Many in the world are blessed because God has revealed Christ to them and they were able to yield their will to the grace of God, and with much joy, make a confession of faith in Jesus Christ. Yet, like Peter, they are BLESSED, but not yet converted. True conversion takes place when the believer is brought into COVENANT with God so that their faith can be JOINED to God through the terms that God set through our Lord, Jesus Christ. 

  ►When Jesus was speaking to Peter, He had not yet died for the sins of the world, had not yet shed His blood for the New and Living Covenant, He also had not yet risen from the dead, and the Spirit was not yet given.

 ►Peter could not be converted until the Spirit from on high came down to seal the righteousness of His faith (Rom.4:11). 

When believers are brought into covenant with God through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and are instructed in the faith by living apostles,they are able to confirm Christ according to the design of God’s plan.  They not only confess Jesus as Lord, but are prepared to serve Him according to the terms that God set through the blood of Jesus.    

Because Peter was not yet converted, his faith lacked DIRECTION. He was willing to confess Christ one minute and the next, without knowing it he fell into error.  

Mt.16:21-23, “From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.” 

22  “Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.” 

23  “But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, SATAN: YOU ARE AN OFFENCE UNTO ME: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.”   

 He also did not know that Satan entered into his aspirations to take the message of Christ in another direction.

 When Peter felt the inspiration of God (grace) upon Him to confess Christ, he rejoiced in that inspiration. When he felt the inspiration of his own aspiration (which Satan entered into) he also rejoiced in THAT inspiration and yielded his will to that too, ignorantly thinking Satan’s inspiration was the grace of God. 

 Jesus was identifying the spirit which was inspiring Peter.  Peter felt the inspiration of that spirit and thought it is was the same inspiration of grace that came from the Father.   Peter was not yet joined to God in covenant,

 not yet instructed in the covenant, and did not know the plan of God, so he could not identify an inspiration that would take him outside of that plan.  

We are reminded again why FAITH IS IN CRISIS today.

When faith is in crisis it is because there is an ABSENCE of form and direction for faith through the covenant, and each believer is following the inspiration of ANOTHER spirit which is not the grace of God.

The inspiration is real, but it is NOT from God, and is an offense to Him. Here we see how believers are unknowingly leaning to Satan’s counsel. Just like Peter, they are very enthusiastic and think they are defending Jesus, but in reality, they are a mouthpiece for Satan. Just because Peter was ignorant of this, it did not justify him. Just because believers are ignorant of this, it does not justify them either. 

I’d like to share a letter that came in to Second 8^th Week University.
This believer, like all believers, admits openly to making ‘mistakes’ in doctrine, but feels that these ‘mistakes’ are NOT ERROR. This is why faith is in crisis. 

 Dr. vonAnderseck's response:

I understand the sincerity of the individual, but cannot justify her indifference to God. This believer is describing faith that is BOUND by the Tares, faith that is not set free in the liberty of Christ.  It’s easy to see that while this person is a believer in Christ, she is not yet converted. 

Growth and maturity only take place inside the covenant where Jesus mediates the terms of the covenant, not outside.  

Growth does not take place by  trading one doctrine for another. The apostle Peter was speaking of the effect of regeneration with truth when he spoke of ‘growing in the knowledge of the Lord’ (II Pet.3:18).  

 ►  Growth does not take place with error. 

 ►  Growth does not center on passing through many realizations
till we come to the truth.  

When believers say that they come to 'REALIZATIONS' that what they are preaching and teaching is not supported by scripture, where does the REALIZATION come from?  The realization comes from aspiration, which seducing spirits enter into, and not the grace of God. God does not bring us into independent realizations about His plan.  God gives the doctrine of Christ through apostles.   

These realizations come from a seducing spirit which is merely inspiring the mind to again see Christ from Satan’s perspective (just as we saw Satan inspire Peter to see the plan of God from Satan’s perspective).  

When you try see God’s plan from Satan’s perspective, you have nullified the plan of God for your life.

Jesus and His truth remains the same, you just don’t benefit from it.

Faith is in crisis when the plan of God is nullified in your life and
you don’t receive the benefits of the purchased redemption.  

These realizations again acknowledge the failed religious system where the Headship of Christ does not rule. Error in doctrine is inevitable in this system as believers are conditioned to trade one error for another as time passes and opinions change. The realizations do not excuse or justify the error. It merely shows why the faith of the believer is crippled and what spirit is influencing them.  

When believers teach something that they thought was the doctrine of Christ, and then realized it was not, this means that they have transgressed  the doctrine of Christ. 

2 Jn.9, “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.” 

Believers cannot change the scripture to SUIT the desire to remain autonomous in doctrine and say that if they transgress the doctrine of Christ they are not in error. The apostle John said, “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God.”  

When believers say, “Over the years we have said something or taught something we thought was scripture but realized it was not. That doesn't mean we are in error,” this is like saying, “I don’t have the truth, so I can’t be in error,” or, “I don’t stand for anything, so how can I be wrong in anything?” 

 “But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, SATAN: YOU ARE AN OFFENCE UNTO ME: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.”  

Yes, Jesus did identify Peter’s ‘mistake’ as error, the kind of error that was an offence to Him. The many, many hybrid doctrines are the means by which believers are attempting to identify the plan of God for redemption and identify their responsibility to walk with God according to that plan. We personally OFFEND Jesus when we preach the gospel in discord to the plan of God.  Make NO mistake, it is called ERROR, and the believer who embraces error 'has not God' because the doctrine bears witness to another Jesus, and comes by the inspiration of another spirit. 

2 Cor.11:3,4, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.”  The hybrid doctrines don’t allow you to grow and mature, they rob you of faith and corrupt your mind from the simplicity of Christ.  

The Church has become driven. Like the multitude which followed Moses for their deliverance from bondage, yet we see that they perished in the wilderness because of their aspirations and indifference to the spiritual government God had set through Moses.

 These unconverted believers of today also fall after the same example of unbelief (Heb.4:1-3). 

As the Jews looked back to Egypt for the melons and the leeks, so do these unconverted believers today seek Christ to confirm their personal needs and comforts.  As the Jews only accepted Moses for the advantage of a promise, but refused the terms of the covenant, so believers today follow the same error. These worshipped Satan by drawing upon his inspirations, being full of envy, anger, malice, suspicions, bitterness, and false knowledge.  

Satan will give witness to Adam's frame, but Jesus gave witness to God.  Satan said to Jesus, “If you will fall down and worship me, I will bring all witness to you,” meaning,  "The glory of darkness which is vain and corrupt, I will give to you."  So also, the gospel of the Tares reflects upon such things to inspire the imagination, and allows faith a flexibility to change as the imagination changes.  

These messages, although void of the righteousness of Christ, can set a challenge for the soul. The gross error is in not JOINING the faith of the people to God through covenant, and not ordering the knowledge of Christ so that Jesus will mediate the covenant. The unconverted believer thus remains unclean. 

SUMMARY AND WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT: 

God did not bring the Body into condemnation, Satan did. Unconverted believers continue to speak from that position of condemnation, and from the inspiration of many doctrinal positions.

As Satan inspired Peter to take the plan of God in another direction, so Satan continues to inspire believers to take the plan of God in another direction. Peter was blind to that inspiration because his own aspirations about Christ blinded him. Because Peter came into covenant with God and learned how to serve Him with perfect faith, Satan could no longer blind him. 

God is now giving hope to Christians, bringing believers back to the knowledge of the covenant. Jesus said, “Tell them I am come to bring life. I am come to bring them out of darkness.” Jesus said to Peter that the gates of hell would not prevail against His Church. (Mt 16:18). Darkness cannot overcome the light. 

When each believer is converted, and their faith is brought into covenant with God, they will each be able to strengthen their brethren. 

I encourage you to view the lesson, which restores to the Body the true steps of conversion that brings a believer into covenant with God:

http://www.researchoncults.org/RestorationOfTrueStepsOfConversion.htm

 Second 8^th Week Ministries is here to help you learn what to do to come into covenant with God so that you may be converted.