As the author of An American Dictionary of the English Language, which most know him for today, Noah Webster also played a major role in the development and implementation of a Christian education in America. Rosalie Slater and Verna Hall write in their book Rudiments Of America’s Christian History And Government [RCHG];
“No single American has contributed so much to American education as has Noah Webster. Yet today few students in American schools are aware of their heritage of American Christian education through the contributions, and the life and testimony of Noah Webster. Before an inheritance can bless its beneficiaries it must be claimed. And, by the same token, we have to be able to identify our inheritance, to recognize it, before we can claim it for our own [italics mine].” (p.4)
Those Responsible For Education
RCHG states that Noah Webster, like many of our Founding Fathers;
“…recognized that the success of the American Christian philosophy of government would depend upon the quality of education of each individual in our republic. But unlike today, Noah Webster put the responsibility for education upon the family first and upon the individual. Independence was a basic quality of the American character and Noah Webster began to write textbooks which were self-teaching, that is, they did not require a teacher.” (p.5)
Along the way, we, the church, have adopted a different viewpoint. We have naively placed our children into the hands of the state in our public schools, expecting the hired “professionals” to teach what we aren’t willing to, or at least been told we cannot. We’ve bought the lie that they are the so-called “experts” and, therefore, know what’s best to implant within their impressionable minds.
This is exactly what all oppressive governments do in order to “re-educate” the youth, and anyone else who disagrees with them, indoctrinating them in what they want them to think. In so doing, our nation, and in particular the church is losing its next generation to the spirit of this age that now controls our public education. We then wonder “What is happening with the youth today?” Maybe the better question would be, “What is happening with the adults today, and in particular within God’s people?”
This attitude of indifference to what is being taught to our children in the public sector began in the church. Parents leave them in the hands of the church “experts,” which usually means a youth leader who isn’t much older and has very little experience in life which, by the way, isn’t his or her fault. By doing this we evade the responsibility that God has placed in our hands, continuing impassively in a system that now resembles the state taught systems. This is an irrefutable sign that we, the church in America, having now become the tail wagged by the head, are under God’s judgment. That He has now cursed our blessings in this nation is clearly understood to even the most skeptical among us (Deuteronomy 28:13-14, Malachi 2:2).
While we’re busy eating cookies and drinking coffee, listening to a nice three-point, ear-tickling message, our children are being placed in the hands of those who were never instructed by God to be their educators. They may be genuinely interested in the spiritual rearing of your children, but “training up a child in the way they should go” is a parents God appointed responsibility, not theirs.
Like the public sector, we have bought into a system that claims someone with a “religious” certificate from a school of so-called “higher Christian education” on the wall is better and wiser at raising up our children than we are. Again, they may genuinely care and possess some biblical knowledge regarding parenting, but they are not the ones called by God to be their spiritual caretakers. That is a divinely mandated call from God for parents.
While the majority of the church in America sleeps in apathy, our children, in great numbers, are rejecting their parents Laodicean brand of dead, indifferent Christianity. Of course Satan is more than happy to take them off our hands.
Many young people now look to a world that offers them that which seems to have more meaning and purpose then that which the church offers. The business of religion that dominates western Christianity has leavened the Body of Christ which is why God is about to shut it down, revealing to all its true state of spiritual bankruptcy. The good news in all this is that, like the first time Christ came, He is mercifully preparing a place in the wilderness for the repentant to go to.
Thankfully we have a Heavenly Father who loves us enough to discipline His unruly children. The coming shaking, the likes of what we have never seen on this soil, will deal with this issue (see the warning I received from God for His people in my book 911; God’s Last Offer To The Church). Unable to hide or make excuses for our unacceptable behavior, we will soon be confronted by the Lord for our rebellion against His lordship in our midst.
We must repent while there is still time and our window of opportunity to draw near is still open. The doors of His ark of protection and deliverance will soon be closed. Today, not tomorrow, is the day of our salvation. We must take seriously the warnings of our watchmen who see the judgment of God coming to America. He will have mercy on all who repent.
The “Finishing Fathers” in America that are presently being raised by the Lord in almost total obscurity will soon be revealed. They will come onto the scene in a time of great turmoil and will do great exploits in Christ’ name. They will be fearless in the face of great danger and will lead many to safety in the Lord. Most are “nobody’s” in the present religious system. The devil, though, knows who they are and is very concerned of their “coming out.” The good news is that the Lord will have the last word and will soon crush Satan under our feet. Amen!
Identifying Our Inheritance In Christ
This last statement by Rosalie Slater and Verna Hall of being able to identify our inheritance in order to recognize it is especially critical in the spiritual realm. We must be able to identify our inheritance in Christ and then understand His way to receive it. Without the truth concerning the way in which we should go, we will never be able to pursue it properly, in Him, so as to be able to claim it. (See the Bible study Jubilee.)
In his farewell to the elders of the church in Ephesus, Paul warned them that after he left men who were “savage wolves” would come into their midst;
“I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”
(Acts 20:29-32/NIV)
The word of God’s grace is that which “can build you up,” and give us our inheritance in Christ. The Greek for “build you up” is oikodomeo (oy-kod-om-eh'-o). It’s defined as “to build a house, erect a building.” Metaphorically speaking it means, “to promote growth in Christian wisdom, affection, grace, virtue, holiness, blessedness.”
The Greek for the simple word “can” or, “is able” in other versions of the Bible, is even more significant. It is dunamai (doo'-nam-ahee) which is described as “to be able or possible, to have power.” In this passage of Scripture we understand that it is through the grace of God that we receive access to the power of God that is able to build us up in Christ thereby qualifying us to receive the eternal inheritance in Him.
The issue that I see presently within the church in America, and many other countries where we have exported our harlotries, is the lack of “true knowledge.” God’s people are not being taught the truth from the majority of our spiritual leaders pertaining to the matter of God’s building codes. Most have little understanding of the necessity of looking for themselves to have the way revealed in which we MUST go so as to stand firm until the end thereby gaining God’s approval and receive eternal life in Christ.
The truth regarding “the right [“power”] to become the sons of God” (John 1:12) has been removed by savage wolves who have been deceived by the devil (see the Bible study Freedom In Christ). Their false gospel that has been readily accepted as truth by so many in the church who are too lazy to look for themselves will cause them to shipwreck their faith in the great falling away right before the return of Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4), which we have undeniably entered into. The exhortation of Paul to, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved [“accepted, pleasing”], a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth [i.e. the gospel]” (2 Timothy 2:15/NIV) is, because of a false sense of security, not taken seriously. They do not see or understand the need to diligently continue in obedience to Christ in order to be brought to completion, or “perfection” in Him. Instead, many look to the corrupt leadership to lead them in.
The storm that is coming to our land, and our world, will test the integrity of what each of us has built. Only that which has been built up per the Holy Spirit’s guidance, rather than men, will be left standing.
When Paul and Silas went to the synagogue of the Jews in Berea, they found those who looked in the Scriptures to see if what they were being taught was the truth;
“Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed…”
(Acts 17:11-12/NASU)
Their eagerness to know the truth resulted in many believing in Jesus Christ as their Messiah. Their searching of the Scriptures “to see whether these things were so” revealed their heart’s desire to know the truth. Because of this, they were not seduced and taken captive “through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” (Colossians 2:8)
It has been said that we must be careful to not measure the Scriptures by what the man says, but to measure the man by what the Scriptures say. In order to be considered as being “noble-minded” in God’s eyes we must, therefore, take the time to know and understand His word so as to measure properly.
The Unclaimed Inheritance
Across America there are literally millions, if not billions of dollars of unclaimed inheritance properties held by each state that has yet to be claimed by the rightful owners. By definition;
“Unclaimed funds are those assets where the rightful owner cannot be located. Typically unclaimed funds and property are handed over to the state the assets are located in, after a dormancy period has passed.”
We know of a certain woman whose husband had passed away and was unaware of a life insurance policy that she was the rightful owner of. Twenty years later, relatives of hers found out through an internet search of the unclaimed inheritance property that was hers through the death of her husband. Did she, after gaining the knowledge of what was rightfully hers, automatically receive it? No. First there would come the knowledge of that which she could obtain. Then, she would have to do what was required by the laws in her state in order to receive it. It’s the same thing spiritually.
After turning to Christ and becoming His followers, we begin to understand that as “rightful owners” we have been given the right to an inheritance in Christ who died for our sin. The Holy Spirit, through the study of the Word of God, then reveals to us what His requirements are in order to ensure our receiving the eternal inheritance in Christ. It is only as we become doers of the word, not just those who hear, that we are able to possess what is rightfully ours. This is what John refers to as our “right to become sons of God.” (John 1:12) It is through truthful Christian education and our becoming aware of the right of access to that which each one of the Lord’s children has been granted by His Spirit that will ultimately decide our destiny. We will choose to pursue by further obedience to the revelation knowledge given by the Holy Spirit the possession of that truth, or refuse in stubborn rebellion His leading in it.
The Sons Possession Of The Father’s Inheritance
We read the following decree from the Lord about the difference between a son and a slave who receive a gift out of “the prince’s” inheritance;
“Thus says the Lord God, ‘If the prince gives a gift out of his inheritance to any of his sons, it shall belong to his sons; it is their possession by inheritance. But if he gives a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, it shall be his until the year of liberty [i.e. Jubilee]; then it shall return to the prince. His inheritance shall be only his sons'; it shall belong to them. The prince shall not take from the people's inheritance, thrusting them out of their possession; he shall give his sons inheritance from his own possession so that My people will not be scattered, anyone from his possession.’”
(Ezekiel 46:16-18/NASU)
According to this Divine standard, slaves cannot keep that which the prince gives them out of his inheritance, only his sons can. The slave’s possession was only temporal.
Paul refers to this lack of ownership with slaves in his letter of warning to the Galatians. After he left, Judaizers showed up and were wrongfully persuading the people to observe the Mosaic law that they were just released from as a requirement of the Christian faith. He said to them in his exhortation;
“Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”
(Galatians 4:1-5/NASU)
The last portion of this passage is interpreted in the NIV as, “that we might receive the full rights of sons.” In other words, that we might receive the unclaimed inheritance as rightful owners. This is sonship in Christ.
Paul went on to say;
“But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again?”
(Galatians 4:9/NASU)
What Paul reveals is that if we do not become sons of God that have claimed their inheritance rights per His way (John 1:12), the gift from His inheritance that we received will then go back to “the Prince,” who is Christ. This is why Paul warns us to be careful not to “turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things” and be enslaved “all over again” (see Galatians 4:1-11) after turning to the Lord.
You might say, “But no one is perfect, we all sin even as a Christian.” This is true but the difference is the heart that, like David, is after God and truly desires to be set free from that which is not pleasing to the Lord. The one who fears God and desires to become perfect as He is perfect will have a heart of repentance when they stumble. They will not make excuses for their rebellion, causing their hearts to become hard and indifferent, but will confess it before the Lord.
To go back to slavery after being released from it by the Lord is to forfeit our inheritance, to “let go of it” (Jer. 17:1). By definition of the Hebrew, to let go of it is “to release” it. The Lord told the Israelites who had disobeyed His command to release their fellow Jewish brothers and sisters per the command of God in the year of Jubilee, the year of release;
“Behold, I am proclaiming a release to you,” declares the Lord, “to the sword, to the pestilence and to the famine; and I will make you a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth.”
(Jeremiah 34:17NASU)
Their choice to enslave those who were covenanted to be set free would result in their destruction (Jer. 34:18-22). This is a very strong warning to those leading others to be careful where they are leading them.
Paul’s warning to the Roman Christians is our as well;
“Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey — whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(Romans 6:16-23/NIV)
When we as Christians continue in sin, without any desire for repentance, we continue in the slavery “which leads to death.” On the other hand, when we offer ourselves in slavery to righteousness, doing that which is the Lord’s will, it leads to holiness, His holiness which He imparts to us.
Many would say that we automatically become the righteousness of God when we turn to Him. Yes, we begin the race on the right foot, but if we choose to reject the way of submission to the Spirit’s leading, per His guidelines and boundaries, we could, as Paul wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, be disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:23-27).
You will find that within the many divisions of Christianity that most start the race of salvation the same way, through repentance of our sin to Christ, but they do not all agree on the way to finish the race. Discerning the right way per the Lord in finishing will determine whether or not we receive His prize of eternal life. Therefore, we must be sure of what the Lord says is His way, rather than man’s in bringing faith to completion in Him (James 2:22).
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