“The 95 Theses” for Thursday, 31 October 2013 by Gary Lee Parker

“The 95 Theses” for Thursday, 31 October 2013 by Gary Lee Parker

1. When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said "Repent", He called for the entire life of believers to be one of repentance. The full love of God will result in the full love of ourselves and all other people living upon the earth.

2. The word cannot be properly understood as referring to the Roman Road or Seven Spiritual Steps or even The Kennedy Plan no matter how good they may be. The word comes through the power of the Holy Spirit in reading, listening, and ways that may seems mysterious to us. 

3. Yet its meaning is not restricted to repentance in one's heart; for such repentance is null unless it produces outward signs in various mortifications of the flesh through good works within our daily lives. 

4. As long as hatred of self and other people abides (i.e. true inward repentance) the penalty and guilt of sin abides, viz., until we enter the kingdom of heaven. 

5. The Christians Or Messianics have neither the will nor the power to remit any penalties beyond those imposed either at his own discretion or by Torah law or the Teachings of Jesus. 

6. The Christians or Messianics themselves cannot remit guilt, but only declare and confirm that it has been remitted by God; or, at most, they can remit it in cases reserved to their discretion. Except for these cases, the guilt remains untouched. 

7. God never remits guilt to anyone without, at the same time, making them humbly submissive to the Yahweh, God’s representative. 

8. The Torah laws and gospel apply only to people who are still alive, and, according to the law and gospels themselves, none applies to the dead. 

9. Accordingly, the Holy Spirit, acting in the person of the Christians or Messianics, manifests grace to us, by the fact that the Christians or Messianics regulations always cease to apply at death, or in any hard case. 

10. It is a wrongful act, due to ignorance, when Christians or Messianics retain the Torah penalties on the dead. 

11. When Torah penalties were changed and made to apply to priestly or Synagogue or church rules, surely it would seem that tares were sown while the Christians or Messianics were asleep. 

12. In former days, the Torah penalties were imposed, not after, but before sacrifice was pronounced; and were intended to be tests of true repentance. 

13. Death puts an end to all the claims of the Christians or Messianics; even the dying are already dead to the Torah laws, and are no longer bound by them. 

14. Defective piety or love in a dying person is necessarily accompanied by great fear, which is greatest where the piety or love is least. 

15. This fear or horror is sufficient in itself, whatever else might be said, to constitute the pain of Hell, since it approaches very closely to the horror of despair. 

16. There seems to be the same difference between hell and heaven as between despair, uncertainty, and assurance. 

17. Of a truth, the pains of souls on the earth ought to be abated, and charity ought to be proportionately increased especially among the marginalized and people who are differently abled. 

18. Moreover, it does not seem proved, on any grounds of reason or Scripture, that people who are differently abled or are commonly called disabled are outside the state of merit or grace, or unable to grow in grace contributing to the growth of the Kingdom of God. 

19. Nor does it seem proved to be always the case that they are certain and assured of salvation, even if we are very certain ourselves. 

20. Therefore the Christians or Messianics, in speaking of the remission of all sins, does not mean "all" in the strict sense, but only those imposed by themselves. 

21. Hence those who preach grace apart from works are in error when they say that a man is absolved and saved from every sin by the grace with works extending from God’s grace given to each of us. 

22. Indeed, they cannot remit to souls to Hell any sin which Torah law declares should be suffered in the present life. 

23. If plenary remission could be granted to anyone at all, it would be only in the cases of the most perfect, i.e. to a very few. 

24. It must therefore be the case that the major part of the people are deceived by that indiscriminate and high-sounding promise of relief from sin. 

25. The same power as the Christians or Messianics exercises in general over Hell is exercised in particular by every single Christian or Messianic in his walk and life in the power of the Holy Spirit. 

26. The Christians or Messianics do excellently when they grant remission to the souls in Hell on account of their intercessions made through prayer on their behalf, and not by the power of the keys to the Kingdom (which they cannot exercise for them). 

27. There is no divine authority for preaching that the soul flies out of the Hell immediately after money is deposited in the Synagogues’ or church’s bank account. 

28. It is certainly possible that when the money is deposited in the bank account avarice and greed increase; but when the synagogue or church offers intercession, all depends on the will of God. 

29. Who knows whether all souls in Hell wish to be redeemed in view of what is said in God’s Word? 

30. No one is sure of the reality of their own redemption, much less of receiving God’s forgiveness. 

31. One who bona fide gives to the synagogue or church is a rare as a bona fide redeemed man, i.e. very rare indeed. 

32. All those who believe themselves certain of their own salvation by means of letters of membership, will be eternally damned, together with their teachers. 

33. We should be most carefully on our guard against those who say that the synagogues’ or church’s  tithes and offerings are an inestimable divine gift, and that a man is reconciled to God by them. 

34. For the grace conveyed by these gifts relates simply to the love for God and all human beings. 

35. It is not in accordance with Christian or Messianic doctrines to preach and teach that those who buy off synagogues o churches, or purchase ministerial licenses, have no need to repent of their own sins. 

36. Any Christian or Messianic whatsoever, who is truly repentant, enjoys forgiveness from sin and guilt, and this is given each person without letters of membership. 

37. Any true Christian or Messianic whatsoever, living or dead, participates in all the benefits of Christ and the Synagogue or Church; and this participation is granted to him by God without letters of membership. 

38. Yet the Christians' or Messianics’ forgiveness and dispensation are in no way to be despised, for, as already said, they proclaim the divine forgiveness. 

39. It is very difficult, even for the most learned theologians, to extol to the people the great bounty contained in the tithes and offerings, while, at the same time, praising repentance as a virtue. 

40. A truly repentant sinner seeks out, and loves to pay, the tithes and offerings of their sins; whereas the very multitude of tithes and offerings dulls people's consciences, and tends to make them hate the sufferings. 

41. Synagogues and churches tithes and offerings should only be preached with caution, lest people gain a wrong understanding, and think that they are preferable to other good works: those of love. 

42. Christians and Messianics should be taught that the synagogues and churches do not at all intend that the giving of tithes and offerings should be understood as at all comparable with the works of mercy and love. 

43. Christians and Messianics should be taught that one who gives to the poor, or lends to the needy, does a better action than if they give tithes and offerings. 

44. Because, by works of love, love grows and people become better people; whereas, by tithes and offerings, they do not become better people, but only escape certain sufferings. 

45. Christians and Messianics should be taught that he who sees a needy person, but passes him by although he gives money for tithes and offerings, gains no benefit from the synagogues and churches forgiveness, but only incurs the wrath of God. 

46. Christians or Messianic s should be taught that, unless they have more than they need, they are bound to retain what is only necessary for the upkeep of their home, and should in no way squander it on tithes and offerings. 

47. Christians or Messianics should be taught that they tithe voluntarily, and are not under obligation to do so. 

48. Christians or Messianics should be taught that, in granting tithes and offerings, the synagogue or church has more need, and more desire, for devout prayer on his own behalf than for ready money. 

49. Christians or Messianics should be taught that the tithes and offerings for the synagogue or church are useful only if one does not rely on them, but most harmful if one loses the fear of God through them. 

50. Christians or Messianics should be taught that, if the synagogue or church know the exactions of the tithes and offerings-preachers, he would rather the church of Jesus Christ were reduced to ashes than be built with the skin, flesh, and bones of the sheep. 

51. Christians or Messianics should be taught that the synagogue  or church would be willing, as he ought if necessity should arise, to sell the church of Jesus Christ, and give, too, their own money to many of those from whom the pardon-ministers conjure money. 

52. It is vain to rely on salvation by letters of membership, even if the synagogue, church or indeed the Christian or Messianic themselves, were to pledge his own soul for their validity. 

53. Those are enemies of Christ and the synagogue or church who forbid the word of God to be preached at all in some churches or synagogues, in order that tithes and offerings may be preached in others. 

54. The word of God suffers injury if, in the same sermon, an equal or longer time is devoted to tithes and offerings than to that word. 

55. The church or synagogue cannot help taking the view that if tithes and offering (very small matters) are celebrated by one bell, one pageant, or one ceremony, the gospel (a very great matter) should be preached to the accompaniment of a hundred bells, a hundred processions, a hundred ceremonies. 

56. The treasures of the church or synagogue, out of which the church or synagogue dispenses their tithes and offerings, are not sufficiently spoken of or known among the people of Christ. 

57. That these treasures are not temporal are clear from the fact that many of the churches or synagogues do not grant them freely, but only collect them. 

58. Nor are they the merits of Christ and the saints, because, even apart from the church or synagogue, these merits are always working grace in the inner persOn, and working the cross, death, and hell in the outer persOn. 

59. Jesus said that the poor were always with them, but He used the term in accordance with the custom of His own time and circumstances. 

60. We do not speak rashly in saying that the treasures of the church or synagogue are the keys of the church, and are bestowed by the merits and grace of Christ. 

61. For it is clear that the power of the church or synagogues suffices, by itself, for the remission of sins and reserved cases. 

62. The true treasure of the church or synagogue is the Holy gospel of the glory and the grace of God. 

63. It is right to regard this treasure as most odious, for it makes the first to be the last. 

64. On the other hand, the treasure of tithes and offerings are most acceptable, for it makes the last to be the first. 

65. Therefore the treasures of the gospel are nets which, in former times, they used to fish for people of wealth. 

66. The treasures of the tithes and offerings are the nets which to-day they use to fish for the wealth of people. 

67. The tithes and offerings, which the church or synagogue extol as the greatest of favors, are seen to be, in fact, a favorite means for money-getting. 

68. Nevertheless, they are not to be compared with the grace of God and the compassion shown in the Cross. 

69. Christians and Messianics, in duty bound, must receive the commissaries of the tithes and offerings with all reverence. 

70. But they are under a much greater obligation to watch closely and attend carefully lest these people preach their own fancies instead of what Jesus commissioned. 

71. Let him be anathema and accursed who denies the apostolic character of the tithes and offerings. 

72. On the other hand, let him be blessed who is on his guard against the wantonness and license of the pardon-church's or synagogue words. 

73. In the same way, the church or synagogue rightly dismisses those who make any plans to the detriment of the trade in tithes and offerings. 

74. It is much more in keeping with his views to dismiss those who use the pretext of tithes and offerings to plot anything to the detriment of holy love and truth. 

75. It is foolish to think that the tithes and offerings have so much power that they can absolve a person even if they have done the impossible and violated the Word of God. 

76. We assert the contrary, and say that the church or synagogue's forgiveness are not able to remove the least venial of sins as far as their guilt is concerned. 

77. When it is said that not even God, if he were now present in His flesh, could grant a greater grace, it is blasphemy against Jesus and the church or synagogue. 

78. We assert the contrary, and say that they, and any Christian and Messianic whatever, possesses greater graces, viz., the gospel, spiritual powers, gifts of healing, etc., as is declared in I Corinthians 12 [:28]. 

79. It is blasphemy to say that the insignia of the cross with the church or synagogue are of equal value to the cross on which Christ died. 

80. The Christians, Messianics, and theologians, who permit assertions of that kind to be made to the people without let or hindrance, will have to answer for it. 

81. This unbridled preaching of tithes and offerings makes it difficult for learned people to guard the respect due to the church or synagogue against false accusations, or at least from the keen criticisms of the laity. 

82. They ask, e.g.: Why does not the church or synagogue liberate everyone from Hell for the sake of love (a most holy thing) and because of the supreme necessity of their souls? This would be morally the best of all reasons. Meanwhile they redeem innumerable souls for tithes and offerings, a most perishable thing, with which to build Jesus' church, a very minor purpose. 

83. Again: Why should funeral and anniversary worship for the dead continue to be said? And why does not the church or synagogue repay, or permit to be repaid, the benefactions instituted for these purposes, since it is wrong to pray for those souls who are now redeemed? 

84. Again: Surely this is a new sort of compassion, on the part of God and the church or synagogue, when an impious person, an enemy of God, is allowed to pay tithes and offerings to redeem a devout soul, a friend of God; while yet that devout and beloved soul is not allowed to be redeemed without payment, for love's sake, and just because of its need of redemption. 

85. Again: Why are the penitential Torah laws, which in fact, if not in practice, have long been obsolete and dead in themselves,—why are they, to-day, still used in imposing fines in tithes and offerings, through the granting of tithes and offerings, as if all the penitential laws were fully operative? 

86. Again: since the church or synagogue's income to-day is larger than that of the wealthiest of wealthy people, why do they not build this one church or synagogue of Jesus with their own money, rather than with the money of indigent believers? 

87. Again: What does the church or synagogue remit or dispense to people who, by their perfect repentance, have a right to plenary fOrgiveness or dispensation? 

88. Again: Surely a greater good could be done to the church or synagogue if the church or synagogue were to bestow these fOrgiveness and dispensations, not once, as now, but a hundred times a day, for the benefit of any believer whatever. 

89. What the church or synagogue seeks by tithes and offerings is not tithes and offerings, but rather the salvation of souls; why then does he suspend the letters, tithes and offerings formerly conceded, and still as efficacious as ever? 

90. These questions are serious matters of conscience to the laity. To suppress them by force alone, and not to refute them by giving reasons, is to expose the church or synagogue to the ridicule of their enemies, and to make Christian or Messianic people unhappy. 

91. If therefore, tithes and offerings were preached in accordance with the spirit and mind of the church or synagogue, all these difficulties would be easily overcome, and indeed, cease to exist. 

92. Away, then, with those prophets who say to Christ's people, "Peace, peace," where there is no peace. 

93, Hail, hail to all those prophets who say to Christ's people, "The cross, the cross," where there is no cross. 

94. Christians or Messianics should be exhorted to be zealous to follow Christ, their Head, through penalties, deaths, and hells. 

95. And let them thus be more confident of entering heaven through many tribulations rather than through a false assurance of peace.

~~~~~~