A Mix of Darkness and Light – False Teachings of Unitarianism – Purity 1231

 

A Mix of Darkness and Light – False Teachings of Unitarianism
– Purity 1231

Purity 1231 12/26/2023  Purity 1231 Podcast

Purity 1231 on YouTube: 

Good morning,

Today’s photo of the Louis Comfort Tiffany and Edward
Emerson Simmon’s “The Lightbearer” comes to us from yours truly as I captured
this stained glass work of art during my visit to the Michele and Donald
D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts Museum, in Springfield Massachusetts back on
December 9^th.   The window was
originally part of “The Church of the Unity”, a Unitarian Church in Springfield,
and was saved when its church was demolished in 1961.

For those who don’t know, Unitarianism is a
Christian Cult because as Walter Martin’s Kingdom of Cults gives us the,

Quick Facts on Unitarianism, •   There may or may not be one single God or “good”—individuals choose the existence and definition of God. •   If Jesus existed, he was not God incarnate or the Second Person of the Trinity; he was a moral teacher and nothing else. •   The Trinity does not exist. •   The Bible is one of many sources of revelation; all revelations are fallible. •   There is no “Original Sin” but there is evil in the world and man is responsible for it. •   Salvation is progressive based on character development, intellectual growth, and the practice of good works; humans save themselves. •   Truth is relative to every age and tradition. •   Life goes on but a tyrannical God does not determine how—only individual actions dictate individual eternity. •   There is no heaven and no hell; evil defeats itself and virtue is a reward for those who obey the laws of God and man.[1]

So the demolition of the church wasn’t a bad thing as
it provided one less place of false teaching and gave “The Lightbearer” freedom
to represent the true gospel of grace and give us hope separated from the
errors of Unitarianism.  Spiritually I
would say that history reveals that whatever errors were spread at the former
church have been “put to ground” as nothing has been built on the grounds of
the former apostate church, and it remains a parking lot to this day.  

As a Christian, I try to point out the truth of the
gospel of Jesus Christ, and this list of Unitarian beliefs demonstrates how far
away from the truth a “church” can go when it doesn’t adhere to the truth of
the Bible. As followers of Jesus, we have to respect and follow God’s word. We
can’t just decide what “works for us” or “seems right to us” and dismiss the
word of God because ultimately we will be judged by what we believe, who we put
our faith in, and how we live.  

Jesus warned us of the dangers of being a false
convert, someone He “never knew” and so we should know what the word of God
says and do our best to be a diligent student who applies its wisdom to our
lives.  

So be inspired by the Light of the World, Jesus
Christ and follow His example and His word – The Bible to navigate through the darkness
of this world where even “nice people” and seemingly Christian congregations of
believers could be deceiving themselves and on the highway to hell.  

For more information on False Teachings and Cults of
all kinds, we recommend Walter Martin’s “The Kingdom of Cults: The Definitive
Work on the Subject.”

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Today’s
Bible verses come to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By
John G. Kruis.

(
While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google
search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s
work. (https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Scripture-Reference-Counseling-Kruis-ebook/dp/B00CIUJZT2?ref_=ast_author_dp )

This
morning’s meditation verses come from the section on Comfort.

Psalm 103:8-18 (ESV)
⁸  The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding
in steadfast love.
⁹  He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
¹⁰  He does not deal with us
according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹  For as high as the heavens
are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
¹²  as far as the east is from
the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
¹³  As a father shows
compassion to his children, so the LORD
shows compassion to those who fear him.
¹⁴  For he knows our frame; he
remembers that we are dust.
¹⁵  As for man, his days are
like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field;
¹⁶  for the wind passes over
it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.
¹⁷  But the steadfast love of
the LORD is from everlasting to
everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s
children,
¹⁸  to those who keep his
covenant and remember to do his commandments.

Today’s
verses fall under the third point of our counseling reference guide resource’s
section on Comfort.

3. As a father cares for his
children, so God cares for his own; his love is everlasting.

Today’s verses comfort us
by telling us the truth of God’s everlasting love that it is experienced by those
who fear Him, keep His covenant, and remember to do His commandments.  

While God loves all of us,
salvation is for those in a covenant with Him, through faith in Jesus Christ,
and whose authenticity is validated by obedience. 

The danger of Christian
cults, besides the heresies they teach that distort the truth of God’s word, usually
lies in how one receives salvation. 
While obedience to God’s commandments is a fruit of salvation, they are
not the root of salvation.  While
Scripture teaches that we are saved by faith alone through grace alone, Christian
cults and apostate churches teach that you have to earn your salvation in some
way.  

On the flip side of that
lie, other churches push the extremes of God’s love and say that you don’t have
to do anything to be saved – that God’s love will cause Him to accept absolutely
everyone regardless of their beliefs or their behaviors, denying any need to
fear God, make a covenant with Him, or attempt to obey His commandments. 

Both of these stances go
against what is taught in the Bible and so we must know what God’s word says
and what it means. We have to live in the paradox of God’s everlasting love and
having to fear Him and to pursue His righteousness even though we won’t obey
His will perfectly.  Our salvation comes
through faith, but we must also demonstrate our faith in God by trying to
follow His commands.  We acknowledge our
need of a Savior and do our best to follow Him and live by God’s wisdom.

——————————————————————–

As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I
always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to
assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.

Today we are sharing from “God is in the Manger-
Reflections on Advent and Christmas” – By Dietrich Bonhoeffer.   

As always, I share this information for educational
purposes and encourage you all to purchase Bonhoeffer’s books for your own
private study and to support his work.  This resource is available online
for less than $10 at many sites.

God is in the Manger – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS AND EPIPHANY

DECEMBER 26

The Great
Kingdom of Peace Has Begun

The authority of this poor child will grow (Isa.
9:7). It will encompass all the earth, and knowingly or unknowingly, all human
generations until the end of the ages will have to serve it. It will be an
authority over the hearts of people, but thrones and great kingdoms will also
grow strong or fall apart with this power. The mysterious, invisible authority
of the divine child over human hearts is more solidly grounded than the visible
and resplendent power of earthly rulers. Ultimately all authority on earth must
serve only the authority of Jesus Christ over humankind.

With the birth of Jesus, the great kingdom of peace has begun. Is it
not a miracle that where Jesus has really become Lord over people, peace
reigns? That there is one Christendom on the whole earth, in which there is
peace in the midst of the world? Only where Jesus is not allowed to reign—where
human stubbornness, defiance, hate, and avarice are allowed to live on
unbroken—can there be no peace. Jesus does not want to set up his kingdom of
peace by force, but where people willingly submit themselves to him and let him
rule over them, he will give them his wonderful peace.

I’m in the dark depths of night, and my thoughts
are roaming far afield. Now that all the merry-making and rejoicing and
candlelight are over and the noise and commotion of the day have been replaced
by silence, inside and out, other voices can be heard.… The chill night wind
and the mysterious darkness can open hearts and release forces that are
unfathomable, but good and consoling.… Can you think of a better time than
night-time? That’s why Christ, too, chose to come to us—with his angels—at
night.

Maria von Wedemeyer to Bonhoeffer,

December 25, 1943

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in
this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they
lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her
husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public
disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do
this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of
David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in
her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him
Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to
fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall name him Emmanuel,”

which means, “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke
from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his
wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he
named him Jesus.

Matthew 1:18–25^[2]

—————————more
tomorrow————————

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