If you can see it, religion is a box that men of religion have built. It was built by Emperor Constantine in about AD300. It was called the “Roman Catholic Church” Their doctrine was established on a mixture of law, grace and what ever they could come up with to get people to come into it.. They then kept them there by threaten them with being put out of their church. This is their religion box
Put this box inside of a bigger box which I call “THE RELIGION BOX“.
The RCC religion box had many spin off into other religion boxes which I call the SECONDARY BOXES, plural because there are so many of them. Put these boxes inside of THE RELIGION BOX with the RCC religion box.
Everyone of those boxes say they are the way to heaven. Join anyone of them and they will tell you that you are going to heaven, if you just do as they tell you. If you join you will be told what to believe and do. If a person doesn’t make it then they must not have done enough of what they were told to do.
This is the condition of those in THE RELIGION BOX. Everyone of them has a different theology. ----
Question == Is this what Jesus left us with?
Afterward those that had started with Paul’s gospel of grace fell victims’ to the believing Jews and started to include the works of the Law of Moses. This created a blended, mixed, gospel of two different plans of salvation.
One thing is certain from what I’ve read -- the Asian fathers largely failed to acknowledge the uniqueness of the revelation Christ gave to Paul. Why? Because, as Paul himself wrote, Asia had already turned away from him even while he was yet alive. Those in Asia were even then “turning aside unto myths.” These church “fathers,” with their compounded mythical doctrines, are only the fruit of the apostasy that began in the first century before Paul died.
2 Tim 1:15
15 This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.
(NKJ)
Act 20:29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Act 20:30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
This is exactly what happened: from among the Gentile believers of Asia, false teachers DID arise, DID speak perverse things and DID draw away disciples unto themselves. All within 100 years of Paul's death.
For anyone, today, to think they can find salvation in THE RELIGION BOX is betting their eternity on the ideas of other men who say their idea is correct. But what if it isn’t?
According to the scriptures a child of God has been given the Holy Spirit to indwell them and teach them. They are not left to man’s ideas since the holy Spirit will open up the scriptures for them. He does this through revelation just as he did for Paul.
But “THE RELIGION BOX” is a trap. It is hard to step on the outside of this box and see the things that God wants mankind to see. The god of this world clouds the mind of men so that they will not see the truth or even try.
The only way to escape “THE REIGION BOX” is to step out of it and see it for what it is. A person must see that they are lost in “THE RELIGION BOX” because they are left with the impossible task of trying to do enough works to be saved. They must see that they are lost and with all their heart pray that God will lead them to understand the grace gospel in it purity, Faith + nothing.
Now think of the story Jesus told “the “LOST SHEEP” and connect it to those in “THE RELIGION BOX“.
Matt 18:12-14
12 "What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?
13 And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.
14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
NKJV
Heb 13:11-14
11 For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp.
12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.
13 Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.
14 For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.
NKJV
Knowing about sheep helps to understand this teaching. The one who is lost KNOWS he is lost while the 99 do not know they are without a Sheppard and lost too. So they do not call out that they are lost. This is the trap of “THE RELIGION BOX“. The only way to escape is for a person to know they are lost, step out of the RELIGION BOX, and reach out for God to save them.
Put this box inside of a bigger box which I call “THE RELIGION BOX“.
The RCC religion box had many spin off into other religion boxes which I call the SECONDARY BOXES, plural because there are so many of them. Put these boxes inside of THE RELIGION BOX with the RCC religion box.
Everyone of those boxes say they are the way to heaven. Join anyone of them and they will tell you that you are going to heaven, if you just do as they tell you. If you join you will be told what to believe and do. If a person doesn’t make it then they must not have done enough of what they were told to do.
This is the condition of those in THE RELIGION BOX. Everyone of them has a different theology. ----
Question == Is this what Jesus left us with?
Afterward those that had started with Paul’s gospel of grace fell victims’ to the believing Jews and started to include the works of the Law of Moses. This created a blended, mixed, gospel of two different plans of salvation.
One thing is certain from what I’ve read -- the Asian fathers largely failed to acknowledge the uniqueness of the revelation Christ gave to Paul. Why? Because, as Paul himself wrote, Asia had already turned away from him even while he was yet alive. Those in Asia were even then “turning aside unto myths.” These church “fathers,” with their compounded mythical doctrines, are only the fruit of the apostasy that began in the first century before Paul died.
2 Tim 1:15
15 This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.
(NKJ)
Act 20:29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Act 20:30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
This is exactly what happened: from among the Gentile believers of Asia, false teachers DID arise, DID speak perverse things and DID draw away disciples unto themselves. All within 100 years of Paul's death.
For anyone, today, to think they can find salvation in THE RELIGION BOX is betting their eternity on the ideas of other men who say their idea is correct. But what if it isn’t?
According to the scriptures a child of God has been given the Holy Spirit to indwell them and teach them. They are not left to man’s ideas since the holy Spirit will open up the scriptures for them. He does this through revelation just as he did for Paul.
But “THE RELIGION BOX” is a trap. It is hard to step on the outside of this box and see the things that God wants mankind to see. The god of this world clouds the mind of men so that they will not see the truth or even try.
The only way to escape “THE REIGION BOX” is to step out of it and see it for what it is. A person must see that they are lost in “THE RELIGION BOX” because they are left with the impossible task of trying to do enough works to be saved. They must see that they are lost and with all their heart pray that God will lead them to understand the grace gospel in it purity, Faith + nothing.
Now think of the story Jesus told “the “LOST SHEEP” and connect it to those in “THE RELIGION BOX“.
Matt 18:12-14
12 "What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?
13 And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.
14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
NKJV
Heb 13:11-14
11 For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp.
12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.
13 Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.
14 For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.
NKJV
Knowing about sheep helps to understand this teaching. The one who is lost KNOWS he is lost while the 99 do not know they are without a Sheppard and lost too. So they do not call out that they are lost. This is the trap of “THE RELIGION BOX“. The only way to escape is for a person to know they are lost, step out of the RELIGION BOX, and reach out for God to save them.
