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Pass a test to be in God’s service?

1 Cor 10:13    There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

There is… a big test coming upon all of during these latter days. It’s been steadily growing for quite some time now. Will our Father test us? Yes:

Judg 2:20   And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and He said, ‘Because that this people hath transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto My voice; 21    I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died:
22    That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.
23    Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered He them into the hand of Joshua.

Our Heavenly Father is definitely ‘in control’. Make no mistake about it. Satan only can do what God allows him to do. Our Father has ‘stepped in’ many times with His People to change the results of history. Those events are written all throughout His Word.

II Th 2:10    And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11    And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12    That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

What? “God shall send them strong delusion”? Test? You bet! Put on The Gospel Armour; all of It, from both New and Old Testament Books. So what is this “lie” which God shall send? It is The Antichrist. And that “lie” is a ‘specific’ test for the latter days. So I can’t deny in teaching this, for it is well written, especially covered in the Book of Revelation and in Daniel, and in the Books of the prophets. Even our Lord Jesus taught of it in His Gospel of Mark 13; Matthew 24; Luke 21, which give the ‘seven signs’ of the endtime, paralleled with Revelation Chapter 6.

Well…yes! That is… if one wants to be part of His Family in Christ. Paul taught us about the powers given by Satan over this flesh world, about a ‘battle’:

The whole reason we are born of woman in this flesh is to make a ‘choice’ of who we will serve, whether that be Christ our Lord, or defaulting to Satan, the controller of ‘this’ world (Luke 4:1-8). There is NO in between! There is no ‘my’ side, or ‘our’ side of neutrality. What did our Lord Christ say to the Church of Laodicia about spewing them out of His mouth, because they were neither ‘hot’ nor ‘cold’, but ‘lukewarm’ (Rev.3:16). Our Lord is teaching there to ‘choose’. Pick which side you want to be on; make up your mind. Those who make no choice, naturally ‘default’ to Satan’s side, regardless of whether they like it or not. The false teaching that each one can be their own ‘individualist’ just won’t work in this matter with our LORD. Choose.

Eph 6:13    Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14    Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15    And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16    Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17    And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18    Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Notice Eph.6:13 above says to “take” ‘the whole armour of God’. Does that mean by only believing on Christ Jesus as our Savior, that we will just be given God’s Armour, with no work? No…we must “take” It. We must spiritually ‘eat’ The Book, His Word, taking It into our minds and hearts (see also Rev.10:9-10).
Being Christ’s servants means doing work for Him, according to His Will. ‘Works’ are very important to being ‘in Christ’. We are not saved by our ‘works’, but by ‘grace’, a ‘gift’ which we did not merit, a Precious Gift from our Lord and Savior. But… our ‘works’ do follow us to Heaven, for they are our just rewards. We will be judged by our ‘works’ (Rev.14:12; Rev.20:12-13; Rev.18:6). A good ‘work’ for Christ can be something as simple as a smile to comfort a brother/sister who is depressed, etc. So ‘works’ do not necessarily mean going out and becoming an El Cid (though God does send those).
Is it any different than joining up to play school sports? Do we go through weeks of training just to sit down or throw it all away when game time comes along? Of course not. It’s no different with God’s servants. This life is our ‘game’ Which we enjoy, because we have a Perfect Winning Strategy from the Best COACH (Christ Jesus) in the league, so we naturally would want to get out there and sweat a little, getting ourselves ‘in shape’, so we can be part of HIS TEAM! And what A COACH we have in Him! A Perfect Coach! Likewise, those who want to serve God have to learn how to run the ‘playbook’ (Bible), having It locked away in the heart and mind. One may begin on the fourth string, but working hard, they’ll soon be first string starters in doing His ‘work’. And when God’s Team wins, all His Body of members win together, as we all have the same inheritance in Christ (Eph.3:6; Gal.3:7-9; Romans 12; 10:12-15; Acts 20:32). And… we already ‘know’ Who wins.

I’ll cover this question in two parts: the first is – “If I were to be left behind (on Judgment Day)…” 
     There are ‘two’ judgments (not per person, but two different times for different groups), because there are those of the ‘first resurrection’, who receive their ‘reward’ by Christ at His coming. Those are the ‘sheep‘ on the right hand of Matt.25. Then there are those of the second resurrection, those who come to Christ during His thousand year reign. They will not experience the ‘second death’, which is the casting into the ‘lake of fire’ at the end of that thousand year period. Thus their ‘reward’ in Christ comes at the end of the thousand years, after Satan is loosed again for a short time (see Rev.20 for all this).
     Firstly, the Judgment of God’s Great White Throne Judgment happens at the ‘end’ of Christ’s thousand year reign on earth (Rev.20:11). ‘Final’ Judgment does not happen with Christ’s return. The final Judgment will cast anything evil which is against God’s Kingdom into the ‘lake of fire’. That includes Satan, hell, i.e. the ‘pit’, his followers, etc.
     That idea there of being ‘left behind’ is a tradition of man not written in God’s Word (study 1 Cor.15; 2 Cor.5 about being ‘absent from the body’; Eccl.12 about what happens to each at death today, the flesh going back to the ‘elements’, and the ‘spirit’ going back to God).
     Read Zechariah 14 and Acts 1 together, to discover just ‘how’, and ‘where’ our Lord Christ returns. Discover from 1 Cor.15 just on which ‘trumpet’ our Lord Christ returns on (the “last trump”, or ‘trumpet’ Paul wrote in 1 Cor.15, which is the “seventh” angel sounding of Rev.11:15). The Left Behind Series books and movies are against God. The deception message taught in them is not from our Heavenly Father and His Christ. Fanciful reading though, hmm? How silly it is to put man’s books over God’s Word! And that’s exactly what many do when they have not thoroughly studied God’s Word for themselves, but instead seek to some popular tradition which the world creates.
     The judgment of appearing before Christ, which happens at our Lord and Savior’s return, is one of reward for His servants, but wrath to the ‘goats‘ put on the left hand (see Matt.25:31-34). But that is not the The White Throne Judgment Day of God which happens later, written of in Rev.20:11. Do not leave out the ‘thousand years’ Millennium of Christ’s reign, for it is clearly written of in God’s Word:

Rev 20:2     And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3    And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
4    And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5    But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6    Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
7    And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

     At the end of Rev.20, after God’s White Throne Judgment, which is at the ‘end’ of Christ’s thousand year reign, that’s when anything evil, including the devil, his abode of hell, etc., will go into the ‘lake of fire’, and be no more. The burning forever idea is an ‘idiom’ for those rebellious who refuse our Righteous KING Christ Jesus. They will not be remembered any more; they’ll be merely ‘blotted out’ as if they had never existed. That’s when GOD’s Kingdom will be setup, and this old earth made ‘new’; refreshed is what the Hebrew and Greek meaning is (Psalms 37; 2 Peter 3:13; Rev.21:1; Isaiah 65:17; Isaiah 66:22).
     Our Lord’s teaching about the ‘sheep‘ being put on His right hand, and the ‘goats‘ being put on the left hand, means during Christ’s thousand year reign, there is going to be a separation between His, and those who refused Him today. We will all be in a ‘spiritual’ Kingdom under Christ Jesus as KING (see Rev.11:15; Rev.19:16; Rev.20 – 22). The unrighteous will not go into the ‘lake of fire’ yet, for God’s People are going to help our Lord Christ to do a little ‘boot camp’ drill, trying to get those unrighteous deceived straightened up. Satan being locked in the ‘pit’, will not be allowed to prevent the great teaching of God’s Word during that time (Rev.20:3). Isaiah 13-14 speaks of this ‘day of the Lord’, which is the beginning of Christ’s thousand year reign, but there is much ‘metaphor’ in those Chapters of Isaiah. I did some studies of them on my website, explaining many of the metaphors.
     God loves all His children He created, and doesn’t wish to lose any of us. That’s what Christ’s thousand year reign is for. All those who won’t, or can’t come to His Truth today, will know during that thousand years. God is most loving, and most fair. It is wrong to teach that the ‘lake of fire’ event happens when our Lord Christ returns, and that tradition is not according to His Word. We serve a Just GOD, most fair and long-suffering. None will perish until they have a ‘chance’ to hear the full ‘Wine’ of God’s Word, untainted, with ‘full’ understanding. Many today do not have that ‘chance’ of clearly understanding God’s Word for themselves. That’s what the thousand year reign of Christ is for. The last nine Chapters of Ezekiel reveal Christ’s thousand year reign of the future. Ezekiel 44 reveals that separation during Christ’s Millennium reign also. Those Ezekiel 40 – 48 Chapters link with Rev.22.

The second part of the question – “…what would I have to do to show God that I believe and that I want to serve Him?”
     To show God that we believe, and want to serve Him only;… get into His Word He sent to each one of us, learning how to do it His Way, and not the way ‘we’ think He wants. There’s only ONE WAY to be in God’s Will, and that is to know what He said do, and what He said not to do. It’s as simple as that. Those who don’t care to study It for themselves, at least trying,… well who do they have to blame? Themselves, for they don’t know what God wants them to do, for they haven’t read God’s Word! Part of the ‘big test’ is just opening His Word up for ourselves, and trying to understand It, asking His Guidance.

Isa 55:1   Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
2    Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto Me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
3    Incline your ear, and come unto Me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
4    Behold, I have given Him for a Witness to the people, a Leader and Commander to the people.
5    Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for He hath glorified thee.
6    Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near:

     Those verses are not just towards old Israel; they are for us today just as much; to all who call upon The Name of The LORD, of both Jew and Gentile (Romans 2:10).

Here’s a question: Can a child who lives in their father’s house with established ‘rules’ setup to benefit the whole family just go and do what they want to do, and still honor their flesh father? As long as the child ‘knows’ the rules, and does not go out and do anything against them, then they are under their father’s will, even living according to it, bringing their father and their family ‘honor’ and blessings. The result is true peace, a life which the father naturally wants the child to have. When they fail, repentance is necessary, and then trying to do better, for we all fall short.
     That good family situation is no different between our Heavenly Father and ‘us’, His children, of all races, tongues, and nations. God gave His Letter The Word to each one us, for each to study, so we would know, understand,… and do that which He knows is best for us. So why wouldn’t we want to follow His Ways that He outlined for us? When we do, it always brings blessings from Him, for we will be in His Will.

I John 5:14    And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us:
15    And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.

     Notice above “according to His will, He heareth us”. Does that mean if we pray for a brand new car that God will give it to us? Well, we of course have to go out and work for it, but if it’s according to His Will, He hears us. Notice it still didn’t say we are going to get what we prayed for. It depends if it is according to His will for us or not. Then also, if we pray for something that He knows will harm us, or is not in His Will, loving us, He won’t do it. So how do we know what to pray for then? Studying His Word for ourselves will show each one of us. That’s why He sent His Word to us. God has setup His Ways during this flesh age time, which we cannot just steer around. That’s why when we don’t study His Word, not knowing what is best for us, we can go out and try to be something we are not, or that isn’t best for us, and it just will not work. We can cause ‘conflict’ in our lives which will bring misery upon ourselves. Is it God doing it, or of ourselves when that misery happens? Other than periods of temptation and testing by the evil one that all ‘in Christ’ must suffer at times, with most, we ourselves often bring misery on ourselves by not being in God’s Will.
God sent one of Satan’s “messengers” to buffet Paul, keeping him in line for his chosen Mission. Paul prayed to our Heavenly Father three times to remove it. God told Paul His ‘Grace’ for him was good enough. So there’s our example in praying for help in a matter (2 Corinthians 12:6-10). After petitioning God in the matter after three times, and we still run into a ‘wall’ with it, then it most likely is not according to God’s Will; at least not at that time. We need to thank Him for the Grace He has given us in Christ Jesus, and ‘press on’, trying to do the best we can.
So the other ‘side’, with one who leaves God out of their lives, and goes out to be what ‘they’ want to be and not caring about God’s Will; they break the ‘house rules’, and wind up dishonoring their family, while bringing turmoil upon themselves. And for one who claims to be Christian, our ‘family’ is the Body of Christ. The ‘key’ – study ‘all’ of God’s Word to know how to be in His Will, then He will add to us those things we need, and often, before we even ask. Paul taught in 1 Cor.10, going back to God’s People in the wilderness, how they were ‘under the cloud’ of God’s Glory then, but still many refused to be under His Will. Paul then said about all those events of the Old Testament:

1 Cor 10:11   Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
12    Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

     Another level to this question of “Can I be what God wants me to be…”, i.e., being one of God’s servants vs. doing what we want to do with our own lives. There’s many examples in God’s Word where certain ones were ‘chosen’ for a specific Mission by our LORD; i.e. Moses, Jonah, Job, David, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, John the Baptist, Christ’s Apostles, etc.
     Paul in Acts 9 was one such example. Christ intervened ‘directly’ in Paul’s life, taking his ‘free-will’ choice to believe, or not to believe, away from him. Paul (named Saul then), was actually persecuting Christians at the time before Jesus struck him down on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). Our Lord said Paul was His ‘chosen vessel’ (Acts 9:15). Thus, Paul had a special Mission for Christ. Jonah was in the same situation, with being a chosen one, with a Mission for our Father. Neither Paul, nor Jonah, got out of performing that Mission. They had no choice in the matter.
     Some children may grow up later to fulfill some special Mission ‘in Christ’. It might not be on Paul or Jonah’s level or type, but none the less important to our Father. A chosen servant will bring ‘much more’ suffering on themselves by staying outside God’s Will for them, vs. one who is not chosen. They will not ‘get out of their duty’. God will bring calamities their way, until they get back in line. Our Father will naturally bring those to the forefront, making them easily recognizable. So they need to be properly ‘instructed’ about examples such as Paul, and Jonah. In the Book of Jonah, it’s revealed that Jonah tried to get out of doing what God told him to do. God commanded him to go preach to the pagan city Nineveh. Did Jonah fulfill it? There’s your example for a ‘chosen’ one. (see also Romans 9; 11; Jeremiah 1; all of the Book of Jonah).

There’s only ONE WAY to know if we are in the “right group”, meaning Christ’s Body. That is to study His Word to discover what true ‘righteousness’ is. Knowing ‘righteousness’ from His Word then, how can we turn to those wrong groups who oppose righteousness?
     Only one who loves our Lord Jesus, but doesn’t know what God’s Word says, could ask such a question as this one. That question shows a type of ‘fear’, as if one was pre-ordained to messing-up. Even the ‘workers of iniquity’ can change, using their free-will, to come to Christ Jesus, and become a ‘son of God’. Remember Isaiah 1:19 that IF we are “willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.”? That’s the condition; “IF” we are “willing” to be obedient to Christ our Lord.

James 3:13-18
13    Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
14    But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
15    This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
16    For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
17    But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
18    And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
(KJV)

     We are to ‘make peace’ in the world for our Lord, with His Guidance. And that doesn’t mean just ‘laying down’ either, but being a bit ‘salty’ for our Lord. But we are to try to make peace whenever possible. If that means we go to ‘jail’ for making peace and following Christ Jesus, then so be it. We are not to fear this flesh world, but be strong ‘overcomers’. Just believing on Christ as Savior is no guarantee that we will go through life with no trials. The matter is, everyone, those in Christ, and those not in Christ, all must suffer through various trials while in this flesh. My question is, which is easier; to go it alone, trying to make our own decisions and choices without God in our lives, or to ask Him to come in our lives? When we do seek and come to Him through His Son, He makes our ‘yoke’ lighter. Our trials don’t end, but they become easier to bear, because we have a very strong Mediator to The Father for us. And didn’t our Father create everything? How would any father treat his children whom he loves so much?

We all are here in this flesh to make ‘choice’ as to whom we will serve. If not The Father through His Son Jesus Christ, then the ‘default’ is to Satan. There’s no middle-ground. To fear ‘flesh’ death is to be weak in God’s work. If we have ‘any’ fear, it should be of GOD, Who has Power to destroy ‘both’, flesh and soul, forever. Did our Lord mean all this as a ‘threat’ then? No… He meant it to those to whom it is given to. Not all are ‘able’ to bear a cross even ‘similar’ to His. But His chosen will have a similar ‘cross’ to bear, and He will make them prepared for it when the time comes, for they are His ‘chosen’ vessels. God’s Word is full of examples of this type, such as Paul especially:

2 Cor 11:23-31
23    Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
24    Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
25    Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26    In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27    In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
28    Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.
29    Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?
30    If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.
31    The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.
(KJV)

     Let me take inventory now, comparing my life in Christ with Paul…. Let’s see… can’t remember the last time I had to run for my life for preaching Christ; don’t remember ever receiving stripes on my back from a whip, nor being in prison; I’ve never been stoned; I did have a type of ‘shipwreck’ on a fishing boat once though I didn’t spend “a night and a day” in the sea; can’t say I’ve really ever ‘hungered’ or ‘thirsted’ like Paul… get the idea?
     Clearly, compared to what some have suffered, and others must suffer, to be in Christ, how bad do most of us have it? Paul never had a color TV, stereo, automobile, nice house, etc. One thing he did have… was a Mission for Christ Jesus. And was he slack in it? No way. There’s ‘our’ model for following Christ when things get a little rough in our lives. We are to stand up like a child of God and say, “can do”! And all these things Paul experienced, it was because he was preaching The Gospel of Christ. That’s the only Matter he was being persecuted for. So when we suffer persecution for Christ’s sake, because we ‘know’ we are doing His work as servants, then it means we are ticking the ‘wicked one’ off, because we’re wining in the spiritual war against him. One who does more for our Lord must ‘expect’ that kind of attacking in this world of flesh, for Satan has been given power to rule over the flesh world (Luke 4).[Important: Never argue with Satan. Even Michael the Archangel knew this; Jude 1:9]
     Note that God always protected Paul until his Mission was fulfilled. Just like Jonah, a ‘chosen’ one will not get out of their ‘duty’ God has ordained for them. He really makes them ‘tow the line’.
     For most of us in Christ today, who may be ‘called’, but not ‘chosen’, we have a similar responsibility to our Lord. If not, then why would He have ‘called’ us? And further, what is a true servant to Christ? Is it one who believes, but just wants to do whatever they wish to do in life, having an easy existence, and not doing any work for Him? Based on how Paul served our Lord, obviously not. And that’s what many believers truly want, an ‘easy way out’, meaning not suffering any persecution for making a ‘stand’ for Christ. The Gospel Armour of Ephesians 6 fits real well here.

John 17:13-18
13    And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have My joy fulfilled in themselves.
14    I have given them Thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
15    I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
16    They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17    Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth.
18    As Thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
(KJV)

     Those who are ‘called’ and ‘chosen’ are sent into the world for Christ’s sake. Notice above Christ prayed to The Father that His servants not be taken out, but stay in the ‘field’ doing His work. How is it that so many wish to leave it without fulfilling their God given Mission, just to escape persecution, especially when the ‘times’ are getting so exciting? It’s time to ‘stand up’, and make a difference in the world, for our Lord Christ Jesus, being His servants.

All those who come to Christ Jesus, believing on Him as The Only Begotten Son of God, that He only died on the cross to redeem us from our sins, is a ‘requirement’ to being saved (John 1; 3:15-21; 3:36; 5:24; 6:40; 7:37-39; 20:30; Acts 10:43; 13:19; 16:30-31).

Rom 10:8     But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9    That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10    For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11    For the scripture saith, ‘Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.’ [Note: Paul quoting from Isaiah 49:23 and 28:16]

Rom 10:12     For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him.
13    For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

     After our ‘confession’ of believing on Christ Jesus, He also commanded His to do certain acts to ‘seal’ us with His Covenant, such as repenting and being baptized in His Name, and observing Holy Communion, and continuing in His Word (Mark 1:15; 16:16; Acts 2:38; Acts 8; 10:47-48; Acts 18:8; Acts 22:14:16; Matt. 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; 1 Cor.10 & 11; Isaiah 8:16; John 8:31).
     But believing, repenting, and being baptized in His Name is only the first step to truly be ‘in Christ’. (Not to go into depth here, but it’s important to know our LORD also has Power to save without ‘water’ Baptism, such as the case with the malefactor crucified with our Lord who believed; Luke 23. That was a special example to show us God’s Power. Those who can get baptized, have no excuse, especially in the Western Christian Nations where we worship God through His Son in liberty and in freedom still).
     The ‘major’ purpose of this flesh age existence is for God to bring That Salvation through Christ Jesus, His Son, to us, redeeming all those who ‘believe’, back to Him by defeating the devil (Heb.2). That Promise of Salvation was first given through Abraham (Gen.12 & 17). And The Word ‘hinted’ at It all the way back in Genesis 3:15.
     Concerning sin, all one has to do, is look around today. Can we honestly say that any of us actually know someone totally ‘without sin’ today? We all ‘sin’ in this flesh (again see Romans 7 and Gal.5 as to what Paul taught about the war between flesh and the Spirit). Christ Jesus is The Only One ‘totally’ without ‘any’ sin, Who came to earth, born of woman just like us, but was slain and then in Glory resurrected to the Right Hand of God. If Christ had sinned, He wouldn’t be the Perfect Sacrificial Lamb of God for us. We would be left of our own flesh infirmities and failures, lost, with no hope, left with the world’s devices. And this is why ‘we all’ are, and must be, born into sin in this flesh once (Gal.3:22; Heb.9:27); it’s God’s Way to show us that we need Him, and Him only for Salvation! (see Isaiah 44:6-8; Deut. 4:35; 4:39; Deut. 32:39-43, as “His people” and “nations” there mean ‘all’ who accept Christ Jesus; also see Isaiah 45 especially).

Titus 3:3-8
3    For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
4    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.
8    This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
(KJV)

     Notice the last verse here of Titus 3:8 about being “careful to maintain good works.” Like was said a previous time, and as written in Rev.14:13, our ‘works’ follow us to Heaven. And that means our ‘good’ works. So what happens to our sins after we repent to Christ Jesus? That’s what that word ‘remission’ means; literally wiped away, forgotten (1 John 1; Heb.10).
     To be ‘perfect’ in The Lord is to ‘want’ to follow Him, to ‘want’ to do right, even though we may fall short, and we will while we are still in this flesh body, for the ‘flesh’ cannot please God. It’s the acts of allowing His Spirit to work through us, doing work for Him, which justifies our spirit in Him (Romans 8). The ‘flesh’ is not of our Father’s original first Plan for us before Lucifer rebelled. God brought the flesh state because of Lucifer’s rebellion against Him, and the drawing away of one third of God’s children (Rev.12). But while we are still here in this ‘flesh’, those who claim The Salvation Promise have got work to do, fulfilling a Mission for our Lord. Let’s not be slack in it, for it’s an honor and a ‘pleasure’ to serve Him. His Letter He gave us, The Word of God, instructs us on ‘how’ to serve Him according to His Will, not ours. That’s where many believers on Christ fail, listening and following those who use man’s human nature to form morals, and thus leaving the Doctrines of Christ. God’s Word has the only true set of morals for us to follow. And in this dispensation time of ‘Grace’, He gives us His Holy Spirit to guide us in that. The Word solidifies our understanding of true righteousness, as aided by His Spirit.
     So… that’s a ‘general’, and ‘specific’ coverage of what we ‘must do’ to be saved, and go to Heaven. Is there anything written about those who sin ‘against’ Christ; those who will not get into Heaven? Romans 1 and Galatians 5 both cover some of those, with the ‘works of the flesh’:

Gal 5:16-21
16    This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
17    For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18    But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19    Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20    Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21    Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
(KJV)

But the ‘works’ of the Spirit are:

Gal 5:22-26
22    But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23    Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24    And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25    If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26    Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
(KJV)

     Simply, if we always do works which are the ‘fruit of the Spirit’, then we are not under The Law, for those good works are not ‘against’ God’s Law. That is our ‘liberty’ in Christ today. To go against the Spirit, means to give up that liberty in Christ, and walk after the flesh. The Law then certainly applies in that state. That’s still easily seen today with one going out getting into trouble for stealing, etc. How does God’s Law apply to those? When caught, they’ll most likely go to jail, as many our civil laws were originally based on God’s Law directly from His Word. And the framers of our U.S. Constitution also knew this; that’s why they wrote about some of these matters in their writings. They understood God’s Plan.

The word ‘convert‘ is in the KJV in Isaiah 6:10, and it’s about those who ‘convert’ back to God with their hearts, and their minds, knowing His Truth, doing His Will. The phrase which even our Lord mentioned in Matt.13, about ‘eyes to see and ears to hear’ is mentioned there in Isaiah 6 also. That Hebrew word ‘shuwb‘ translated ‘convert‘, means ‘to turn back; to return’ (Strong’s no. 7725). Salvation through Christ Jesus means ‘returning’ back to God, as His People. Even the New Name God gave to Jacob, that of ‘Israel‘, has a special meaning for ‘all’ those who receive God’s Grace of Salvation through Jesus Christ. That word ‘Israel‘ means “God prevails” (Strong’s no.3478 from two Hebrew roots of ‘sarah‘ meaning ‘to prevail’, and the other ‘El‘, i.e. ‘The Almighty’). In Gen.32:28 God gave that Name to Jacob because he ‘prevailed’ with God’s helping hand. The New Testament uses the word ‘overcome‘ in the KJV in the same sense as to ‘prevail with God’ (Rev.2:7; 1 John 4:4; 1 John 2:13-14; Romans 12:21).
     Thus, to be an ‘overcomer’ in Christ, is to be working ‘with’ God, overcoming this world of evil. Each must ‘overcome’ to go to Heaven, to be part of God’s Israel. And Christ makes our ‘yoke’ light, helping us every step of the way. For as written, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Rom.8:31).

TO SUMMARIZE: Confession that Jesus of Nazareth is God, ‘Emmanuel’ in the flesh (Matt.1:23), our Savior, and that only through Him do we have Salvation, is the first step in going to Heaven. Then repentance to Him, and baptism in His Name, following what He told us to do as best we can, are the next required steps. Our repentance to Him is no different than a child who messes up, and goes to their flesh father, asking for forgiveness. That flesh father will naturally wish to embrace their child in love, and actually forgiving them, bringing the child back into ‘the fold’. So we shouldn’t beat ourselves up with ‘guilt’ trips once we’ve repented to our Lord, asking forgiveness, and trying not to do the sin again. Our Lord doesn’t want to hear about it anymore after repentance.
     Thus, one who refuses to repent, not accepting Christ, who ‘loves’ to sin, and even show others how to sin, will not go to Heaven. That is the ‘habitual sinner’, one who actually does not care if they sin or not. They will not have a place among God’s elect in Christ’s future Kingdom (Romans 1; Galatians 5; 2 Peter 3, Matt.25; Luke 16 with Lazarus and the rich man; and many other Scriptures in Isaiah Chapters 1 throughout.)
     Further, if you understood about Christ’s Millennium reign of a thousand years with His elect, many who fall and stumble today, who really don’t have a ‘chance’ at coming to Christ, will have ‘their’ chance during that thousand years. And that can never apply to one who is ‘called’ today, meaning one who ‘hears’ by God’s Grace today. Many in the world don’t have a ‘clue’ as to what God’s Plan is about, and are not ‘in Christ’. But we, being ‘in Christ’, who are ‘called’ during this dispensation time of ‘Grace’, cannot afford to be slack on ourselves, otherwise we crucify our Lord all over again. And I mean this in the sense of one who comes to Christ, and then later flat refuses Him in their life, and turning to the world, because of not keeping the ‘faith’. Repentance to Christ when we sin, trying to do His Will, and staying on Christ, is keeping the ‘faith’. Paul taught about this in Hebrews 6. And the Book of James also covers much of our needed attitude to stay ‘in Christ’. The Word teaches against a “once saved, always saved” type of thinking. Those with free-will, not specifically being ‘chosen’ for a special Mission in Christ, can fall away from Him. 2 Thess. 2 with “fall away” is the Greek word ‘apostasia‘, meaning ‘apostasy’ away from Christ. Only one who once ‘believed’, can become apostate away from Christ. It doesn’t apply to one who hasn’t accepted Christ yet.

It depends on ‘who’ is doing the translating. If a non-Christian scholar does the translation, what would most likely be the result? Ans.- lots of errors in interpretation, which is verifiable from Manuscript study (or a Strong’s Concordance). And with many of our later ‘English’ translations, that’s exactly what has happened.
     For example, some ‘non-believers’ have taken Paul’s Message of those ‘in Christ’ being ‘espoused’ to Christ Jesus, totally out of context (I believe it was done on purpose by them). They interpret a literal marriage, saying even that Mary Magdalene was actually physically married to Jesus. There are some ‘so-called’ Bible scholars who really are non-believers of Christ. So be careful ‘where’ you get your Bible materials and sermon lessons from. A word to the wise.
     In English, our most ‘accurate’ Bible translation from the Manuscripts is still the good ol’ King James Version of 1611. The KJV originally included a ‘Letter to the Reader, and to King James, Defender of The Faith’. That accompanying Letter has been removed from all later KJV editions. Why? That should be part of your answer. Thomas Nelson Publishers out of Nashville still publishes an ‘original’ KJV edition with that Letter in It, along with margin notes by the translators on certain difficult verses.
    Why so many different Bible translations then? The original reason was supposedly to make The Bible easier to understand for the laymen. But the ‘wicked one’ has his worker’s hands in some of the newer versions, because of the particular ‘twisting’ of Scripture in key areas, even omitting verses which are in the Manuscripts. In other words, some newer translations are not even a ‘complete’ Bible from the Manuscripts. This is another reason why I recommend using a KJV of 1611 for Bible study.
     Some would say, “Well God wouldn’t allow His Word to be tampered with!” The fact of the matter is, God left us His Word entact with the Manuscripts. It’s always better to read a hand-written Letter in its ‘original’ language, than a translation. Take for example a letter you might write to someone in a foreign country, their not knowing English, and it had to be translated. Depending upon who your foreign friend got to translate, some of your letter could be misunderstood. With God’s Word, He made sure His overall Message of Salvation through His Son Christ Jesus would remain in translations. But for ‘deeper’ study, He left us the Manuscripts, even though there’s battles over them also. Satan’s workers are doing everything they can to destroy the credibility of the Manuscripts which the original KJV translators used.
     Moreover, a system setup by Hebrew scribes to ensure Old Testament hand copying would be accurate, called the Massorah, had specific notes on how many Hebrew characters were to be in each Book, Chapter, verse. The notes also included a section on how certain ‘specific’ verses were to be interpreted, locking in God’s Truth with special Acrostics, etc. This is why I recommend The Companion Bible, a KJV 1611 version with many Massorah notes in the margin, put together by a ‘Christian’ scholar, named E.W. Bullinger (still, Bullinger’s margin notes are not all perfect).
     The new Christian will have a hard time understanding much of this, because learning God’s Written Word is similar to a child first learning how to read. A child doesn’t start off reading heavy literature, but they begin using ‘readers’, like ‘Jane, see the dog’. So a new believer may be told, or think, that there are no translation errors even in our KJV. There are some errors in translation. I won’t try to hide that Truth. Acts 12:4 with the word ‘Easter’ is one such obvious error. The Greek word is ‘pascha’, meaning ‘passover’. There’s no way that the Greek word ‘pascha’ can be translated to the word ‘Easter’. The word ‘Easter’ came from a pagan ritual named ‘Eostre’ and linked to a type of ‘grove’ worship. The early Church around the seventh century allowed many pagans to keep some of their old ways in appeasing them to convert to Christ. The Easter celebration became the name for the celebration of the time of Christ’s resurrection. Ever wonder why Easter eggs and bunny rabbits are not mentioned in God’s Word? Our Lord Jesus held the ‘Passover’ with His Apostles. That was the ‘last supper’. Christ Jesus ‘became’ our ‘Passover’ sacrificed for us, as Paul states in 1 Cor.5.
     Acts 12:4 with that word ‘pascha‘, which was wrongly translated ‘Easter‘ by the KJV translators, can be easily verified using practically ‘any’ Greek Bible Lexicon (dictionary).
     Even though there are little errors such as this in several places within the KJV translation, It’s still the best English translation from the Manuscripts, to date. Those errors only become apparent through ‘deeper’ study. They will not be noticed much by the new student of God’s Word. God’s overall Message is still not lost in the KJV.
     An example of the newer ‘New King James Version’ Bible in Luke 4 omits some of the Greek Manuscripts of The New Testament. Here’s the basis of measure starting with the original King James Version of 1611:

Luke 4:9-12
9    And he brought Him to Jerusalem, and set Him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto Him, “If thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down from hence:
10    For it is written, ‘He shall give His angels charge over Thee, to keep Thee:
11    And in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone.’”
12    And Jesus answering said unto him, “It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” (KJV)

     The above verses taken from the original KJV, is about Satan tempting our Lord Christ. Satan is very good at quoting Scripture. That’s one of his strongest methods used to deceive with, even today with many. Satan is quoting from Psalms 91, and notice the phrase, “lest at any time” in verse 11 above. It’s very important to recognize.

Ps 91:11-12
11    For He shall give His angels charge over Thee, to keep Thee in all Thy ways.
12    They shall bear Thee up in their hands, lest Thou dash Thy foot against a stone.
(KJV)

     Here’s the KJV verses in Psalms 91 where Satan was quoting from. Do you see the phrase, “at any time” within It? No… it’s not there. Satan ‘added’ to God’s Scripture, just as he did with tempting Eve. That phrase “at any time” which Satan added would mean Jesus could tempt The Father, while He was made flesh walking upon the earth, anytime He wished to, and He would suffer no harm. Notice Christ Jesus’ answer to Satan. Our Lord Jesus ‘knew’ Satan had ‘added’ to His Word there, and caught it, rebuking Satan with “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”
     Now let’s go to the NKJV Bible (New King James Version), and see how they handled all this:

Luke 4:9-12
9    Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.
10    “For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over You, to keep You,’
11    “and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
12    And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”
(NKJ)

     Note verse 11 here in the NKJV. The translators of that newer version left out totally the phrase “at any time” which Satan added to the quote from Psalms 91:12. That omit destroys the main teaching of our Lord being tempted there. That phrase Satan added, “at any time”, IS in the Greek Manuscripts. Thusly, with the New King James Bible (NKJV), part of Luke Chapter 4 is ‘missing’. There are more similar ‘blatant’ errors in the newer New King James Version, and more in the NIV (New International Version Bible).
     The newer Bible versions is one of the greatest deceptions happening today among many of our brethren/sisters in Christ. If a student wants to still use their easier to read NKJV, NIV, American Standard, Living Bible, etc., then they should be warned to ‘always’ verify back to the original King James Version of 1611, and then… to the Manuscripts using a Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance. This is also part of a test upon all Christians today. And using an original KJV with a Strong’s is not that difficult of a habit to establish.

Was The Holy Bible inspired? Is that the real question? Is It authentic? Or is It just words from the mouths of men’s babelings? Peter gives the answer:

2 Pet 1:16    For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.
17    For He received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to Him from the excellent glory, ‘This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.’
18    And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with Him in the holy mount.
19    We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
20    Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21    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.

     To be an Apostle for Christ, means to be ‘sent’ by God for a mission, with ‘direct’ evidence from Divine Authority. God’s Divine Presence either by The Holy Spirit giving the prophets of old vision or Word, or Christ Himself on earth selecting His Apostles, or in Heaven selecting Paul for his Mission, gave us His Holy Scripture.

TRANSLATIONS
There are many Bible ‘translations’ available today; and many corrupt translations, which can easily be verified by going back to the Manuscripts. This is why I recommend a King James Version of 1611 and a Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance as minimum Bible study tools. Dr. James Strong, a Christian scholar, did a great work for our Lord, and for us, by giving us the definitions of the manuscript words used in the King James 1611 Version translation. That means with a Strong’s Concordance, one can ‘verify’ back to the Manuscript languages which the King James translators used. If one can use a plain old Webster’s dictionary, then they can learn to use a Strong’s Concordance.
     The original writers of our Holy Bible did not make any mistakes in putting God’s Word down in ‘letters’. The mistakes come from ‘translations’ and ‘man’s traditions’ based on those ‘letters’.

Do you mean is every little choice, ever little act or thought we do in this life, being pre-ordained to happen, with us like a bunch of robots? No.
     When thorough study is done in God’s Word, one major clue as to our free-will is suddenly revealed. GOD will not force anyone to love Him. He doesn’t want a bunch of little ‘robots’ following Him around saying “love ya, love ya, love ya” all the time.

Rev 4:11    Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.

     You may call the following an ‘opinion’, but I feel it explains much as to why GOD created the ‘family’ unit in the flesh. For me, I don’t doubt our Heavenly Father, actually being A REAL Father, of all souls, us, His children, also wanted us to know what it feels like when our ‘own’ flesh children rebel against us, or to feel the ‘joy’ we gain from them when they do real good.
     So how is it in our own families? How do we feel when our ‘own’ children go out and follow some fake ‘fad’, or ‘fashion’, or ‘gang’, or ‘club’, which goes totally against the peace and goodness we want for our child? Our relationship is no different with our Heavenly Father.
     Question: Do we as flesh parents want to ‘force’ our children into loving us? No way. Wouldn’t we rather they come to us in love, on their own accord? You bet! Our Father is no different. Also… do we want to micro-manage every second, minute, hour of our children’s thoughts and lives? No. Our Father is no different in that respect either.
     Do we at times ‘make’ our children do things which we know are best for them, like going to bed on time, brushing their teeth, eating right, etc.? You bet! Why? Because we care. It’s no different between us and our Father.
     When our children do wrong, do we dish out correction as needed, for their sakes, because we love them, and want them to know the difference between right and wrong? You bet! It’s no different with our Heavenly Father and us.
     When we give our children gifts and love, isn’t it a pleasure to see them enjoy it so much? You…bet! It’s no different with us and our Heavenly Father!
     God so loves us, that He sent His Only Begotten Son, to get us back, bringing us back to Him. Would our Heavenly Father have a need to do that, offering His Son for us, if He controlled us all like robots? Of course not, for if that were true, with God ‘manipulating’ every little thought and deed, then there probably would be no sin in the world. But our Father definitely is in control. There’s no doubt about that.
     Even Lucifer was created by God, and the evil one cannot just go out and do anything he wishes. God is ‘controlling’ what the wicked one can, and can’t do. This is written about in the Books of the prophets. Sad most of our brethren don’t get that understanding of our Father’s full control (see Ezekiel 28 about Lucifer once being “perfect in his ways” before he rebelled.)
     Our Heavenly Father has emotions just like we do, for we all were made in His Image. His desire is for His children to listen to and seek Him, in reverence, just as a good child seeks their good Father’s advice and approval, and most of all, His love.

I need information on the anointing, i.e., what it does, why it’s needed, what it is, etc.

The words ‘Messiah’ (Mayshiyach in Hebrew), and ‘Christ’ (Christos in the Greek), both mean ‘anointed’, and the root of both words mean ‘to rub or smear with oil‘ (Strongs nos. 4899;5547). When we say Jesus Christ, we are saying God’s Anointed Savior.
Olive oil is the traditional Oil of God’s People. It has many uses, and is especially healthy to cook with (I think that’s one reason why I miss southern European food so much.) Salves and ointments have been used as aids to beauty and healing for… a long time. So it is no surprise that a non-sacred act of rubbing with oil, such as the face, hands, etc., is an aid to health, and especially important in many destitute lands.
The most important Message of ‘anointing’ is it’s sacred use. That act represents the Power of The Holy Spirit anointing the person, similar to water Baptism. We need be baptized in Christ fulfilling the act of Baptism with water once, while the act of anointing with oil accompanied with prayer, is to allow The Holy Spirit to work His Power of healing in us. And it should be done when we or others are in need, unlike water Baptism (see James 5:14). It is not the oil which does the cleansing or healing, just as water Baptism is a symbol. It is The Holy Spirit performing the healing. So as Christians, we show outwardly our obedience and faith in our ‘Anointed One’ Savior Jesus Christ, when we anoint with oil. Many Churches have gotten away from anointing, but as written in James 5, it is a pure act for those in Christ.
The King and Queens of Europe are still anointed with oil during their coronation ceremony, just as was done while in the land of Israel long ago. Queen Elizabeth was anointed with oil in 1953 when she ascended to the throne (I hope you see a parallel to Christ’s Throne with that). I have a link to the British Monarchy website on my Links page giving some of the details of the coronation.
Allow me to show you a Message our Savior taught about the anointing with oil. Then you’ll find below a description of ‘anointing’ from Vine’s Expository Dictionary.

Jer 4:30 30 And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life. (KJV)      

     Note the phrase “rentest thy face with painting” in this verse of Jeremiah 4:30. Also note the result of that ‘painting’. This is metaphor. It doesn’t mean women can’t or shouldn’t use makeup. This reference in Jer.4 is about ‘spiritual harlotry’. Clearly, that deception has much to do with matters of false worship in the flesh. This metaphor shows an attempt at spiritual ‘beauty’ with the ‘painting’ of the face, for the sole purpose of playing the spiritual harlot, going into false worship. Jesus is going to give a different account of those symbols in The New Testament.

Rev 3:18    I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. (KJV)      

     This description by our Lord and Savior here in Rev.3:18 is the exact opposite for those symbols of false worship given in Jer.4:30. This particular ‘anointing’ Christ was telling the Church at Laodicea to do on themselves, was to open their ‘spiritual eyes’, so that they might come to Christ’s Truth, instead of relying on the things of the flesh which they were guilty of (see verses 15-17). The ‘eyesalve‘ was to be the bridge for Christ’s Spirit to open their minds to Him.
All this does not mean to rely on ‘ritual’ devices before we think God’s Spirit will work through us. Our Father does not want us to go the way of the superstitious, thinking everything to be an omen, always doing little religious appearing acts to try and produce results from Him. That is paganism. James 5 especially outlines ‘prayer’ as being needed. God works without any acts by man. It is our ‘faith’ in Christ which attones us to Him. But anointing with oil is AOK, as needed, as long as we treat our faith in Christ with understanding and common sense, just as we do at Holy Communion. That’s what makes Christians different from the glitter and gold of idolistic pagan false worship of flesh.