Following men or God?

Confirmation from men or confirmation from God 

“If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, ..... 

    ......Let us go after other gods,..... 

     ......which thou hast not known,..... 

     ......and let us serve them; .....” 

In this day of judgment teachers, pastors and “spiritual” leaders use doctrine as a sign to inspire wonder in the followers of men so that they will follow those “leaders.” 

The gods which “thou has not known” might be seen as the teacher’s particular viewpoint or interpretation of scripture that may not be strange to the teacher’s personal relationship with God but because that viewpoint did not come as a result of the follower’s direct personal relationship with God, is strange to the follower. 

After following a teacher for some time it is natural to get used to the interpretive language of that teacher and thereby leave one’s personal relationship with God through His Word  turning, instead, to use  of God’s Word to justify the interpretations of other men. The ideas ring true but study of the Word becomes about doctrines of men validated by agreement between men and knowing what God knows instead of the Word being the medium God uses to develop a believer’s personal relationship with God; 

“But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”  Matthew 15:9 

Because the doctrines of men are false, they inevitably start being used by the group that has validated them, as a test that the false believers measure the belief or salvation of other men or women.  

Though on the one hand, it makes no sense for a person to not do what is best for them, spiritually, like using scripture, easily available to each individual believer, to turn to God directly, on the other hand, it is as natural for them not to do this as it is for people to not eat what’s is best for them or not exercise their bodies in a way which they know is best for them.  

There is just a part of each of us which would rather “be with” and “do like” other people rather than take a leap of faith and try going to God alone, through His Word. It should also be mentioned here that the Bible was written for believers, that is those who God has redeemed through giving them new birth and a new soul. God has done this by his own choice without any “help” from a man or woman’s willingness to be saved. This act of salvation by God alone is what gives believers “ears” to hear what God tells them directly through His Word. It also gives the born again believer a thirst and joy in going to God’s Word to seek God.  

“Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams:.....” 

The reader is reminded here that the this prophet is the dreamer even though the wonders he inspired came to pass, or even happen to be true. 

“....for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.......”;  

God proves a believer by His Word and by the application of the meaning of His Word directly to that believer by the Holy Spirit that indwells that believer and not by methodologically agreed upon rightness of true doctrine between that believer and other men; 

 “to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul”.    

“.....Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in........” 

“Ye shall walk after the Lord your God” is a reference to following God’s commandments. The Old Testament is a picture of God’s showing those who are interested, that even his own chosen people (later revealed to be chosen not to be saved but to be a picture of God’s people and their process in growing in their spiritual relationship with God) were unable to follow his commandments, and so be saved.  

“For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Matt. 5:18 

“So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee. If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; Namely, of the gods of the people..........”; 

One very common but also powerful example of “gods of the people around you” is maintaining the harmony, affirmation and approval of families and communities in the world around us. Groups of people practicing this mutual approval regarding correctness of doctrine were called churches during the church age and were turned back to by many after the end of the church age with the not so newly packaged name of “fellowships” though after some time they revealed themselves as serving the same function of looking for approval or affirmation through agreement between men (and women) rather than God, alone. 

The passage goes on to describe these “teachers”; 

....”which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; .....” 

A spiritual interpretation of the stoning to death of such a leader might be thought of as the regular use and reliance of the Word of God (Christ) to separate one’s direct and living communion with God from the deadness of any attempt to commune with God through the intermediary step of agreement between men (and women) that “leaders” require to maintain their fellowships. 

This is a hard lesson especially for those who have acquired confidence in their salvation based on their following of the doctrines of men, especially a man whom they have come to idolize. In the end, however, this lesson will not be learned because of the fact that unbelievers are not influenced by the truth, but by the inclinations of their own flesh. So their commitments to the Biblical teachings of men simply reveal their falseness in their personal relationship with God, which is in reality not of salvation but of condemnation.  

“......because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.” 

Deuteronomy 13:1-10 

Teacher’s have taught me important things about God through His Word in the twenty two years since God made Himself known to me. Yet one of the things  I learned through the sharing given by Harold Camping that has wrung in my ears as confirmed by what God has shown me in this time of judgment is that prayerfully reading the Bible is all that is necessary for a believer to grow through God’s Word, in their personal relationship with Him. And that a mutual sharing between believers of what God has given them by His Word (feeding the sheep) tests (proves) God’s Word for those who share without the threats of condemnation from those who feel that not agreeing with their interpretation of His Word is an indication of God’s condemnation of them. 

“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”   2 Peter 1:20-21 

Before  I recognized the distortion that occurs through the interpretation of scripture established by the agreement between men  I thought that “private” interpretation was defined as interpretation without confirmation by other men. Though I had some insight, I did not see that “private interpretation” means interpretation which comes without confirmation by the Holy Spirit! 

“As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.”   Galatians 1:9-12