Question: Are humans fundamentally sinful? If so, what is your thought?

Brother Michel Lankford Yes, Scripture CLEARLY teaches that human beings are fundamentally wicked and evil at our core. That is WHY we NEED a Savior to transform us from evil to Good. This has been the case ever since humanity chose to obey the devil instead of obeying God in (Genesis chapter 3). You see before then, humanity WAS good, (Genesis 1:31). YHWH Almighty God gave humanity the authority to rule the Earth, to exercise dominion over it. and subdue or control it, (Genesis 1:28). When humanity obeyed the devil instead of obeying God, (Genesis 2:4–17; Genesis 3:1–7), WE humanity Read more…

Question: Should I consistently pray to God for a particular problem or pray once and believe it has been done?

By Brother Michel Lankford I know that that is a popular idea in the word of faith movement….The word of faith movement teaches that a person should pray only once and be done. From THEIR perspective it is supposedly a lack of faith to continue praying for the same thing. The problem with the word of faith approach is that this is NOT biblical at all. Scripture overtly teaches the OPPOSITE concept. From the biblical point of view, according to the teachings of Messiah, we are to pray and continue praying and not give up until we receive our petition. Read more…

Question: At what Point Does Something become a Sin?

By Brother Michel Lankford This is a question that comes across my desk A LOT, in one form or another. People seemed quite confused over the idea of what is sin and what is not sin. Truthfully, I blame a lot of watered down preaching and teaching for this confusion. People are simply not taught how to study the Bible for themselves, and they really are becoming overly dependent on the paid professional in the pulpit to tell them everything they need to know. They really do assume that if the preacher up front isn’t talking about it, then it Read more…

Question: Where is the justice in punishing us for Adam’s Sin?

By Brother Michel Lankford We’re not in fact being punished for Adam and Eve’s sin. The difference is between the concept of active punishment and that of natural consequences. That is in large part a misconception or a misunderstanding. Consider this. there is a HUGE difference between the concept of natural consequences or results, and God actively punishing someone. Try not to mix up those two critical yet distinct concepts. It’s very tempting to blame God when we receive results in our lives that we don’t like. Yet, God has decreed that every plant will bear seed and fruits after Read more…

God’s Kingdom is NOT a Total Welfare State

Brother Michel Lankford Learning that NOT ALL Things are Free One of the biggest LIES of the free Grace/Ultra Grace (FG/AG) Movements is the false concept that absolutely EVERY blessing and EVERY benefit in the Eternal Kingdom is allegedly a FREE gift of Grace. According to FG/AG teachers, the Kingdom of God is a gigantic welfare state where everything is free, and no one pays for anything beyond what Jesus did at the cross. The problem with that theology is that it’s complete hogwash. More importantly, such theology calls Jesus Himself a liar. Think about it. IF EVERYTHING in God’s Read more…

Obey YHWH Rather then Human Beings

By Brother Michel Lankford “But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. Acts 5:29 Now this is a significant ruling. It describes the determining factor in our decisions. Who makes the rules? If there is a conflict, what is the deciding factor to resolve the conflict? The biggest problem in the first century was that there was a huge disparity of opinion when it came to answering that question. The Pharisees, the scribes, Jewish tradition since the Babylonian exile, and the ruling Jewish elders passionately believed and taught that THEY and THEY ALONE were the Read more…

Brother, Can You Paradigm?- Part 1

Brother Michel Lankford Our paradigms are powerful things. They greatly influence how we read, how we understand, how we interpret, and how we apply Scripture. What is a Paradigm? A functioning framework containing the foundational and most basic assumptions, ways of thinking, methodologies, or procedures, that are most commonly accepted by members of a particular scientific community or field of study. OR: A Philosophy or belief system that a person or a community regards to be so completely true and certain that it becomes the foundation, pillar, or standard by which many other beliefs, philosophies, and behaviors are measured and Read more…