No.234 english

ULDAH MINISTRY
LETTER TO THE
BROTHERS AND
SISTERS IN CHRIST
【AM I TRYING TO WIN THE
APPROVAL OF MAN, OR GOD?】
Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas
to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was
early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness
they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to
be able to eat the Passover. 29 So Pilate came out to
them and asked, ‘What charges are you bringing
against this man?’ 30 ‘If he were not a criminal,’ they
replied, ‘we would not have handed him over to you.’
31 Pilate said, ‘Take him yourselves and judge him by
your own law.’ ‘But we have no right to execute
anyone,’ they objected. 32 This took place to fulfil what
Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to
die.
33 Pilate then went back inside the palace,
summoned Jesus and asked him, ‘Are you the king of
the Jews?’ 34 ‘Is that your own idea,’ Jesus asked, ‘or
did others talk to you about me?’ 35 ‘Am I a Jew?’
Pilate replied. ‘Your own people and chief priests
handed you over to me. What is it you have done?’
36 Jesus said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If it
were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by
the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from
another place.’ 37 ‘You are a king, then!’ said Pilate.
Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. In fact, the
reason I was born and came into the world is to testify
to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to
me.’ 38 ‘What is truth?’ retorted Pilate. With this he
went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, ‘I
find no basis for a charge against him. 39 But it is your
custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the
time of the Passover. Do you want me to release “the
king of the Jews”?’ 40 They shouted back, ‘No, not
him! Give us Barabbas!’ Now Barabbas had taken
part in an uprising. JOHN 18:28-40.
平成２７年４月月報
フルダ・ミニストリー
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APRIL 2015
NO 234
Eternal Fellowship
News Bulletin
We believe in one GOD, in three
persons; FATHER, SON and
HOLY SPIRIT. We regard the
Bible (both Hebrew Bible and
New Testament) as the only
infallible authoritative
WORD OF GOD.
HULDAH MINISTRY aims to return
to the Word Of God, founded on
Hebrew background and to interpret
it from Hebraic perspective,
acknowledging that Jesus is a Jew
and the Jewish-ness of His teaching
as a continuation from the Hebrew
Bible. The Ministry also aims to put
His teaching into practice, to have a
closer relationship with the Lord,
Jesus Christ, and to regularly have
a Christian fellowship so that this-
worldly kingdom of God will
materialise in the midst of the
followers of Jesus here and now, as
well as earnestly seeking Christ's
Return to establish the otherworldly
Kingdom of God on earth.
All activities are free of charge and no obligation
whatever. Just enjoy our fellowship!
huldahministry.blogspot.jp
huldahministry.com
information@huldahministry.com

2
1Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged… 5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown
of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, ‘Here is the man!’ 6 As soon as the chief
priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, ‘Crucify! Crucify!’ But Pilate answered, ‘You
take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.’…12 From then
on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, ‘If you let this man go,
you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.’ 13 When Pilate
heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the
Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14 It was the day of Preparation of the
Passover; it was about noon. ‘Here is your king,’ Pilate said to the Jews. 15 But they shouted,
‘Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!’ ‘Shall I crucify your king?’ Pilate asked. ‘We
have no king but Caesar,’ the chief priests answered. 16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them
to be crucified. JOHN 19:1-16.
We are now approaching the most precious season of the year for the Christian faith and it
would be right for us to focus on the very essence of the gospel; that Christ died for our sins, He
was buried and He was raised from the dead. The passages quoted above show how illegally
Christ’s trial started among the Jewish leaders to carry out predetermined sentence during the
night and then how deliberately and intentionally Christ was sent to Pontius Pilate, the Procurator
of Judea, who had ruled Judea and had the right of adjudicating capital sentence in the days of
Jesus Christ. Knowing the fact that the Jews had delivered Christ to him for envy, Pilate
attempted six times to release Him as seen in the passages quoted above.
First, he said to the Jewish people: ‘Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law’,
and secondly he declared His innocence in v.38. Directly hearing Christ’s good confession in
response to his inquires, Pilate must have recognised His true authority and messianic credentials.
Apostle Paul mentioned this Christ’s ‘good confession’ in his First Epistle to Timothy when he
encouraged His followers to fight the good fight of the faith with their ‘good confession in the
presence of many witnesses’ (6:12-13). At this point Pilate should have released Christ according
to his own convictions. Instead, he sent Christ to Herod, the tetrarch of Galilee who then abused
Jesus, which was illegal according to Roman law. Thirdly he offered to grant amnesty to Christ
but the Jews wanted Barabbas, a robber to be released instead. Thus, Barabbas who had been
rightfully placed under the righteous condemnation of the law was freed from his own cross. He
did not do anything to merit going free, while Christ, the utterly innocent took his place.
Fourthly, Pilate attempted to satisfy the Jews by severely punishing Christ with a flogging but
with a view to releasing Him afterwards. Flogging without cause before sentencing was actually
an illegal act. Moreover, the Roman soldiers’ limitless flogging was so severe that Jesus was
subsequently too weak and He could not carry His cross-beam up to the place of the crucifixion.
Fifthly, Pilate attempted to win the Jews’ sympathy once again by demonstrating how harshly
their own king had been mocked and humiliated before their eyes and proclaimed Him innocent.
Nevertheless the Jews just cried out to crucify Him.
Lastly, in v.14, Pilate again emphatically reminded the Jews of the fact that the One who was
about to be sentenced to death was their king. Before finally proclaiming Christ’s capital sentence,
Pilate had been given three warnings by Christ’s own testimony, his wife’s dream and through the
real, self-seeking motive of the Sanhedrin: ‘We have a law, and according to that law he must
die, because he claimed to be the Son of God’ (19:7, Line added), and he sought every means to
release Him. Nevertheless, in the end Pilate handed Him over to them to be crucified. This
account tells us of the fact that in the end Pilate had to choose either Christ or the world, i.e., fear
of God or fear of man, although the Scripture is clear: ‘Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but
whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe’ (Pro.29:25). Today, we also face Pilate’s choices as the
following articles show.
Apostle Paul mentioned ‘another gospel’ brought about by the Judaizers in Galatians 1:6-12
‘I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of

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Christ and are turning to a different gospel – which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some
people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even
if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you,
let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: if anybody is
preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! Am I
now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If
I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. I want you to know,
brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. I did not receive it
from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ’. Today
there are a number of Bible translations on the market, some of which could not even be
classified as a paraphrase. On such a list is a “Gay-Friendly” Bible, on which Dr. Steve Elwart
comments in the following way:
Another affront to the inerrancy of the Bible is the Queen James Version (QJV) of the Bible, a
homosexual-friendly work. The editors have the tagline, “You can’t choose your sexuality, but you can
choose Jesus. Now you can choose a Bible, too!” In their words, the editors chose that name because, “The
obvious gay link to King James, known amongst friends and courtiers as “Queen James” because of his
many gay lovers.” Their rationale for this translation is: The Bible is the word of God translated by man. This
(saying nothing of countless translations and the evolution of language itself) means the Bible can be
interpreted in different ways, leading to what we call “interpretive ambiguity.” In editing The Queen James
Bible we were faced with the decision to modify existing interpretively ambiguous language, or simply to
delete it. Some examples of the changes made to the Bible
Genesis 19:5: They called out to Lot and asked, “Where are the men who came to visit you tonight? Bring
them out to us so we can have sex with them!” (ISV) Has been changed to: And they called unto Lot, and
said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may
rape and humiliate them. (QJV) … They state: We side with most Bible scholars who understand the story
of Sodom and Gomorra to be about bullying strangers. Strangers were not well-treated or well-regarded at
the time of Bible…They also single out the Book of Leviticus for the largest changes because it is an
“outdated moral code”. Two passages in Leviticus are highlighted on their website: You are not to have
sexual relations[a] with a male as you would with a woman. It’s detestable.” — Leviticus 18:22 (ISV)
This was changed to: Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind in the temple of Molech: it is an
abomination. (QJV) Leviticus 20:13 was changed from: If a man has sexual relations with another male as
he would with a woman, both have committed a repulsive act. They are certainly to be put to death. (ISV)
To: If a man also lie with mankind in the temple of Molech, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have
committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. (QJV)
This verse, pointing to idolatry (the temple of Molech) as the sin rather than homosexuality.
(For a complete rendering of the rationale for this translation, go to the Queen James Bible website.)’
Thus, the Bible has tended to be translated with these types of variations in it as shown above,
to suit each individual’s tastes. If the Scripture itself turns to be inaccurately translated or altered,
it would only increase a danger of apostasy. The following article entitled ‘Megachurch Pastor
“Prayerfully” Allows Practicing Homosexuals Into Leadership’, which was issued on 16th
Feb. ’15 might inform a herald of an increasingly secular and ungodly coming age.
Is the Bible Belt coming unbuckled? Stan Mitchell, pastor of the GracePoint megachurch in Franklin
Tennessee, has apparently taken his Bible belt off altogether. Mitchell told his congregation—a congregation
that includes superstar singer-songwriter Carrie Underwood—that practicing homosexuals can be card-
carrying members of his Bible-believing protestant church and can even hold their gay weddings in the
sanctuary. “Our position that these siblings of ours, other than heterosexual,… cannot have the full
privileges of membership, but only partial membership, has changed,” Mitchell told the church. “Full
privileges are extended now to you with the same expectations of faithfulness, sobriety, holiness, wholeness,
fidelity, godliness, skill and willingness. That is expected of all. Full membership means being able to serve
in leadership and give all of your gifts and to receive all the sacraments; not only communion and baptism,

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but child dedication and marriage.”
Removing the Belt of Truth
Wait, what? Mitchell seems to completely misunderstand—or at least misinterpret—the Bible. Practicing
homosexuals may indeed be faithful tithers and attenders, but one cannot reconcile homosexual lifestyles
with holiness and godliness. As kind, generous and loving as some practicing gays may be, sexual sin
defiles homosexuals the same as it does heterosexuals. With his announcement, Mitchell has removed his
belt of truth (see Eph. 6:14), ignoring altogether Leviticus 18:22, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, 1 Timothy 1:10 and
other verses of Scripture in coming to his decision. He set down a key piece of spiritual armour in a culture
war that is seeing antichrist spirits watering down the Word of God. The question here is this: How did
Mitchell fall into this deception? What caused him to accept this strong delusion that counters the holy
Scriptures? Mitchell is certainly not the first preacher—or denomination for that matter—to reject the Word
of God on this topic. What happened?
A Divine Wind?
According to Mitchell’s own testimony, the Spirit of God moved on his heart several years ago, causing him
to reconsider his stance on full inclusion for practicing homosexuals at his megachurch. He calls it a divine
wind, but God does not speak with a forked tongue. “We were thrust, I believe, by a divine wind, into a
prayerful, painful, invigorating, careful and hopeful conversation regarding sexual orientation and gender
identity,” he said. “My soul has been stretched to the point that if I do not say what I say today, I cannot be
here any longer. I have felt this way for many, many years.” Clearly, Mitchell is in angst over this move,
which I believe is the Spirit of God bringing conviction to his heart over his present unbiblical conclusion.
Indeed, if the Spirit of God—or a “divine wind” as he called it—moved over his soul at all it was not to give
practicing homosexuals church leadership positions or hold gay marriage ceremonies in his sanctuary. If the
Spirit of God moved over him it was to pray against the deception he has now embraced.
Fear of Man Brings a Snare
So what happened? I don’t have all the answers but I believe it comes down to cowardice and compromise
in the end. If we are willing to compromise God’s Word in any area, we open ourselves up to all manner of
deception. Mitchell may be dealing with the fear of man, since he’s lost so many members while he wrestled
with his revelation. The Bible says the fear of man brings a snare (see Prov. 29:25). He has certainly been
snared. Owen Strachan, assistant professor of Christian theology and Church history at Boyce College in
Louisville, Kentucky, put it this way: “If you fear man, God will become small to you. The approval of fellow
sinners will matter more to you than obeying God by the witness of his Word.” I agree with Strachan, who
also points out that many professing evangelicals today have no appetite to honor the Lord. He rightly notes
that these professing evangelicals recognize that the winds of culture are against them…
There Is Still Hope
The only saving grace here is that Mitchell remains double-minded about his decision, which means there is
still hope for him to come to repentance. “I am not sure I am right, but I am sure I sense the presence of
God, and I know I’m doing my best,” he said. “And I believe before God Almighty to this we have been
called, and here we stand.” I pray he turns from this skewed theology and repents publicly, which could give
other pastors the courage to do the same. I also pray that professing evangelicals—whether they are in the
pulpit or the pews—will stand and withstand the winds of culture that are raging against us. The days are
growing darker. The Great Falling Away is underway. And the next great move of God is emerging even now.
I want to stand on the right side of eternity on these issues. What about you?
(http://barbwire.com/2015/02/16/0655-megachurch-pastor-prayerfully-allows-practicing-homosexuals-leadership/)
NEWS-NEWS-NEWS-NEWS-NEWS-NEWS-NEWS-NEWS-NEWS-NEWS-NEWS-NEWS
This month, a money gift of￡**** has been sent to Mary Jane in the Philippines to support her
outreach to Danny’s tribal people in Sap-al, where no missionaries have ever reached. She and her
team are participating in a traditional tribal farewell to Danny as a public event for the whole
community of a population of 240 people, which is planned to be held for a week, and for two days of
which she is planning to lead almost a nearly hundred children of the community to the Lord.
Pray for God’s blessing upon her plans for the outreach to Danny’s tribe, “Mabaka” as the first
Christian mission over the area being a success.

No.234 english

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