|
|
This past week, I began to contemplate many things that have been happening in my personal life. From my religious beliefs to my involvement with those who are self-proclaimed heresy hunters, to just being a serious jerk in reference to those I once associated with. The news of my health not being where I thought it was did have an influence on the mirror I have put myself in front of. As a believer, am I being as Christ to people, or am I just using my faith as a crutch to beat people over the head with. I had to be honest, and say that the latter was what was happening. I mean, I would go and down Oneness and Pentecostalism in general, and do so in the name of ‘defending orthodox Christianity’, but the fact was, I was being something that if people met me would know I am not.
I am not a hard men. In fact, I am a man whose heart and mind is to make people happy and lead them to a true relationship with Christ, even if their theology is not at 100%. In fact, I am coming to grips that maybe no one’s theology can be 100%. Yes, I believe in the five solas as being guiding principles of my belief, but I find things hard to swallow in the light of things that have happened to me lately. I find the belief that God gets glory from our suffering to be a bit wrong, even sadistic. (Oh, I know that many in Reformed faith will blow a gasket when I state this.) I also am finding that I am having a problem with the use of the word persons in defining the three of the Godhead. So, maybe we cannot know everything about God, and maybe we need not add to the scriptures and stop trying to be something we are not.
So, I took down the moniker of this site, and started this whole all over again, this time, just my thoughts. I restored an old YouTube channel, and will begin posting videos there real soon. I think one thing I have come to grips with is the fact that I am not the man some think or want me to be. I am a non-conformist, and I think that is how God wired me. So, I no longer will be trying to fit molds. I am just going to be Bill Price, and if people do not like that, so be it. I just am not going to send sincere believers in Christ to Hell for their doctrine not aligning with mine anymore. I mean, come on, do we know everything and understand everything about God and His Word. A man who says He does, or even has a fair understanding is self-delusional!
So, this is the new beginning, and this is who I am.
Signed,
William M. Price
 It is becoming more and more clear that those who take a stand against sin in the USA are about to become targets of hate crimes prosecution thanks to the newly passed hate crimes legislation. Soon, anyone who speaks even a word against homosexuals will be prosecuted as hate crimes violators, even if that comes from the pulpit, or in our own homes. The stand against sin is about to become a costly one for some pastors in our great land.
However, we must take the stand, because sin is such a serious issue that the Lord Jesus Christ sacrificed His own life, drinking the entirety of the cup of the wrath of God, so that the penalty for sin could be forgiven to those who believe. We have to, because sin is such a crime against the holiness and sovereignty of God, in that we have broken the law of a holy, just, and righteous God, and this flies in the face of He who is above all. The stand against sin may become a costly one, but it is one in which we must take, if we are to be His.
And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. (Acts 4:18-20)
Shall we choose to be silent as over 100,000 people a day die and go to Hell, just because the government declares that preaching against sin shall become illegal? The Apostles were faced with a very similar situation in the above scripture, whether to stop preaching in the precious name of Jesus, or bow to the will of the religious leaders of their day. Their decision to forge on in the face of certain persecution and peril, trials and tribulation is the reason why we have the holy Bible today, and the saving name of Jesus preached throughout the entire world. The cost was high for them, as it might become for preachers today in the USA, facing even possible prison for preaching that homosexuality is a sin, and that those therein must repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. But, when I walk into my school I work at everyday and see the over 1000 kids there, and see them needing Gospel preaching and the truth of scripture, I see the need to press on and hold fast to the truths which have been delivered to us.
The silent majority was a term used about politics in several elections when the candidate elected was not the one that most people wanted. But, those who supported that candidate turned around and said the truth, that those in silent majority have no right to complain because they did not vote. I will not allow my life, my ministry to become as a silent majority, just covering my mouth and allowing the world to die and go to Hell just to keep peace. I refuse to be as Micah’s false priest, and sell out for ten sheckles and a shirt, and then sell out again to become priest over the tribe of Dan. I refuse to allow this world to blindly go into the darkness of Hell eternally without shining a light to help them come to Christ. If I did, imagine the intense amount of blood that would lay stained upon my hands for all eternity, and the shame I would bring my Master.
To be silent in the face of such is an abomination. Either preach the Gospel, which does include preaching against sin, or do not be of His name at all, but do not share your allegiance with God and this world. God said He would have no other gods before Him, and this includes for the believer today. God is God, and we must do as He has commanded, and this includes the Great Commission, which is preaching the Gospel to every creature.
So, as believers, we must stand against sin. We must tell the world the truth about the depravity of their sin, so that they may turn to a holy and sovereign God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and repent and believe on Him, and be made just, holy, and righteous before Him. If we do not, then we have betrayed the Lord of glory, and have become servants of the devil. I refuse to bow to the world, and i refuse to be the man of bloody hands.
It seems to me, that so many have a problem with being labeled Jesus name people. They have this notion that being people of Jesus name is a bad thing. I have since repented of my grievous sins against so many, and I expect not to be welcomed back, but I strive from here on to see things in the light of the Gospel that Christ has entrusted to His people. Thus, if I am now to be labeled as a Jesus name believer, then so be it. It is a title that I shall wear.
I am not Buddha name, nor am I Mohammad name. I am Jesus name, a believer in the name. Now while some within that community will never welcome me back after the atrocities I have performed, I choose not to be as those who seek the pat on the back, but instead seek to have the approval of God. Thus, I am searching for a good Jesus name church, which preaches the Gospel of Christ, and believes God is still sovereign enough to continue to pour out of His Spirit even to this day. Yes, I am coming back to where I should have never left, but I am not coming back the same man I once was. I am coming back scarred, and that to some would mean worthless. To me, it is a testimony of grace and mercy.
In the next few weeks, after finding a new church home, I will be working on restarting a street evangelism ministry, as well as some street preaching. I also want to see if God would allow and choose to use me as a vessel for His glory in any way He sees fit. I know this blog will be one of them, seeing how I do love to write and be used in that manner. I also desire to have some deeper relevance in what I write, not just on doctrine, but application and lifestyle.
So, please keep this in prayer, and keep me in prayer as well, that God would be exalted in all I do. For, I am a Jesus name believer, because I have been awarded His grace time and again. To all I have hurt, please forgive me. To others, pray for me.
We hear the word holiness a lot in the world of religion and Christianity. We hear preachers talk about living holy, being holy and separated, and dedication unto the Lord. But, what is true holiness? Is it a listing of rules and standards by which we live our lives, or is it something far deeper, wider reaching, and lived in, not lived in order to achieve? This is something that we need to focus our thoughts on when we consider true holiness in Jesus Christ.
The Greek word for holiness is the word ‘hagiasmos’. It is used a total of ten times in the New Testament, and is either translated holiness or sanctification. It is the setting apart of something or someone for the glory and honor of God. Now, here is the thing about this word, that is means a state of purity. When we read this word, we are reading about a state or condition of individual before God. It is derived from the word ‘hagiazo” which means to make pure. This is a work that man cannot attain in and of himself. The reason being is the sinfulness of man, and his own ways which are of the nature of sin, which we all have. Now, when we look at holiness, it is something that man cannot attain of his own works (Isaiah 64:6), for our works are as a filthy menstrual cloth before God.
So, how do we become holy and walk in holiness. Scripture declares in Romans 15:16 that we are sanctified (remember the word sanctification and holiness are equal in scripture) by the Holy Ghost. It is a work of God which sanctifies, not a work of man. Jesus in His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane prayed that the Father keep us, which is also a reference to the working of the Holy Spirit for our sanctification. We become holy through the indwelling and transforming power of the Holy Spirit. We do not become holy in what we do, but instead become holy through the Spirit during our salvation.
Yes, salvation makes us holy because the precious shed blood of Christ is applied, and we are cleansed (purged, remitted from, washed) from all sin, and stand before God on the merit of Christ alone by grace alone through faith alone. You are holy when you are saved, and nothing changes what God does there! But, that is but the beginning of the walk fo holiness.
From then on, we are called to walk in the calling with which we have been called (Ephesians 4:1-3). We walk in the work of Christ and produce fruit of that work. This does not mean living according to a set of rules, but living a life of modesty and honor, pleasing to God, and contrary to the walk of sinfulness of our former lives. And this walk will manifest the fruit, not in order to obtain holiness, but because the root is holy, and so then are the branches which bring forth fruit, they too are holy (Romans 11:16).
When a soul is baptized with the Spirit, their walk will be different. They will seek to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. This is a work of the Spirit, not a work of man. The walk therein is the fruit manifest of the walk of the Spirit. It does not bring the Spirit, but instead because the Spirit is made manifest in the life of the believer, that believer will manifest the fruit that is nourished from the root!
Hallelujah! what grace and mercy is bestowed upon the children of the Most High, that we need not strive to attain what God has already given us through the sacrifice of His precious Son on the Cross. How much more lovely then is a walk that reflects the working of Christ, not in order to obtain, but in order to bring glory to Him who bestows the blessing of holiness upon our lives. How beautiful is such a knowledge, a mentality, a drive of compassion and a desire to walk for Him, knowing the work was started by Him, and will bring Him alone the glory!
Thanks be to God alone for this knowledge of the truth of His holiness wrought in us!
This is a doctrinal argument that has raged for generations, and one in which I believe is based on silly beliefs that we can possibly put the total understanding of theology proper in human terms. The Oneness side of the equation, my Oneness brethren, state that God is one in three manifestations. Trinity says one God in three persons. So, which is right? Which is heresy? The answer as to whether your belief in theology proper (doctrine of God) is correct lies in your Christology.
Is Christ God? Now, I have downed many Oneness who have held that the Son is just the flesh manifestation of God down here. But, I have been reading, and most Oneness hold that the Son is God manifested in the flesh, that He is fully God and fully man. This aligns with Trinitarianism as well as Oneness. The flesh son doctrine is held by only a minority of those in Oneness. So, when we speak of the Son being God, we see this as a view held by the majority of Oneness and Trinity. But, some hold that this divides us. How?
If the Son is God, then we are brethren. I will call those in Oneness my brethren from here on, and will refuse to damn them to hell. My belief in God is this…
There is only one God manifested (revealed) as God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. These three are one. The fullness of the Godhead was manifest in Christ Jesus. All three listed in the Bible (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) are God. Jesus Christ is fully God manifested in fully human flesh, sinless and perfect. He became subordinate to the Father while in the flesh, but went back to His Father at His ascension, and is now, as He always was, with the Father as one. In fact, Jesus said to Phillip that when you see Him you have seen the Father, and that He and the Father are one. In other places, He identifies Himself as the Holy Spirit (the Comforter).
Some will not agree with this, and some will, but this is how I see this, and what I believe concerning God, and all of this is supported and backed with scripture. So, this is it for me, and where I choose to take my stand.
Us four and no more Christianity is a form of Christianity that removes the truth that God saves whom He chooses for His glory, and that those whom He saves are not necessarily within the context of the box we want them to be in.For example, no matter how hard I tried to discount the phenomenon of speaking in tongues, and tried to dismiss it away in scripture, segregating my Pentecostal brethren, I could not run from my own personal experience, nor could I forget the power of that experience. Now, I never attributed tongues myself to demonic activity, but I did quote some who have. Thank God for grace. But, I admit my sin in segregating my Pentecostal and Charismatic brethren, even my Oneness brethren, because such is antichrist and ungodly, and not in my true nature. I was living two natures, and that was something I could not do.
Segregationist Christianity is ungodly. To segregate over the issue of baptism (whether Jesus name of FSHG) is ungodly. To segregate over Trinity or Oneness is sin, because no man can know God, only that God is one and there are three in that one, God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, and there are three in one. To segregate over expositional topical preaching and exegetical preaching is ungodly as well. Allow me to remind people, that we have martyrs all over who are dying for His name, and that this ungodly irrational separation between the family is uncalled for!
Now some things should be separated. For example, if one believes salvation is through water baptism and not through Christ alone by grace alone through faith alone, that should be a cause for separation. Those who condone immoral lifestyles and ungodly practices as acceptable should be separated from. Those who divide and cause division should be separated from. But, to separate on the cause of minute divisions over doctrine is both ungodly and not God glorifying.
“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” (Romans 16:17-18)
So, if you are His, then you are mine as well, my brother and/or sister in Him. And, let all I say and do now bring glory to Him.
Signed,
William M. Price
|
