Wednesday, October 12, 2005

What Is Truth?

The following text is an excerpt from the book "An Exposition of the Seven Church Ages" by William M. Branham, where he speaks about truths vs. the Truth. Have YOU found the truth yet? I'm quoting from the 7th chapter which deals with the Sardisean Church Age, which was the time period when God raised up the great reformer Martin Luther. Read on...

If there was ever a time of denominational zeal it was at this tragic time. The words of Comenius describe much of this era. Comenius wrote the "ONE THING NEEDFUL." He compares the world to the labyrinth, and shows that the way out is by leaving what is needless, and choosing the one thing needful--Christ. The great number of teachers, he says is the reason of the multitudes of sects, for which we shall soon have no names left.

Each church reckons itself as the true one

or at least as the purest, truest part of it, while among themselves they persecute each other with the bitterest hatred. No reconciliation is to be hoped for between them; they meet enmity with irreconcilable enmity.

Out of the Bible they forge their different creeds; these are their fortresses and bulwarks behind which they entrench themselves and resist all attacks.

I will not say that these confessions of faith--for we can admit in most cases that they are so--are bad in themselves. They become so, however, in that they feed the fire of enmity; only by putting them away altogether would it be possible to set to work on healing the wounds of the Church.

"To this labyrinth of sects and various confessions another belongs; the love of disputation... What is attained by it? Has a single learned strife ever been settled? Never. Their number has only been increased.

Satan is the greatest sophist;

he has never been overcome in a strife of words...

In Divine service the words of men are usually heard more than the Word of God. Each one chatters as he pleases, or kills time by learned disquisitions and disproving the views of others.

Of the new birth and how a man must be changed into the likeness of Christ to become partaker of the Divine Nature (II Peter 1:4), scarcely anything is said.

Of the power of the keys, the Church has almost lost the power of binding, only the power of loosing remains... The sacraments, given as symbols of unity, of love, and of our life in Christ, have been made the occasion of bitterest conflict, a cause of mutual hatred, a centre of sectarianism...

In short, Christendom has become a labyrinth. The faith has been split into a thousand little parts and you are made a heretic if there is one of them you do not accept...

What can help?

Only the one thing needful, return to Christ, looking to Christ as the only Leader, and walking in His footsteps, setting aside all other ways until we all reach the goal, and have come to the unity of the faith (Ephesians 4:13).

As the heavenly Master built everything on the ground of the Scriptures so should we leave all particularities of our special confessions and be satisfied with the revealed Word of God which belongs to us all.

With the Bible in our hand we should cry: I believe what God has revealed in this Book; I will obediently keep His commands; I hope for that which He has promised.

Christians, give ear!

There is only one life, but Death comes to us in a thousand forms.

There is only one Christ, but a thousand Antichrists...

So thou knowest, O Christendom, what is the one thing needful. Either thou turnest back to Christ or thou goest to destruction like the Antichrist.

If thou art wise and wilt live, follow the Leader of Life.

But you, Christians, rejoice in your being caught up,... hear the words of your Heavenly Leader, 'Come unto Me.'... Answer with one voice, 'Even so, we come'".

1 Comments:

Blogger Bro Trevor said...

"Of the new birth and how a man must be changed into the likeness of Christ to become partaker of the Divine Nature (II Peter 1:4), scarcely anything is said."

Oh my brother!!! Is this still the reality today! God help us all to speak of His transforming, overcoming power!

6:20 PM  

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