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This book of the bible is frequently and
erroneously
referred to as the start of "The Church, The Body of Christ".
99.44% of fundamental, bible-believing teachers and pastors
embrace this falsity as truth! The fact is, The Book of Acts is
primarily about the unbelief of Israel and God's postponement of
her program. |
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These books of the bible are where believers in this dispensing
of God's grace should go for their day-to-day doctrine on
living. These books contain the revelation of the mystery,
otherwise known as the gospel of Jesus Christ. |
Click here to
contact LMM
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For though
I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity
is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the
gospel! For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward:
but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is
committed unto me. What is my reward then? Verily that,
when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ
without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.
1
Corinthians 9:16-18
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REMEMBER,
THE FOUR SYNOPTIC GOSPEL ACCOUNTS OF THE EARTHLY MINISTRY OF JESUS
CHRIST WERE WRITTEN
TO
ISRAEL UNDER THE LAW:
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SINCE
PROPHECY IS SUCH A HOT TOPIC THESE DAYS, DID YOU EVER WONDER WHAT THE
TRIBULATION SAINTS WILL STUDY AFTER THE BODY OF CHRIST IS RAPTURED?
Doctrine
for
The
Tribulation Saints after the rapture of the Body of Christ:
Here Israel is now back at the forefront under the law against the
imminent judgment and earthly return of The Messiah, Jesus Christ.
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1 For this cause I Paul, the
prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, 2 If ye have heard of
the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to
you-ward: 3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the
mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when ye
read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5
Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as
it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the
Spirit; 6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the
same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the
grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his
power. 8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is
this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the
unsearchable riches of Christ; 9 And to make all men see what is
the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the
world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus
Christ: 10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and
powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the
manifold wisdom of God, 11 According to the eternal purpose
which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: 12 In whom we have
boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. 13
Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my
tribulations for you, which is your glory -
Ephesians 3:1-13 |
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Our Reasonable Service.....
Romans 12:1-21
1 I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace
given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself
more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as
God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 4 For as we have many
members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5 So we,
being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of
another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is
given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the
proportion of faith; 7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or
he that teacheth, on teaching; 8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation:
he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with
diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. 9 Let love be
without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is
good. 10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in
honour preferring one another; 11 Not slothful in business; fervent in
spirit; serving the Lord; 12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation;
continuing instant in prayer; 13 Distributing to the necessity of
saints; given to hospitality. 14 Bless them which persecute you: bless,
and curse not. 15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them
that weep. 16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high
things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own
conceits. 17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest
in the sight of all men. 18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you,
live peaceably with all men. 19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves,
but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine;
I will repay, saith the Lord. 20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed
him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals
of fire on his head. 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with
good.
In the past, I have been accused of
condoning the evil thought of believing that "grace" gives us the
liberty to sin. Here in Romans 12, Paul dispels that notion quite
nicely! In fact, he goes on to say that "our reasonable service" should
be to present our bodies a 'living sacrifice to God'. The apostle would
almost imply that at a minimum we should be doing this as an acceptable
service to the Lord. However, I find it quite sad that Paul would have
to "beg" us to even consider this, especially after reading the first
eleven
chapters of Romans! By this time, believers have
explored:
- Justification
-taking on the very righteousness of God due to Christ's cross-work.
- Sanctification -
being called by God to be "set apart" for Him.
- Dispensation -
Examining how God has dispensed His instructions to Israel and His
future plan for them while as a nation they remain in unbelief.
In verse 2, the apostle
then gives us directions on how to go about presenting our bodies in
this fashion. He tells us that we should not conform to the world but
instead renew our mind first and foremost. It is here where many
teachers would forget such foundational passages and instruct believers
to simply "fly straight" or "get right" with God. We must notice that Paul does
not begin to talk about their conduct or make a list of do's and don'ts"
but instead he encourages believers to "renew their mind"!
Friends, until this is done, it's all about works rather than grace,
religion rather than relationship or law rather than love. Our conduct
is influenced by what we believe about God in regards to what He thinks
about us. If I am confident in my position in Christ based on what
He told Paul about His grace for our behalf, it is this fact that
"renews our mind" while embracing the love of Jesus Christ. It is this
knowledge which will constrain us to serve Him! There is no other way. Paul's admonishing of "do not
conform to this world" is not only necessarily about sin as is
exclusively taught. Sadly, most Christians believe and trust
in Jesus Christ's atoning cross-work and miss the rest of God's
accomplishments through His beloved Son. They may be outstanding
citizens and model employees but they start their new life trying to
work for God or trying to please Him without the rest and restoration He
provided through Him who
 gave
so much! Due to pride, ignorance or both, man decides that he will now
"help" God while trying to revitalize the "old man" rather than
crucifying it in Christ. In essence, we are to simply "prove" what
"already is" as instructed. We need to see ourselves as God sees us in
His Son. Once we truly embrace this, our lives can change outwardly as
we live for God out of a heart of gratitude.
The "work" will come in
ways that we may not expect, but it will be centered on God and the
leading of the Holy Spirit
instead of our pride. Anything short of this friends is religion or
man's effort to "get right" with God.
Satan has convinced believers that
through their self-righteousness, they can be a better testimony. Unfortunately,
The Adversary has done his best work with "the churched". "Ministers of
light" only validate this evil message through deceptive teaching while
man gladly nod's his head with joyful
 acceptance in his desire to
"please God". As The Nation of Israel did not know the power that
they had, believers allow Satan to convince themselves that they must
accomplish something that Christ has already accomplished! Like a dog
that chases his tail, we inadvertently try to get acceptance from God
while all along we have it...and then some!! The lack of knowledge in
the Body of Christ is the main reason for the in-fighting and divisions
within. It is also the reason why the church is not effective,
despite the false belief that it is by its members and board directors.
After all the rationale is: "If the numbers are increasing, God must be
blessing us."
Scripture reminds us in verse 3
of Romans 12 that a great way to exemplify the love
of Christ is to not think too highly of ourselves. We are to think
"soberly" or rationally while taking in to consideration the gift of grace
that God has given to each of us! We should be working together in
Christ while learning from one another: for as we have many members
in one body, and all members have not the same office: so we,
being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of
another"!
This is an area within the church today that has caused many problems
for believers. Too often, we all have the tendency to want people to
behave or react like us. When my wife and I provide marriage counseling,
we reiterate that; "this may or may not work for you guys"
and then suggest something. In the same way, what works for one person
may not work for another. It is here where we can all learn from our
distinctive differences. In many, many cases, if families don't run
their households (or economies) as their pastor does, then they are
ostracized by church members. How foolish this type of thinking is! The
bible says that we do not all have the same office and that our gifts
differ. We should spend more time demonstrating the love of Christ and
learning from one another rather than "biting and devouring" one
another.
Starting in verses 6
through 9, Paul
begins to detail our practical instruction as well as how believers
should respond to God's grace towards us. Notice how the
apostle immediately assumes the differences that each believer
has while discussing those gifts that differ "according as God has given
to us". We are to:
-
prophesy (or teach by
divine inspiration according to His word through
Spirit)
-
minister (with
patience)
-
teach
-
exhort
(encourage, comfort)
-
give (with
sincerity)
-
rule (protect
others with all honesty and care)
-
show mercy
(with cheerfulness)
Let "agape" love be
unfeigned without hypocrisy. Hate what is evil and things that promote
it! I don't know about you my brother or sister in Christ, but I am
feeling pretty bad right about now. I realize what a miserable failure I
have been in these things and I need God the Holy Spirit's encouragement
so that I can do these things through Jesus Christ. For when I am weak,
He is strong! I was always wary of those people who would start;
"Brother, I love you but....". I think that the Body of Christ
has been the biggest hypocrite of all and the world knows it. How do
they know it? Just look at all the denominations, divisions and
in-fighting that goes on. We say we love our brother or sister, but we
talk up a storm behind their back. This is why Paul tells us that our
love must be without hypocrisy and 2,000 years later, nothing has
changed. Friends, this is just another example on why the bible is so
timeless! Man is
 a
sinner and needs the sufficiency of Christ to guide him through this
life.
We should love one another
(verse 10) to the point where we put another person's
interest before our own. Be sure not to do this to the extreme of
harming ourselves or our families in order to earn something from God.
It may be a kind word or deed or it may be disarming a vicious rumor of
some sort.
I have known several
Christian businessman who are horrible. They make the passage "slothful
in business" look like a compliment. I have always tried to figure out
why people do not think doing a good job and honoring
your word are not as important as
going to church, prayer meeting or similar functions. In these
hypocritical instances, the Holy Spirit is saddened as members of
Christ's Body look foolish to others as well as unbelievers.
We are to rejoice in hope,
demonstrate patience during difficult times and pray without ceasing! I
am thrilled that because of the
 never-leaving,
indwelling Holy Spirit we can indeed pray without ceasing. He at this
moment is making intercessions for us on our behalf as well as teaching
us about the things of God. I am thankful for that and I hope you are
too!
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Today's World News
Beijing, China -
China stiffing America for $100 billion in debt
Yet U.S. taxpayers helping Beijing as part of trillion-$ credit bailout
www.worldnetdaily.com
While Chinese companies are in
line to benefit directly from U.S. taxpayers' $700 billion-plus bailout
of Wall Street, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other financial
institutions, Beijing is stiffing the U.S. for $100 billion or more in
unpaid debt.
The status of the Chinese economy, including its repudiated debt, has
prompted one analyst to warn of an "ominous threat" involving China's
finances and suggest the possibility of "a dramatic reversal" for the
"so-called Chinese Miracle."
"One of the greatest problems facing China is the government's failure
to acknowledge and effectively address the true extent of state
institutions' bad debt," Kevin O'Brien writes in an article titled,
"Reassessing China's Sovereign Risk: Emerging Global and Domestic Trends
Threaten the 'Chinese Miracle."
O'Brien's report was published at a website for the Global Association
of Risk Professionals, a not-for-profit independent trade association of
risk management practitioners around the world. It has 77,000 members
from fields such as banking, investment management and academics.
One problem that should be addressed, he writes, is the $260 billion in
sovereign debt owed U.S. and other investors which China has said it
simply won't repay.
"The repayment obligation was inherited by the People's Republic of
China, when the communists took control in 1949. The successor
government doctrine of settled international law affirms continuity of
obligations among international recognized successive governments,"
O'Brien said.
 "The
PRC is the internationally recognized successor government … which
contracted the credit sovereign debt … and which had a loan agreement
that states that such debt is intended to be 'a binding engagement upon
the Republic of China and its successors.'"
The bonds, however, were excluded from a 1979 settlement of Chinese
debts and in 1987, China even "concluded a discriminatory settlement
accord with bondholders in Great Britain – an agreement that excluded
from settlement any bonds held by non-UK citizens."
Then in 2006, the Chinese Ministry of Finance issued an official
communiqué addressed to "the Embassy of the United States of America in
China," in which the Chinese government formally repudiated China's
defaulted full faith and credit sovereign debt and announced that it
would not repay any debt held by American citizens, O'Brien said.
The repudiation still stands, even though the China Economic Review
confirmed that major Chinese banks own $8 billion in Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac securities that are the targets of bailout provisions.
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Obama
vs. McCain:
Are our prayers in alignment with the will of God in regards to which man
should win? You may be surprised at what you read......
 
Millions of people have
taken a great interest in the debates between Barak Obama and John
McCain over the last several weeks. As election day draws near each
person will vote (hopefully) on moral and political issues that will
effect their lives over the next four years or possibly longer. Many
will pray and others will hope as our country embarks on another pivotal
decision point of this 232 year-old land of ours!
For this discussion, I want to focus on
the faction of those that would pray for the correct decision to be made
on November 4th 2008. Please note that the bible does say clearly that we should
pray for those in authority in
1 Timothy 2.
Notice how Paul states in the above verses
how "that living a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty
is good and acceptable in the sight of God". I am afraid that many C2's
(crazy Christians) do more to grieve the Holy Spirit in this department
than we would like to think, but I would like to discuss that topic at
another time.
Please do not embrace all of the lying,
slanted emails and articles as "truth" from either side of the
political arena. It is the responsibility for each of us to investigate
and gather as much information as possible to make our decision on
Election Day. But above all, pray for our country, pray for our leaders,
and pray for a clear mind considering all that is in front of us.
Let's not forget who is really in control
her friends. The
above verses Romans 13, tell us to be subject to these higher powers
because God himself has ordained them into this position "For he is
the minister of God to thee for good."
So with all of this being
said, what should our prayer for these candidates be you might ask??
The same prayer we
should be praying to God about for anyone who does not understand the
gospel of the grace of God according to the revelation of the mystery!
For without this understanding, confusion,
unrighteousness, self-righteousness and pride will result!
...."Notice how Paul states in
the above verses how that living a quiet and peaceable life in all
godliness and honesty is good and acceptable in the sight of God. I am
afraid that many C2's (crazy Christians) do more to grieve the Holy
Spirit in this department than we would like to think...."
GOD
BLESSED
AMERICA....AT THE CROSS
...."Please do not embrace all of the
lying, slanted, emails and articles as "truth" from either side of the
political arena. It is the responsibility for each of us to investigate
and gather as much information as possible to make our decision on
Election Day. But above all, pray for our country, pray for our leaders,
and pray for a clear mind considering all that is in front of us"......
But after that the kindness and love of
God our Saviour toward man appeared, 5 Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the
washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed
on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7 That being
justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of
eternal life. - Titus 3:4-6
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COFFEE
CORNERR
How to Ruin the
U.S.
Economy
by Ben Stein
1)
Have a fiscal policy that creates immense deficits in good
times
and bad, burdening America's posterity with staggering burdens
of repaying the debt.
2) Eliminate regulation of Wall
Street and/or fail to enforce the regulations that already
exist, instead trusting Wall Street and other money managers and
speculators to manage other people's money with few or no
regulations and little oversight.
3) Have an energy policy that
disallows producing our own energy and instead requires that we
buy energy from abroad, thus making our oil prices highly
volatile and creating large balance of payments deficits,
lowering the value of the dollar and thus making the problem get
progressively worse.
4) Have Congress mandate that banks
and other financial entities lend money to persons they know in
advance to have poor credit ratings or none at all.
5) Allow investment banks,
insurers, and banks to bet their entire net worth and then some
on the premise that borrowers known to be improvident will in
fact repay those loans.
6) Allow the creation of large
betting pools called "hedge funds" that can move markets and
control the outcome of trading, thus taking a forum for savings
and retirement for families and making it into a rigged casino
game that exists primarily to fleece suckers like ordinary
working men and women.
7) Have laws that protect corporate
officers from being sued
 for
misconduct but at the same time punish lawyers in the private
sector who ferret out such misconduct and try to make
accountable the people responsible for shareholder and investor
losses. If one of those lawyers gets particularly aggressive in
protecting stockholders, put him in prison.
8) Appoint as head of the United
States Treasury Department a man whose whole life was spent on
Wall Street, who became fantastically rich through his peddling
of junk bonds at his firm while the firm later sold short those
same sorts of bonds.
9) Scare Americans into putting up
$750 billion of their hard earned money to bail out the
billionaires and their friends who created the market for loans
to poor credit risks (The "subprime" market) and the
unbelievably large side bets on those loans, promising that such
a bailout would save the retirement savings of Americans, then
allow the immense hedge funds to make the market crater
immediately afterwards.
10) Propose to save the situation
by surtaxing the oil industry, which is owned by our fellow
Americans, mostly in their retirement plans, thus penalizing
Americans for investing in companies that efficiently and
legally produce an indispensable product.
11) Insist that the free market
requires that banks and insurers with friends of the Secretary
of the Treasury be saved but allow other entities not so
fortunate to fail, thus creating total uncertainty and terror
among financial institutions, and demolishing all of the
confidence built up in financial circles since the days of FDR.
12) Then have the Republican
candidate say he would keep on the job the Treasury Secretary
who facilitated the crisis, failed to protect the nation from
the crisis, got the taxpayers to pony up to save his Wall Street
buddies, and have the Democratic candidate, as noted, say he
would save the day by taxing the stockholders of energy
companies.
There, that should do it......
What shall we do??
by Cornelius Stam
When John the Baptist
appeared as Christ's forerunner, God's chosen people had
lived under the law of Moses for fifteen hundred years
but had not kept it. Hence John's call to repentance and
baptism for the remission of sins (Mark 1:4).
John was in earnest, too, for when the thoughtless
multitude came to him to be baptized, he sent them back,
saying: "Bring forth fruits worthy of repentance" (Luke
3:7,8).
Their lives were to be changed and they were to show it.
When the people asked: "What shall we do, then?" he told
them to live for others rather than for self (Luke
3:10,11). When the tax collectors asked: "What shall we
do?" he demanded that they stop cheating the tax payers
and live honestly (Vers. 12,13). When the soldiers
asked: "What shall we do?" he told them to forbear
violence, false accusation and bribery (Ver. 14).
Clearly, righteousness was demanded under John's
message. His hearers were to repent, be baptized, and
bring forth the fruits of true repentance. When our Lord
appeared, He proclaimed the same message as John (Matt.
3:1,2; 4:17). A lawyer asked: "What shall I do to
inherit eternal life?" and He replied: "What is written
in the law?" When the lawyer recited the basic commands
of the Law, our Lord answered: "This do and thou shalt
live" (Luke 10:25-28). God was still demanding
righteousness. They were all under the Law (Gal. 4:4,5;
Matt. 23:1,2; etc.).
Some suppose this was all changed after Calvary by the
so-called "great commission." This is not so. When, at
Pentecost, Peter's hearers were convicted of their sins
and asked "What shall we do?" Peter commanded them to
"repent and be baptized... for the remission of sins"
just as John had done (Mark 1:4; cf. Acts 2:38). He did
not tell them that Christ had died for their sins.
Paul was the first to say: "But now the righteousness of
God without the law is manifested... [We] declare His
righteousness for the remission of sins" (Rom. 3:21-26).
When the Gentile jailor fell on his knees and asked:
"What must I do to be saved?" Paul replied: "Believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved" (Acts
16:30,31). This is God's message for sinners today, for
"we have redemption through [Christ's] blood, the
forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His
grace" (Eph. 1:7).
GOD'S ETERNAL PURPOSE
by Cornelius Stam
 Have
you ever considered carefully the opening words of the
Bible? "In the beginning God created the heaven and the
earth." Why doesn't it simply say that God created the
Universe? Why the heaven and the earth?
As we go on reading we find the answer to this question, for
the Bible clearly teaches that God has a two-fold purpose;
one having to do with the earth and the other with heaven.
The former is the subject of prophecy, while the latter is
the subject of the "mystery", or secret, revealed to and
through St. Paul. (See Acts 3:21; and cf. Romans 16:25). The
former concerns Israel and the nations; the latter "the Body
of Christ", the Church of the heavenly calling.
Some people are surprised to learn that there is not one
promise in the whole Old Testament about going to heaven.
There the whole outlook is earthly, with Messiah reigning as
King (Jer.23:5; et al). When our Lord appeared in the flesh
the angels cried: "Peace on earth" (Luke 2:14). He Himself
said that "the meek" should "inherit the earth" (Matt.5:5).
He taught His disciples to pray: "Thy will be done in earth,
as it is in heaven" (Matt.6:10).
Even at Pentecost Peter declared that after "the restitution
of all things" God would send Jesus back to earth and the
times of refreshing would "come from the presence of the
Lord" (Acts 3:19-21).
Not until the raising up of Paul do we learn that now all
believers in Christ are "baptized into one body"
(ICor.12:13), and Colossians 1:5 and many other Pauline
passages, speak of "the hope which is laid up for you IN
HEAVEN". Indeed, before God, believers are already given a
position "in heavenly places" and are "blessed with all
spiritual blessings IN [THE] HEAVENLIES in Christ" (Eph.1:3;
2:4-7).
The prophecies regarding the Kingdom, however, will still be
fulfilled and Christ will reign on earth and bring the
promised "times of refreshing". Thank God, this world will
not forever be a place of war and bloodshed, sickness and
death, misery and woe. Indeed, at that time, heaven and
earth will be opened to each other, and thus will be
fulfilled God's two-fold purpose: "That in the dispensation
of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all
things in Christ..." (Eph.1:10).
Paul was the first
to say: "But now the righteousness of God without the law is
manifested
"Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus
Christ, Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from
this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father."
_________________________
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A
Letter from a Friend
been revoked".
Joe
knew that this could be a major problem in that he would not be able
to get his work completed without access to area XYZ! However, after
further review of the e-mail, the man quickly discovered that he was
not the intended recipient but instead "copied" or "cc'd" as a
reference only! As it turns out, a collogue of his was the man who lost
his access! Joe, as the superintendent of area XYZ, simply needed to
be aware of this. For a brief moment, Joe confused his TO
mail with his CC mail. Not understanding that distinction for
those brief seconds after reading the message caused severe anxiety for
Joe until he realized the message was indeed TO someone else!
In a much similar example, when
we
read the bible, identifying our TO
mail is very important lest
we make the same fundamental mistake as the person above. Without
understanding the distinction between our "to" mail and our
"cc" or our "reference only" mail, believers inadvertently
"read themselves" into areas of the bible that God did not intend.
The result when this happens: confusion!
(see
