10/07/07 – 40LAW - “PERFECTION” - Part 1
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Hello!  This is Richard Vaughn

Today’s message is “Perfection – Part 1”

Before we begin, let us seek God’s guidance, “Heavenly Father, as we begin this most important subject regarding the real truth about the perfection of character, I pray that You bless those listening today with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, so that we may understand that every Christian can attain to perfection and why we need to know that. We pray for wisdom, knowledge and understanding so that we may live in the center of Your revealed will, as we ask in Jesus Name, Amen.”

Right now, I continue to keep my pledge, to cry aloud and spare not, to lift up my voice like a trumpet and to show God’s people where they are transgressing God’s law.

If you have been listening to my broadcasts for any length of time, you know that I am one preacher that will not engage in ear pleasing nonsense. What you get in my broadcasts is the naked truth with all the garments of deception removed. I have not held back in telling you that the little horn power of Daniel 7 is the same beast of Revelation 13. And that it is the same Great Whore of Revelation 17 that is the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.

In weeks past I have clearly shown that this power is the Papacy in Rome and the harlots are all the Protestant churches that came out of her. We covered the most fearsome warning in the entire Bible, and that is the third angel’s warning against receiving the mark of the beast, found in Revelation 14:9-11. I have clearly shown with scriptures that the mark of the beast is Sunday worship and that it will be enforced by law in these United States. Those who cling to Sunday will be lost for it is not a blessed day of God, it is the child of the Papacy and those who give allegiance to Sunday worship, are in fact worshipping the Papacy.
 Likewise we studied the fact that those who receive the seal of God, His seventh day Sabbath, will be saved. It’s not so much about a day as it is about who receives your worship. And that said, we will now move into today’s subject, “Perfection.”

Many Christians and theologians have debated the subject of Perfection, and they have employed their speculations and have used conjecture. But that’s the problem and the reason that there is so much confusion on any of the doctrines that the Bible makes so clear. They use their opinions. Not in harmony with scriptures, opinions are worthless.

Let’s talk about Perfection and what it is. – Perfection is getting and keeping the victory over every sin and temptation, thereby unmasking another of Satan’s deceptions; that says we will keep on sinning until Jesus comes. Perfection is not to be confused with the word perfectionism. Mortal man is incapable of perfectionism, however perfection of character is very attainable according to God’s Word.

Pluralism is rampant today in the Christian world. What do I mean by pluralism? The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines pluralism as: a theory that there are more than one two kinds of ultimate reality. Based on that definition, God’s Word is the ultimate reality, therefore a theology that deviates from absolute truth, arriving at a new reality, but not in full harmony with the ultimate, is therefore what I call the new theology, or in actuality, is the old error. And many of our liberal theologians, representing those who have embraced the new theology, are the very ones who put forth the idea that pluralism is acceptable. In other words, it is acceptable for you to have one understanding on a given doctrine, even if it is different from their understanding. One area in particular is perfection of character. On one side we have those that say the atonement was completed at the cross and we will go on sinning until Jesus comes, and then Jesus will remove the undesirable traits and we will be made perfect.

On the other side there are those that say the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross made the atonement process possible, and Jesus now as our High Priest, has been in the Most Holy part of the heavenly sanctuary since 1844, ministering in our behalf, as He carries forward His work in this anti-typical Day of Atonement, now in the 163rd year, and by this process and God’s grace I am assured that I can have total victory over sin in this life prior to the close of probation.

Obviously the first belief is the result of a new theology doctrine which worked and weaved its way into denominational thinking and is carelessly held dear by a large number of believers.  

Which is correct? Is it even important? We will open God’s Word and along with quotes from the pen of inspiration, we will see which one is the rock to anchor to; and which is constructed with ropes of sand. 

Genesis 17:1 “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.”

Let me ask you two questions. First, do you think that you are less capable than Abraham, to do what God asked Abraham to do? After all we have evidence that he was a weak human being as we are, in that he committed sin and the scripture bears that out. The second question, do you think God would ask any human being to do anything that was impossible to do?

In Deuteronomy 18:13 we find a command to ancient Israel which is a command to spiritual Israel as well, “Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.” God had just finished a list of detestable practices in verses 9-12. In fact, let’s read them, “When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire,…” (Now we don’t have that exact problem in 2007, however the Israelites had been in Egyptian bondage and were adversely affected by the Egyptians who did not acknowledge the God in heaven. They had their idol gods and they constructed altars of sacrifice. They required their own children to pass through the fire. If they were not burned, they reasoned the gods were satisfied and all was well. If however the child was burned, they thought the gods were angry, and so they sacrificed the child to their gods. Even some of the children of Israel had so far degraded themselves as to practice these same abominations. 

But today, many parents are sacrificing their children at the altar of the entertainment center. Continuing, “…or that useth divination, (divination is fortune telling) or an observer of times, (that’s astrology and if you read the astrology in the newspaper or other publication, you are participating in a practice God prohibits), or an enchanter, (that’s magic, have nothing to do with it, even on television), or a witch, (today they carry a more acceptable title - psychic) Or a charmer, (this deals with casting spells), or a consulter with familiar spirits, (that’s a medium, or as the new age people call them, spirit guides) or a wizard, (again a psychic or clairvoyant which is the supposed ability to see or know objects or events that are not in sight or can’t be seen) or a necromancer. (A necromancer is a medium who supposedly consults the dead.) Now look what God says about any of these practices, “For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.” These are abominations brethren, have nothing to do with any of them. An abomination, whether it’s one of these we just listed, or homosexuality or other sexual perversion, or eating unclean creatures or whatever, we need to understand that an abomination is so detestable to God that God clearly states in Revelation 21:8 that the abominable will die the second death in the lake of fire.

So if you are practicing any of these things, and wonder why your spiritual life seems to be stuck in reverse, and your prayers seem to go no higher than the ceiling, then God is calling for you to cleanse yourself from all filthiness of the flesh. Don’t allow yourself to watch any of these things on the television. As it says in Psalms 101:2, 3 “I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes:” Written about 3,000 years ago, doesn’t it sound like God was writing this Psalm for our TV generation? 

1 Kings 8:60, 61 says this, “That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else. Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.” Here again is a command to be perfect with the Lord so again I ask, would God ask us to do something that we could not do, so long as we are connected to Him? 

There is the secret revealed. So long as we are connected to Him, we are connected to the source of the power to keep from sinning. It’s like your table lamp that is burning brightly and you decide to pull the plug. What happens to the light? Where does it go? It ceases to exist. Why? Because you disconnected the very source of power that gives the light. And so when you make the decision to turn on the T.V. to watch anything that is not spiritually uplifting and food for the soul, you have, in effect, disconnected the source of power to keep from sinning, and you have given Satan a green light to fill your mind with spiritually robbing substance.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:48 “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”

How is this possible? It is possible by believing and acting upon the promises. Listen to this from the pen of inspiration, “By His perfect obedience He has made it possible for every human being to obey God's commandments. When we submit ourselves to Christ, the heart is united with His heart, the will is merged in His will, the mind becomes one with His mind, the thoughts are brought into captivity to Him; we live His life. This is what it means to be clothed with the garment of His righteousness. Then as the Lord looks upon us He sees, not the fig-leaf garment, not the nakedness and deformity of sin, but His own robe of righteousness, which is perfect obedience to the law of Jehovah.” {COL 311.4}
Well time is up for this week. Next week we will continue this very important study in God’s Word, “Perfection – Part 2.” 
If you would like to worship with seventh day Sabbath-keepers, come to the Victory Everlasting Gospel Church at our new location at the Hampton Inn Conference suite in South Hill, VA at the exit 12 interchange of Interstate 85. We meet at 9:30 am each Saturday the Lord’s Day and will be meeting there until out new building has been completed. Look, if you have been listening to these broadcasts for any length of time, you know Saturday is God’s Sabbath and He’s calling you to start keeping it holy. Why not begin this week?
Until next week, Jesus said in John 5:39, “Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me”. Even so, come Lord Jesus.