This world is God's Schoolhouse -- the curriculum of each of our lives is laid out as a syllabus that is followed in accord with the choices we make within the curriculum. Quoting from The Prison http://OuterDarkness.Nazirene.org#ThePrison : The Church Father Origen who was known as"the prince of Christian learning" in the third century, second only to the Apostles, writes that "...to every one according to his merits; nor will the happiness or unhappiness of each one's birth, or whatever be the condition that falls to his lot, be deemed accidental" (seePredestination @ http://ChristianReincarnation.org#predestination ). Why? Why is the conditions of one's birth not be deemed an accident? Because there are no accidents as the Atheist and Secular Humanist mindset promotes. Origen then goes on and writes with respect to each person's station in life "...that the cause of each one's actions is a pre-existing one; and then every one, according to his deserts, is made by God either a vessel unto honor or dishonor. Therefore every individual vessel [person] has furnished to its Creator out of itself the causes and occasions of its being formed by Him to be either a vessel unto honor or one unto dishonor." And, as stated in the foregoing, each person's birth into this life is determined by that person's own past actions -- i.e., "...either a vessel unto honor or one unto dishonor". Or, as stated by the Apostle Paul: "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows” (Gal 6:7 NIV). And this same exact message is being presented to every person today, in our own time, in the very life that they are presently living. When the Labyrinth of the Laws that directs our paths throughout life presents us with choices, it is at this point only, where we are able to exercise freewill and choice.
The key word here is that the Laws which mold our life is very much as a Labyrinth that either holds us in a Loop until we learn certain lessons -- or based upon the choices we make, leads us onto a higher path through the Labyrinth of Laws that are designed to evolve us -- both mentally and spiritually. In the same way that a teacher takes us one step at a time onto a higher educational level, the Labyrinth of Laws that direct our life -- Laws we constantly interact with -- insure that we have built upon the proper foundation that enables us to walk the higher paths of mental and spiritual achievement. And this Labyrinth of the Laws is presented in the subheading The Living Bio-Feedback Organismhttp://OuterDarkness.Nazirene.org#LivingBioFeedback -- wherein I present the reality that the Laws of Creation intimately react to our thoughts, actions, desires and deeds. And when Jesus told the person he had healed:
"...sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee" (John 5:14 KJV) -- he was making reference to The Laws that immerse each of us in our own personal Labyrinth that is molded by our previous actions, and has orchestrated the path and the choices of our destiny. In the words of Paul:
"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows”(Gal 6:7 NIV). And this same exact message is being presented to every person today, in our own time, in the very life that they are presently living. When the Labyrinth of the Laws that directs our paths throughout life presents us with choices, it is at this point only, where we are able to exercise freewill and choice.
Most people make virtually no progress in any given life, because they get stuck in mental-loops based upon the cultural thinking of this world. Quoting from
This World As A Mental Womb http://OuterDarkness.Nazirene.org#MentalWomb :
If what Paul and the other Gospel Authors stated is true, and there exist higher realities and dimensions of being that are totally inconceivable to the mind of the undeveloped faith-based believer (see Animal-Soul http://AnInconvenientTruth.org#animal ) -- and by virtue of the immaturity of the faith-based believers brought about by an embryonic condition of mind which Paul portrayed as the "natural" mind of man -- and the limitations of this embryonic condition of mind even inhibited Jesus from conveying the true meaning of the scriptures, and the higher reality of the soul and the Kingdom to all but his inner core of disciples (see In The House http://AnInconvenientTruth.org#InTheHouse ) -- which means that the biblical authors were therefore powerless to explain in any detail and depth many of the most important Gospel teachings and concepts in the literal text of the New Testament -- then the spiritually mature author's of the scriptures who were themselves enlightened to these higher realities, remained virtually powerless to do anything more than to provide the people with a list of do's and don'ts -- so that the faith-based believers will be in a position where they will be better able to evolve to a mature understanding and comprehension of the teachings of Jesus and TheWay. To totally ignore these do's and don'ts, without knowing the consequence of one's choices and actions, is paramount to walking out onto a freeway blindfolded. The fact that the modern Christian dogmatically believes that it is not necessary to observe and put into practice these do's and don'ts, has brought about a condition of abject spiritual ignorance -- and in their walking what Jesus portrayed as the "broad-way", their own self-destruction.
In order to evolve the mind and spiritually advance, you must choose those paths created by the Labyrinth of the Laws that are in accord with the do's and don'ts laid out in the Gospels. Quoting from
http://Sacraments.Nazirene.org :
The Flawed Doctrine Of Perpetual Redemption totally ignores the many statements by Paul where he warns: "For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who ...then commit apostasy, since they crucify the Son of God on their own account and hold him up to contempt.. For if we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire which will consume the adversaries." (Heb 6:4-6;10:26-27 RSV). Why did Paul make such a statement? Because the original Gospel teachings in their original form was one of spiritual transformation -- a process that would evolve the mind of the seeker/disciple from their embryonic condition, to that of spiritual maturity and Wholeness -- and those who reject these teachings and fall back into the thinking and lifestyle of this world -- who willfully sin after coming to the knowledge of the Gospel message -- are not only unbelievers and apostates to the teachings of the Gospels, but in Paul's words these counterfeit believers crucify the Son of God afresh -- and, in total opposition to what is preached in the modern Churches, Paul warns that"...there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire which will consume the adversaries."
In the Original New Covenant Sacraments ( http://Sacraments.Nazirene.org ) Baptism was the required wedding garment to come to TheCall to the Wedding Feast. And in accord with the Original Gospel Teachings, if a person knowingly sins after baptism, then they have defiled the Wedding Garment -- and there can be no more forgiveness of sins. And I believe that Paul answers the question in the statement. (quoting from http://sacraments.nazirene.org/#SpiritualAbuseOfSacraments ): When Paul wrote and warned that whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord -- i.e., "Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself" (1 Cor 11:27-29) -- the question should be posed as to what constitutes a lack of discernment? While a more exacting translation of the above is found in many of the older versions which state: "eateth and drinketh damnation to himself", few Christians who have been taught the modern man-made doctrines of the Church, are able to understand how a baptized and confirmed Christian can eat and drink damnation and judgment for their failure to properly discern the Lord's body.
With respect to Baptism being the required Wedding Garment (see http://Sacraments.Nazirene.org#TheRequiredWeddingGarment ):
The Gospel teachings of Jesus and the New Covenant known as TheWay, has specific Sacraments -- and the spiritual significance of these sacraments are not at all understood today. In the parable of TheCall to the Wedding Feast, what is portrayed as the required "wedding garment" in the parable is in fact the sacrament of baptism. But the original teachings on baptism was totally abandoned by the segment of early Gentile Church which portrayed itself as Orthodox, and it is this man-made dogma that has caused the original teachings on baptism to be very different than what is practiced today. In the Homilies of Clement who was the first century disciple of the Apostle Peter, quotes Peter as stating with respect to the sacrament of Baptism: "He has commanded us to go forth to preach, and to invite you to the supper of the heavenly King, which the Father hath prepared for the marriage of His Son, and that we should give you wedding garments, that is, the grace of baptism; which whosoever obtains, as a spotless robe with which he is to enter to the supper of the King, ought to beware that it be not in any part of it stained with sin, and so he be rejected as unworthy and reprobate." Contrary to the modern usage of the sacrament of baptism, according to Peter, once the "wedding garment" is received, if the person then willfully sins, then the wedding garment is stained, and there can be no further repentance -- i.e., you "...ought to beware that it be not in any part of it stained with sin, and so he be rejected as unworthy and reprobate."
The most popular and accepted scripture over the first three centuries was the Shepherd of Hermas (see http://nazirene.org/shepherd_of_hermas.htm ), which states that once one receives the sacrament of baptism which is the "wedding garment", there is only one opportunity for repentance from any future sins -- i.e., "For he that hath received remission of sins ought no longer to sin, but to dwell in purity. ...But I say unto you', saith he, `if after this great and holy calling any one, being tempted of the devil, shall commit sin, he hath only one (opportunity of) repentance."
Each person is moving through life following pathways that can be portrayed as a Labyrinth of Laws that has been set out to guide each person to their highest destiny in any given life. In accord with your present condition and level of spiritual achievement, each of us confronts a series of do's and don'ts that permit us to walk a higher path of the Labyrinth that the Laws have immersed us in the divine syllabus and curriculum of the life we are living -- and, as stated by the Church Father Origen, each person's curriculum is based upon our Souls previous accomplishments. Each of us interacts with the Laws at every interval of choice that we make. In the above example of Baptism as the required Wedding Garment, if we defile the Garment, then the Laws that monitor our movement close off those paths that would lead us to the Higher Paths of the Labyrinth. If in our choices we fail to follow the do's and don'ts set forth in the Gospels, then the Laws that monitor our progress close off those higher paths. Again, when Jesus said to the person he had healed "...sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee" (John 5:14 KJV), he was making reference to The Laws that immerse each of us in our own personal Labyrinth that is molded by our previous actions, and has orchestrated the paths and the choices of our destiny. And when Jesus stated to the Jews that he who is without sin, let him cast the first stone, he also said to the women: "Go and sin no more.” Why? Because in not following and adhering to the Gospel do's and don'ts, the Labyrinth of Laws will close off those paths of life that lead the person into their Higher Destiny.
We can't build upon a flawed foundation. When Paul states that organic
"natural" man is of an
"animal-soul" level of consciousness that is incapable to comprehending his own higher Soul-Reality, the mind must be matured and evolved in order to bring about the next stage of birth and enter the Kingdom of Man. Quoting from
Organic Man Ruled Over By His Lower Animal Nature http://SoulSelf.org#AnimalNature :
When Jesus said that his disciples were his brothers -- and that they "...will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father" (John 14:12) -- what he was making reference to was not a faith-based believer who was the equivalent of a spiritual-fetus or infant -- but rather, those who had evolved through the stages of subsequent birth and had fully entered the Kingdom of Man. Which raises the question: Are all people part of the Kingdom of Man who have yet to achieve the necessary maturity and subsequent stage of birth that is merely the potential of the life he is presently living? And if the potential is not achieved, then how are those people who failed to achieve the potential of the life they are presently living defined?
The congregations of modern believers dwell in abject spiritual ignorance, because they fail to embrace the do's and don'ts of the Gospel teachings -- they either believe that as Christians they have a dispensation by virtue of their belief in the Jesus-god of Constantine (see
http://TheTenWords.com ); or they bases their choices on the cultural mindset -- and because they tarnish the Wedding Garment, the Labyrinth of Laws has closed off the higher paths that would lead them to spiritual maturity and birth. In vain they read the scriptures while remaining at an
"animal-soul" level of consciousness, failing to abide by and embrace the do's and don'ts set forth in the Gospel teachings. In the teachings on TheCall to the Wedding Feast, those who fail to put on the required Wedding Garment of Spiritual Purity, are cast into the
"outer darkness" of mind and being (see
http://OuterDarkness.Nazirene.org ) -- stating of those who failed to put on the Wedding Garment:
"'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For many are called, but few are chosen". .So, for the modern congregations to maintain that by virtue of their belief in the Jesus-god of Constantine, that they have a dispensation from the consequences of their sins and are not required to abide by the do's and don'ts of the Gospels, are themselves blinded by the binding of the
"outer darkness" of mind and being. If they truly believed in the Gospel, then they would abide by its Commandments and Teachings.