And when he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own for he is a liar and the Father of it. And because I tell you the truth, you believe me not. I'm going to give you a paraphrase of verse 43. It says here uh I wrote it out from another Bible. I think it was the living Bible. Why do you not acknowledge this truth? Because you cannot bear it. It comes too close. They see the carnal mind will always defend its beliefs. That's carnality. It immediately justifies what it has done or what it believes or its attitude immediately leaps to the defense and begins to put up a resistance against what's being said and it always does it in the defense of the self. OK. Now it says in Romans eight and in verse seven that the carnal mind is enmity against the law of God for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. Now, in other words, these people were prevented by their very minds from believing the truth that Jesus was giving them, they were prevented by their own own mind. Now, there is a peculiar twist to this. Now, something that Mr Armstrong kind of glossed over in the, in the sermon, I do not know whether you caught it, but he mentioned that it is entirely possible for a person to understand academically doctrine to get doctrine straight. I'll quote him directly. It is entirely possible for a carnal mind to get doctrine straight and yet still not understand its application. Now, that is exactly what has happened to many in the church. They, they get the doctrine straight. They know that we ought to be keeping the Sabbath, that we ought to be tithing. You know, that we ought to be keeping the holy days. They know or can get straight the ideas regarding the gospel of the Kingdom of God and yet not understand its application to them personally. And so as Mr Armstrong mentioned that we have even had men who have become evangelists and then he finds out that they are not even converted, they have the doctrine straight. But what always happens, you see eventually that carnal mind begins to rebel against what it is, hearing what it is beginning to understand and it fights back and they always leave, it never fails. There is nothing more miserable than an unconverted mind trying to keep the laws of God. It just doesn't have the power to do it and it ends up totally frustrated. That's why every once in a while you'll see people that have been sitting in the congregation disappear. You know, they, they will just stop coming because they will be able to go along for a while. But eventually that unconverted mind just can't stand it any longer and it will rebel against it. Now, notice Jesus said in Matthew 16, oh, you of little face. Now you see, here is the problem. The carnal mind just doesn't have faith in God. That's the crux of the problem. It doesn't believe God. It would rather leave the world, it doesn't believe. Now, look in second Corinthians back there again in chapter five and in verse seven, it says for we, he's talking about converted church members walk by faith. We live by faith and not by sight. The carnal mind cannot live by faith for very long, by very long. I mean, it can go by for several years to some extent because it gets the doctrine straight. But when the crunch begins to come on in some area, it's always going to crack under the strain of trying to live up to the demands of God's word because the love of God's spirit is not there. The faith of God's spirit is not there, the peace of God's spirit is just not there. The self control of God's spirit just is not there. The vision of God's spirit is just not there. And it will begin to turn aside in the Hebrews 10 another verse in this regard. Mhm And in verse 38 Paul repeats himself, he says now that just shall live by faith. But if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in Him. Well, why because the person doesn't believe that's why. But we are not of them who draw back under perdition. But of them that believe to the saving of the soul or as the revised standard version has it of them that believe to the obtaining of life of eternal life. Ok. Now, the carnal mind will ultimately take events, things, attitudes, everything will be bent to a physical end. The spiritual mind will use and bend things if I can use that word to a spiritual end, because it believes the spiritual mind will always try to look at things through the eyes of God. What is God's intent? What is his purpose? How does he want to use me? And the physical will slide into the background until it becomes nothing more than a means to an end. They'll take healing, for example, to the carnal minded person. There is probably nothing more important in life than the healing of His body than to have good health to the spiritual mind. Good health is secondary to glorifying God. The important thing to the spiritual mind is what does God desire out of this? If I can glorify God by being weak and sickly, then that's the way I'm going to do it. If God decides He is not going to heal me, he has made the promise that he will do it. I know that he will come through. He will do it because it's impossible for Him to lie. Then the spiritual mind recognizes that the sickness that he has is a means to God's end. And God's end is always going to be spiritual. It is always going to be pointed, it's going to have its end. It's going to have its purpose in the Kingdom of God. And so if God decides not to heal a person at this time, it's because God has decided that he is going to be glorified through this person's weakness, not his good health. God is going to be glorified through this person's faith. God is going to be glorified through this person's He. Uh what's the word I'm thinking, patience. God is going to be glorified through this person's attitude, his pity, his compassion, his mercy upon others. I mean, the six persons, even though He himself is undergoing a great and rigorous trial, the carnal mind just can't do that. It wants to be healed with a passion that far exceeds what God would have. You see, the healing is the end for the carnal mind, not the glorification of God, not to be used by God. The carnal mind just can't take that how we get back to baptism and repentance. The first condition is to repent in order that you and I can be used of God the way He desires. And unless we repent, we are going to be fighting God tooth and toenail with a carnal mind, always resisting him just trying in every way to take things into our own hands and do it our way rather than his way. That's why the carnal mind always cracks under the strain. It can only stand it for so long. Now, go with me back to second Corinthians again this time in chapter 12. And in verse nine, you can understand why Paul wrote this because he had to come to this understanding because Paul was afflicted with something and what it was God decided I'm not going to heal you at this time. Paul thought surely I would, I'd be better able to glorify God with a healthy body. I could do the work if I just had the health. If I just had the strength to be able to do it. If I just had my eyesight, I could surely glorify God much better than I'm doing. I could accomplish so much more if I was healthy. But you see, Paul's faith was in God. He was converted. And so after apparently being anointed three times, and God had not healed Him, he understood that God was not going to heal it. And that God had decided that Paul was going to glorify God in his weak state. And so he said, unto me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my strength, that is God's strength is made perfect in weakness. Paul says most gladly therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Now, that's a converted attitude. That is a spiritual mind speaking. Therefore, he says, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then am I strong, strong with God's spirit? Now that does not mean that Paul did not do any everything that he could within the framework of God's law to take care of his health. But he had committed his healing to God not to men. And since God decided not to heal Him, God would then have to supply Paul with the strength to carry out his work as an apostle. And Paul did it in that state. Now, that's a converted mind. It is always seeking to glorify God. Now, back to Matthew 16, what does the 11 of the sauces and Pharisees have to do with this? Now, remember 11 is used in the Bible as a symbol of sin or a better term would be purification because it is the process of breaking down. That is the Len that is within a lump of dough as it breaks down the elements of the dough. It creates a gas and that gas is what causes the bread to rise and to be light and fluffy. But the 11 you see works from within its effects are seen without. Now, that's very important here to, to understanding what Jesus is getting at here. Now, in the analogy that He is using Levin corresponds to doctrine or belief, if you prefer remember the subject is o you of little faith, beware of the doctrine of the Pharisees. Now, the doctrine of the Pharisees and sauces were their teaching or their beliefs or let's put it this way, an evil influence that is working from within the human being and it will affect what he does on the outside. And so what he is saying in effect is that the 11 of the Pharisee and the sad you see their teaching is very similar to what a cancer would be a cancer that is working silently within the person to destroy him. Now, a doctrine comes from within the mind and affects what a person does on the outside. It's what causes his, his decision making process to reach a certain decision. He believes in a certain thing. Therefore, he makes a certain decision. So what he is concerned about here is the teaching that would come from these people. Now you recall back in Matthew 15, he says in verse 18, but those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart and they defile the man. It's what comes from the inside out that defiles the person like Levin, a belief is on the inside of the person. No. What did the Pharisees think? Or how did they see religion? Remember, religion is a way of life. Now, religion to the Pharisee consisted of a legal system of ritual cleanliness on the outside, a ritual that could be seen by others. But all the while it permitted the person to be inwardly greedy, spiteful, full of hate, deceit, you name it. But as long as they went through the ritual, they were ok. You see, their religion had nothing at all to do, to empower a person to change in love toward another human being. And so as long as the person was never changed on the inside, nothing would ever change on the outside. There would always be acts of deceit, of greed, of prejudice, of hatred, of animosity. You name it. Now, the sad you see, on the other hand, was aristocratic. He was wealthy, deeply involved in politics. We find from reading about them that they sought change through materialism, through social and political reforms that sound familiar certainly does. But you see those things do not change people either. You can change a person's environment and it's not going to change that person's thinking very much, might change it a little bit, but it's not going to change it very much for very long. The sad you see, did not change the heart either. That was the problem with their doctrine. It did not change the carnality. And so the carnal mind being, you know, with the beliefs being unchanged was going to continue to produce the animosity, the greed, the envy, the hatred, the prejudice warfare, family problems, child rearing problems and on and on. Now that's why Jesus was concerned about the doctrine because it did not change the man on the inside. OK. Now let's go on to verse 16 or 13. Pardon me? And when Jesus came into the coast of Caesar of Philippi, he asked his disciples saying, who do men say that I the son of man am? And they said some say that you are John the Baptist, some Elias and others. Jeremiah are one of the prophets and he said unto them, but whom say you that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, you are the Christ, the son of the living God. Now, it seems as though Jesus deliberately must have gone to Cesaria Phillipi. And uh almost, it seems as though to ask this question to be in a certain environment whenever he ask it, Cesar of Phillipi is about 25 or 30 miles northwest of the Sea of Galilee. It was in a gentile area. They were out of the land of Israel and Cesar of Phillipi was well known in that part of the world as being a place of gods. The city contained 14 extraordinarily beautiful temples. There was one that was exceedingly beautiful and was renowned all over the world at that time as a temple that herd the great built in honor of the Caesars of Rome. At that time, I believe it was Augustus Caesar. And then whenever uh hero, the great died and of course, Augustus died. Uh Harrod's son, uh Agrippa came along and he embellished it even more. And then Philip came along. It was another one of the heros and he changed the name of the city in order to distinguish it from other Cesaria that existed because I think there were at least nine or 10 of them at one time. But this was Cesaria uh Phillip, but it was a place that was renowned as a temple for gods. In fact, the ancients ascribed Cesar of Philippi as the birthplace of Pan. If you ever heard of Pan Pan was the God of nature. Very important God in the pantheon me, one of the major gods, one of the most important, one of them, of all. And according to their mythology, he was born or created or whatever you wanna call it in a cavern that existed in a, in the side of a mountain that was just real hard by the city of Cesaria Phillipi. Now this cavern uh contained within it, a prodigiously deep pit, you know, you walked into it and then suddenly the floor just fell away and that pit was filled to almost to the top with water. And apparently they, they tried to find the bottom of it. It was one of those places that, that they could not find the bottle just tremendously deep. They did not have a rope long enough that they could get to the bottom. I'm sure there is a bottom, but uh they could never find it. And so the place had an aura of mystery about it because of that. And even the Jews as described it as being one of the major sources of the river Jordan, that big pit of water that it went underground somewhere and eventually erupted out of the ground in springs. Now, it was in this area that it appears as though Jesus deliberately went. And when he got there in this area that was renowned for the gods that he asked this question, who do men say that I am? Now? He of course wanted to hear from their own mouths. I'm sure that he had heard it from others, but he wanted to hear their report. And of course, Peter, uh I am sure speaking for the other 11 said that you are the Christ, the son of the living God. No notice the first part of their reply though, because what they were doing there was giving the opinion of the world and the world's opinion was to equate Jesus with a prophet that was as high as they could go. That he was Jeremiah or Isaiah. Coincidentally, it was probably uh Fara doctrine that came up with this idea about him being uh John the Baptist, Isaiah, Elijah or Jeremiah or one of them because they believed in the transmigration of souls. That was their, one of their, their beliefs. In other words, that another, that a person who had died could be reborn in another and that they would literally be in this case, the prophet reborn. And when they said that he was Jeremiah, they meant Jeremiah. They, they really meant Jeremiah. They really meant Elijah having been reborn uh in this form. But in the reply that the apostles gave, they gave Jesus a distinctiveness that applied to no other human being that he was the anointed the son of the living God. Now, that title applies to no other human being. It is distinctive. Nobody can, nobody else can even come close. And that puts him in a different category than even the very greatest of the prophets who lived before. Because Jesus was the anointed the son of the living God, the source of all life, the Creator, the ruler, the sustainer, the beginner and the author of eternal life. Now, what is important to you and me about this is that this is a personal discovery. It is something that must be revealed because Jesus said in verse 17, blessed. Are you Simon Barona for flesh and blood? That is other human beings have not revealed this to you. It's an impossibility because why? Because men with their carnal minds, with their prejudices, with their opinions are always going to come up with the wrong Christ. And as Mr Armstrong has, has been telling us frequently lately that the world doesn't know God, they do not know the true God. And that's a shocking statement I'm sure to anybody on the outside who does not understand that that's exactly what the scripture says in Romans three in verse 10. Let's turn there, Romans three verses 10 and 11. And so, if the world does not know God, how can the world introduce you to God? You see flesh and blood cannot do it. It's an impossibility in Romans 3 10, it says as it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one, there is none that understands. There is none that seeks after God. Boy, that's a slap in the face to a lot of people who think that they have been trying to find God. Well, they have been trying to find God. There is no doubt about it, but they will never find Him because their minds are too prejudiced. It says in John 6 44 that no man can come to the sun except the spirit of the Father, draw him and I will raise him up at the last day. The real Jesus must be revealed. Well, I I hope we appreciate that what we've been given that God in His mercy. And I do not know why He has it for some reason or another. He opened up our minds to let us see the real Jesus, a tremendous gift. Certainly one of the most valuable pieces of information that a human being can be given. That we know the Christ of the Bible. It's not that we know about Him. We know Him. There is a difference between knowing about Him. It's possible for any unconverted person to know about him. They know when he was born, roughly, they know where he lived, they know where he died. They know why he died. They know some of his teachings, they know about him, but they do not know Him. That's something that can only be given by the spirit of God to really know Christ. Notice again back here in the book of Ephesians in Ephesians, the fourth chapter where it's talking about the purpose of the ministry. It's for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. We're to teach you till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. Notice it does not say the knowledge about the Son of God. That's the kind of knowledge the world has what God is giving to us is Christ's knowledge and it is only those who have Christ's knowledge, who know Christ, the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. You know, people go around saying, do you know the Lord? They do not know the Lord? They know about it and I hope that we are progressing beyond that. Now, how does one come to know Christ? Well, by prayer, by study, by obeying Him and you can't obey Him until you be leaving. Do we get right back to that again. You cannot obey him until you be leaving him. Only those who believe Christ know Christ because if you believe Christ, then you're going to think like Christ, you're going to act like Christ, you're going to talk to Christ, you're going to be instructed by Christ, you're going to be taking on his mind. You're going to become like he is, you're going to fight sin like he did. You're going to have attitudes like he did because he's living in you. He gives his spirit to them that obey Him. Now you have to study to know what he did. You have to study to know what his attitudes were. You have to pray to get his spirit. You have to ask God for his love, for his joy, for his peace, for his faith. You have to ask God to clean you up. You have to ask God to participate in your marriage, in your child rearing. You have to ask for his help in every part of life, for his instruction from out of his words. So you can use it. And as you use it, you become like Christ and then you know what a battle he had on his hands to live in this flesh and to over overcome the flesh and overcome the world and overcome Satan. Not only that, you will experience His joys, you experience his peace. That's how you know Christ and flesh and blood can't reveal that to you. You have to experience it and it's something that only the spirit of God can empower one to do. Verse 18. And I say it also unto you that you are Peter and upon this rock, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Now, I think that we know these verses reasonably well that Peter is the in the Greek, the diminutive form of the word Petra. The Petros means a small rock, a stone, a chip off a much larger rock, a fragment. Whereas rock in that verse comes from Petra where it means a huge Craig, a cliff, a massive granite slab. And so what he said there is you are a little stone to Peter and upon this rock pointing to himself, I will build my church. The church of God is built on Jesus Christ. He is the foundation of it and the apostles are part of that foundation. But Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone. Now he says that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. That is against the church. Now, by this, we can prove that the church is not built on Peter. Why? Right, Peter's dead. Our foundation is alive. The church is built on the living Jesus Christ. And that's why the gates of the grave will not prevail against the church because Christ is alive. You know, we are justified by his blood. But how are we saved by his life? We're saved by the fact that our foundation is alive and that he's at God's right hand interceding for us. The church is not built on Peter at all. He's just a chip. He's a little block in the foundation that Christ is the massive Craig that the whole church is built upon Peter had a very important job. There is no doubt that he was the chief apostle after Christ died. No doubt about that at all. But the church is not built upon him. Ok. Then in verse 19 says unto you, uh I will give the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. A key is something that unlocks uh gives one entrance into and whatsoever you shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Now, this has to do, of course, with binding and loosing the Catholic Church uses this verse as its authority uh for making and changing laws, for example, uh they openly admit that they were the ones that change the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday. They make no bones about it. They do not try to hide it. And that in fact, they even snicker it and point the finger at the Protestants and tell them openly that you're not obeying the Bible in worshiping on Saturday, you're obeying the Catholic church. You know, the Protestants have no comeback to that. And so they try to wiggle around it by saying that Christ was resurrected on, on Sunday and that changed the day of worship. Well, I think the Catholic church hierarchy knows better than that. They were the ones that changed the day. And so they use this verse as authority. I was going to spend a bit of time, but I will at least show you the principle. Go back to Leviticus the 13th chapter. Now this verse does give authority to the apostle to can act certain things. But notice this is just an example of the principle that we are involved with. Here, Leviticus 13 verse two, when a man shall have in the skin of his flesh, a rising a scab, a bright spot uh and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy. Then he shall be brought onto Aaron, the priest or onto one of the sons of the priest. And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh. And when the hair in the plague is turned white and the plague in sight be deeper than the skin of his flesh. It is a plague of leprosy and the priest shall look upon him and pronounce him unclean. Remember that word unclean. It has to do with binding and loosing it has, it has to do with the making of judgments arriving at a decision. If the bright spot be white in the skin of his flesh and in the sight be not deeper than the skin and the hair thereof be not turned white. Then the priest shall shut up him. That has the plague. Seven days, shut up. Him has to do with quarantining, has to do with being put out of the camp, put out of the community. And uh verse five, and the priest shall look on him the seventh day. And behold, if the plague in his sight be at a stay and the plague spread not in the skin, then the priest shall shut him up seven days more. Then uh he he gives in the next verse. If there is a change that appears, then the priest is permitted to make another decision regarding, ok, what we are talking about here in terms of binding and loosing does not give the church the right to change laws or to enact new laws. It only gives the authority to the Apostle to make judgments within the already existing law. Mr Armstrong doesn't have the authority to change the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday or any other day, but he does have the authority to make binding decisions on the church in regard to practices that we do on the Sabbath day. How long services will be? How many songs we sing? How many churches a minister might pastor where churches will be located, things of that nature. He is binding and loosing within the principles of the spirit of the law of God as it is already revealed. Now, some of that authority passes down even to the local minister. And so the local minister has the right to make decisions. Well, let's just say a binding decision regarding whether a person should be this fellowship, you see shut out of the community, the church or whether he should be reinstated that is brought back in the minister has the right to make decisions regarding whether or not he will baptize a person, whether or not a marriage is binding or loosed. Now, Mr Armstrong has the authority to make decisions regarding things in which there is no thus sayeth the Lord in the word of God, but it has to be made within the principles of that which is already revealed. Now, this would involve such things as makeup, it is covered in principle in the spirit of the law, but there is nothing that says you shall not wear makeup. And so Mr Armstrong has the right within the framework of the law to say this is vanity, it is sin based upon the spirit of the law. Uh Let's see if I can think of another birthdays. You see that's another one in which there is no thus sayeth the Lord but within what is revealed, Mr Armstrong makes a judgment. He it is then binding on the church. Voting is another one. It is covered in principle but is there is no thus sayeth the Lord that you see there is a principle come out of her, my people. So you'd be not a per taker smoking. Smoking is not, there is no thus sayeth the Lord, but there is the principle of lust involved there. And so then he makes a, a decision that is binding on the church. Now, you see that's what's involved here. We cannot change God's law. We can only bind and loose within the framework of what is already revealed.

JWR/aws/

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