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== Goats and my sheep ==

Having raised both [[Goats and Sheep|goats and sheep]] I may see something different in the message of the parable we find in [[Matthew 25]]:32-4 where Jesus talks about  separating ''goats and sheep''.<Ref>[[Matthew 25]]:32-46 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth [his] sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38  When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43  I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44  Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46  And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.</Ref>

Since the goats are cast into everlasting torment and the sheep are brought into the kingdom as righteous everyone would want to identify with the sheep or at least understand the distinction.

First, when Jesus is talking about "[[goats and sheep]]" those sheep are His sheep. He is talking about the [[brethren]], which "hear his voice"<Ref name="hissheep"> {{template:hissheep}}'''My sheep'''
: [[John 10][:3 "To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers."
: John 10:14 "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd."
: [[John 10]]:26 "But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."
: [[Psalm 95]]:6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. 7 For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, 8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:"</Ref> and doeth the will of His [[Father]].

Just because you are poor, hungry, naked, or in prison does not make anyone nor certainly not everyone His [[brethren]]. There is a distinct possibility that they may be [[workers of iniquity]].

To provide for such people could weaken them which was the[[sin]] of [[Sodom]].

== Everlasting Torment ==

Goats in the metaphor of this parable get "everlasting torment"? So what is the difference between goats and sheep in this message?

The main focus of this division seems to be the activities of the goats and sheep. One is called ''iniquitous'' and others seem to be ''righteous'' based on love and charity. 

We should not get charity and giving stuff away mixed up. Because Paul talks about giving<Ref>1 Corinthians 13:3: "And though I bestow all my goods to feed [the poor], and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing."</Ref> but still not having charity.

Well, it is easier to understand if we know that the word we see as 'charity' when Paul says it is translated 'Love' when Christ says it! Just giving is not always love. 

[[Image:cowssheep.jpg|240px|right|thumb|]]So why goats and sheep?

Many animals, like cows, goats, and sheep, are herd animals and have a social structure within that herd. Both goats and sheep know the shepherd and both will gather together.

Sheep will follow the shepherd and hear his voice. Range sheep will band together as one flock but even within that flock there will be small groups.

But goats, while they will come together, are sometimes too independent. They know the shepherd, but they will also look for greener pastures; to the point that they may start deciding for themselves which way to go. They will ignore the shepherd and go off the path where he leads them.

== The Straying Goat ==

The straying goat will go where the shepherd says not to go and they will challenge the wisdom of his staff.
[[Image:goatfence.jpg|240px|right|thumb|]]If you put them in a rich lush field with green grass and water they will invariably stick their head through the fence to get to the other side.

Sheep raised on the range outside of fence fields learn to stay together and look to the shepherd for protection. They hear his voice and follow his lead.

The kingdom at hand and the righteousness of God we are to be seeking—which was preached by Christ<Ref>Matthew 4:17  From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.<Br>
Matthew 4:23  And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.<Br>
Matthew 9:35  And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.<Br>
Matthew 10:7  And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.<Br>
Matthew 24:14  And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.<Br>
Mark 1:14  Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,<Br>
Luke 4:43  And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.<Br>
Luke 8:1  And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him,<Br>
Luke 9:2  And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.</Ref> and Paul<Ref>Acts 20:25  And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.<Br>
Acts 28:31  Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.</Ref> for the living—<Ref>Luke 9:60  Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.<Br></Ref>is simple. 
You need to [[repent]] and you should pray to your Father in heaven for the daily bread or benefits and rewards and grace and mercy you desire or need. Not to the “fathers of the earth”. Jesus said so. Do you know who the [http://www.hisholychurch.org/sermon/fatherabba.php  fathers of the earth are?] 

We should all know why the [http://www.hisholychurch.org/sermon/corban.php Corban of the Pharisees] made the word of God to none effect. Why did Jesus say he would take the kingdom away from the Pharisees<Ref>Matthew 21:43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.</Ref> and appoint it to a bunch of different Jews we call the apostles<Ref>Luke 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.</Ref> and then tell them at the same time not to be like "the kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors."?<Ref>Luke 22:25 “And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors.  But ye shall not be so:” See also Matthew 20:25  "But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them."
Mark 10:42  "But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them."
</Ref>

== The Real Destroyer ==

* "The real destroyer of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations and benefits." -- by [[Plutarch]].

There are lots of ideas around that could cause our liberty in Christ<Ref>Galatians 2:4  And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:<Br>
Galatians 5:1  Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.</Ref> to be spoiled<Ref>Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.</Ref> And men who call themselves benefactors are often part of that problem.

Who are the men ''who call themselves benefactors but exercise authority one over'' the other? Those are men who take from your neighbor to provide you with benefits based on the authority someone gave them. It was not God who gave them that authority but men who made agreements with them that granted them power.

They are rulers who offer benefits that are paid for by exercising authority over your neighbors. At that time rulers in Judea and throughout the world offered benefits through systems of [http://www.hisholychurch.org/sermon/corban.php “Qorban”] by exercising authority rather than by charity. Christ did not. Christians would not do that. They did it by charity alone. They would not sign up for free bread or meat or cheese or any of the giveaway program of Rome or Judea. 

People may ask, "How do we covet our neighbor's goods?" Let us look at something simple. I have six children who could have gone to public school. That would have cost the government nearly half a million dollars. During that time I might have paid 40,000 in property tax. Doing simple math the extra $450,000 has to come from somewhere. Who is going to pay the rest of that cost?

We know the governments of the [http://www.hisholychurch.org/news/articles/world.php world] do not pay it. The government exercises authority over my neighbors and forces them to pay it. I am not saying that the government does not have the right to force them to pay it...for they surely do. Why they do have that right is another matter but let's keep it simple. I am not saying the people do not have a right to send their children to those schools...for they surely do. What I am saying is that if anyone is to say they believe in and follow Christ and therefore seek to be a Christian it “shall not be so” with them. A Christian by policy, if they are a follower of Christ, is to be seeking and believing in what Christ told them to do and not do. 

This has nothing to do with "saved by grace" or "works." It has to do with repentance. Repentance has to do with direction. If  a “Christian” is a follower of Christ then they need to be going in the direction Christ said to go.

== Cannibalizing Children ==

I do not understand how someone could desire benefits from men who exercise authority one over the other without coveting their neighbor's goods, because that is where the benefits come from. If we all did that, soon the country would be bankrupt and our children would be cursed with paying the debt to those men who call themselves benefactors.

Oh - wait - that has already happened! :-)

Not only that, but these people who desire them, keep taking the benefits after they know that there is no money to provide those benefits. All of the benefits of all of the governments of the world are the result of borrowing money from those who will have to pay it back in the future. What they trusted in was [http://www.hisholychurch.org/news/articles/notsecuress.php Not So Secure.]

*“Regarding Social Security, today's senior citizens blithely cannibalize their grandchildren because they have a right to get as much ‘free’ stuff as the political system will permit them to extract.” - California State Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown.

Not only our neighbor but our neighbor's children will have to pay back this debt due to our appetite for gifts, gratuities and benefits. Are we not cursing our children with debt.<Ref>2 Peter 2:14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:</Ref> We seem to want to turn a blind eye to the blood that will be shed because of our own greed.<Ref>Proverbs 1:10 "My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. 
11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
12  Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
13  We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
14  Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:
15  My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
16  For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
17  Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.
18  And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.
19  So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof." </Ref>

Many people will not like the statements of Justice Janice Rogers Brown above because they think:

* 'Oh, but we paid into the "Social Security System" all the years we worked.' 

The system is based on the biblical principle that you are to take care of the needy of your society if you are able to do so. This has always been the message of Christ and the prophets. It is what [http://www.hisholychurch.org/news/articles/religion.php Pure Religion] is supposed to be but the method makes your [http://www.hisholychurch.org/news/articles/ThatWordnwv.php religion] pure.

Certainly, children should take care of their parents when they become old. When the bible tells us to ''Honor thy father and thy mother''<Ref>Exodus 20:12 "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee."</Ref> there is a purpose to the statement. The word we see translated ''honor'' means to ''make heavy or to fatten''. Children should care for their parents in their old age so that their days will be long upon the land.

But God's system requires that what you give is based on free will offerings and not upon force. If it is done by force it will make the word of God 'of none effect' because it takes away the love.

The system of Corban is spoken of in Mark 7:11<Ref>Mark 7:11: "But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, [It is] Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; [he shall be free],"</Ref>tempted children to not take care of their parents. There are numerous references to this problem by Christ and others.

Christ spoke of this problem when he was questioned by the Pharisees in Matthew 15 about their traditions.<Ref>Matthew 15:3 "But he answered and said unto them, 'Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your traditions?'" </Ref> The word ''traditions'' here is the same word also translated ''ordinances''. 

So what were these ''ordinances'' Jesus was speaking about? Herod had offered a new deal and was [http://www.hisholychurch.org/sermon/baptismjura.php baptizing] people into a system of social welfare that was regulated by the laws of the Sanhedrin. This system was called Corban, but there was a major change in the way it operated that Christ objected to.

We see in Mark 7:12 that Jesus points to a major problem connected with this system of Corban.  It caused children to neglect their parents  while thinking it is the government of the Sanhedrin who is supposed to take care of them.<Ref>Mark 7:12  "And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;"</Ref>

Even Paul tells us the same thing in Ephesians 6:2: "Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)"

* Some even imagine that Justice Janice's statement is not fair because people were told they would get it back when they retired. People also want to imagine that it is not their fault the money they put in wasn't well managed. 

But of course, it is their fault, because they voted and signed up for the system. Jesus warned people about putting their faith in the treasuries of the world.<Ref>Matthew 6:19 "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:"</Ref>

Such systems have always been condemned by the prophets of the Bible because they encourage people to covet the benefits of men who exercise authority. They only give what they take away from your neighbor.

The system was never intended to work as a depository for your money. This is one reason why they do not understand and will often take offense at the use of the word "cannibalizing". 

The Bible talks about people eating each other in both the old and new testaments.

One of the worst things about this type of system, which has been around since before [http://www.hisholychurch.org/news/articles/hunter.php Nimrod], was that once you signed up, the contributions were compelled by law and regulated by the scribes and Pharisees. The treasury grew, but the wealth corrupted the ministers of the system until there were no more funds left.

* Another person commented on this quote about cannibalizing our grandchildren. "Excuse me but we paid INTO a system that was suppose to INVEST our money."

Actually none of the money you paid into Social Security is invested and none of that money is there when you retire, Social Security is not insurance. 

“The President wanted everybody covered for every contingency in life---’cradle to the grave,’ he called it---under the social insurance system… But the Government of the United States is not an insurance company and so it could be done.” <Ref>Forward by Frances Perkins Sec. of Labor 1933-45, The Development of the Social Security Act, by Edwin E. Witte, ppVII</Ref>

"On page 936 through page 946 of the Ways and Means hearings the originator stated that the “sold as if it were insurance” was a mistake and should not have been published as such. It was not until 1953 when the originator admitted that it is not insurance as published in 1936. To be like insurance is not being insurance."<Ref>Chapter 4. of the book The Covenants of the gods, Employ vs Enslave<Br>
Audio http://keysofthekingdom.info/COG-04.mp3<Br>
Text http://www.hisholychurch.org/study/gods/cog4eve.php</Ref>

It is not really an investment program either and there is no guarantee of getting any benefits back even if you live long enough to collect which most people do not.  The national statistics show only a -2% rate of return, that is a negative two percent.

If you turned 65 after 2009 the taxes you pay in will exceed what you get back and this margin will continue to grow.<Ref>Eugene Steuerle and Stephanie Rennane of the Urban Institute.</Ref> If you invested the same money paid into Social Security in a secure fund you could easily produce two to three times the amount of Social Security which makes no investment.

So, Social Security is not insurance and not and investment and it is [http://www.hisholychurch.org/news/articles/notsecuress.php Not So Secure.]

What is it? It is one half of a [http://www.hisholychurch.org/study/gods/cog4eve.php Statutory Corvee system].

* "We no longer find slavery abhorrent. We embrace it. We demand more. Big government is not just the opiate of the masses. It is the opiate. The drug of choice for multinational corporations and single moms; for regulated industries and rugged Midwestern farmers and militant senior citizens."<Ref>- CA Justice Janice Rogers Brown</Ref>



== Forced charity is not love ==

These systems operate by legally enforced contributions. 

But the real cost is not the contribution. By their nature they encourage the people to love the benefits more than their neighbor. This is the opposite of what God has said from the beginning.
<Ref>Leviticus 19:18: Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I [am] the LORD.<Br>
Matthew 5:43  Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.<Br>
Matthew 19:19  Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.<Br>
Matthew 22:39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.<Br>
Mark 12:31  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.<Br>
Mark 12:33  And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.<Br>
Luke 10:27  And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.<Br>
Romans 13:9  For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.<Br>
Romans 13:10  Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.<Br>
Galatians 5:14  For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.<Br>
James 2:8  If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:</Ref>

Remember what Plutarch said about destroying liberty with giving benefits. Well this is how it begins and throughout history the end is always the same.

* "Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible."<Ref>- CA Justice Janice Rogers Brown</Ref>

The people's appetite for more and more benefits increases as their love of neighbor decreases. The need for benefits becomes an addiction and the habit is rationalized and justified no matter what the truth.

From Cains first city State to Nirod's Babylon or the bondage of Egypt, it should be clear that these systems are not new. Ezekiel spoke of a civil caldron where all the people become one flesh. <Ref>“...this [city is] the caldron, and we [be] the flesh... prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man...This [city] shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof ...” Eze 11:3-11<Br> Exodus 16:3; Proverbs 1:10, 33; Micah 3:1, 7;  Zechariah 14:21  </Ref>

The Bible has always talked about those "...Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;  Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron."<Ref>“And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; [Is it] not for you to know judgment? Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;  Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron. Then shall they cry unto the LORD, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.  Thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him. Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them. Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.” Micah 3:1-7 </Ref> This sounds like Cannibalism but this is a metaphor where they are talking about systems where neighbor devour neighbor by forcing them to care for one another through men who exercise authority. 


== The Way Back ==

The way back is the way Christ taught and it requires repentance.

* "Where government advances - and it advances relentlessly - freedom is imperiled, community impoverished, religion marginalized and civilization itself jeopardized."<Ref>- CA Justice Janice Rogers Brown</Ref>

The more you look to these governmental systems of force the less freedom you will have so the more you turn around and care for one another out of love the more freedom you will have.

As these systems become bankrupt, as they always have, the people keep wanting to take their benefits. They loose all natural affection for their neighbor and just want their share back, even though they literally are biting one another and devouring each other in the process, as Galatians 5 condemns.
<Ref name="brethreng5">[[Galatians 5]]:13-15 "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only [use] not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another." </Ref>

Now we can take the simple knowledge that these benefits we seek, which come from men who exercise authority, are not the charity or the perfect law of liberty Paul talks about and those he was writing to were standing in. Look at the myriad of benefits offered by the rulers of the world-including health care, old age pensions, disability, etc. Why are we not getting these benefits through the Church like the early Christians did? Or like many Christians did just a hundred years ago?

Why? Because  “...certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Jude 1:4  The word lasciviousness means 'unbridled desire for benefit'. There are hundreds of references to this precept. 

One is my personal favorites is Proverbs 23:1 “When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what [is] before thee:  And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.  Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.” But then there is the “one purse” in Proverbs 1:10-19 which is clearly about socialism. The United States has become a more and more a socialist state -as has the rest of the world. The Church appointed by Christ does less and less of what it was told to do by Christ. Is there any wonder the world is on the brink of such disaster?  

Has anyone figured out who the [http://www.hisholychurch.org/sermon/fatherabba.php fathers  of the earth] are and why we should not be applying/praying to them for our ''daily bread'' or any other benefit provided at the expense of our neighbors through the exercising of authority?

I am sure that those to whom Jesus will say “depart from me” also "sincerely believed" they were believers in Christ. The problem was they were wrong about what they sincerely believed. "Sincerely believing” and a couple of bucks might get you a cup of coffee somewhere, but it won't get you saved. 
How does one know they sincerely believe? Because they repeat it over and over.

You have to believe in the real Christ, not one you make up by picking and choosing what Christ said, nor by dividing Christ's message into one for Jews and one for gentiles. There is one God and one gospel, although many parts to that gospel. Jesus was speaking to his apostles, who were to take the gospel to the whole world, when he said that we were not to be like the governments of the gentiles who exercise authority one over the other.  

No one here is suggesting that we have to be perfect or without sin. We are talking about direction and seeking the ways of Christ. It is not the ways of Christ, the prophets, or God, to force your neighbor to contribute to your welfare through men who exercise authority; and if you are doing that as a matter of personal policy -as socialists do- then you are not following Christ nor believing in his way. 

It is simply not loving your neighbor or the ways of God and Christ to desire to be benefited by forcing your neighbor to contribute to your welfare, like they did in Babylon, Egypt, etc. 

It has nothing to do with being gentile or Jew or Israel. These are the basics of love! These are the basics of charity - and it is not charity to force people to give.

1 Corinthians 13:2 “And though I have [the gift of] prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.” 

1 Corinthians 13:13 “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these [is] charity.” Of course when Jesus uses that word or charity they always translated it love.

And we were told not to covet what is thy neighbor's by everyone from Moses to Paul! But people who want to believe they believe will ignore that and continue in their iniquity of applying to men who exercise authority one over the other and devouring widows' houses, as we see in Mark 12:40: “Which devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.”

How many people have lost their homes because they could not fulfill the appetite for benefits by people who went to Church, but wanted more and more benefits from men who exercise authority to provide those benefits? This should be simple to understand. Wantonness, or charity and  love?

There are two basic words translated into “iniquity” in the Bible, but they both mean unrighteousness.

== Very Simple ==

This is very simple and not hard to understand. [[Modern Christians]] like to think they got it figured out and many of them imagine they are saved because of what they think about God and that they are really good enough the way they are.

Where does it say Christ came to give us license for an unrighteous way of life? Christ did not die so the pig could return to his mire and the dog to his vomit. The Pharisees thought the same thing and Christ was clear that many who think they are following and doing things in the name of Christ are actually workers of iniquity.<Ref>Luke 13:27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all [ye] workers of iniquity.</Ref>

To desire benefits by forcing people to contribute is the direct opposite of what John the Baptist was saying and certainly the opposite of what Christ was saying. If a Christian is a follower of Christ then you can't be going the opposite way He said and still be a Christian.

To covet means "to desire wrongfully, inordinately, or without due regard for the rights of others:" 

This is why Peter warns you in 2 Peter 2:3: "And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not." 

And why we are to "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." Galatians 5:1

And why Peter goes on in 2 Peter 2:20 to say: "For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning." 

And then their is Jude 1:11: “Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of [http://www.hisholychurch.org/sermon/nicolaity.php Balaam] for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.” But according to the do-nothing gospel that has crept into the Modern Church there is no woe. As soon as you mention repentance they jump on the not-by-works bandwagon. But [[repent]]ance is not about works. It is about direction. It is about the way of Christ versus some other way. Christ's way is love. The world's way is force.

So do you believe in forcing your neighbor to provide you with benefits? Or do you believe in the love of Christ?

I know [[Modern Christians]] want to think they believe and they are following the doctrines of Christ, but if they have strayed from that doctrine it is our obligation in love to point that out.

All I am doing is showing everyone how [[Modern Christians]] and many others do covet their neighbor's goods in order to get benefits at their neighbor's expense by way of men who exercise authority one over the other. 

That is simple to see and you see it everywhere in all nations today. 

Even Paul told us not to covet. <Ref>Romans 1:28: "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,   Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:  Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them."
<Br>
Romans 7:7- "What shall we say then? [Is] the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. 
<Br>Romans 13:9 - "For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  
10  Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
11  And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
12  The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
13  Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
14  But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
<Br>1 Corinthians 5:10  Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world."
<Br>1 Corinthians 5:11 - "But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat."
<Br>1 Corinthians 6:10 - "Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 5:11 - "But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? 1 Corinthians 5:13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person." <Br> 
2 Timothy 3:1 - ¶ "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away."<Br>
2 Timothy 4:4 -  "And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."</Ref> So what is the beef? And the other point is that Christians were persecuted because they would not sign up for those benefits which is [http://www.hisholychurch.org/sermon/idiots.php clear from history] and the warnings of Paul. But all this is helping write another article that exposes this false, do-nothing gospel interpretation of Paul - who was actually doing what Christ said, and who was writing to people who were doing what Christ said!

* "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matthew 4:17

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