Thoughts
on Michael Wells’ teachings in Sidetracked In The Wilderness - # 12
Michael’s book is
available through:
Abiding Life
Ministries International
Littleton, Colorado
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It
is a very subtle deceit that has crept into the practice of Christianity and is
particularly more noticeable in the strict doctrinally legalistic
churches. Notice how Michael adeptly
points out the subtlety of how we are so easily deceived…
NO LASTING DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN GOOD OR EVIL
excerpt
from pages 32-33 of SIW (5th printing,
March 1998)
excerpt
from pages 25-27 of SIW (14th printing,
March 2012)
(used with permission from
ALMI):
Witches
study the evil side of the tree to gain more knowledge of evil; some so-called
theologians study the good side of the tree to gain more knowledge of good, but
there is no lasting
difference between the two.
Again, the question must be asked, are today’s teachings yielding more
additions to God’s standard or promoting performance that would apply equally
as well to the Hindu? Are they from the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or are they from that other tree, the
Tree of Life?...If we
are living out of His life, we need not worry; the action, no matter how
insignificant in our eyes, will always be good.
…Again,
eating of the tree (of the knowledge of
good and evil)
blinds us…
The
enemy loves to see us eat from this tree…The problem is that to the level of good one arrives, to
that same level of evil he will tend to fall…This principle is at work
among all legalistic teachers; the greater they place above God’s standard, the
farther they fall.
…There
are no shortcuts to spirituality, but neither are there any physical hindrances
to it. Spirituality comes from the Spirit of Christ, not from a
certain set of circumstances.
Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point Green
– IT, Incredible Truth
Red – GP, Greatest Promises
Turquoise – UR, Unfathomable Riches Pink
– PV, Priceless Victory
How beautifully does Michael take us to the throne
of God and give us two of God’s pearls: (1) “If we are living out of His life,
we need not worry; the action, no matter how insignificant in our eyes, will
always be good.” And, (2) “Spirituality
comes from the Spirit of Christ, not from a certain set of circumstances.”
And how about this…witches and some so-called theologians eating from the same tree! Albeit they
are eating from different sides, but with the results being no lasting
difference, how many Christians are being led astray from the life of Christ by
these teachers and preachers?
Herein is where the deception lies: the “good” of the Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil IS NOT the “good” of the Tree of Life. So, just a casual use in Christianity of “good”
tends to open simple-minded (as in Proverbs) Christians to the deceit brought in by the Tree of
the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
The Tree of Life is all about Christ and His life. Everything about the fruit of this tree comes
from Christ. And the Bible says it is
all good, the good of the Spirit.
In contrast, however, the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil represents a mixed way of thinking and acting—a
combination of some good (not the same “good” as in the Tree of Life) and some
evil—the cumulative effect of which leads to death.
If our desire for self-gratification
is greater than our desire to obey God then we will choose to eat from the
wrong tree.
The free choice God gives to each of us is really to decide which tree
we will eat from, not whether we will choose “good” or “evil.” But Christians have been misled by the so-called
theologians (teachers, counselors, and preachers) who always lead us to those
parabolic verses in Scripture that simply are talking about their two choices: “good”
vs “bad.” But God, in His divine wisdom
always inserts the real TRUTH…the Tree of Life.
And one of His best “inserts” is in Galatians 5:16-23, where God does
not contrast “good” vs “bad” (unless one is looking at it with “simple” eyes),
but He contrasts the flesh with the Spirit.
Aha, now we see what God really wants us to see, especially what is
there for the eating of the Tree of Life.
Well, amen.
Thanks, Michael, for drawing our attention to the subtlety of how we are
so easily deceived and then taking us to the root of the problem.
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