Shabbat Shalom kol beit Yisra'el and Mishpachah and welcome back to the last day and sabbath of the first month of this critically important new year. Words fail me in attempting to describe this time of separation we are currently living in. It is both exhilarating as well as exceedingly painful; exhilarating because the Ruach (Spirit) is manifesting in a new and powerful way, and the elect are embracing it; but painful because those who seemed to be the elect are rejecting it and have started decreasing and are rapidly falling away. False theologies are slowly starting to implode and the true theology is coming to fruition with many now partaking of its glorious fruits, experiencing, after initial hesitation and sometimes fear of the unknown, a spiritual renaissance, a renewal of their innermost being, filling them with greater faith, greater love and greater hope in Christ.

A few days ago curiosity got the better of me and I started reading Watchman Nee's great tome, The Spiritual Man, published in 1968. Though I have known about him for some time, I had never read this book. He started an entire denomination called The Christian Fellowship. First of all I flipped through it and read small sections here and there. At once it became obvious this was a man of considerable Gospel experience and with great depth of knowledge. Then I started reading the first chapter, Spirit, Soul and Body and by the time I finished the first paragraph I had not only found three glaring errors but saw that the whole premise of the book was flawed. Even the first sentence is only a half-truth: "The ordinary concept of the constitution of human beings is dualistic - soul and body".

First, the idea that a human being is dualistic - having two essential parts - is not incorrect. In its most basic sense, we absolutely are dualistic - there is the outer, visible man and there is the inner, invisible man. What is wrong is the idea (which is essentially Catholic in origin) that we consist of "a soul and a body" because right from Genesis we are told that a human being consists of an outward, visible, physical body which possesses an inward, invisible, non-material spirit and that these two units constitute a soul.

We are, with our bodies, living souls:

"And Yahweh-Elohim formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (nephesh)" (Gen.2:7, KJV).

The word 'soul' is used 485 times in the King James Version I just cited, 321 times in the New King James Version (NKJV) and 125 times in the New International Version (NIV). It translates a very hard Hebrew word to precisely define because it is used in so many different ways in Scripture. Theological dogmas have arisen out of this one word nephesh that have crystalised into whole denominational thinking patterns, depending which nuance is selected. My very first in-depth biblical study and second major written work was called The Bible Teaching on Soul. That was in 1987, and became one of my key theological undertakings that has saved me from falling into numerous theological pits and heresies. The Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventists, the Worldwide Church of God and its splinter groups, and numerous messianics, have all fallen into this quagmire of misunderstanding. In the biblical sense, all the various renditions of 'soul' can be, and often are, wrapped together to mean a living being. Body plus spirit equals living being. You can't have a 'soul', you are one. That's the summum bonum and the true biblical sense of the word. It's no more complicated than that. A soul is a living person.

So, no, we do not consist of 'soul and body' - there Nee is absolutely correct - because the body is a part of the soul, not a separate component from it. But then Nee makes his mistake, unacquainted as this great evangelist seems to be with some very basic Hebrew and Greek terms. Ignoring everything that the counsel of Scripture otherwise says, he seizes on Paul's emotionally-charged, great poetic flourish at the end of his first letter to the Thessalonians and turns it into a scientific statement and theological dogma as have tens of thousands of Bible students over the centuries. It reads:

"May the Elohim (God) of shalom (peace) Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Master Yah'shua the Messiah (Lord Jesus Christ). The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do this. Beloved, pray for us. Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. I solemnly command you by the Master (Lord) that this letter be read to all of the brothers. The grace of our Master Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) be with you. Amen" (1 Thess.5:23-28, author's rendition based on NRSV).

This letter was written by Paul to strengthen the emunah (faith) of the qodeshim (saints, set-apart ones) of the messianic community (fellowship, church) at Thessalonica, and to give them the assurance that Christ would one day return. This congregation was a brand new planting, the people were young in the faith, persecution had already driven their mentors Paul, Silas and Timothy out from among them when the congregation was first planted. The core of the message was to bear witness of the resurrection (4:13-18), and to remain consistent in their new found faith. These people were literally 'baptised in persecution' from the very start even though this was only AD 51 and worse was yet to come. This is not a theological discourse on the construction of human beings, nor is is a scientific dissection to show what a human being's total anatomy looks like. But Watchman Nee takes a different view; taking the only verse in the whole Bible with this unusual construction, he claims that man is "tripartite - spirit, soul and body" as though this were a suddenly-received, new revelation from the apostle, and then goes on to construct his massive 230-page book on this foundation. And countless other evangelicals have done the same since. "This verse," he goes on to say, "precisely shows what the whole man is divided into three parts" [1]. No it doesn't.

Indeed, we must never build an entire theological system around a single verse or passage of Scripture when everything else on the same subject says something different. There must always be a minimum of two or three witness by which to establish anything that is potentially controversial and it must not contradict what has already been established as true by the nevi'im (prophets) and apostles. That is the divine tavnith (pattern) of witness that Yahweh has established in Scripture. And it is how we must approach Scripture. Paul himself, reiterating the Torah in which he was thoroughly versed, reminds us:

"Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses" (2 Cor.13:1, NIV).

Does this mean that Paul got it wrong in this solitary verse? No, not at all; it means, quite simply, that he wasn't making a theological statement, but engaging in what the nevi'im (prophets) have always done, and that is using some poetic licence. He is simply underlining or emphasising the need for the Thessalonian believers to be fully engaged in making sure they remain blameless and pure, the message of Chag haMatzah which we recently celebrated. We cannot be casual about that, and so language is used by Paul to underscore that heavily. And as if to emphasise the point, he throws together the three main terms used consistently throughout scripture to describe human beings, mixes them up, and throws them at his readership in a moment of impassioned, fatherly care for those he has birthed through the Gospel. "May the Elohiom (God) of shalom (peace) make you completely holy (qasosh) - may your entire (as it were, 'head-to-toe') spirit-soul-body be kept blameless for the coming of our Master Yah'shua the Messiah (Lord Jesus Christ). The One calling you is faithful and He will do it" (1 Thess.5:23-24, JNT). This is a man preaching perseverance, using a bit of hyperbole as all Hebrews did, not teaching deep theology as he does in others of his letters like Romans. This is Paul with the shepherd's heart speaking, the impassioned, loving, doting, caring, concerned father, as he often did, as this example in Romans also shows.

"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor malkim (angels) nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of Elohim (God) which is in Messiah Yah'shua (Christ Jesus) our Master (Lord)" (Rom.8:38-39, NKJV).

The other day I was listening to a preacher, Carter Conlon - the former pastor of the inter-denominational Times Square Church, New York and protegé of David Wilkerson - who was admonishing his congregation right after the 9/11 tragedy. It was an impassioned, heart-felt witness of the need to keep the Body of Christ pure and blameless in the wake of the charismatic invasion that has brought all sorts of impure spirits into America, thereby advancing the day of judgment on that nation. It's an excellent motivational sermon that calls believers to repentance. To do so, he liberally uses Scriptures, as preachers do, many of which he takes out of context (such as those on the great contest at Mount Carmel initiated by Yahweh through the navi (prophet) Elijah against the false nevi'im (prophet's) of Ba'al). Indeed, he does what most impassioned ministers do, even within the Bible (Paul does it a lot), and without even knowing what they are doing, by employing what the Hebrews call a Remez device. A Remez is a word, phrase, or other element in the text that is used to hint at a truth not otherwise conveyed by the literal or P'shat mode of exegesis. We do the same sort of thing when we see a beautiful rainbow in the sky and may view it as a positive sign in some way. It may even remind us of Yahweh's covenant with Noah after the Flood and reflect that back onto our present situation.

Pastor Conlon skillfully used water, fire and other elements of the story of the two sacrifices made by opposing sides on Mount Carmel in which Elijah called down fire from heaven, as illustrative excursions into the kinds of things that are important in our own spiritual walk or discipleship. He has a good balance. However, some preachers go too far and stretch Scripture to snapping point and so run the risk of bringing disrepute upon the Davar (Word). In respect of my pursuance of an, I hope, careful historical-realist exegesis of the Bible, I owe an immense debt of gratitude to N.T.Wright (Anglican) and Ben Witherington III (Methodist) who have helped me hone (sharpen) my intellectual tools and to carefully measure my words. To preach well, a skill I am still learning, you need a balance between dispassionate historical and theological accruacy, and passionate, spiritual concern that speaks to the whole soul - mind, heart, spirit and (I would also suggest) body too.

Paul is doing the same thing here with the three major terms used to describe the components and sum of a human life (body and spirit) as well as the whole life itself (or soul). As a preaching device, it is a very effective way of emphasising the complete human being even if it fails as a scientific description of our humanness which he did not set out to do anyway. When the Psalmist says:

"[Yahweh] will cover you with His feathers,
and under His wings you will find refuge;
His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart"
(Ps.91:4, NIV)

Yet one British Pentecostal preacher, Percy Collet, who emmigrated to the United States, claims he was taken to heaven and saw these wings and feathers literally. His testimony on so many levels was nullified when a prophecy he made - that he would live to see the Second Coming of Christ - failed spectacularly at his death. In an age of abysmal, willful ignorance, we have to educate believers how to think clearly and how to rightly employ the poetic language of the heart because without both we cannot function to the full extent of what being a human being means. We are multi-faceted beings with thoughts, feelings, bodily passions and spiritual sensitivity. All have an intelligence of their own, all are important, all make up a soul - a complete human being. The full and magnificent beauty of Yahweh, people and creation can only be appreciated, enjoyed and relished by employing the the soul's whole range of perceptions.

Moving on to something a bit darker, something to be aware of. Sometimes people send me videos of the sermons of others hoping to convict me of sins or offenses they believe I have committed against them or Elohim (God) because they themselves are too cowardly to confront me directly. Have you ever heard someone pray through an intermediary - Yahweh Himself - to accuse someone indirectly of sin in the prayer setting? I have. That is an abuse of prayer. Or they may use prayer as a platform to preach a pet doctrine that no one wants to hear because they know they will not be interrupted; and if it is the benediction or the last prayer of the assembly (which is the time they usually choose), they know they can escape further interrogation, at least until the next assembly by which time, they hope, the folks will have had time to absorb what they in effect preached without possible correction from the elders. That is to steal a calling given to the pastor or elder.

If we have an issue with someone, we are to take it directly to them, as Paul taught. Anything else is a form of lashon hara or speaking evil of someone behind their backs, and if not directly, then at least hinting in the hope they will repent of their unspoken accusation. This actually poisons the hearts of those who engage in such things. And if you have a new teaching that you would like to be heard and considered, or a novel interpretation of some scriptural passage, particularly if it might be controversial, bring it first to the pastor, elders or the Sabbath School Teacher for their input before assailing a congregation which otherwise might not be prepared and be confused by it. Such checks and balances do not, alas, exist on the Internet which is why it can sometimes be a very dangerous way to hear interpretations because there is no accountability there. It's why people like myself publish correctives to whatever false teaching happens to be in vogue. And if you want to consult other ministers here for their views about what I preach, by all means do so.

There is an order in the Kingdom, a discipline if you will, which is why followers of Christ are called disciples (talmidim). Likewise, because their husbands are their family cohenim (priests), wives are commanded by Paul to seek answers to theological questions first from their husbands at home after services, because husbands and fathers are the primary teachers of their wives and children (1 Cor.15:45). That is a husband's calling and duty. Pity the family, then, whose husband and father is not a serious student of the Davar (Word) for he will at once fail as a family head! And here, at least, is one reason why a woman should never marry an unbeliever, or a lukewarm believer, or someone her inferior that might tempt her to seize the family leadership rôle, because if the instruction and counsel she and their children receive from the family head does not accurately reflect biblical principles, she will be forced to call upon the elders and teachers of her local assembly as substitute 'husbands' for accurate instruction, thus overturning the Patriarchal Order, or be forced to muddle her way through the internet, books and other resources alone.

That is not to say, of course, unless he himself is an elder or teacher, that she has no need of instruction in the local assembly. Quite the contrary. Both wife and husband do. But it is the husband's responsibility to ensure, having been correctly instructed, to implement what both wife and husband have learned in the conregation in their own homes, testing all they are taught against the Scriptures as good Bereans should (Ac.17:11). And what if the elders and teachers teach falsely? Then the head of the house needs to speak with them privately and thrash any controversial matters out, and if they refuse to repent and continue to teach falsely, then it is either time to leave that assembly or bring up the matter with higher ecclesiastical authorities, a reason Yahweh's Kingdom is episcopal and apostolic, with bishops and apostles, like the New Testament Messianic Community (Church) above the local pastors. After the apostles died, the community of believers became episcopal. So Anglicans, Episcopalians and Eastern Orthodox are at least right about that! When the Apostolic Order of Melchizedek is once more restored, there will also be 12 end-time Apostles to cement the Body together as in days of old. But that's another topic which I'll leave a link to, for those who want to pursue that subject. (Also see A Question of Messianic Evangelical Identity II).

We are all in need of instruction and at times, correction. I myself over the years as a pastor have been approached by members with scriptural insights that have forced me to change direction, and I well remember the big discussions with both my family members and with the other ministers we had at the end of the 1990's when we finally became messianic and more Torah-obedient. Time was needed so that everyone was satisfied we were on the right path. Changes can be hard on families if spouses go in different directions. I lost a wife when she became a Calvinist; and because I did not accept Calvinism, she assumed that I was not, in fact, saved (because to a Calvinist, Calvinism is the Gospel) and that I must therefore have been predestined to eternal hell right from the start [2] and that she, then, had been self-deceived in marrying me; and with such a person she did not wish to spend the rest of her life, and so, from her twisted point-of-view, so dishonour Elohim (God), never mind the breaking of sacred marriage vows and that the fact she herself issued blatantly obvious false prophecies. So she left, one presumes, in search of a replacement Calvinist husband or no husband at all.

Mormons do exactly the same thing, as happened to a friend of mine whose wife left him, with their children, when he became convinced under our ministry that that system was false. Why did she divorce him? Because she became convinced she would no longer be able to spend eternity with him in their 'Celestial Kingdom' according to the twisted teachings of that religion, even though he patiently tried to minister truth to her. And, of course, divorce broke his heart. That is one reason I am so passionate about opposing false doctrine! It's why I want all of you to be passionate, dedicated Bible students and to do your homework thoroughly, particularly you young ones who are single so that you may know the truth early, and clearly and be extra careful to make sure your prospective spouse knows the truth too. If he or she doesn't, then teach him or her before, not after, you tie marriage knot. Any other way is a dangerous gamble. Leaders must be good teachers, and good teachers need to be good students first of all. That is true in all walks of life. Look at the abysmal ignorance of our politicians today! The current President (J.Biden) and Vice-President (K.Harris) of the world's foremost superpower (USA) are not only distinguished members of the Illiterati but they can't even string concepts together, let alone sentences, navigating their way through one disaster after another through bravado alone, and destroying the work of their more competent forebears. The West, at least, is ruled by children, or by those who have the mentality of a precocious child.

I have met so many people over the years who have engaged in false prophesying and willfully gone on to wickedly demean the characters of others who patiently and with kindness tried to help them see through the error of their ways. Yahweh deals with them all in His own time. Many, refusing to heed the Bible revelation because it is inconvenient to them, instead seek personal revelation that is often disjunctive with (contradicts) Scripture. Personal revelation is very important but if it contradicts what Yahweh says in His Davar (Word), those who have such revelation are in deep trouble, because Yahweh's Davar (Word) never returns to Him void, empty or unfulfilled as Isaiah testified:

"So shall My Davar (Word) be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void (empty, unfulfilled), but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it" (Isa.55:11, KJV).

In our interactions with people, believers and unbelievers alike, we are commanded to love them no matter how right or wrong they may be. People who genuinely don't understand Scripture and interpret it wrongly are to be born with patiently. But when they attack the p'shat or plain sense of Yahweh's Davar (Word) and know they are lying, then, speaking for myself, I rapidly change ministerial hats from pastor to navi (prophet), because the integrity of Yahweh's character is being challenged - and that, I, as His witness, cannot allow to go unchallenged. It doesn't matter how much I love them, my love of Yahweh's Emet or Truth must take prior place. My love for Yahweh must always outstrip my personal love for anyone, including my nearest and dearest, if I am forced to make a choice between someone I love dearly who is knowingly propagating a lie, having previously received a direct revelation from Yahweh as to its truth, and is trying to persuade me to embrace that lie, even if it is in the pre-propagation stage and simply being harboured in the heart, then I must oppose it, in strictness mingled with charity, for we must never allow our love to turn to hate. This, in turn, means we must be willing to be persecuted and to suffer for truth's sake. It's one of the reasons I admire Australian Julian Assange, an activist rotting in a globalist jail in Britain for telling the truth about political lies and corrption - likewise, American Edward Snowdon in exile in Russia. There aren't many truth-tellers left in a compromised world happy to embrace lies in order to save its own skin and be accepted.

Only the other day I was talking to a very dear brother in the USA, who is, and has been, both a pastor and an evangelist, about the impact Yahweh's Creation Calendar has had on those determined to cling onto their false beliefs and practices. The rage that it provokes is sometimes beyond belief...and yet not. We all have 'raw nerves' (which Wokeism promotes as something positive, turning offenses into a religious cult of sorts), prejudices inculcated into us by peer pressure, parental upbringing, our culture, or whatever - mental and emotional trigger-points that we guard idolatrously simply because we have invested so much life, energy, pride and emotion into them and don't want to invest time and effort into overcoming them. I got my first taste of such 'sacred cows' when I wrote my very first article, which I published and distributed in pamphlet to my local church and others in Oxford, England, exposing the pagan origins of the much beloved festival of Christmas. It caused a furor, people stopped talking to me and I lost friends.

I was shocked because I was naïve about human nature, being a young man in my 20's. People, without often knowing it, enter into covenants or agreements with lies and with those people who impose them on society and churches, in order not to come into conflict with them because either they're too cowardly or because they don't know Christ well enough to be able to fall back on His support alone. We have our crutches that we think are indispensable. I have had to deal with such backlashes many times over the years because I am not willing to enter into covenants with lies, the flesh, or the illusiory need to be accepted or be popular. I am not a back-scratcher or man-pleaser. Sometimes the viciousness of these backlashes amazes me more often than not because there are so many 'worse' things people ought to be getting upset about, but aren't, like murdering pre-natal children, rape, or (at least now - it wasn't always so) turning a blind eye to child abuse and sex-trafficking, and to practices in general that are well known to have been the cause of the destruction of civilisations in the past and are an abomination in Yahweh's eyes. Part of the problem has been acceptance of the lie that all cultures are equal, a patent absurdity. How can a culture that practices human sacrifice, for example, be equal to one that does defends and protects life? This is an evil fruit of multi-culturalism which, though it sounds nice on paper, in pratice has led to so much destruction of Christian values...which was, of course, a reason it was invented and promulgated in the first place.

The price tag has been heafty but, every time, it has deeped my relationship with Yah'shua (Jesus)...immeasurably! Exposing Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day and many other pagan customs that have invaded Christensom, was my first experience and the reactions to my exposés both shocked and deeply wounded me emotionally. But here's something important I want you to know: the more sacrifices for the truth that you make, the stronger you get, because Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) is the truth (Jn.14:6)!. Truth sanctifies, truth enobles, truth sets people free (Jn.8:32). But truth also enrages the enemy because truth exposes his cover, his devilish works, his dastardly designs, his destructive intentions. The enemy of truth, consciously or unconsciously, is the ally of Satan. Period. Look at the storm that 'truthers' have provoked in the political and social arena! People are tired of the lies especially since their lives have become endangered by them, the latest being by the substances mandated be put into our bodies.

Now I used to be - and still am, deep down - quite a shy and retiring person who doesn't like controversy. Yet, as Jeremiah said, "Yahweh has a controversy with the nations" (Jer 25:31, NKJV) and if we love Him and desire to serve Him, we must expect to find ourselves immersed in controversy simply by speaking His truth. You can't avoid it. I don't know how many demons I have stirred up by addressing Christendom's 'golden calves' - I mentioned the pagan festivals earlier - let alone the world's. I don't go searching for controversy, it seems to come to me, because I, as a scientist trained to follow the evidence wherever it leads, feel an irresistable duty to examine all truth-claims carefully objectively. I was excommunicated from one church for proving that their history had been deliberately falsified by their leaders. The second time I did this I left them first. Aren't believers warned that they will be cast out of religious assemblies...and worse?

"They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers Elohim (God) service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me" (John 16:2-3, NKJV).

So, yes, I have been set upon furiously for questioning the modern 'tradition of the elders' - the assumed (and unscriptural) male gender of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit), for defending polygamists, for exposing the heathen spirit that lies behind most tongues-speaking, for rejecting the pre-tribulation rapture claim, Calvinism, Zionism, one-and-only-true-churchism and racism; for insisting that eating pork is a sin, for promoting the Torah, challenging the Roman Catholic doctrine of hell as a place of eternal torture, for teaching graded universalism, for promoting the United Order of All Things in Common and Stewardship (including stewardship over the environment), for teaching the Creation Calendar, the luni-solar Sabbath and the doctrine of pre-mortal life, for opposing abortion and the consumption by believers of alcohol, and much, much else besides. There are so many lies we have been led to believe.

If you'd like all of that condensed in one exhaustive article, then I invite you to read my Hot Potatoes thesis, so that you can at least be satisfied that I have hidden none of our beliefs from public scrutiny. I have no hidden agendas. Moreover, I have lived all I taught, with the exception of one of two teachings like the United Order because the time for that has not yet come. I have tried to "make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy" (Heb.12:14, NIV), as commanded, by 'agreeing to disagree' with my neighbour, both because that's commanded and because it's common sense if a stable society is to result. But that can only happen if there is genuine liberty, something which, alas, is becoming a scarcer and scarcer commodity in this new world of near global totalitarianism.

I have, and have had, friends from every religion and no religion, and from almost every political and philosophical persuasion, and over the years we have learned to live together in peace and mutual respect. I have friends, many of them pastors and important leaders, from many of the denominations, some of whose doctrines I consider to be not just wrong but harmful. They know what I believe and that I stick to my guns but they at least want to live with me in peace, as do I with them. Some of my best friends are Anglicans, Catholics, Messianics, Baptists, Adventists and Pentecostals...and yes even Calvinists and Mormons...who have an excellent work ethic, by the way, which I learned from my Calvinist uncle...which I do not regret for a moment, for he was a fine, upstanding Scotsman for whom I had the greatest respect and admiration. We are all where we are in our spiritual journey and we have to accept that, because we are not allowed to force anyone to believe contrary to their will.

Christ in His ministry dined with such people, even prostitutes and tax collectors, the most despised categories of person in first century Roman Palestine, that per chance He might minister to them. Did that mean He accepted their sinful lifestyles? Certainly not, and He made that plain enough on numerous occasions, repeatedly warning them to change, but He never condemned anyone for their ignorance, provided it wasn't willful ignorance. Now I will admit that I was on occasion quite radical and intolerant when I was younger, but time and experience have mellowed me somewhat. There is a fine line we have to walk with people. We are to be tolerant but there are moral and ethical boundaries which we need to make known in no uncertain terms that we cannot, and will not, cross, at the pain of ending friendships and acquaintances. I was friends with a German Count at Oxford who was a promiscuous adulterer and I told him in the strongest possible terms how wrong and wicked he was for putting someone else's marriage under terrible strain, but I did not reject him as a person. In the end, though, he rejected me. Likewise with a Malaysian Prince who was shamelessly abusing his position as a wealthy royal to have his way with an Italian lady whom he never had any intention of marrying, as she supposed he would. We too had to part company. We cannot give our assent to others' immorality, ever.

Having said all of that, let me say this. I am called to boldly preach the truth in Yah'shia the Messiah (Jesus Christ) and that is what I do...unapologetically. I got into a street debate once with a Revolutionary Socialist in England - a Trotskyite - and he harranged me the whole time I spoke, which caused me no small amount of annoyance. But do you know what he did after I had finished my street preaching? He came up to me and said that if I were ever in need, he would give me the shirt off his back if necessary, and I told him, quite truthfully as a Christian, I would do the same for him. We became instant friends. And as much as I loathe communism, it's important to remember that much of its philosophy was borrowed by Karl Marx straight from Christianity. It is, in a way, a form of the Gospel but without God in it; and whilst that is, of course, blasphemous it does at least give me hope for some of the people ensnared by it, though I am not so sure how egalitarian the modern Marxists are any more. For you see, it then becomes possible to make an appeal to any Gospel principle which may be embedded in their atheistic religion and to seek and find that most precious of things: common ground. Whenever I meet someone who believes different from me, the first thing I do is to seek common ground - the things we are at least agreed on. And I find, in doing that, with most people I agree with a lot things and that allows us to bond. By homing in on our commonalities, we can not only learn to live together in peace, agreeing to disagree with mutual respect for sincerely held worldviews (which is the mature thing to do), but we can also establish friendships based on these shared values. That has made it possible for me to share a platform, and make common cause, with all kinds of people. I have been a Conservative and a Social Democrat in my time and still find shared values with both political camps. The same with the Greens and Liberals. But I always know where by boundaries clearly lie, boundaries I won't allow myself to ever cross.

Anyone who has been genuinely born-again in Christ and is seeking holiness is my brother or sister in Christ in the essential things. That may not always be reciprocated, for one reason or another, but it is the way I live in peace with other Christian/Messianic people, whether they choose to do so with me or not. I am not here to be the adversary of anyone but with the lies and wickedness which the Devil promotes which they may happen to espouse. I can get along with such people if they are espousing them in ignorance because then there is hope they will see the light, renounce the falsehood, and change direction. I want people to be saved, not destroyed, something Yah'shua (Jesus) had to remind some over-zealous talmidim (disciples) of His when they were passing through Samaria one day, when they wanted to call down fire from heaven on people who rejected their message (Lk.9:51-56). I want people to be included, not excluded; but that does not mean I am going to water-down my values to make them feel more comfortable in their sins, or enter their zones of sinning. The Torah is my hedge of protection along the Way that is Christ, and it is the hedge of protection of my family and my parishoners. That is non-negociable.

But my circle of love extends way, way beyond that, to draw people in to Yahweh's circle; or to use another metaphor, I want to love beyond the hedge and draw people onto the Way without leaving the Way myself. I don't want to put up a massive wall that excludes them from ever being given the chance to cross over the hedge in the right direction. That's how Christianity/Messianism is supposed to work. I am an evangelist for the Inner Circle - for the Way - but I am also an evangelist in the Outer Circle when I step into it to win souls - but I never remain there. It isn't safe to do so. Are there places I will not go? Absolutely, at least not without a very good suit of spiritual armour on and well-stocked spiritual weaponry built up through prayer and Scripture study and with at least one fellow Christian companion, in order to pull down all enemy fortifications. I am, as we all should be too, both a peace-maker and a warrior, because that is what a talmid (disciple) of the Master Yah'shua the Messiah (the Lord Jesus Christ) is called to be. We are both - we can't become just a peace-maker (that's liberalism) or just a warrior (that's militarianism).

Which brings me, finally, full-circle back to Watchman Nee. He may have got his labelling of 'soul' wrong but he was right in coming to the conclusion that we are tripartite beings...at least on one simplified level of understanding, but for different scriptural reasons, and not because of what Paul said in First Thessalonians. And by the way, so that no one misunderstands me, I have the greatest respect and admiration for Watchman Nee. He had tremendous insights. Perhaps one day soon I will return to him and what he taught. Most of you are familiar with a Venn diagram I commonly share with people, both in evangelism and teaching, that illustrates what I mean by there being three principle aspects to the Gospel life. I like this pictorial representation particularly because it helps us see where exactly people are in their spirituality, and why it is I am able to get along with both conservatives and liberals up to a certain point because we all of us tend to emphasise or exaggerate one or more of these three aspects to the neglect or sometimes exclusion of the other(s). The great 'knack', if I can call it that, is keeping these in balance and to so avoid lawlessness, legalism and extremism in the way we both live and witness.

It is so easy to be misunderstood and thus be misjudged which is why it is important we take the time to explain all I have been saying today, and more. I want our witness to be well-rounded, not exagerating one aspect of the Gospel and neclecting another. We need to know our boundaries clearly and be courageous enough to minister to people who live outside them without being sucked into their world to then discover that our spiritual life has become diluted or compromised with uncleanness...or both. The only way to do that is to interact with different kinds of people. But you must first have a sound spiritual foundation which is the responsibility of parents to raise up their children in; and if your parents have failed you, then you need to find mature adults who can become proxy spiritual parents for a while. And that's where the local assembly or church comes in, a group of people in different stages of spiritual maturity with a wide range of experiences they are usually willing to share for mutual edification. From these, bishops, pastors, elders and teachers are selected who should be the most mature of all, and even they will have had diverse experiences. Above them are bishops and apostles who should be the most experienced, mature and spiritually enlightened of all. And at the head of all is Christ.

That's the idea. Reality is somewhat different in times of apostacy and rampant denominationalism, and we must often cast our net wider in search of those Yahweh wants to be our teachers. I hope this has been helpful. Tomorrow we assemble for Rosh Chodesh and for our 12th annual week-long Jericho March! Yahweh willing, and health permitting, there will be a short 15-20 minute-long address each evening during this week, to be followed by our regular Sabbath in which I hope to resume our Book of Revelation course. So until then, may the grace and peace of our Master Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) be with you all, and with that grace and peace, may you bring grace and peace to those around you too, making reconciliation and locking arms again for the work that we are called to do. Amen.

Endnotes

[1] Watchman Nee, The Spiritual Man, 3 volumes-in-one (Christian Fellowship Publishers, Inc., New York: 1977), pp.21-22
[2] Though she eventually became an annihilationist (like the Jehovah's Witnesses and some others) and therefore assumed I was doomed to permanent extinction, a 'good' enough reason not to stick around from her point-of-view, I suppose, putting life-long covenants aside