Trees of Eden

Fred Allen

Description

Christians are making all kinds of choices about good and evil without even considering what Jesus said and did. These decisions are resulting in divisions among Christian brothers and sisters, and even destruction of spiritual lives.

Sujets

• Bibles
• Philosophie et théologie
• Bible

Informations

• Publié par: First Edition Design Publishing
• Date de parution: 26 août 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781622873579
• Langue: English

Extrait

Trees of Eden
Fred Allen


First Edition Design Publishing
Trees of Eden

A Bible Study by Pastor Fred Allen



FATHER’S PRESS
Copyright Information

It is necessary to copyright this material because of the depravity of mankind. I do not wish to hinder the use of this book to assist in teaching others God’s Word, and give permission to others to use this material exclusively for this purpose. And never for the purpose of profit making.

Copyright laws prohibit others from changing or altering this material, and it prevents others from claiming or misusing the authorship. Therefore, all rights are reserved under copyright laws. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without permission in writing from the Publisher, except for brief quotations in reviews or critical articles and essays.
Trees of Eden
Copyright ©2013 Fred Allen
ISBN 978-1622873-58-6 PRINT
ISBN 978-1622-873-57-9 EBOOK

LCCN 2013943850

July 2013

Distributed by
First Edition Design Publishing, Inc.
P.O. Box 20217, Sarasota, FL 34276-3217
www.firsteditiondesignpublishing.com


ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means ─ electronic, mechanical, photo-copy, recording, or any other ─ except brief quotation in reviews, without the prior permission of the author or publisher.


Published by Father Press

www.fatherspress.com
Dedication

Dedicated to all those who come behind me with a thirst and hunger to learn God’s Word and apply it to their lives.
Acknowledgments

My most humble and sincere thanks to:

My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave me His infallible Word to study, learn and instruct others. Also, for giving me the ability to discern His Word and the power to put into writing the things contained in this book.

Linda, my wife of forty-six years, for her love and patience with my writing process, as well as her preliminary editing of this book.

Kandi Lorenz, my administrative assistant, who spent many hours editing and proofreading this book, and taking care of church business in my absence. Her faithful service to me for the last twenty-two years has been of immeasurable value, especially in helping with my writings.

Ken Kerr, one of my assistant pastors, who encouraged me to write this book. When talking with him about the impact of the Trees of Eden upon mankind, he strongly encouraged me to record this in a book.

Members of the Lee's Summit Baptist Temple, who have encouraged and assisted my ministry and my writing. These church members have carried many levels of church ministries during my absences, and provided the funding needed for me to get away to write.

Many pastors, especially in Mexico, who listened to me teach on this subject and challenged me to write this book. They communicated to me that they finally understood why people do the things they do and why so many churches are broken and split.

Mike Smitley, my publisher, who encouraged me to write and publish this book so many people will have some understanding of what is happening in our country, as well as our churches.
Table of Contents

Dedication
Acknowledgments
Preface
Choosing Which Tree To Nourish Life
Chapter One
Knowledge
Chapter Two
Recognizing Good
Chapter Three
Recognizing Evil
Chapter Four
God's Tree Of Life
Chapter Five
Eating From The Tree Of Life
Chapter Six
Living In Jesus Christ's Tree Of Life
Chapter Seven
Those Who Live In Christ
Carry Out His Actions
Epilogue
The Trees of Eden
The Tree Of Life and
The Tree Of The Knowledge Of Good And Evil
Preface

In the book of Genesis God's creation is described. In the Garden of Eden He created two special trees: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God removed Adam and Eve from the Garden because they ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The repercussion of being separated from God was they assumed the responsibility of deciding what is good and evil. They did not eat of the Tree of Life, by which God decides what is good and evil. Throughout history the earthly nature of Adam and Eve has been passed down to all mankind. From their choice, mankind has been delegated to individually deciding what is good and evil based on different thoughts or opinions instead of what God stated.
Most people do not even understand what God means when He says something is good or evil. When God uses the word good it means complete or sufficiently perfect in its kind; having the qualities best adapted to its design and use. When God says someone does evil or something is evil, He is saying it is injurious, or something which produces pain, distress, loss, or tribulation. Good is not the same as righteousness and evil is not the same as sin.
People use many words without understanding what they actually mean. Negative words such as: bad - "a word used in general applications to denote physical defects or moral faults"; wrong - "something that is not fit or suitable"; improper - "not becoming or not suited to the character, time, or place"; evil – “a restrictive word which means to injure, harm, or cause misery”. Bad, wrong, and improper can always be evil, but evil cannot be all the others.
Along with negative words there are also positive words used, which are not completely interchangeable with the word good. Words like: right - "straight and used to indicate true, correct, suitable, proper, or lawful." When God uses the word good it means "to be in accord with His standard of truth, justice, or His will." The word okay means "agreement to or approval of what someone said or did." Good, like evil, is a more restrictive word and is used to indicate that which increases happiness or prosperity.
God never intended for mankind to determine what is good and what is evil, separate or absent from God. However, because mankind continues to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, each person reserves the right to individually choose what is good and evil.
Because of this many Christians, as well as churches, have become worldly without even realizing it. If these Christians and churches were accused of being worldly, most would immediately be offended and even reject the one who made the accusation. Many Christians choose to determine what is good and evil in their own mind instead of teaching and pointing people to Jesus Christ. Mankind's knowledge of what is good and what is evil comes from numerous worldly sources, which program their minds, hearts, and conscience. Many times you will hear people use terms like "he is a good man" when by God's standards, the person's life is a moral disaster. There are some who proclaim
that it is evil when a Christian condemns the very things that God has condemned.
Christians and churches that devote their ministries to helping people choose between good and evil, instead of being Christ-like, are following the way of the world. When Jesus Christ came into the world, He brought a new way to mankind, in which being like Christ is the objective instead of judging what is good and what is evil.
Christians consistently decide what is good and evil based on their own knowledge and conscience instead of looking at or pointing people to Jesus Christ. Much of the time judgments follow their knowledge, and they condemn anyone and everyone they deem to be evil. When this happens, the life and actions of the Lord Jesus Christ are no longer the standard by which Christians live their lives.
Christians are making all kinds of choices about good and evil without even considering what Jesus said and did. These decisions are resulting in divisions among Christian brothers and sisters, and even destruction of spiritual lives. There are many who spend their time trying to find something or someone they can condemn and deem as evil. They often use terms like "I believe", "I think," "I feel", "I know" something or someone is wrong. These decisions are made from their own choices of good and evil instead of what Jesus said and did. Christians should think like Christ, use God's Word as the basis of judgment, and pray for godly wisdom and discernment in all situations.
Parents start teaching their children from birth to do good and avoid evil based on their own knowledge. The word bad, which means "doing evil instead of good", has become the proclamation that parents use to inform their children of the judgment they placed upon the actions of their children. Terms like "bad boy" or "don't be bad" have become a part of many parents' disciplinary actions towards their child. The word wrong, which means "to injure by not doing right" has also become a word often used in correcting a child. The word wrong is often used to show condemnation instead of showing something that is incorrect. The words bad and wrong are based on the knowledge of the parents, and have become judicious according to what the parents chose as good and evil. Christian parents should reference God or Jesus when teaching standards of right or wrong actions.
Many churches spend all their teaching and preaching time extolling their members to do good and forsake evil. This teaching is necessary for those who are lost because they do not have, nor can they live, the life of Jesus Christ. However, once people are saved they should be taught more - they should be taught to be Christians (little Christ) and how to live like Christ. When churches focus their teaching and preaching on good and evil to their saved members, they are unknowingly supporting the world system with its temporal life, and leading their members to live worldly. This results in church members condemning each other, especially leaders. Th