You can search the web for house churches and you can find everything for why they shouldn't exist to eleven ways on how to do it and let us do the heavy lifting for you. The greatest need of every hour for God's people is they know how to step away from all the shouting about everything under the sun and spend alone time with God. Every Christian needs to learn how to battle for their time with God, to be discerning, submit to God, resist the devil, and hear God's voice. 

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Worship always begins by raising God's inerrant Word, placing His revealed thoughts first, and ending our human and fallen opinions, often based on earthly loyalties and dying to self-centered wants. Only after spending much time in prayer can we understand what God has written and what He means by what He has said. Human opinions matter very little unless the person speaking has died to denominational bias and human pride and experienced brokenness by God's presence at the foot of the cross. 

Secondly, without exception, every believer needs to learn the uncorrupted version of the Gospel. One of Satan's chief goals is to lie about the Gospel because it is the means of salvation for everyone who believes, and equally important, it becomes the source of overcoming the world, the flesh, and the devil for every believer. In our educated society, which we transfer to other countries, as Christians, we absorb the idea that our intellect is the primary way to God.

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However, the Hebrew understanding of knowledge includes the whole heart. In a prophetic context concerning Israel's restoration, the prophet Jeremiah, speaking for God, said in 29:11-13, "For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 'Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." 

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According to the scriptures, the human ​heart in the Hebrew mind includes the mind, the emotions, and the will or the place where we make decisions and put what we believe and feel into action. Therefore, knowing something in total depends on more than just our intellect. To show just how much more than school learning is necessary to know the truth about the Gospel in particular and the revelation of God's holy Word, let us consider 2 Peter 2:19-21. ​​

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Just before verse 19, Peter rehearsed what Happened upon the mount of Transfiguration when the Apostles witnessed Christ in His glory and heard a voice from heaven say, "This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased..." Therefore, Peter continues, "So we have the prophetic word made more sure." The Apostles witnessed the Lord's Christ for three years and saw His miracles, death, burial, and resurrection. They are blessed having seen and heard, but we are the more blessed for believing, not having seen. How we believe and know the reality of the scripture is described no better than by Peter in the following verses. 

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"So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." 

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The lamp shining in a dark place is a hand-held lamp that gives no more light than necessary to walk without tripping over something. Peter, however, admonishes us to pay attention. To pay attention in Greek is like setting a course and bringing a ship to land. Only the course of which Peter speaks has eternal benefits. Peter paints a picture of a dark place for us, and we might ask ourselves what dark place that might be. After giving us hope that the day will finally dawn and the morning star, which is none other than Jesus, as stated in Revelation 22:16, "I, Jesus ...I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star,” where the dark place is. The morning star arises in our hearts, meaning the darkness resides there. 

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The only means of dispelling the darkness is Christ, the light that dispells the darkness of a sinful soul. The problem arises when the redeemed forgets that we are the problem. Repentance can never be a one-act play; it is a drama that lasts a lifetime of repentance that brings the sinner to the shore of heaven. We are told in Psalm 112, "Light arises in the darkness for the upright; [He is] gracious and compassionate and righteous." Old or New Testament both give glory to the God who is the light of the world and arises in the heart of those who fear Him. 

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You might ask, what does all this have to do with being part of a house church? Worshipping God in a way that pleases Him and builds up the body of Christ is more than changing a location, the size of a building, or the number of people actively involved. The basics are always important, and they always remain the same.

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The basics are these: an accurate Gospel message, the person of Christ and not merely teaching Christian principles, accountability among believers of authentic faith with transparency and love, an undying passion for the lost, a commitment to the truths that build up the body of Christ, and last but not least unwavering obedience to the commands, warnings, and example of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. ​​​​​​​​​​​​

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Three very different types of people make up the body of Christ. There are those who are obnoxiously resolved to do church the way they have always done it, no matter how anyone may prove from God's Holy Word that the way they know does not please God. I can say that because I was one for nearly fifty years. Sometimes, it's necessary to take a step back and consider the failures of greater men than ourselves, that is, men that God transformed into vessels fit for the Master's use and how they failed. Noah, a preacher of righteousness for one hundred and twenty years, built an ark to save every species of animal and, in so doing, condemned the violent world of his day. Nevertheless, afterward, he got drunk and naked, disgraced his family, and cursed his youngest son and his descendents.  

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Space does not permit me to tell of Moses, God's servant, who became angry and misrepresented God to the people. Abraham gave his wife away out of fear. David committed adultery with the wife of a godly man and had him murdered so as not to be found out. Too many to mention here. The difference between those faithful men of God and us is the clarity with which we see God through His Son's sacrifice of love at the cross. When we are disobedient, we do so, having received a much brighter light. We are warned, "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation" Hebrews 2:3 and 12:25, "See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from Heaven." ​Chapter twelve and verse 25 speak about those who profess faith in Christ but do not possess eternal life and will be rejected on Judgment Day. I am emphasizing the significance of turning our backs to Christ's sacrifice for any reason and by any person. 

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Paul's Sorrow for Israel

In this section, we will consider the ramifications of Israel's changing the structure of the nation God chose for them and how the new structure multiplied their sins and advanced God's judgment upon them. 

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Before considering the structure itself, we must first consider the remnant of people God chose to be with Him forever in contrast to those who were Israeli by birth but not by faith. Israel, apart from God's sovereign choice to save whom He will by sovereign choice and not by the works of the Law, determines the path the unsaved nation would take in contrast to the path that the remnant. 

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"I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, [separated] from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the [temple] service and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen." Romans 9:1-5

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All the promises above were given to the nation, but only the remnant benefited as they were chosen according to God's grace. The point I just made will become more evident in Romans 11. 

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The Chosen Remnant of Israelites

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"But [it is] not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are [descended] from Israel; nor are they all children because they are Abraham's descendants, but: "THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED." That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. For this is the word of promise: "AT THIS TIME I WILL COME, AND SARAH SHALL HAVE A SON." And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived [twins] by one man, our father Isaac; for though [the twins] were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God's purpose according to [His] choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, "THE OLDER WILL SERVE THE YOUNGER." Just as it is written, "JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED."

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It is vitally important that we understand that the context above is only about Abraham's descendants. Gentiles are nowhere spoken of; both cases cited are children of Abraham and descended from Abraham. It was not the descendants that brought salvation upon themselves but the promise of God. 

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What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! For He says to Moses, "I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION." So then it [does] not [depend] on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy." (Romans 9:1-16)

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Once we have come to understand the distinction between the nation and the remnant, then we are in a position to discern how the structure change affects both the nation and the remnant. 

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The Law of Making Judgments in Israel

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Deuteronomy 17:8-13

Verse:

8 "If any case is too difficult for you to decide, between one kind of homicide or another, between one kind of lawsuit or another, and between one kind of assault or another, being cases of dispute in your courts, then you shall arise and go up to the place which the LORD your God chooses."

 

9 "So you shall come to the Levitical priest or the judge who is [in office] in those days, and you shall inquire [of them] and they will declare to you the verdict in the case."

10 "You shall do according to the terms of the verdict which they declare to you from that place which the LORD chooses; and you shall be careful to observe according to all that they teach you."

 

11 "According to the terms of the law which they teach you, and according to the verdict which they tell you, you shall do; you shall not turn aside from the word which they declare to you, to the right or the left."

 

12 "The man who acts presumptuously by not listening to the priest who stands there to serve the LORD your God, nor to the judge, that man shall die; thus you shall purge the evil from Israel."

 

13 "Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and will not act presumptuously again."

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1st    The statues determined in Israel were to be according to the Law handed down by God to Moses. These laws were not man-made, were not determined by human wisdom, and were never optional.

 

2nd   God determined the Levitical Priesthood; one tribe was set aside and held to the same standards of the Law.

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The Prophetic Account of Israel

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Choosing a King Against God's Commands

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Deuteronomy 17:14-17

Verse

 

14 "When you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you, and you possess it and live in it, and you say, I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,'"

 

15 "you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses, [one] from among your countrymen you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman."

 

16 "Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since the LORD has said to you, 'You shall never again return that way.'"

 

17 "He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself."

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THE KING AND ITS RAMIFICATIONS

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When God includes choosing a king in the Law, He is not saying it as His command but instead, "And you say, I will set a king over me like all the other nations is a denial and insubordination of God's Law. 

 

God set aside Solomon as the human king to build a house for Him, and he broke all the laws set forth by the God of Israel. As predicted in God's Law through the prophet Samuel, the kings would be for themselves and not for the people.

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At the end of 1, 500 years of false religous worship and idolatry in the name of the God of Israel, God tore down the last stone upon which Israel had blasphemed His Holy name. Paul, in anticipation of those who would question the assurance of salvation of which Paul spoke about in Romans 8 when they consider God's rejection of Israel wrote chapter 9  to 11. In chapter 11, he show God's faithfulness to the remnant of Israel and the fulfillment of all His promises to the coming Kingdom of Christ and a future restoration of national Israel. 

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"I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in [the passage about] Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? "Lord, THEY HAVE KILLED YOUR PROPHETS, THEY HAVE TORN DOWN YOUR ALTARS, AND I ALONE AM LEFT, AND THEY ARE SEEKING MY LIFE." But what is the divine response to him? "I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND MEN WHO HAVE NOT BOWED THE KNEE TO BAAL." In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to [God's] gracious choice. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace." (Romans 11:1-6)

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"What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened;" Verse 7. 

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Israel's Stumbling Led To Christianities Rise

Christianit's Fall Will Lead to Israel's Rise

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​In verse 8, we are told, "just as it is written, God gave a Spirit of stupor, eyes to see not and ears to hear not, down to this very day." Think a bout it, the religion handed down to Moses, the Law of the one true God, became a stupid people who could not see or hear the truth. Should such an action on God's part make us stop, consider, and take notice of what we are a part of today? 

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As Paul goes on to quote David, shouldn't we carefully review how we live our lives in "the church" and not simply assume all is well because it feels right? 9And David says, "Let their table become a snare and a trap, and a stumbling block and a retribution to them. "Let their eyes be darkened to see not, and bend their backs forever." 

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Two things need to be considered at this point. 1) Israel became cursed by God so they might not see or hear the truth about God or themselves. Empty religion is always that way. Men go out and chop down a tree; part of it is used to burn and warm their food, and the other part is carved into an idol before which they bow down. If that is not a curse of God by which people cannot see or hear, I don't know what is. 2) God curses the religions of the world; there is only one truth because the truth is always that narrow. However, Israel was not cursed; it was the one truth in the world when it began. Nevertheless, as unconverted people, they became cursed by repentance and faith. The worship and the Law of God were not cursed, but the people were. 

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FACT: Throughout the church age over the past two thousand years, there have been revivals. In our nation, America, the Great Awakening spanned three decades. So many people came to Christ with a high level of dedication to Jesus Christ, a transformation of how people lived their lives, so much so that it affected those in leadership, the writing of the Constitution, the form of government, the Bill of Rights, and so on. Real revival effects change. When there is no revival, the people become cursed. If we were to consider the present state of America today in 2025, that is, morally, to what conclusion should we come about the Church? 

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Israel was cursed, but Paul goes on to teach that this curse will not last forever. 

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11 "I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. 12 Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be! 13 But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. 15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16 If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too."

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What is clear from Paul's teaching about Israel and the Church is this. Israel stumbled to bring salvation to the Gentiles. Also, this condition of Israel is not permanent but temporary. I get this from two phrases. The first phrase is "...how much more will their fulfillment be!" There would be no purpose for Paul to make such a statement unless there was to be a fulfillment. The second phrase, "what will their acceptance be..." would also have no purpose unless there is to be an acceptance. God's grace reached the Gentiles because Israel, as a religious nation to God, stumbled over the Law that they could not keep. Salvation has always been a gift of God's grace, accomplished by giving His chosen ones saving faith. Only when salvation is by grace is it a gift of God's grace. 
 

In the following paragraph by Paul, comes the harsh reality that the Gentile nations or Church were never meant to be the primary agent by which God brought salvation to the lost race of Adam. And any arrogance on the part of Gentile people as if they are now the permanent replacement of God's people, Israel, is sheer pride that could only lead to rejection. We read this reality in verses 17-24. 

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      17 "But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, 18  do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; 21 for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. 22  Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?"

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Paul's argument is not speculative but a fact that is to become reality. Revelation prophecy is not cyclical, as some suppose, but linear. God has not cut Israel out of their place to lead the world to Christ and never return to their place of prominence. All one needs to do is listen carefully to the voices of Catholic and Protestant Churches alike to hear the sounds of arrogance and pride. The teaching on the assumption of their prominent place in God's kingdom is deafening. In fact, the hatred for the Jews among Gentile people constitutes the most significant part of secular Christianity. There is a small part of the Christian Church that is pro-Israel, but it is not a large part. All the liberal Churches, the higher critics of the Bible, the lukewarm Churches that smile on their own supposed faith are very large, and those repentant people of faith are very small by comparison. 

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At this juncture in Paul's teaching from Romans 9-11, we can appropriately quote our Lord's teaching from Matthew 7. In verses 13-14, Jesus told us, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it." Those who understand the broad way that leads to destruction would never believe or assume that masses of people, by their very existence, gather people into the Kingdom of God. Rather, they understand that the nature of the narrow gate is far too restricted to gather multitudes. By Jesus' very words, "few who find it," see the difficulty with religion being easy. In fact, belief is not easy; it is difficult, and even impossible. In Luke 18, we are further instructed about salvation from our Lord. 24, "And Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! 25“For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 They who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.” Yes, Jesus used the word impossible. Saving faith itself is impossible for sinful people to incorporate into their hearts. The Apostle Paul, when correcting the Corinthians about their arrogance, wrote in 1 Corinthians 4:7, "What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?" We see from Paul's instruction that God is the giver of EVERYTHING that is good. James said it this way, "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights..." (James 1:17)

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How then could entrance into the Kingdom of God occur by simply believing a teaching, or being baptized as an infant, or following an earthly leader as if he were the end of all a person needed to satisfy God? Such beliefs are utterly ridiculous. God must accomplish the rebirth of a new heart and the enactment of a New Covenant for people to transform from an unbreakable sinner into a God-serving saint. In Matthew 7:15, Jesus warns us, "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves." These are men who pretend to be prophets of God, and many follow them, but they are deceived about them and also about the Gospel. Only the person who can accurately discern good from bad fruit can discern such men as false. Therefore, Jesus went on to say in verse sixteen. “You will know them by their fruits." 

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It is people being unaware of false prophets that will bring in the New Kingdom of Israel and begin the long awaited millenial Kingdom of David's Son, Jesus Christ, upon the throne of Israel. Therefore, we read in ​​​ 25For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, (Old Testament Prophecy) “THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.” 27“THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.” 28From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; 29for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, 31so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. 32For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all."

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When the Paul says, "...that He may show mercy to all." he does not mean everyone who ever lived, or all the people at the time of the millenial Kingdom of Christ, but all He has chosen by His sovereign grace. 

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It is for these very reasons that Paul closes this section in Romans 9-11 by sayig. 33 "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? 35 Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? 36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

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There is no greater truth that the one that points to God as at the center and the source of all things good, holy, and just. 

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