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This is the Letter Which I Wrote to the Elder Jim C. April 18, 2009
Which He never Received, Because I turned My Attention to the Leadership of the Ministry
Jim,
I listened to Wednesday's preaching and I honestly wanted to disassemble the webpage I had created for that message. This is the ministering of questions. I really do not see how this brand of truth is going to make anyone free.
Three times twenty-four is seventy-two is true, but that does
not make me free. It is not just any true fact, nor yet any true fact from the
word, but the gospel of Jesus Christ that makes free. Truth is what makes free,
and what makes free is that truth which ministers freedom by the faith of the
hearers in that truth, what ministers questions is not truth. This business of,
"what day was Jesus crucified?" will not make anyone free, but just the
opposite, in the minds of the weak, this is the sort of knowledge that puffs up,
and will not lead to righteousness but rather to the subverting of the hearers.
Mark 16:9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared
first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
You asked one of the ladies to provide a verse that said that Jesus rose on the
first day of the week, and Mark read the very verse, and, as I listened, all
that transpired proved my point: that this is ministering questions. You
suggested that the sentence structure is wrong, but the subject in the first
clause is Jesus and therefore the object points to him, not Mary, nor yet to the
object of the second clause, the subject of the first clause was Jesus and the
object his rising on the first day:
Jesus (what)? Jesus (Was Risen): Jesus (was risen) [when]?
Jesus (was risen) [the first day of the week]. The second clause is separate and
the subject is Jesus again and the object is now his appearing, i.e. He: He
{Who}? He {Jesus}, he {Jesus} (What)? He {Jesus} (appeared), He {Jesus}
(Appeared) [to whom]? He {Jesus} (Appeared) [toMary]. The object of the second
clause cannot be the subject of the first clause.
I could go on, (I have already trimmed useless information pertaining to this
subject out of this letter) but I really don't want to argue for the other side,
that is not my point. My point is that defining the day he was crucified, or yet
re-defining the day he rose, for the sake of mathematics, is not truth that
makes free. Mathematics is a science (knowledge) falsely so-called, which in its
realm is true, but is not Truth, nor defines truth, nor up-ends truth. I started
to write up something which would show how the theory you present can be called
into question, but decided not to get into that, I want to avoid this whole
question, because questions like this should be avoided, and that is the whole
point, it's all about questions, not answers, and these kinds of questions ought
to be avoided. The fact I'm even writing this is proof.
I could honestly argue the other (orthodox) side, Lord knows, I've wasted labor
over both sides. If I put my back into it, I could convince half the church, I'm
very persuasive, and I'm not kidding. But to what end? To the subverting of the
hearers. I would not place either idea into the realm of Truth. Nor burden weak
minds with such things.
Romans 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body
of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
By believing and knowing that, I am made free. That is the sort of truth
pertaining to the crucifixion which makes free. That is the ministry of answers.
We need answers that minister to the question, "how do I get free?" Pilate
washed his hands, true, but by believing it, I will never be made free; Judas
hanged himself; true, but by believing that I will never be made free; The word
translated "after Easter" in Acts 12:4 is "to pascha" which is actually not a
Greek word, but an Aramaic word, and is translated "Passover" every other time,
it is in fact the Bible word for "Passover," true, but believing that will never
make us free.
Pilate asked what the truth was, because there are many true things in the
world; what "truth" could Jesus have had in mind? A cousin told me, when we were
children, that he had heard (later I came to know that he gained this knowledge
through a priest) that if you played with your penis, just right, it would feel
really good. He told the truth. But that truth ministers bondage. Someone told
me that a cigarette would make me feel high, I found that was also a true
saying, but it did not make me free. Jesus did not have all "true" things in
mind, only a very limited kind of truth, the truth of the gospel. There is no
good news in determining what day Jesus was crucified on, as if a particular day
would be better for the Gospel. This is not the way in which we ought to seek to
distinguish ourselves from the false churches. The way we distinguish ourselves
is that we preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and the doctrine of Jesus Christ. I
don't see how this fits in to that.
Respectfully ,
Love,
Paul