The Ministry Of Death!

Today I present before you "The Ministry of Death" or "The Ministry of Life"! To get to the heart of our subject today let up consider the teachings of the Apostle Paul starting in Galatians chapter three verse one. But before we get there, let me say something. I know that you are going to read this and say in your heart, "this is baby talk, I already know about this"; yet I am telling you that you do not know about this! These truths are amongst the most misunderstood and wrongly taught truths of scripture today and I will later explain why and how; now let's get to the text.

"O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?" (Ga 3:1 av)

These gentile Galatian Christians, had allowed teaching in their midst that demanded that they become circumcised in their flesh. In this day that religion predominant amongst the most respected religious leaders of the day was Judaism, and one of the most outward signs of "holiness" was circumcision. Jesus continually warned of the doctrine or the leaven of the Scribes and Pharisees of his day; he said, they make the outside of the cup clean, but within themselves they are full of dead men's bones, within the cup is full of abominable drink, he said, make the inside of the cup clean first and then maybe you can worry about the outside of the cup! These Galatians were compelled or "bewitched" to make the outside of themselves look good through circumcision, giving up on the inside, neglecting the inside, as the scriptures report, "how shall you escape if you should neglect such a great salvation!"; these Galatians were "BEWITCHED" and you know that the scriptures say "rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft"; they did not obey the truth! The disciples of Jesus came and asked him, "What should be do to do the works of God?" and Jesus said, "This is the work of God, that you should believe on him who God has sent!" Would anyone here care to explain to me how you can do something so simple and harmless as getting circumcised, which, by the way is more healthy and good, and now you are a rebellious witch who has just become guilty of crucifying Jesus?

"This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain." (Ga 3:2-4 av)

I am reminded of the scripture that says "they shall look on me whom they have pierced"; I am also reminded that when Jesus was being lead to the cross that his disciples were scattered and Peter denied him three times! Jesus accepted to himself such reproach, as the scriptures say "cursed is every man who hangs on a tree", we are also called to share in the fellowship of his sufferings, we too become a cursed to this world as we become crucified with Christ, not I that live but Christ that lives in me, we become a reproach to our neighbors by this, and bear that shame as we "foolishly" receive that "ministration of life", that meat that endures unto life everlasting, we become fools for Christ, as the scriptures say "seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you", we suffer many things as this living faith becomes perfected in us and we become dead to the dictates of this world, the flesh and the devil as we bear this shame! Yet today, Jesus Christ has yet again and again been set forth, crucified among us, as we yet again, seek to make the outside of the cup clean through the "Ministry of Death", that we might make a fair showing of our flesh and become wise to this world, lest we should suffer and bear the reproach of Christ! Some manifest this through healthy eating rather than eating by faith, some manifest this through financial stewardship, rather than living by faith, some manifest this through higher education, rather than receiving that wisdom that begins with the fear of God, some manifest this through physical fitness, rather than loving not their own lives unto death, I could go on and on, you name it, there is something in your life that you have put in place to make you look good, spiritual and wise to this world rather than bearing his reproach! As the scriptures say "Men judge according to the outward appearances, but God judges according to the heart"; God is tasting that which is in the cup, not caring for the outward beauty.

"He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 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. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." (Ga 3:5-14 av)

Today proclaiming Christianity is completely engulfed by and instructed by "The Ministry of Death"; The Ministry of Death is found in the letter of the law. When the Ministers of Death claim that they are "laboring for that meat that endures" they instead are ministering from the letter of the law, let me explain. The Bible, from Genesis to Revelations, is a book full of letters that can and are used to make laws where by those who are schooled in them, minister. The ministers of death claim that they, through careful study, can find the exact letter that you need to instruct you in how you must obey, in any and every given situation. Of course the Ministers of Death will claim that you are instructed to obey "The Word of God", while in fact they are ministering according to the letters of the law, rather than the Spirit or the Ministry of Life. If you need to be a good husband, you might go to The Promise Keepers or your "Pastor" to instruct you according to the law, if you want to be a good parent, then you go to those who have found letters, they call "The Word of God" and you do according to all that you are instructed by the Ministers of Death. Now believe me, I don't have anything against the Law, which is a school master that can bring us to Christ, but we have a greater salvation that we are neglecting, being deceived by these very Ministers of Death! One thing I can assure you, if you must follow the Ministers of Death, the Ministers of the Law, you had better have a pretty smart Minister to follow, he better be really good at the letters, even the original, historical languages, Greek and Hebrew. There are plenty of smart scholars of the letters that don't see eye to eye on a good many letters, you better know who to listen to, because there are a good many well meaning people that listen to different scholars, all having different readings of the law or letters of scripture, personally I don't see any sense in putting my faith in any of them, do you?

"Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?" (2Co 3:1 av)

The Ministers of Death need letters of commendation, if you are going to listen to them, you better be sure that they know the letter very well, right? I mean, if you are going to accept that you are saved because they tell you so, you better be sure, right? Jesus told the Scribes and Pharisees, "search the scriptures, for in them ye think that you have life", of course the Ministers of Death never do seem to get this right, no matter how skilled they are with letters, so I don't know why you would follow them or listen to them, unless God some how or another has you, for some reason, under a school master that will eventually bring you to Christ? The way you recognize the Ministers of Death is to find out who recommends them and why, do they have high education in the handling of letters?; then they are most likely the Ministers of the Letter! Do they get their status from those letters of commendation from the seminary or a reputable Pastor?; then they are the Ministers of Death!

"Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;" (2Co 3:2-5 av)

The Minister of Life, the Ministers of the Spirit, rather than the letter, those who labor for the meat that endures, they have different letters of commendation; their letters of commendation are found in the hearts of those who they disciple; Jesus said "wisdom is justified of her children". You show me your great degrees from the seminary and your letters of commendation from popular preachers and I will show you what is in the hearts of my children! That is the difference between the Ministers of Death and the Ministers of Life!

"Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." (2Co 3:6 av)

While the Ministers of Death do stress that the scriptures are inspired, while reminding you that they are schooled in them, therefore extending this inspiration by the Spirit of God to themselves; I continually ask; where's the POWER!?; where's the evidence? Why do your children look just like the devil's children!? Where is the BEEF, oh Minister of Death!? How about you, do you see the power of God, the unmistakable POWER of God!? Or are you just one who is pining for more Ministration of Death, more law givers, more specific instructions where by you can attempt to work your way to heaven? Are you just looking for more laws to follow from the best and brightest exegetes of the letter? The only problem with this, if you have put on Christ and you are truly dead in him, if you are crucified with Christ, then by your obedience to the law, the Ministers of Death, you crucify the Lord Jesus a fresh and put him to an open shame!

"But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious." (2Co 3:7-11 av)

As I was in fellowship with brothers recently, the question of sexual immorality and the temptation of lust in men, became the subject of the conversation. Naturally the first thing that comes to our minds on the subject is the law, "THOU SHALT NOT"! Yes we could sit down and discuss all of the scriptural reasons why we should not, we could make it gory, things like "getting your mouth full of gravel", like in Proverbs, we could remind everyone that the wages of sin is death and no adulterer nor fornicator shall inherit the kingdom of God; but is there any POWER in the knowledge of good and evil; Power to change, power to resist temptation, power to implement the good and resist the evil? No there is not! NONE WHAT SO EVER! You want to hear what my answer to the problem was? Talk about counter intuitive, my answer was, according the Apostle Peter, we escape the evil in this world through lust! What? I thought we wanted to get rid of lust? Well lust is simply the desire for that which you do not have, the scriptures say "love not the world, neither the things that are in the world, if any man love the world, the Love of the Father is not in him". You cannot be carried away with lust for a woman, if you are carried away with lust for the things of God, the things that only God can give his children! If you are carried away by lust for woman, it is because your estimation of God is way, way, way low, and the only way that will change is by the POWER OF GOD that can save to the uttermost!

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another." (Ga 5:22-26 av)

The Ministry of Life, the Ministration of the Spirit, is that which is born of the Spirit of God, you cannot minister life through the Ministration of Death, you cannot give life by "THOU SHALT NOT!", but by the HEARING OF FAITH! God has chosen the foolishness of preaching to save those who are lost. This preaching is NOT what we hear today behind the pulpits in America, this instead is the Ministry of Death, letters that kill, as the scriptures say "he that knows to do good and does it not, to him it is a sin" and we know that no sinner has eternal life in him; as the scriptures also say "cursed is the man that does not continue in all the commandments of the law" and yet Christ became that curse to set us free from the law of sin and death, that we might be also crucified with him in our own lives and live in HIM! How shall they believe on whom they have not heard and how shall they hear without a preacher and how shall they preach except they be sent? The Ministry of Death may well be sent out of a seminary, but the Ministry of Life must be sent by Jesus alone, God alone, and the proof is in the POWER of God to change the lives of the hearers, by the hearing of the most HOLY faith, planted and received in fear and trembling on good ground in the lives of the hearers!

"As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature." (Ga 6:12-15 av)

The Scribes and Pharisees of the law today, they also wish to make you look clean on the outside, so they can take the credit and glory in your outward image, your flesh. They teach you to be good stewards of your money, so they can glory in your success, Lord knows we don't want a bunch of poor people going to church, who is going to pay for this fancy building!? They teach you to "love" your family above God, sure doesn't look good for them when family break-ups and problems are evident! They teach you to maintain your property perfectly, wouldn't want them neighbors frowning at our church people! They teach you all this outside and appearance stuff, while you are void of the very POWER of God in your lives to save; they teach you in a future hope of rest and paint no pictures of the true Sabbath of God in this life, entering into that rest by faith!

I don't know about you brothers and sisters in Christ, but my faith is going to remain in the POWER of God unto salvation, not letters of the law contained in any part of scripture, but by HOLY FAITH alone, resting in the Lord alone as the captain of my salvation, being crucified with him, accepting the reproach of the cross of Jesus Christ, becoming a fool to this world! Yet the Ministers of Death, are so proud of their knowledge of the letter, as they write, they go in and out of Greek and Hebrew, yes they are quite proud of their knowledge, I sometimes would like to ask them, why don't you speak in English? Are you talking in tongues without interpretation? I don't understand Greek or Hebrew, I speak English, talk to me in that language how about?

Pray that the Lord would send laborers, those who are the Ministers of Life, not Death, those who labor for that meat the endures unto Life! There is a great need for the hearing of HOLY Faith today, the hearing of the Word of God, not according to the administration of Death, but by the Ministration of the Spirit, which gives LIFE, that TRUE Faith that we are willing to die for!

Amen!

Robert Begnaud