Classic Christianity – A Closer Look at The New Covenant P24 (07-19-21)
Quit Sinning Against the Knowledge of Truth!
As Bob has said numerous times, all of us have been taught error from various denominational persuasions of men. The scripture that continually comes up in certain circles of Christendom is in Hebrews 10:26-31. People often think that to mean that if I do those dirty dozen or those nasty nine sins, deliberately, then I am going to hell. Many get fearful of this passage because they do not have proper understanding, because they do not understand what Jesus accomplished at the cross. People should be fearful, if they are sinning against the knowledge of the truth and after receiving the knowledge of the truth. The truth is people do not understand or realize he is talking about the sin of unbelief. He is talking about sinning against the knowledge of truth.
Now, if someone understands the truth, but deliberately and stubbornly says, “I do not care” and I am going back to the day of atonement or to my confessional booth to a priest to get my sins forgiven or as a Protestant quoting 1 John 1:9 to keep short accounts with God, after realizing what the knowledge of truth is, then there is no sacrifice for sin left, and then there should be fear of going to hell. And to solve that fear is to quit being stubborn and believe the truth, that Jesus died and took away all the sins of the world, back to Adam and forward to eternity, never to be seen again, that He was buried to usher in a New Covenant of grace, and He is risen from the dead so that the resurrected life of Christ can be placed in you and live in you forever so you may walk in faith in the life God has given. It is all a complete trust in God through what Jesus alone accomplished for you and nothing about what you do or fail to do in order to be saved.
To this very day, people have perverted that and have not walked in faith in what Jesus meant when He said, “It is finished”. People are still trying to keep themselves forgiven both as a Catholic and a Protestant. People are still trying to keep themselves cleansed. People are still trying to keep themselves perfect in the sight of God. People are still teaching people to keep short accounts with God. People are teaching people to spiritually breathe. People are teaching everything under the sun except what the bible teaches except that it is finished.
People are told that Jesus died for all your sins. As a young believer, as you are trying to process what that means, but have not yet got a firm understanding of truth, then you can pass on error to others. You have not received the knowledge of truth. It has not been revealed to you yet. For example, a person may know intellectually that Jesus took away my sins, but because he has been taught by well-meaning pastors that you have to keep asking God to forgive you when you sin, he passes on that same error. An honest question to such a pastor, who says you must ask God to forgive you when you sin, is, “Why do I have to keep asking Him to forgive me for?” The answer that you get back might be, “In order to make real in your own experience what God has already done for you.” Oftentimes people will memorize what a pastor has said and repeat it as if it true.
So, how do you know what is true? You read God’s word, read it in the context it is written, get an understanding of the New Covenant you live under today, such as from the book of Hebrews, and read passages that are very clear on explaining things, as for example, Hebrews 9:22 that says without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins, passages in Romans, such as Romans 5:10, and other passages and rely on the Holy Spirit, living in you to reveal truth to you. By asking questions of scripture while you are reading it, the answer is right there in the scripture. Try that with Romans 5:10, for example, by asking questions such as, “When were you reconciled?” and “What does it mean by ‘how much more are you saved by His life?’” And then compare that with what the apostle Paul says the gospel is in 1 Corinthians 15. When you ask questions, the attitude of your heart is not to rely on your own understanding but to rely on the Holy Spirit to reveal the meaning of it to you. Ultimately, the Holy Spirit has to reveal truth to men.
Now once the truth is made known to you, but you stubbornly refuse to believe the truth, then that is sinning against the knowledge of truth. So then you now know what the truth is, but you stubbornly go back to your traditions. For examples of going back to traditions: Jews kept going back to the day of atonement to get their sins forgiven. Catholics continue to go to a priest to get their sins forgiven. Protestants continually go directly to God to get their sins erased and to keep themselves clean. All of these are sinning against the knowledge of truth and are in error. What is going on is a stubborn, rebellious heart attitude after receiving the knowledge of truth. These people are double-minded. They have never repented, changed their mind, holding on to both tradition and Jesus. People have to let go of traditions of men that are contrary to the gospel and take a firm stance on the truth in Christ Jesus, otherwise a person believed in vain. God knows those who are truly His, but test yourself and see if you are in the faith. Is Christ alive living in you? Only you can answer that question. If you pass the test, that you are in Christ and Christ is in you, then in reality, your identity is not in your denomination but that you are a child of God, born again. You then come to realize that it is not faith to ask for what you already have in Him. In Jesus, you have redemption and the forgiveness of sins.
