The Most Dangerous Words Written In The Bible

Warning: The following two verses of scripture may very well be the most dangerous words written in the Bible.

Romans 13:1-2 ‘Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of Yah: the powers that be are ordained of Yah. Whosoever therefore resists the power, resists the ordinance of Yah: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.’

I recently took some time off from writing. My absence was due to several urgent situations that arose, one being the “Going Home” celebration of my wife’s grandmother, Lillie Mae McCain.

Being a Home Assembly, it had been a while since my family’s footsteps had breached the threshold of a church building. It was a kindly place and inviting. My family had gone to the place a few days earlier to meet the pastor and work out the details of the service. The pastor asked us a few basic questions about our faith and we told him about our Home Assembly, our Sacred Name beliefs, and that was that – or so we thought.

On the day of the funeral, about an hour before the program was to start, the pastor called my wife and I back into the office. Now mind you, the church is starting to fill up and the body of my wife’s grandmother is already on display for the viewing. So we go back to this man’s office and he proceeds to tell us that he is concerned about our souls, that the Lord put it upon him to tell us that we are living outside the will of the Lord with our Home Assembly and currently in a place of damnation. He said it is utterly imperative we find a church home, get under some kind of leadership, and I get licensed if I want to continue preaching. He said he thought it was great that we have “Bible Studies” at home and encouraged us to keep doing that, but, he said, without an ordained minister over us, he believed we are living outside the will of “God.” He then employed Romans 13:1-2 to highlight his “attack” at this most inopportune time, by adding that we were resisting the ordinances of man by not getting a license to preach – and resting in a place of damnation.

The pastor then started telling me how easy it is to get a minister’s “license.” He said I could go online or go through Jimmy Swaggart (I don’t know why he brought up Mr. Swaggart) and pay a nominal fee, get into a short educational program, and get back into the will of the Lord.

I don’t want to say we were dumbfounded by his concern or his advice because this is not the first time we’ve had people and ministers approach us this way. But what was bothersome, was the timing.

Ecclesiastes 3:7 ‘A time to rend and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.’

Despite his “license” to minister, I don’t think this particular minister comprehended this scripture. An hour before my Lillie Mae McCain’s funeral was not the time to do this.

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My wife and I kept straight faces and smiled. We didn’t want to get into a scriptural tug-o-war with this man, especially at this time. I asked him how it would make me a better preacher or teacher of the Word by getting a license, and not to my surprise, he said, “It wouldn’t.” Getting the license to preach would not make me a better preacher or teacher. All it would do is give me, as a man, validation and credibility to have a ministry.

He said that with all the taboos being broken by preachers today, the greed and sexual misconduct, it is important we follow the ordinances of man and get licensed and have a church home. And yet, as I thought about it, weren’t all the ministers being busted for greed and sexual misconduct licensed and validated ministers? Did their certificates prevent them from doing evil or being poor shepherds?

Whenever I find myself in these types of situations, I have a tendency to lean on the book Daniel and recall the words of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

Daniel 3:17-18 ‘If it be so, our Creator 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.’

King Nebuchadnezzar was “full of fury” at this saying.

And even though this minister was trying his best to keep his cool, it was obvious to us that he was upset by our lack of respect for his title and office. We felt like he was trying to ‘lord’ his authority over us, and we weren’t allowing ourselves to be ‘lorded’ over by him. He had diplomas and certificates all over his walls, which he pointed out, and was disturbed by our lack of awe. We were not impressed by his credentials.

Romans 12:18 ‘If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.’

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In the book of John, chapter seven, the Bible says Yahshua goes up into the temple “and taught.”

John 7:15 ‘And the Jews marveled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned.’

I think it is necessary we all grasp the depth of this question. The Jews could not understand how Yahshua knew what He knew without having learned it from them. He was not ordained. Legally, Yahshua could not marry anyone or do anything within the context of Judean law. He was outside the will of the man-made establishment of religion. Just think, if the Pharisees had the New Testament to work with, they could have brought out Romans 13:1-2 and used it against Christ. Think about that.

How would you tell Christ to go to temple, listen to the ministers, get validation and a license, and then go save the world?

2 Corinthians 11:14-15 ‘And no marvel: for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.’

I’m not saying that this nice minister we met is a minister of satan. His intentions were honest and real. He really believes in the system.

What I am saying, however, is I believe that licenses are part of the beast system. To have people ordained and licensed by Bible colleges and on-line sites to validate their authority under “God” is a mistaken approach to leadership in the church. Selah.

We get a much better idea of what leaders are to be in Christ when we look at the “transformation” in Romans 12.

Romans 12:1-2 ‘I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of Yahweh, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto Yahweh, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of Yahweh.’

There is some dangerous twisting of the Word that can occur when people start confusing and melding the “ordinances” of the Yahweh with a prescribed conformity to the world.

“The higher powers” of Romans 13:1 are not to be confused and melded with our Christian walk. Getting a diploma from some minister you don’t know, or from some Bible College or theology school, is not going to make you a teacher or a preacher of the Word. Do you understand why?

2 Corinthians 10:12 ‘For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.’

Being a Christian has nothing in common with going to school and gaining an education. Being a Christian is not like taking up an apprenticeship and learning a trade. But sadly, that is what the world has made it. For any reason they want, people can just go to seminary school and become a licensed and ordained preacher. For any reason they want, people can pay a few bucks, take a few basic tests, give the answers some men and women want to hear, and receive licenses validating them in the sight of man. This does make them spirit-led or a preacher.

2 Corinthians 10:7 ‘Do you look on things after the outward appearance?. . .’

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“If you look at your reflection in the bottom of a well, what you see is only on the surface. If you to see the meaning hidden underneath, the measure of the depth can be deceiving – the bottom has a rocky reputation.” - Joe Walsh (The Confessor)

I don’t want anyone to think I am saying it is a sin to be licensed or have a degree in theology or anything like that. What I do want you to hear however, is that those things came to you not from the Lord, but from your decided efforts, and the glory of those efforts fall on you by virtue of the plaque or certificate you display proudly in your office.

If however, we are going to live day by day in His mercy and His grace, then the license was something obtained yesterday and it does not exist today. The certificate is passed away for “I die daily.” Are you still a minister without the license? Are you still a minister without the collar? What is missing from your walk that makes you think you need a certificate and a collar to have authority to preach? Do you want to win your audience over before you even utter a word? Do you want to command authority without doing anything specifically for that other person?

John 7:16-17 ‘Yahshua answered them, and said, My doctrine is not Mine, but His that sent Me. If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of Yahweh, or whether I speak of Myself.’

Many ministers are “safe” in denominational constructs. They have a letter of the law they obey and command according to their license and ordained ministry. They may even have a board of directors that supports their efforts. Rules give the human mind a permanence the spirit never can. That is why there is such enmity between what we think is right and what is truly right. Selah.

Romans 8:4 ‘That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.’

The world itself has created various political systems by which to control resources and people throughout history. This is nothing new. These are the “higher powers” of Romans 13:1. Like Paul was a subject of Rome, many of us are subjects of America. With humility, we are servants.

Romans 13:7 ‘Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to who custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.’

As the next verse in Romans says, this is how we show that we love one another. We live peaceably with our neighbors, loving them as we love ourselves; walking honestly without any ill-will.

And yet and still, this is not conformity. Let me show you how this is not conformity. Look around you. How many people really are honest? How many people steal, bear false witness, covet and commit adultery? How many people love themselves and their families way more than they love their neighbors?

If we are brave enough to look at our own souls with a clear eye to discern the truth, we might see just how rocky we are beneath the surface. Perhaps we are not as loving as we could. Are your problems more important than your neighbors?

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1 Corinthians 2:1-5 ‘And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of Yahweh. For I determined not to know anything among you, save, Yahshua the Messiyah, and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of Yahweh.’

The Christian Church for the most part is very weak.

Where are the demonstrations of its power? Is it only to be found in knowledge? Is it only to be found in education? It is only to be found in financial success? Is it only to be found in attendance?

Whatever happened to healings? Whatever happened to miracles? Whatever happened to tongues? Whatever happened to testimony and prophecy? Whatever happened to charity and helps?

Has the cost of doing “good” become a bill we cannot and will not pay? Has fiscal responsibility overtaken the Holy Spirit as it has overtaken the nations of men?

When a person gets a license to do the Lord’s work in this world, the license only gives them credibility amongst men to be paid for their works. For a minister to have an organized church with a church building and all the amenities, a minister must have the world’s permission. Selah.

I believe that is why Christ never built a church on earth. He didn’t need mankind’s authority to do anything He did – and it made the established authorities of the world, political and religious, mad.

Because it cost money to maintain a ministry, the Christian Church and all of its denominations, have concluded that “money” matters. Ministers need money to maintain the worldly kingdoms they lord over. And to make sure the money keeps coming, a certain amount of authority for their position as a minister must be maintained in this world. The more licenses, certificates and trainings a minister can obtain, the more credible their ministries can appear to be. Their kingdoms can do more than maintain the status quo, they can grow and expand. The people working within the ministry can profit from it. The line between helping people and being successful in this world can forever be blurred. At some point, our individual success in life can bring us glory that Christ never even received in this life – and He was the only begotten Son of the Creator. Achievement can lead to pride and pride to power. This blurriness, and this lack of vision, can skew how we perceive our place in the body of Christ and soon a deacon becomes a pastor and a pastor becomes a priest and priest becomes a bishop and a bishop becomes a pope. And all of this promotion can occur right inside our own heads. We can trump ourselves within ourselves. This is the absolute power of self-righteous thinking we as Christians should be avoiding.

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1 Corinthians 2:12-13 ‘Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of Yahweh . . . which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Spirit teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.’

Man’s wisdom is what is being taught in seminaries and on-line courses. Man’s wisdom is what is authorizing people who have no business being preachers, to be preachers. And the world has become so gullible; it sees the license and the collar of a man or woman who calls themselves minister, rather than the spirit. It is much easier and quicker to trust the appearance than to the test the spirits and wait upon and discover the fruits.

1 Corinthians 2:14 ‘But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of Yahweh: for they are foolishness unto him. . .’

I know that what I preach may often sound like foolishness to many but I believe the world has too long been deceived by artificial churches without any real spiritual power. Creditability comes in the form of man’s wisdom. Today, the only authority many of the ministers of Christ have is the license they hang on their wall. Many of the abuses occurring in the church yesterday and today are due to this simple standard of religion that allows preachers to become preachers for a nominal fee.

Truth be told, only the Lord can make you a preacher and only the Lord can make you a minister. And not everyone will you see you and acknowledge you as a minister no matter how right you may be – no matter how many certificates you have.

In John 7, after the Jews marveled at Christ knowing “letters” without ever having been taught by them, they went on to say He should be killed because “Thou hast a devil.” (John 7:20)

Many thought Christ was so mistaken about the order of things; they accused Him of having a devil.

Whenever a preacher or a minister with a license comes to me and tells me I am outside the ordinances of “God” because I don’t have a license, and that I am in danger of hellfire and damnation because of my determination not to conform to the world of religion mankind has created to benefit those that cannot see what is spiritual, I just reflect on the following verses. I hope they help you as much as they help me.

1 Corinthians 2:15-16 ‘But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of Yahweh, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.’

Amen