• Faithful

    by Published on 09-05-2018 05:07 PM     Number of Views: 2039 
    1. Categories:
    2. Spiritual Christian Life,
    3. Consecration and Breaking

    We Are His Instrumentality

    In diagnosing a case, a medical doctor has recourse to many medical instruments. This is not so with us. We have no thermometer nor x-ray, nor any other such device to help us discern man’s spiritual condition. How, then, do we discern whether a brother is spiritually ill or determine the nature of his trouble? It is wonderful that God has designed us to be as “thermometers” for measuring. By His working in our lives, He would equip us to discern what “ails” a person. As the Lord’s spiritual “doctors” we must have a thorough inward preparation. We must be deeply conscious of the weight of our responsibility.

    Suppose the thermometer had never been invented. The doctor would have to determine whether his patient had a fever by the mere touch of his hand. His hand would serve as the thermometer. How sensitive and accurate his hand would need to be! In spiritual work, this is exactly the case.

    We are the thermometers, the instrumentalities. We must undergo thorough training and strict discipline, for whatever is untouched in us will be left untouched in others. Moreover, we cannot help others to learn lessons which we ourselves have not learned before God. The more thorough our training, the greater will be our usefulness in God’s work. Likewise, the more we spare ourselves—our pride, our narrowness, our happiness—the less our usefulness. If we have covered these things in ourselves, we cannot uncover them in others. A proud person cannot deal with another with the same condition; a hypocrite cannot touch the hypocrisy in another; nor can one who is loose in his life have a helpful effect on one who suffers the same difficulty. How well we know that if such is still in our nature we will not be able to condemn such particular sin in others; we in fact can hardly recognize it in others. A doctor may cure others without curing himself, but this can hardly be true in the spiritual realm. The worker is himself first a patient; he must be healed before he can heal others. What he has not seen he cannot show others. Where he has not trodden he cannot lead others. What he has not learned he cannot teach others.

    We must see that we are the instruments prepared by God for knowing man. Hence we must be dependable, qualified to give an accurate diagnosis. So that my feelings may be reliable, I need to pray, “O Lord, do not let me go untouched, unbroken and unprepared.” I must allow God to work in me what I have never dreamed of, so that I may become a prepared vessel whom He can use. A doctor would not use a defective thermometer. How much more serious it is for us to touch spiritual conditions than physical illnesses while still retaining our own thoughts, emotions, opinions and ways. If we still want to do this, and then suddenly want to do that, we are yet unstable. How can we be used when we are so undependable? We must pass through God’s dealings or our efforts are vain. . . .

    For the outward man to be broken, a full consecration is imperative. Yet we must understand that this crisis act alone will not solve our whole problem in service. Consecration is merely an expression of our willingness to be in the hands of God, and it can take place in just a few minutes. Do not think God can finish His dealings with us in this short time. Though we are willing to offer ourselves completely to God, we are just starting on the spiritual road. It is like entering the gate. After consecration, there must be the discipline of the Holy Spirit—this is the pathway. It takes consecration plus the discipline of the Holy Spirit to make us vessels fit for the Master’s use. Without consecration, the Holy Spirit encounters difficulty in disciplining us. Yet consecration cannot serve as a substitute for His discipline.

    Here then is a vital distinction: our consecration can only be according to the measure of our spiritual insight and understanding, but the Holy Spirit disciplines according to His own light. We really do not know how much our consecration involves. Our light is so limited that when it seems to us to be at its greatest, in God’s view it is like pitch blackness. God’s requirement so far exceeds what we can possibly consecrate—that is, in our limited light. The discipline of the Holy Spirit, on the other hand, is meted out to us according to our need as seen in God’s own light. He knows our special need, and so by His Spirit He orders our circumstances in such a way as to bring about the breaking of the outward man. Notice how far the discipline of the Holy Spirit transcends our consecration.

    Since the Holy Spirit works according to the light of God, His discipline is thorough and complete. We often wonder at the things which befall us, yet if left to ourselves we may be mistaken in our very best choice. The discipline He orders transcends our understanding. How often we are caught unprepared and conclude that surely such a drastic thing is not our need. Many times His discipline descends upon us suddenly without our having prior notice! We may insist we are living in “the light” but the Holy Spirit is dealing with us according to God’s light. From the time we received Him, He has been ordering our circumstances for our profit according to His knowledge of us.

    The working of the Holy Spirit in our lives has its positive as well as its negative side—that is to say, there is both a constructive and a destructive phase. After we are born again the Holy Spirit dwells in us, but our outward man so often deprives Him of His freedom. It is like trying to walk in a pair of ill-fitting new shoes. Because our outward and inward man are at variance with each other, God must employ whatever means He thinks effective in breaking down any stronghold over which our inward man has no control.

    It is not by the supply of grace to the inward man that the Holy Spirit breaks the outward. Of course, God wants the inward man to be strong, but His method is to utilize external means to decrease our outward man. It would be well nigh impossible for the inward man to accomplish this, since these two are so different in nature that they can scarcely inflict any wound on each other. The nature of the outward man and that of external things are similar; and thus the former can be easily affected by the latter. External things can strike the outward man most painfully. So it is that God uses external things in dealing with our outward man.
    by Published on 04-01-2018 10:30 PM     Number of Views: 2073 
    1. Categories:
    2. Spiritual Warfare

    Passivity Overturned

    After determining what one’s normalcy is, the Christian’s next important step is to battle for recovery. We should not forget, however, that the adversary will try his best to retain the ground he has won exactly as earthly rulers jealously guard their territories. We cannot expect the powers of darkness to surrender their citadels without a struggle. Quite the reverse, they will fight to the very end.

    Let us realize that, while it is most easy to cede any ground, it requires an enormous effort to recover it. Yet we should pay particular attention to this observation: that just as each nation has laws and their legal judgments must be absolutely obeyed, so in God’s universe there are spiritual laws whose legal judgments are so authoritative that even the devils cannot disobey. If we learn these spiritual laws and act on them the evil spirits will be forced to return what they have taken.

    The most basic and consequential law of the spirit realm is that nothing pertaining to man can be accomplished without the consent of his will. It is through ignorance that a child of God accepted the deceit of the evil spirits and permitted them to work in his life. Now he must recover the relinquished territory; and to do so he must exercise his will to overturn his earlier consent by insisting that he is his own master and will not tolerate the enemy manipulating any segment of his being. In such a warfare as this the evil spirits cannot violate spiritual law; and hence they must retreat. At the beginning the believer’s mind was usurped by the wicked powers through its passivity; this in turn ushered in the passivity of the will. Now the believer should declare by God’s law that his mind belongs to him, that he is going to use it and will not permit any outside force to instigate, employ or control his mind. If he relentlessly retreats from passivity and exercises his mind, the latter gradually shall be liberated till it attains to its original state. (Later we shall have more to say on recovering the ground and its battle.)

    In this conflict the child of God must exercise his mind. He must take the initiative in each action and not depend on anyone else. If possible he must make his own decision, not waiting passively for other people or for more conducive environment. He must not glance back at the past nor worry concerning the future but learn to live just for this moment. Prayerfully and watchfully must he proceed step by step. He must exercise his mind and think: think what he should do, speak, or become. He must throw away every crutch, not allowing any worldly element or means to be substituted for the ability of the mind. He must use it to think, reason, remember and comprehend.

    Because the individual’s mental life has been protractedly passive, the battle for freedom likewise requires a protracted period. Let him understand that before he regains his liberty many of his thoughts will not be conceived by him but rather will be inspired by evil spirits who usurp his mind. For this reason he must scrutinize every notion lest he unconsciously furnish new ground to the evil spirits before the old is wholly recovered. During this period, therefore, accusations which arise may not necessarily be due to his faults nor praises be due to his merits. He should not abandon hope if his head is full of despondent thoughts; neither should he be elated if it is filled with exalted ideas.

    The believer in addition should assail the lies of the evil spirits. Every suggestion from the enemy must be met resolutely with the truth of the Bible. Answer doubts with the texts of faith; respond to despair with words of hope; reply to fear with words of peace. If he does not know the appropriate verse, let him pray for direction; if he recognizes that something is from his foes then he can say to them, “This is your lie, I will not accept it.” Victory is obtained by wielding the Sword of the Spirit.

    During the struggle he must never forget the position of the cross. He must stand on Romans 6.11, reckoning himself dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. He already has died and has therefore been delivered from the old creation. The evil spirits cannot now do anything in his life, for what ground of operation they had has hitherto been taken away on the cross. Each time the Christian exercises his mind and resists the devil he is depending completely on what the cross has accomplished. He perceives that his death with the Lord is a fact; hence he strongly maintains that position before the enemy. He has died; the evil spirits have no authority over a dead person. Pharaoh could not hurt the children of Israel who were on the other side of the Red Sea. Resting on the Lord’s death gives the Christian an immense advantage.
    by Published on 02-28-2017 12:31 AM     Number of Views: 1243 
    1. Categories:
    2. Old Man Crucified

    The Two Sides of Sin

    Whatever the Bible teaches is most amazing. Sin has its two sides just as the way God deals with man’s sin is also two-sided. One side of sin is towards God; and the other side of sin is in us. The sin before God needs to be forgiven and washed by Him, while the sin within us must be overcome and delivered. As regards the sin before God, the Lord Jesus has borne our sins; as regards the sin within us, we must reckon ourselves as dead to it. For the sin before God, there is the washing of the blood of the Lord; for the sin in us, there is the deliverance of the cross of the Lord. The sin before God requires God’s forbearance and forgiveness; the sin in us demands liberty and emancipation. . . .

    The Two Sides of Deliverance

    Just as sin has its two sides—before God and in man—so deliverance has its two sides too. Sin has its penalty and power, therefore salvation consists of two sides as well. Yet this is not twodeliverances but two sides of one deliverance. The Lord saves us from the fear of penalty, the accusation of the conscience, and all agitations; at the same time, He delivers us from the power of sin. And thus His salvation is complete. He saves us from the penalty imposed by God and He delivers us from the power of sin in us.

    How does the Lord die for us in order to affect these two sides of sin? The Bible tells us that he who sins must die. But the sinless Lord Jesus bore the penalty of death for us. He shed His blood to redeem us and to wash away all our sins before God. The blood of Christ has washed us. It is most amazing that the Bible never says that the blood of Christ washed our heart. Hebrews 9.14 observes this: “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish unto God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Notice that it does not say the blood cleanses the heart, it only cleanses the conscience.

    What is the conscience? It is that which accuses within us, telling us we are wrong, therefore deserving of death and perdition. The blood of Christ cleanses our conscience so that we are no longer being accused by it, thus securing peace. His blood causes us to know that although our sins are worthy of punishment, Christ has died for these sins and has fulfilled the righteousness of God. However, no one by the cleansing of the blood is transformed to be morally good and sin no more, thereby becoming free from sin. For the blood of Christ can only cleanse us before God and eliminate the accusation of the conscience; it does not wash our heart and make it so clean that sin no longer is hidden in us. The blood of the Lord is objective, not subjective, in its effect. It does not cleanse the heart; it cleanses the conscience.

    Men are all defiled and corrupted. Through the blood of Christ, sins are forgiven and the penalty of sins is paid. But the Bible never tells us that the blood can eradicate the power of sin. This is that other side of which we spoke earlier. The word of God tells us, on the one side, of the blood of Christ and on the other side, of the cross of Christ. Blood speaks of death, and so, too, does the cross. Yet blood is related to penalty, for it deals with man’s sins before God; but the cross deals with the power of sin within us. It is through the cross that our heart is purified and is made capable of overcoming sin.

    Let us reiterate the difference between the cross and the blood. The blood of Christ takes away our sins before God, whereas the cross of Christ deals with the sin that is in us. Be aware, however, that the cross does not crucify the sin in us. Many advocates of holiness err here. The cross of Christ does not crucify sin. Nowhere in the Scripture can anyone find a verse saying that the cross crucifies sin. Then what does the cross crucify? The Lord was crucified on it. The Bible also says our old man was crucified there as well. It was not the powerful sin that was crucified, but it was the old man—who loved to be directed by sin—that was crucified. It was not the root of sin which was eradicated, but it was the old man—who was so intimate with the root of sin—that was crucified by the Lord. Let me tell you the good news today: that when Christ was crucified, not only He himself was crucified, but God also had the corrupted and defiled you and me crucified with Him. We were crucified with Him!

    “Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away, that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin” (Rom. 6.6). Notice that what is said here is that the old man was crucified with Christ, not that sin was crucified with Him. Have you not heard people say that sin may be crucified or that the root of sin may be eradicated? Let us recognize that there is no such thing.

    In this verse in Romans, we see three things: (1) the old man; (2) the body of sin—that is to say, the body that sins; and (3) sin. It also tells us of three important matters: (1) that our old man was crucifiedwith Christ, (2) that the aim was that the body of sin might be done away, and (3) that the result would be that I should no longer be in bondage to sin. Thus, with the old man crucified, I should no longer sin nor will to sin. But sin itself will not have died, sin itself is yet alive.

    Let me illustrate it as follows: Here are the three things: the old man, sin, and the body of sin. Sin is like a master, the old man is like a steward, and the body is like a puppet. Sin has no authority nor power to direct the body of sin to sin. As a master, sin directs the old man, and with the consent of the old man the body is made a puppet. As long as the old man is alive, it stands between the body at the outside and sin on the inside. When the inward sin tempts the old man and stirs up its lusts, the old man gives an order to the body to commit sin. The body is rather weak; it will do whatever it is made to do. It has no sovereignty of its own, nor can it do anything on its own. It does whatever the old man orders it to do. Now, though, the Lord comes to rescue us. He does not kill our body nor does He eradicate the root of sin; He instead has our old man crucified with Him.

    Consequently, only two out of the three things mentioned in Romans 6.6 are left; the body is at the outside and sin is on the inside. But now, in the middle, a new person has taken over the position formerly held by the old man. So that today in order to induce the body to sin, the sin within must come to tempt the new man, trying to stir up lust; but the new man will not listen to it nor agree with its suggestion. Formerly the old man contemplated a love and desire for sin; but now the new man will have nothing to do with sin nor will it respond to its demand. And thus, the body is not able to practice sin.

    Let us look at Romans 6.6 further. We know that sin is most corrupt in its nature, so we all hope to have it eradicated from our body. Nevertheless, we do not realize that the existence of the root ofsin or the existence of the devil actually has nothing to do with whether or not we bear the fruit of holiness in our lives. What is actually at the bottom of it all is our old man. Each time we find ourselves tempted, stirred and committed to sin, it is all because our old man is alive. However, the Lord has already had our old man crucified with Him.

    What is the aim of having the old man crucified? It is just this: “that the body of sin might be done away.” In the original Greek, the word translated “done away” actually means “dis-employed”; which signifies that without the old man, the body of sin is disabled from doing anything. Formerly the body of sin daily worked according to the order of the old man. Sinning appeared to be its profession. Apart from sinning, the body seems to have had nothing else to do because the old man loved sin too much; and hence, the body simply followed suit and became the body of sin. But now the old man has been dealt with by the Lord by it having been crucified with Him on the cross, and thus the body of sin has become unemployed. Formerly, when the old man was still alive, the body of sin daily sinned as though sinning was its profession, its job. Thank the Lord, the irrepressible old man, the old man of you and me, has been crucified! And the body of sin is now unemployed! Even though sin still exists and attempts to be master, yet you and I are no longer its bondman. In spite of its repeated efforts to cause the body to sin, the new man, under the dominion of the Holy Spirit, will not cooperate. Consequently, sin has now no way to cause the body to sin. The Bible shows us that the result of having the old man crucified and the body of sin unemployed is “that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin.”

    The old man is dead; therefore, we can overcome sin completely. The blood of Christ was shed to save us from our sins before God and to cleanse our conscience from accusation. It tells us that we are now no longer people of perdition but are those instead who have peace with God. However, if we only know this aspect of salvation, our daily living will still be miserable. Though we know our sins are forgiven, we yet continue to make sinning our profession. We still cannot overcome sin in our daily living, nor can we bear the fruit of holiness. We are forced to sin daily; we have no peace in our hearts; and our communion with God is frequently interrupted. We know we are saved and have eternal life, but such sinning daily deprives us of the joy of salvation. Thank God, though, that the salvation of the Lord is no half-way measure. The Lord sheds His blood to cleanse us from our sins, and His cross sets aside the old man and delivers us from the power of sin.
    by Published on 10-20-2016 01:41 AM     Number of Views: 2277 
    1. Categories:
    2. Islam, Muslim, Koran,
    3. Revelation 14,
    4. 2023 to 2030

    I've never seen anyone who made this connection of a dirty nuclear bomb upon the Vatican City. Why is this prediction useful? Well, you don't want to be anywhere near the nuclear fallout when it happens in the next decade. But the other reason is to know God's judgment upon the evils of the Roman Catholic Church which leads many astray so it must be destroyed. It is not redeemable. It cannot be refined or fixed.

    "And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication" (Rev. 14.8).

    "Fallen" is repeated twice because it points to both religious Rome (Roman Catholic Church) in Rev. 17 and political Rome (European Union) in Rev. 18. Jesus returns in Rev. 19. The first fallen will be the destruction of the Vatican City, the smallest country in the world, that takes place in the first half of the 7 year Tribulation. In the second half the EU is destroyed also.

    "And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire" (Rev. 17.16).

    "Eat her flesh, and burn here with fire" is a nuclear explosion. The Malachy Prophecy says the current Pope is the last Pope.

    It's that simple. I do not know who will do it, but it happens nonetheless, because Satan hates any system that even uses the term Trinity, or Jesus died for the sins of the world, or Jesus resurrected Himself, or mentions Hell for the unsaved, etc. God hates any system that masquerades as the body of Christ which is not.
    by Published on 07-08-2015 06:39 PM     Number of Views: 1851 
    1. Categories:
    2. Regeneration,
    3. Calvinism

    1 Tim. 4.10 says "God is the Savior of all men, specially those who believe". Since both Christians and Calvinists agree that this verse does not refer to universalism, can we determine which is the correct gospel of salvation? Of course. That's what the word of God is for to discern the spirits and prove all things.

    If as Calvinists believe God is merely only the protector and sustainer on earth though not from Hell in the first half of the sentence then the second half of the sentence makes no sense, because those who believe are a subset who come from all those whom God is the Savior of as indicated by the word "specially". Therefore, "Savior of all men" cannot stop short of God's glory by being merely only a sustainer, but must include salvation from Hell as well if the condition is met by believing.

    Therefore, since "God is the Savior of all men" doesn't refer to universalism but does apply to all people, it must pertain to the fact that God provides prevenient grace, that is, sufficient grace to us all to have the free choice. That is the context of the overall passage too.

    Praise the Lord!
    Amen.

    Therefore, a now ex-Calvinist after 26 years as a Calvinist can be saved. How? By repenting of Calvinism. Instead of pridefully on a pedestal with his idol of Total depravity delusionally declaring like a robot he was irresistibly selected, he came to the cross as a helpless sinner, having received the gift of repentance and faith by searching God out with all his heart and soul, to receive the Lord Jesus as Savior to be regenerated (i.e. born-again, initial salvation, new birth, new creation). If you are to be saved this is how God will receive you. He will not receive you with the hard heart of a Calvinist. No true Calvinist has ever been born-again.

    by Published on 02-14-2015 01:35 PM     Number of Views: 2879 
    1. Categories:
    2. Regeneration,
    3. Spiritual Warfare

    Are You Saved if You Believe
    those Who Reject Christ Will Be Saved
    and not Go to Hell?

    Every One that Believes

    "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 10.32,33).

    So you can't confess in anyone to be saved, but it has to be Jesus. There is no other name under Heaven by which one can be saved.

    "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels" (Mark 8.38).

    When you don’t give the gospel of salvation to people, especially loved ones, you are acting as though you are ashamed of Jesus.

    “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24.14). “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Rom. 1.16). Therefore, you are not saved if you don't believe. Pretty simple. Not so simple for the fleshly to understand.

    “1 Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel that I preached to you, that you received and on which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received—that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, 4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve…” (1 Cor. 15.1-5).

    "15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God" (John 3.15-21).

    Pseudo-Universalism

    "He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad" (Matt. 12.30). "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal" (Matt. 25.46). "The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who refuses to believe in the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him" (John 3.36). "They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power" (2 Thess. 1.9). A false Christian -- someone who proclaims to be a Christian but is not --, if not for other reasons, rejects Jesus on the basis of these verses, because as lovers of the world they can't accept a God who sends husbands and wives, family and relatives to Hell. Ironically, they believe some people will go to Hell as long as they are not in their family circle.

    The correct Jesus, therefore, is the Jesus who sends people to Hell for rejecting what He did on the cross, where the judgment is eternal, that He is God, resurrected the 3rd day, ascended to the Father the 40th day and shall return to reign over the nations with a "rod of iron" (Rev. 12.5) with His overcomers (Jude 14,15; Rev. 2.26,27) for 1000 years (20.4-6) on earth in the 3rd Temple (11.2; 2 Thess. 2.2-4). You are making a mockery of the gospel of salvation of Christ if you claim people can be saved other than by the cross. If you don't acknowledge such a person who rejects the gospel as being unsaved then what is the point of giving them the gospel if they can be saved without it? Did Jesus die in vain? What happens then to the exclusivity of God's only begotten Son? It's as if the Church body of Christ is non-existent for those who are silent on the matter. We are guilty of what we don't say as much as what we do say. People who currently reject Christ if they were to die this very moment surely they would go to Hell. Unregenerates will be resurrected to the Great White Throne 1000 years after the elect are resurrected to Judgment Seat. The latter is unto rewards for believers in the parousia of Christ at the end of this age. "But the rest of the dead [unsaved] lived not again until the thousand years were finished" (Rev. 20.5).

    If you make the claim a person could still be saved after death either before being placed in Hell or after what then of free will for those who would eternally separate themselves from God? Is no such free choice afforded to people? How is that truly free will made in God's image if not afforded this choice? Have you not debased God by professing there is no free choice to have this free will to eternally separate yourself from God? Are we only robots? God is great though He can give us this free choice and have communion with him by possessing these full faculties, made in His image, to experience the new birth and receive the Holy Spirit once born-again. Universalists or pseudo-universalists have no such experience, worshiping a false Christ and a Jesus I do not know. They may claim they have some experience, but it is certainly not the new life by the new birth as new creations of God. How very important to give the gospel to people now because we have this one life to decide if we want reconciliation with God! The evil of universalists is that they convince many people not to accept the true Jesus now who sends people to Hell, because once you have died, the choice is final. Sitting on the fence, claiming we can't discern these truths and it is only God who judges without knowing what He judges in the immediate moment is the lie from the pit. Why give us the 66 books of the Bible if we can't know God's intent?

    Don't Be Negative

    What is really offensive (but don't pick up the bait of Satan) and ignorant is when you describe Jesus of the Bible to people who are lost in their feelings, not in the spirit of truth, and accuse you of being negative are themselves being negative, because what is worse than the lie of rejecting the gospel, for by doing so they condemn and send themselves to Hell! Negatively, they deny the exclusivity of Christ effectively calling Jesus and the Father liars. It is as if they had a hand in killing Jesus. They don't like the feeling that Jesus of the Bible conveys because it does not exalt the flesh but brings us down low as unprofitable servants. Jesus spoke on Hell more than anyone. So when family members come against you and play unethical games because of your faith, realize what Jesus said that as He was treated so will we be treated. Families and relatives are broken apart because of Jesus since they do not want to give their lives to Christ. How sad! They create another Jesus of their own making and selfish proclivity not in accordance with Scripture. "18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book" (Rev. 22.18,19).

    We call non-Christians out! Holding them accountable. Consequently, their hostility stirs and they retaliate in strange ways. They are not even in control of themselves when they react. I am reminded of how Jesus' family came against Him and prodded Him to go to Jerusalem where they knew He would be captured and killed. His biological brothers and sisters were jealous. But they didn't understand who He was, is and always will be: the way, the truth and the life. Not how I feel at this moment! Feelings are undependable. Later though Jude and James, brothers of Jesus, after seeing Him resurrected believed and were saved. And Jesus' mother Mary believed her Son was God.

    Keep giving the gospel in love that saves people from their sins and gives eternal life through His resurrection: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17.3). Having eternal life which can never be lost is an ability to have a personal relationship with Jesus and eternal blessings.
    by Published on 06-05-2014 12:27 AM     Number of Views: 1271 
    1. Categories:
    2. Regeneration

    "I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins" (John 8.24).

    To die in your sins is to remain unforgiven and go to Hell. Who is He? Lets come back to that question in a bit.

    "Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also" (1 John 2.23).

    To not have the Father by denying the Son of God such a person will go to Hell.

    "And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6.40).

    Those who don't believe the Son do not receive everlasting life but everlasting judgment or perdition in Hell to be eternally separated from God. Believing in a false Christ is not the Son of God so God would not save such a person.

    "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3.36).

    The wrath of God is on those who don't receive the Son who He truly is.

    "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14.6).

    Who is Jesus?

    "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4.12).

    If Jesus is only a man or only an angel, how can He be the only way?

    "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom. 6.23).

    How can merely a created being give eternal life? A created being was not eternally existing so how can that which is not eternal give eternality? This is where the Trinity comes in. The Trinity teaches not just the Father but the Son also are eternal and have the power to give eternal life.

    Back to John 8.24. So who is He that we need to believe in to be saved?

    "Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me" (Is. 43.10).

    Jesus is saying "I am He" (John 8.24). Yahweh God says, "I am He" (Is. 43.10).

    God pleads with us and foreknew our free choice to believe in God the Father and God the Son and know that He is God.

    "Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?" (Is. 43.13)

    Yahweh God says "I am He" also in Deut. 32.39, Isaiah 41.4, 43.10, 48.12, 51.12, Jer. 29.23.

    If you don't accept God who He truly is, you will perish in Hell. If you deny God will send people to Hell for refusing who He truly is -- who sends people to Hell for denying who He truly is -- you will likewise perish in your sins and go to Hell because that is worshiping a false Christ.

    "Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah" (Ps. 3.8).

    Who does He save since salvation is of the LORD? Those who accept His Son.

    "Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God" (John 5.18).

    If you are equal with the Father then you are eternal also so Jesus is God the Son. Ancient Israelites believed "Son of God" refers to God. To be the Son is to be the same nature, the same being, same essence and equal with God -- co-eternal, co-existing and co-equal!

    "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by" (John 8.58,59).

    Exodus 3:14 reads: God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" (RSV)

    God the Father says "I AM" (Ex. 3.14) and Jesus says "I AM" (John 8.58). God the Father says He is God. Jesus says He Himself is God too. No wonder why they wanted to kill Jesus for claiming to be God since they did not want to submit to Him and His authority.

    "The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God" (John 10.33).

    Jesus never denied that He is God able to forgive sins.

    Jesus is the creator of all things (John 1.3, Heb. 1.10, Col. 1.15,16).
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