"LET THERE BE LIGHT" Ministries
UNDERSTANDING TRUE BIBLE FELLOWSHIP and FAITH, part 2 quotes
1) Understanding True Bible Faith
There are critical, key doctrines of truth that will hold up, stabilize and evenly support the whole house of the faith of your church group. But without these key pillars, your church group is less capable of standing firm amidst the real and intensifying dangers of these last days. And how many of these key salvational pillars did the Bible declare there were?
“Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars”. Proverbs 9:1.
There are 7 key pillars of wisdom found in God’s word of truth that are capable of supporting and stabilizing the entire house of faith of your church group. Then what are these 7 key pillars? What are these critical salvational doctrines of truth found in God’s word of wisdom?
In order to properly support and stabilize a large house or building, you must have not only pillars but also a foundation. The foundation supports all the outside perimeter of the house, while the pillars support all the inside of the house. Both the foundation as well as these pillars must be firmly resting upon something. They can either be resting upon various types of soil of the ground, or they can be resting upon strong and firm rock. And the exact same for an entire house of faith of a church group. Our foundation and pillars of faith can either be resting upon the soil of the ground, or upon a firm rock.
2)
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What would represent these various types of soil of the ground?
“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:7.
As man was formed of the dust or the dirt of the ground, so then if the foundation and pillars of our faith are resting upon the dirt of the ground, then this would mean that we are resting our faith upon men, or are trusting in mankind to support and save us. But this is not the only type of soil of the ground.
“And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold....
“Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” Matthew 13:3-8, 18-23.
Christ mentioned here that there were 4 different types of soil: the way side, stony, thorny, and good soil, and these different types of soil represented different kinds of hearts of humanity. So if the foundation and pillars of our faith are resting upon any of these 4 different types of soil, then this would mean that we are resting our faith upon our own hearts, or are trusting in ourselves to support and save us. But all these are not the only types of soil.
“Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.” Hosea 1:10.
As God’s chosen children of Israel were as the sand of the sea, or were likened to sandy soil, so then if the foundation and pillars of our faith are resting upon sandy soil, then this would mean that we are resting our faith upon being the chosen people of God, or are trusting in belonging to the true church in order to support and save us.
To rest our foundation and pillars of faith upon any of these different kinds of dirt and soil would mean that we are either trusting in men, or are trusting in ourselves, or are trusting in belonging to the chosen people and church of God in order to support and save us. And what is going to happen to us if we trust in any of these things?
“Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.” Jeremiah 17:5.
“And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” Matthew 7:26-27.
3) We must make sure that the foundation and pillars of our faith are not resting upon any kind of soil or ground, but that every bit of this soil must be dug away from underneath them. And once all of this soil has been removed, what would be left remaining for our foundation and pillars of faith to rest upon? Nothing but solid bed rock! Now what would represent this solid rock?
“...they [Israelites] drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” 1 Corinthians 10:4.
“...ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.” Deuteronomy 32:3-4.
This solid rock is non-other than Jesus Christ and Him alone.
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If the foundation and pillars of our faith are resting upon the solid rock, then we are resting our faith totally upon Jesus Christ – the word and truth of God! We are trusting in Him and His word of truth to support and save us, and He will indeed support and save all those who trust in Him!
“In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion. Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me. Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.” Psalms 71:1-3.
“I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.” Psalms 91:2-16.
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” John 10:27-28.
The number one priority is for us to make sure that our entire foundation and every pillar of our faith are not in any way resting upon any type of soil whatsoever, but are only resting upon the firm Rock of truth – Jesus Christ. This is central to eternal life! If every inch of our foundation and pillars are indeed firmly resting upon Jesus Christ and Bible truth, then we have a firm and unshakable house of faith that can withstand any storm or tempest of trial, tribulation, persecution and blast of false doctrine and yet still remain standing!
4) Who or what would represent this foundation that supports all the outside perimeter of our house of faith?
“For through him [Jesus Christ] we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:18-22.
This foundation that supports all the outside perimeter of our house of faith and which is resting upon the Rock and chief corner stone of Jesus Christ, represents the apostles and prophets. And where do we find these apostles and prophets and their writings? We find them and their writings in both the Old and the New Testaments of the Bible. This means that the foundation of our faith is the entire word of God!
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5) What represents these 7 pillars? Each of these pillars are found firmly resting upon the Rock Christ Jesus – who is the word of truth, and each of these pillars are in close conjunction, harmony and unity with the foundation – which represents the true word of God. As these pillars are all connected with Jesus and with the Bible, then this means that each pillar must be a key doctrine of truth.
Exactly what are these 7 key pillars or landmarks of truth that have been carefully hewn out of God’s word of truth and are thus strong enough to support the entire inside of our house of faith?
“The passing of the time in 1844 was a period of great events, opening to our astonished eyes the cleansing of the sanctuary transpiring in heaven, and having decided relation to God's people upon the earth, [also] the first and second angels' messages and the third, unfurling the banner on which was inscribed, "The commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." One of the landmarks (or pillars – see Selected Messages, book 3, p 406; Manuscript Releases, vol 10, p 387; Manuscript 760, p 9) under this message was the temple of God, seen by His truth-loving people in heaven, and the ark containing the law of God. The light of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment flashed its strong rays in the pathway of the transgressors of God's law. The nonimmortality of the wicked is an old landmark. I can call to mind nothing more that can come under the head of the old landmarks.” Counsels to Writers and Editors, p 30-31.
What did inspiration declare were these 7 key pillars or landmarks of our faith?
1st Pillar – the First Angel’s Message
2nd Pillar – the Second Angel’s Message
3rd Pillar – the Temple of God in Heaven, or the Heavenly Sanctuary
4th Pillar – the Cleansing of the Heavenly Sanctuary and Christ’s Ministerial Work There as our High Priest
5th Pillar – the Law of God including the Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment
6th Pillar – the Third Angel’s Message
7th Pillar – the Non-Immortality of the Wicked or of the Soul