Dear Eddie Long,
I greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus, the firstborn from the dead, seated at the right hand of the Father as the true King of kings and Lord of lords.
This is the second time I have come to you by letter. The last time I contacted you, it was about conduct as one who has declared himself to be a child of God. I spoke to you regarding your decision to challenge your accusers in a court of man’s law, and how that opposed the instructions given to the apostle Paul by the Holy Spirit to bring our issues before the church, that the church may judge the matter.
I now come to you again, this time as one grieved in spirit. The recent video of you being wrapped in a Jewish scroll has caused much angst among many, inside and outside of Christianity. For the record, I have not viewed the video. The Holy Spirit would not permit me to watch such antics, which make a mockery not only of Judaism, but also of our Lord Jesus Himself. Those actions clearly were not of God, for why would it be necessary to apologize to God’s beloved if we are truly obeying our Lord and operating in His will? Such actions in no way glorify God, and is ignominy to the glorious gospel given to us by the grace of God.
Your “enthronement” as king is an abomination to our Lord, and opposes the very oracles of God spoken by the prophet Ezekiel:
Ezekiel 21:26-27 ( KJV ) 26Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. 27I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.
I pray that the Holy Spirit would bring about a conviction and remorse such that you go before the congregation, ceremonially remove your diadem, and give it to him whose right it is.
Was no thought given to how your actions would be perceived by those to whom the oracles of God were given? Even the Scriptures remind us that there is an advantage to being a Jew:
Romans 3:1-2 ( KJV ) 1What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? 2Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.
These are the same oracles that testified of the coming Kingdom:
John 5:39 ( KJV ) 39Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
If that local fellowship belongs to you, then you certainly can and will do whatever you desire. If, however, you recognize that the congregation belongs to our Lord Jesus, purchased with His blood, and intended to be presented as a glorious bride without spot or wrinkle, then I pray the Holy Spirit prick your heart such that you repent for your recent conduct and publicly correct what has occurred. Our Lord is rich in mercy, and will have mercy upon those who humble themselves before Him.
I certainly will make myself available should you desire to contact me.
May the grace of our Lord be with you,
Ron Mosby
Elder, The Ekklesia of the Lord Jesus Christ
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Thursday, September 08, 2011
Religious or political church?
“Upon this rock I will build my church.” With these eight words, the Lord Jesus announced the establishment of the body of citizens that would populate His spiritual polity. In this system, the citizens are called the “Ekklesia,” the Greek word translated church. The church is a body of believers who submit their lives to the Lord Jesus because they have faith that He is the One to rule the kingdom of God, the spiritual kingdom spoken of by Moses and the prophets. This body of believers received the good news that the kingdom and the King had come. They are the official representatives of this spiritual kingdom in the earth. Simply put, the church is a political assembly.
Today, however, millions of people get dressed up to “go to church.” What caused this shift from people being the church to people going to church? How did the church mutate to a religious body from a political one? Finally, how do we recapture the spirit of what the Lord Jesus started when He established the church?
The people of the early church did not refer to themselves as Christians. They called themselves the people of the Way. The term reflected what the Lord Jesus declared when He said “I am the way.” This description implied that the Lord Jesus alone was their leader. A shift occurred when Christianity was instituted as an official state religion. With this shift, Christianity came under man’s control instead of under the spiritual control of the Lord Jesus Christ. The king ruled over the religion, and men were placed in the churches to rule over the congregations. To be called a Christian denoted being a follower of the official government approved religion instead of being a follower of Christ Jesus and Him alone. This included assembling on the approved day, in the approved buildings. Once assembled, the ruler of the congregation was able to persuade this mass of people that what he was saying was truth. His credibility was based on the fact that the government approved the religion, and he was selected to lead that congregation based on church leadership. For the people in the congregation, reliance upon the Scriptures for personal understanding was no longer necessary; the Lord gave that “special” or “anointed” person the understanding to impart to the people. This pattern has endured for centuries.
How then, do we return to the spirit of the church that the Lord Jesus established? Such a radical change will require a revolt; only this revolt is one of obedience to the Lord Jesus. The focus must return to the people, rather than growing an organization. To shift the focus away from a single leader back to Christ Jesus, the governments of local fellowships need to follow the pattern provided to us in the Scriptures, where presbyteries of elders provided the leadership for the congregations. Most important, the church must grow according to the pattern that our Lord Jesus established. He commanded His disciples to preach the kingdom of God and make disciples. This will not be a simple task, but it is necessary if we truly desire to see His kingdom manifested in our lives.
© 2011 Ron Mosby, Cincinnati, OH
Today, however, millions of people get dressed up to “go to church.” What caused this shift from people being the church to people going to church? How did the church mutate to a religious body from a political one? Finally, how do we recapture the spirit of what the Lord Jesus started when He established the church?
The people of the early church did not refer to themselves as Christians. They called themselves the people of the Way. The term reflected what the Lord Jesus declared when He said “I am the way.” This description implied that the Lord Jesus alone was their leader. A shift occurred when Christianity was instituted as an official state religion. With this shift, Christianity came under man’s control instead of under the spiritual control of the Lord Jesus Christ. The king ruled over the religion, and men were placed in the churches to rule over the congregations. To be called a Christian denoted being a follower of the official government approved religion instead of being a follower of Christ Jesus and Him alone. This included assembling on the approved day, in the approved buildings. Once assembled, the ruler of the congregation was able to persuade this mass of people that what he was saying was truth. His credibility was based on the fact that the government approved the religion, and he was selected to lead that congregation based on church leadership. For the people in the congregation, reliance upon the Scriptures for personal understanding was no longer necessary; the Lord gave that “special” or “anointed” person the understanding to impart to the people. This pattern has endured for centuries.
How then, do we return to the spirit of the church that the Lord Jesus established? Such a radical change will require a revolt; only this revolt is one of obedience to the Lord Jesus. The focus must return to the people, rather than growing an organization. To shift the focus away from a single leader back to Christ Jesus, the governments of local fellowships need to follow the pattern provided to us in the Scriptures, where presbyteries of elders provided the leadership for the congregations. Most important, the church must grow according to the pattern that our Lord Jesus established. He commanded His disciples to preach the kingdom of God and make disciples. This will not be a simple task, but it is necessary if we truly desire to see His kingdom manifested in our lives.
© 2011 Ron Mosby, Cincinnati, OH
Sunday, October 19, 2008
A Prophetic Word from God
I wanted to share this Scripture with you from the Old Testament. I believe that it speaks to us in a prophetic way.
1 Samuel 8 - 1When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice. 4Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5and said to him, "Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations." 6But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." And Samuel prayed to the LORD. 7And the LORD said to Samuel, "Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. 9Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them." 10So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking for a king from him. 11He said, "These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. 12And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. 15He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. 16He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day." 19But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, "No! But there shall be a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles." 21And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the LORD. 22And the LORD said to Samuel, "Obey their voice and make them a king." Samuel then said to the men of Israel, "Go every man to his city."
Chapter 9 - 1There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. 2And he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.
I pray that your may be open that you can see what the Lord is saying, and that your ears may be opened that you can hear what the Lord is saying.
1 Samuel 8 - 1When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice. 4Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5and said to him, "Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations." 6But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." And Samuel prayed to the LORD. 7And the LORD said to Samuel, "Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. 9Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them." 10So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking for a king from him. 11He said, "These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. 12And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. 15He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. 16He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day." 19But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, "No! But there shall be a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles." 21And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the LORD. 22And the LORD said to Samuel, "Obey their voice and make them a king." Samuel then said to the men of Israel, "Go every man to his city."
Chapter 9 - 1There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. 2And he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.
I pray that your may be open that you can see what the Lord is saying, and that your ears may be opened that you can hear what the Lord is saying.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
One Leaving the Nest!
OK, it is now official! My oldest daughter, Deonna, is getting married! Her fiance is a wonderful young man from Cleveland, Ohio named Chris. I think they will make a wonderful couple. They both complement each other in wonderful ways. I am happy for both of them, but this is the first one to leave the nest, so it was somewhat emotional for me. Be sure to check back for updates!
Monday, August 25, 2008
An Objective We Must Achieve
This is today's devotion that I sent out. I wanted to share it with others as a reminder that we are not lone rangers or lone groups in the body of Christ. There is one body of which we are several members.
Acts 14:22 (KJV) Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
Note the passion, the fervent commitment on the part of the body of Christ that together, we must enter into the kingdom of God. Failure is not an option. Whatever trials or tribulations we must endure are of little cost compared to the objective of entering into the kingdom of God. We leave no one behind that desires to enter. Has this passion dissipated since that first generation of believers? Are we now more committed to superficial things such as denomination or doctrine? Or even more disconcerting, have we become more engrossed in self than in others? Many times, it appears the statement has changed to “I must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.” The personal responsibility of helping others enter has been discarded like so many flotsam and jetsam. Bear another’s burden in order to help them enter into the kingdom? I have enough burdens of my own! It is time we begin to strip away those issues of little consequence and begin focusing on the true objective – we must enter into the kingdom of God.
I pray that this will serve as a reminder that we keep our focus on what the true goal is.
Acts 14:22 (KJV) Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
Note the passion, the fervent commitment on the part of the body of Christ that together, we must enter into the kingdom of God. Failure is not an option. Whatever trials or tribulations we must endure are of little cost compared to the objective of entering into the kingdom of God. We leave no one behind that desires to enter. Has this passion dissipated since that first generation of believers? Are we now more committed to superficial things such as denomination or doctrine? Or even more disconcerting, have we become more engrossed in self than in others? Many times, it appears the statement has changed to “I must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.” The personal responsibility of helping others enter has been discarded like so many flotsam and jetsam. Bear another’s burden in order to help them enter into the kingdom? I have enough burdens of my own! It is time we begin to strip away those issues of little consequence and begin focusing on the true objective – we must enter into the kingdom of God.
I pray that this will serve as a reminder that we keep our focus on what the true goal is.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
A House Divided
It is amazing to me how we, as Christians, have allowed ourselves to become so easily divided over specific areas of Scripture. What's more, we have become so obsessed with being right, we completely neglect that our aim should be to come into the knowledge of the truth, then conform our lives to the truth. There are certainly areas where we can agree to disagree, yet still move forward together to continue to build the body of Christ. Yet, in our selfishness, we prefer that we are right, and we want to prove why the other person is wrong.
We must be extremely diligent to pursue truth. Jesus Himself admonished us when He said a house divided against itself cannot stand. Is there any wonder why the Gospel of the Kingdom has been prohibited from flowing freely in the world? The moment we come across something that sounds good to our ears, we immediately attach ourselves to it. Yet, this is not the truth that Jesus preached. His truth is loving and simple, but it is a hard truth. I find it interesting that He left us with a simple commission - to make disciples of all nations. Many in the body of Christ are doing everything else but that!
The most dangerous threat in the body of Christ is education. Many are willing to give instant credibility to one with a series of letters behind his or her name; yet, we forget that the Gospel was spread through men like Peter, who was described as unlearned and ignorant. This is because more faith is put in the education rather than the power of the Holy Spirit.
Christianity is not an organization; it is an organism. It is a living, breathing body made up of individual members working together with one head, that being Jesus Christ. Will there be one that reads this that will be provoked to give thought to his or her life in Christ Jesus, and begin to seek out and walk in the truth?
We must be extremely diligent to pursue truth. Jesus Himself admonished us when He said a house divided against itself cannot stand. Is there any wonder why the Gospel of the Kingdom has been prohibited from flowing freely in the world? The moment we come across something that sounds good to our ears, we immediately attach ourselves to it. Yet, this is not the truth that Jesus preached. His truth is loving and simple, but it is a hard truth. I find it interesting that He left us with a simple commission - to make disciples of all nations. Many in the body of Christ are doing everything else but that!
The most dangerous threat in the body of Christ is education. Many are willing to give instant credibility to one with a series of letters behind his or her name; yet, we forget that the Gospel was spread through men like Peter, who was described as unlearned and ignorant. This is because more faith is put in the education rather than the power of the Holy Spirit.
Christianity is not an organization; it is an organism. It is a living, breathing body made up of individual members working together with one head, that being Jesus Christ. Will there be one that reads this that will be provoked to give thought to his or her life in Christ Jesus, and begin to seek out and walk in the truth?
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Our Thinking Must Change
I know that many times I am a generalist, and this is one post that will be true to that description, but hear me out. For my concern is for the American Christian, not those of other countries or cultures.
We, in America, live in a capitalistic society. We also have such things as freedom of speech and freedom of the press. While each of these attributes sound good, they also pose a huge threat to the truth of the Gospel of the Kingdom being spread. Why? Because a majority of Christians in America allow those principles to supercede the Gospel which has been entrusted to us. In general, we want the Bible to conform to those earthly principles, rather than conforming our lives and those principles to the Bible.
Think about it for a moment. The Gospel is the same whether we live in affluent neighborhoods in America, or if we live destitute on the streets of poorest nations. The Bible does not regard capitalism, socialism or any other type of man-made government. The government the prophet Isaiah speaks of is the one that will be upon His shoulders. If Jesus became poor for our sakes, should we not be doing that for the sake of others? Why then do we continue to use the Bible to justify our desire for material possessions? It is time for us to change our thinking, and as Paul said "let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus."
We, in America, live in a capitalistic society. We also have such things as freedom of speech and freedom of the press. While each of these attributes sound good, they also pose a huge threat to the truth of the Gospel of the Kingdom being spread. Why? Because a majority of Christians in America allow those principles to supercede the Gospel which has been entrusted to us. In general, we want the Bible to conform to those earthly principles, rather than conforming our lives and those principles to the Bible.
Think about it for a moment. The Gospel is the same whether we live in affluent neighborhoods in America, or if we live destitute on the streets of poorest nations. The Bible does not regard capitalism, socialism or any other type of man-made government. The government the prophet Isaiah speaks of is the one that will be upon His shoulders. If Jesus became poor for our sakes, should we not be doing that for the sake of others? Why then do we continue to use the Bible to justify our desire for material possessions? It is time for us to change our thinking, and as Paul said "let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus."
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