Genealogical title (2)

“And of the children of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai; which took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name: These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood.”

Ezra 2,61-62. Priests who no longer bore the name of their lineage, they had even lost their family identity. We are of the lineage of Christ and we are called by his name, nothing short. People who embrace currents are called by the name of those currents: Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Orthodox Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, branhamist, Jehovah's Witness, etc. But those who have preserved their virginity for their sole bridegroom Christ are only called by his name.

These priests were not able to present their genealogy to prove they were the sons of Levi, the priestly tribe. The Bible speaks of those who are in Christ that they are a kingdom of priests (Rev.1:6, 5:10). So if someone is not able to present his genealogical title, he is outright excluded from the heavenly priesthood, i.e. he is no longer part of the body of Christ. As we demonstrated in the first part of this theme, the genealogical title is 'the works of Abraham’ which are none other than strict faith and obedience to the Word of God. It is absolutely no question of a carnal, social or religious affiliation as some have illusion thereupon.

Paul says “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.” Ga.3,6-7. “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.” Ro.3,28-29. What good words! You can replace 'Jew' with 'Christian' and 'circumcision' with 'new birth' as regards the children of Abraham in the new covenant, and understand what happens. The Christian is not the one who has the outward and the new birth is not the one that a church gives.

Paul continues “In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ” Col.2,11. There are members of a church, and there are children of God. Church members have joined in one way or another. God's children have not joined, but they are born of God (John 1, 12). Their heart’s circumcision is made by God himself, and their praise, the declaration of their status as children of God, is not made ​​by a church, a pastor, but by God himself.”For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” Ph.3,3. This is so deep! May the Lord speak to each and every reader. What happened to the Jews who put their trust in their carnal belonging to the seed of Abraham, the same happens again today, people are just satisfied with the fact of belonging to a church or simply being called a Christian, brother in Christ, sister in Christ, man of God, handmaid of the Lord, etc.

There was in the history of mankind a man sent from God, whose name was Martin Luther. The German princes listened to the Word of God spoken by Luther. As is always the case, between the followers of falsehood and the Truth, the Marist-papist church vehemently attacked Luther, his message and all those who had received it. Pope activated the Catholic kings to make common cause against the Reformation, and the German Emperor Charles V summoned the Diet of Spires in 1529 (which was Spires II, after the 1526 Diet of Spires), for the purpose of crushing what they called heresy. Proponents of Rome were exultant to see soon the Gospel of the Cross forbidden, though the people of Spires thirsted for same.

They proposed a decree denying freedom of conscience; in particular, no Catholic was allowed to welcome the ever valid gospel of the Cross that they called 'Lutheranism'. This is exactly what happened at Jerusalem with the chief priests who tried to prevent the apostles from preaching the Truth in the name of Jesus Christ: it is the anti-Truth genealogy. "Let us reject this decree," said the princes. "In matters of conscience the majority has no power." Then they made a statement older than themselves "We protest by these presents, before God, our only Creator, Preserver, Redeemer, and Saviour, and who will one day be our Judge, as well as before all men and all creatures, that we, for us and for our people, neither consent nor adhere in any manner whatsoever to the proposed decree, in anything that is contrary to God, to His holy word, to our right conscience, to the salvation of our souls. What! we ratify this edict! We assert that when Almighty God calls a man to His knowledge, this man nevertheless cannot receive the knowledge of God!" it continues.

Today, people are called 'Protestants', but what have they protested against? Indeed, all those churches which are thus called have continued in most pagan-Roman doctrines that are contrary to God and to his holy scriptures. The true sons of Luther and the German Evangelical princes are same inwardly and God does know them. Indeed, all God's children are Protestants, and the protest is older than the 1529 Spires event, it is a genealogical identity. Already at Jerusalem, when the Sanhedrin took the initiative to ban Peter, John and the other apostles to preach the Truth, they wielded up their genealogical title as Protestants, saying “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” Ac.4,19-20, “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.” Ac.5,29.

The protest did not begin with the apostles, as it is as old as faith. We would not have enough space and time if we were to demonstrate this, but let us still consider the example of these three Jewish young people in captivity in Babylon (we are in Daniel 3). King Nebuchadnezzar had erected a golden statue and ordered peoples, nations, and languages, to bow down and worship the statue. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not bow down to worship the statue. Before King Nebuchadnezzar and his threat to throw them into a fiery furnace, these three Protestant young people replied politely, with meekness and humility to King Nebuchadnezzar, but with a deep reverence for the King of kings to whom belong the heavens and the earth “O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” v.16-18. They were true Protestants.

One thing is to cause oneself to be called Protestant, another is to protest. All those who protested against what is contrary to God and his holy word that we have just mentioned, have never csused themselves to be called Protestants, or have never founded any denomination or movement called Protestantism. The enemy who, in his strategies, takes advantage of anything because he is recuperator, created fanatics who took over on their side the historical event of the protest of the princes to cause themselves to be called Protestants, whilst they themselves have nothing protested at all. Protestants in our age reflect nothing more than the image of pagan-Romanism which is the genealogical identity of their mother, the Church of Rome.  

All those who protested against what is contrary to God, to His Holy Word, to the pure conscience and to the salvation of souls did wield by that very fact their genealogical title which evidences that they are of the lineage of the Truth. He that is of God heareth God’s words: Hearing and obeying God, this outright implies disobeying and rejecting whatever is contrary to God. A child of God will not accept both the things that come from heaven and those from Rome, but by accepting Christ from heaven, we must reject the world, and this is the nature of all children of God. Something that is contrary to God and his holy word, even though it is supported by my pastor, my church, the majority, I will disobey and reject it with sternness and firmness.

Thus, in the world God's children are seen as rebels, and this genealogical identity exposes them to sanctions and punishment of any kind. But in Jesus Christ, we have much more than the world can offer. And he has reassured us that he has overcome the world for us.

If you feel blessed, share and pour out the same blessings.