Christian Brotherhood

The Arena

“No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” (2 Timothy 2:4)

In remembrance of the valiant struggle of all true Christians, whether in the Roman arena against devouring lions and tigers or in the arena of life against the world, the flesh and the devil.

Issue No. 3, January 2011

THE ARENA is committed to presenting the authentic savor of early apostolic Christianity, as taught by Jesus Christ, preached by the Apostles and handed down to true disciples of Christ for 2,000 years.

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.  Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines” (Hebrews 13:8-9)

“Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls” (Jeremiah 6:16)

Against False Christianity.  The scriptures above tell us clearly that Christ is the same today as yesterday, and will be the same forever.  It also warns us not to be carried about with different and strange doctrines, for which the Apostle Jude has much to say.

“Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.  These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever” (Jude 1:11-13)

We could cite many other scriptures that warn us of these “clouds without water” and “wandering stars,” ministers of Satan who come into our midst with their strange new doctrines and divisive teachings, ashamed of the true Gospel and derisive of the simplicity that is in Christ.

It is not popular these days to speak negatively or be critical of others who have differing religious beliefs, even if those beliefs are wrong or leading others to Hell.  Our modern age seems rife with false prophets and greedy seekers of the world’s glory who serve only Mammon and rob poor widows.  (But it has been as such even from the beginning, as John told us that Antichrist was not only to come but was already in the world.)

Today we see the churches infected with the spirit of the world and worldliness more that ever.  High-rolling preachers dress in million dollar suits, drive limousines and live in mansions while they hawk the wares of their false gospel before millions on the airwaves. 

Appealing to people’s greed, they promise an instant blessing in their “gospel of prosperity” to those who will clean out their meager savings and send their donation as a “seed” for which God will multiply and repay them.  Or send a hundred dollar donation and receive as a “gift” a Bible “autographed” by your favorite TV preacher (who is the Author here?).  Not to mention the endless books and videos and seminars, for which Christ would no doubt take up His whip and drive these modern defilers of the House of God out and into the streets.

What are we who still call ourselves “Christian” and strive to keep the True Faith of Christ to do to spread the Word of Truth when we are so overwhelmed by such a multitude of false preaching and strange doctrines?  How are we to separate the sheep from the goats who have brought such scandal and shame upon the churches and those who bear the name of Christ?

Returning to the Old Paths.  First, Jeremiah gives us assurance that, in seeking and following the old paths, we shall find rest for our souls.  We have the prophets and the pious men and women of old for an example.  We have the scriptures and the teachings of Christ.  We do not need books or videos; we have one book, the Holy Bible, which is sufficient unto our needs.  And we do not need any man to teach us, whether it be priest or preacher, because we have the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, who will guide us into all truth.

“But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him” (1 John 2:27)

Christ does not change, it is we who change.  And neither does the truth change; it is only we who exchange the truth, which is often bitter but salutary, for the sugar-coated lies of the evil one whose sweetness conceals a deadly poison.

Teaching of the Apostle James, or True Christian Brotherhood.  Ever since the Protestant Reformation, preachers have been having a field day declaring that we are saved by grace and not by works, while ignoring the scriptures which teach that faith without works is dead.  For this, it is worthwhile to look at the letter of the Apostle James.

“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?

Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:14-26)

Here James strikes at the heart of what the Christian Brotherhood is all about.  It is not enough to merely express our faith and witness to it with our mouths (for even the hypocrites do the same), but we are to show forth our faith by our actions and the lives we live.

Every day we hear stories like “I go to a mega-church with over 7,000 members and four services on Sunday, yet I hardly know five people there” or “Everyone likes to greet one another and smile in church but they won’t even look at you once you’re out the door,” etc.

True Christian brotherhood is about being a family, knowing and loving and caring for one another, especially during times of trouble and need.

Jesus said:

“By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another” (John 13:35).

Imitation of Christ.  The world judges us by what we do, not what we say.  If we are to shine the light of Christ upon those who sit in darkness, then we must at all times strive to live a Christ-like life, trusting all else to the grace of God and the guidance of the Holy Ghost.

No one can truly know the Lord except they follow Him in life.  Paul said to imitate him even as he imitated Christ.  It is not enough to say “What would Jesus do?”  To be truly “Christian” is to be Christ-like in everything we say and do, for we are His witnesses in this world.

“Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1)

Not that our actions will always be pleasing to others, for while we may be approved of good people, we must expect to be hated by those whose hearts are hardened and who have rejected the gifts of God and turned against Him.  Despising everything good and beautiful and true, they will see in us everything opposed to their own way of living, which is the way of death, and hate us for it.  Being corrupted, they will hate us for being pure.  Being evil, they will hate us for being good.

“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you” (John 15:18).

Turning the World Upside Down.  We are the people who turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6).  His ways are not our ways, for the ways of God are opposed to the ways of this fallen world.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD” (Isaiah 55:8)

Christ’s kingdom is not of this world and we His people are only strangers and sojourners in this world, for we live for another world.

“Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world ... They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world”  (John 18:36, 17:16).

Those who are faithful and true to Christ and His teachings will also be possessed of the Holy Ghost and the sweet fragrance of Christ’s spirit, attractive to those elected unto salvation yet repellant to those who are condemned.

“For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life.” (2 Corinthians 2:15-16)

To those who possess this same spirit in Christ, we shall recognize each other by the witness of our lives, rejecting and overcoming the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil and living with one foot already in the paradise of the world to come. 

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.  If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).

All the things that the world values - money, power, social status, etc. - mean nothing to us.  They are only vanities, temporary pleasures that men grab so quickly but can never hold on to.  They pass quickly like the grass of the field and their flower which once bloomed in beauty fades into dust.

To such as these, we are the fragrance of death, foreshadowing in the spirit the judgment of doom to all who reject the salvation of Christ and the rewards, not of this temporary world, but of an eternal life in heaven with the Lord.

All Is Vanity.  Let us remember that our own lives are like the grass that is here today and withered tomorrow (James 1:10-11).  It is a vapor that appears for a little while and then is gone forever.

“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (James 4:14).

All around us we see people whose faces reflect bitterness, envy, unhappiness and anxiety, no matter how much money they have or how many things they possess.  Modern life especially is totally out of harmony with the simple, pastoral and Edenic life man and woman were created for.  Technology, rather than freeing man, only becomes the chains which enslaves him further.

Man was not created for this world but for another.

Flee Unto the Mountains and Wilderness.  Let us therefore be like those prophets who fled into the wilderness to escape the deadly poison of so-called “civilization” and sought God in the quiet of mountains and deserts and away from the tumult of the world.  We can do this even if it is only to shun the temporal pleasures of this world to join our brothers and sisters in the upper room for prayer or to retire into our own prayer closet for sweet communion with Christ.

A great Christian elder once wrote “I believe that if one departs for the inner desert overcome and persuaded by a divine love for Christ, he will truly live as if in Paradise. No longer hindered by any obstacles, he will be free to delight constantly in the thought of God and in sweet prayer of the heart and mind, with God, and in his God. No longer shedding tears of grief alone, but weeping in joyful sorrow, he will dwell in the mountain heights as a heavenly bird, offering sweet songs to his Creator and Redeemer. Separated from all persons and things, as a beloved lamb of Christ, he will graze and take his fill of joy of the heart through the grace of Christ. Indeed, such a person would not trade his desert life for royal chambers that require excessive care, for living this way he may constantly contemplate the Kingdom of Heaven with ease.”

It is said that a Christian must be in the world but not of the world.  To flee the world is not about running away from life’s troubles but means to crucify the flesh and overcome the world, to go into the mountains and deserts and wilderness like Moses and Elijah and John the Baptist and listen for the voice of God, to prepare oneself to return unto the world anointed with the Holy Ghost and power even as Moses’ face shone with the ineffable light of God.  And, having returned, to preach the good news of salvation in Christ, even if it sometimes means being, like the Baptist, a “voice crying in the wilderness.”

Voices Crying in the Wilderness.  The old paths are never easy, the way is hard and narrow yet herein is the way that leads to eternal life.  There are no accolades for the John the Baptists and the Elijahs who wander in the wilderness and call men to repentance or those who imitate Christ, whose sayings were often hard, piercing the soul.  So unlike the flattering and the smooth double-talk of mega-church ministers and television evangelists who are more interested in the quantity of those who convert to an easy and cheap “saved by Jesus” (but, having no root, quickly fall away) or their big buildings and bank accounts and social prominence. 

How many among them would dare to stand up to their kings (or presidents) like John the Baptist and call them to repentance in concern for their eternal soul?  Instead, they fawn over the rich and powerful, for their own ambitions and the world’s glory, afraid to risk their reputations even if it means eternal damnation for one they may have rescued from the fires of hell.

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

Way of the Cross.  There is no true Christian in the world for whom life is not a battle, dying daily so that we may live unto Christ and him alone, and to take up their cross and follow Him (Luke 14:27).  It is often remarked that modern “Christianity” is a Christianity without the cross and, indeed, many ministers and bishops are leading the faithful down the wide and broad path to perdition.  May we brothers and sisters of the Christian Brotherhood never forsake that cross, no matter what the costs in this temporary life, that we may gain life eternal and bring as many people to heaven with us as we can.

“Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.  For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:34-36).