Galatians Chapter One Study (Continued)

PAGE #1 of Galatians 1 Study

Luke 10:20: “However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”   FIRST QUESTION: WHY THIS VERSE?

Answer: All Christians have their names written in Heaven in the Lamb's book of life. We cannot be lost again but we can be nullified in our growth in grace by wrong teaching. The Letter to the Galatians defends free grace as the only way to true growth in Christ as it answers the question; "what do I do now that I am saved forever?"

The Galatians were saved and already possessors of eternal life as are all Christians (those who trust Christ's sacrifice to make them righteous in God's sight). John 5:24 (NIV) “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life."

 Paul's concern for the Galatian believers and all of us, is not loss of salvation but that they would not continue growing in Christ as a result of being tied up in the Law. 

Think for a minute of the Apostle Paul in Galatians as a skilled verbal swordsman. He parries the enemy’s thrusts (offensive moves) and then thrusts the Sword of the spirit into the opponent’s vulnerable areas. The object is to set free the enemy’s prisoners to enjoy and walk in grace once more. We see only Paul’s side of the battle so we must picture what the enemy is saying by Paul’s response.

Galatians 1 (NIV)

1 Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— ² and all the brothers and sisters with me,

Why does Paul begin by speaking of his Divine calling to be an Apostle?

Why does he mention others with him?

To the churches in Galatia:

What’s unique about this address?

³ Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,

What was the eternal status of the wavering Galatian Christians before God?

^{Answer: saved forever through grace
4} who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age.

I thought Christ died to keep us out of Hell and take us to Heaven? Why has Paul changed the focus from eternal benefits to temporal ones?

Answer: Knowing Christ through grace leads to fellowship with Him which is the only antidote to sin in the world and in the believer

according to the will of our God and Father, ⁵ to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Read the first part of this verse again…what is the will of the Father?

Answer: His will is that we would overcome sin here and now to His glory, yet such victory is not automatic for the Christian, only possible as we listen to God 

⁶ I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— ⁷ which is really no gospel at all.

What is the source of Paul’s amazement?

Answer: they are abandoning the freedom of the Gospel so quickly... AND...embracing gladly the chains of the Law!

Are the Galatian Christians deserting Paul or God? Did God call them or Paul?

Answer: Certainly it is God calling, but He uses men to preach the Gospel so they are also abandoning Paul who first told them of God's salvation.
Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.

Who is the source of spiritual confusion here? How is this confusion coming about?

⁸ 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!

Would you listen to an angel from Heaven preaching a different Gospel than Paul’s? Do some listen to preachers (never mind angels from Heaven) preaching a different Gospel? What is the Gospel?


⁹ 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!

What Gospel had they accepted? Was the “different” Gospel totally different from Paul’s?

¹⁰ Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people?
What do you think the Judaizers accused Paul of being, given this rhetorical question of his?

If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Does this mean Christians should go out of their way to offend people?

¹¹ I want you to know, brothers and sisters that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. ¹² I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

Having defended his apostleship, Paul now defends his ……? Is the way Paul received his Gospel different than how we received it?

PAGE #3.

¹³ For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. ¹⁴ I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. ¹⁵ But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased ¹⁶ to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. ¹⁷ I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.

Should new Christians follow Paul’s example here of just getting alone with God after salvation to learn only from Him?

¹⁸ Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. ¹⁹ I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. ²⁰ I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.

What relationship does vs. 18-20 have with the preceding ones regarding how Paul received his message?

²¹ Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. ²² I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. ²³ They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” ²⁴ And they praised God because of me.

Does Paul’s remarkable conversion prove his message is from God or does it merely underscore the power of the Gospel he preached?

Galatians Chapter One Study (Continued)

Galatians Chapter One Study (Continued)

Study 1 on Galatians 1 NKJV: 

1 Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead), 

COMMENTS: It seems clear Paul is Christ’s choice to fill the office of Judas’ apostleship. Christ’s choice trumps all other means of ascertaining who is and who is not, an Apostle of Christ. In Acts 1, Mathias was chosen through the instrumentality of men, principally by Peter in Acts 1. I believe Peter erred in assuming the need of the believers to choose Judas’ replacement immediately. He also erred in the method of selection: Mathias was chosen by employing an Old Testament method of determining the will of God by the casting of lots. 

Peter was correct however in believing a replacement was needed for Judas and to thus bring the Apostles of the Lamb (a distinct group) back up to 12.   Revelation 21:14  reads; “Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” Therefore, this group is eternal in God’s plan for the ages. Jesus also briefly outlined His future plans for His Apostles during the Millennium Kingdom age, after the Tribulation. 
Matthew 19:28 So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

And again in Luke 22:30:that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

 Any messenger of God can be an apostle (like Barnabas, for instance), but there are only 12 in the group known as the Apostles of the Lamb. These 12 also make up the foundation of the church, Christ Jesus being the chief cornerstone.  Ephesians 2:20: “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and (New Testament) prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone”.  Therefore, we may correctly see the Twelve presently occupying their place as part of the foundation of the church while anticipating receiving crowns as rulers over the 12 Tribes of Israel in the coming kingdom of Christ on earth. 

The most distinctive thing about an Apostle of the Lamb is the fact each are personally chosen by the Lamb Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ. The original 12, including Judas, were chosen from many disciples by Christ after a night of prayer. These were also personally instructed by the Lord Jesus Christ and became personal witnesses of His bodily resurrection.

 This pattern of Christ choosing and instructing the original Apostles is what Paul was claiming for himself. By claiming this, he distanced himself from false apostles, while publicly aligning himself with the other 11 Apostles of the Lamb. This was an important declaration, since his opponents were trying to demean his position and calling in order to deny his teaching of the Gospel of grace.

Another reason he made the distinction of his calling clear was to expose their lies about their own status in the church. Paul declared war on the presence and teaching of the Judaizers among the Galatians. Unlike Paul, they relied heavily on their “credentials” of ministry. Having come from Jerusalem, they falsely claimed the endorsement of the “real Apostles” the original 11, through fake letters, all to impress the gullible Galatians.  This claim was also designed to call into question the authenticity of Paul’s Apostleship and His teaching of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone.

Much was at stake, and the battle lines had been drawn…either a believer is complete in Christ or he must keep the Law and be circumcised to be saved.  

More to come…

Let's Study Galatians!

Why is Galatians the most appropriate Epistle of the Apostle Paul’s for us to study now?


1. Because of who wrote Galatians

2. Because Galatians guards the Gospel of grace from adulteration

3. Because Galatians understood, teaches the way to a victorious Christian life through the Spirit

4. Because Galatians can keep believers from falling from grace

5. Because Galatians can get fallen believers back into grace


(more to come)

The Devil's Personal Bible

A Picture of the Devil's Personal Bible

It looks just like ours, because it is, only his is always open. If he knows it better than you and me, we might be in trouble. He tried to use Scripture against Jesus...who are we to think he won't twist it's meaning to ensnare or discourage us?

We must study. It begins with reading. It's kept on track by remembering the basics: Christ died for ALL our sin and we died with Him, He rose and we rose with Him alive forevermore. He gave us the Holy Spir...it to dwell within our new sinless nature to sanctify us. Christ is returning in the Rapture for His bride (all Christians, weak or strong) to save us from the Tribulation wrath to come.

Our mission now is to show forth the praise of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light! No light like this, and no love greater than His...He died for us when we were in our sin, completely worthless to both God and man. He sought us and found us to bring us to God...what a Savior!

Let us battle for the truth even as Jesus battled the Devil...by using the Word correctly through the power of the Spirit.

When Cold=Hot

We were "roughing it" on a ski trip with several other families. We crammed 15 people into a small cabin in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, in the middle of February.

My wife and one of the other ladies shared a double bed, which was warmed by an electric blanket.

Each side of the blanket had its own individual control.

Somehow, the controls got switched and one party was cranking up the heat all night while the other was turning it down. One "roasted" while the other "froze".

You may be sure, each person was kept awake by their experience!

Perhaps this is why Jesus made no distinction between the value of being "hot" (fervent in sprit) or "cold" (backslidden formalism). He said to the Laodicean church: "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot."

This was a very wealthy church according to our earthly standards, but in the economy of Heaven, it was wretchedly poor. We know its spiritual condition because Jesus Christ examined it and found it lacking in fervor, good works and spiritual vision.

He wanted this church to regain their love and zeal. "Hot" is a good spiritual condition in His eyes, the only proper response to the depth of His Calvary love for us. Yet they were satisfied with their lukewarm condition. Therefore, if indeed they were cold, their eyes would be open to the danger of the tepid trap of complacency. This realization would spur them on to repentance and restoration.

Losing our zeal for Christ is common. Not regaining it is dangerous. Regaining and maintaining it is found in His Presence, as He opens the Word to us. Here's His promise made to all of us:

"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne." Revelation 3:19-21

Perhaps the idea of Christ correcting us, sometimes sharply, is hard for us to reconcile with His loving us. Yet every loving parent corrects and trains their child. We understand children do not always wholeheartedly accept correction or realize it is for their own well being as it is being administered. Let us not be children ourselves in this matter of being corrected by the One who died for us. How can we doubt His love... or our need to be corrected?

Heart Trouble

King David was having heart trouble...the worst kind. His heart was failing him, losing confidence before God because of his own sinfulness.

Compounding his misery were his powerful enemies who took delight in his failures. So he was besieged by a bad conscience within and demonically inspired pressure from without.

By God's grace, David knew God's truth, and that it was higher than his present experience. As the Apostle John wrote hundreds of years later, "God is greater than our hearts and knows all things."

So David confessed his sins and sought the blessing of God's presence. His heart was troubled, but he dealt with it by seeking the Lord's blessing and waiting patiently for God to answer his prayers.

So too, we should not allow our hearts to be troubled because we have the truth of God in Christ. Yet when and if such trouble gets to us deep inside, let us not go by our heart, but rather by the written Word of God. Scripture says, "The fool trusts in his own heart." We need God's wisdom in these matters so we don't over react nor fail to act.

Here's the story (Psalm 40) of David's distress and how God brought him back into spiritual balance:

11 Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord;
Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me.

12 For innumerable evils have surrounded me;
My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up;
They are more than the hairs of my head;
Therefore my heart fails me.

("iniquities" may be seen as those plans we make outside of the will of God as revealed in scripture)

(And then):
16 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let such as love Your salvation say continually,
"The Lord be magnified!"

17 But I am poor and needy;
Yet the Lord thinks upon me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God.

A healthy heart has Christ seated on its throne.

Suggest the reading of the whole of Psalm 40. The Psalms are the experiential side of the believer's life. We can always find an "aha" moment in them as we peruse these common experiences of God's people through life.

Part #2 of Comments Re Calvinist Spurgeon's Treasury of David

PART #2. Regarding Charles Haddon Spurgeon's classic "The Treasury of David". The following are comments of men of God Spurgeon included in his notes while writing on Psalm 119.

Comment on Psalm 119:18:. Wondrous things.

There are promises in God's word that no man has ever tried, to find. There are treasures of gold and silver in it that no man has taken the pains to dig for. There are medicines in it for the want of a knowledge of which hundreds have died. It seems to me ...like some old baronial estate that has descended to a man (who lives in a modern house) and thinks it scarcely worth while to go and look into the venerable mansion.

Year after year passes away and he pays no attention to it, since he has no suspicion of the valuable treasures it contains, till, at last, some man says to him, "Have you been up in the country to look at that estate?" He makes up his mind that he will take a look at it. As he goes through the porch he is surprised to see the skill that has been displayed in its construction: he is more and more surprised as he goes through the halls.

He enters a large room, and is astonished as he beholds the wealth of pictures on the walls, among which are portraits of many of his revered ancestors. He stands in amazement before them. There is a Titian, there a Raphael, there is a Correggio, and there is a Giorgione. He says, "I never had any idea of these before." "Ah, "says the steward, "there is many another thing that you know nothing about in the castle, "and he takes him from room to room and shows carved plate, and wonderful statues, and the man exclaims, "Here I have been for a score of years the owner of this estate, and have never before known what things were in it."

But no architect ever conceived of such an estate as God's word, and no artist, or carver, or sculptor, ever conceived of such pictures, and carved dishes, and statues as adorn its apartments. It contains treasures that silver, and gold, and precious stones are not to be mentioned with. Henry Ward Beecher, 1872.

Second comment on Ver. 18. That I may behold wondrous things. The great end of the Word of God in the Psalmist's time, as now, was practical; but there is a secondary use here referred to, which is worthy of consideration, — its power of meeting man's faculty of wonder. God knows our frame, for he made it, and he must have adapted the Bible to all its parts.
If we can show this, it may be another token that the book comes from Him who made man... That God has bestowed upon man the faculty of wonder we all know. It is one of the first and most constant emotions in our nature. We can see this in children, and in all whose feelings are still fresh and natural. It is the parent of the desire to know, and all through life it is urging men to enquire. John Ker.

Part #1 of Comments Re Calvinist Spurgeon's Treasury of David

This is a Part #1. of a two part posting regarding Charles Haddon Spurgeon's classic "The Treasury of David"

 A word about Brother Spurgeon...he was a Calvinist. As you may know, I am opposed to Calvinism which I understand to be a system of looking at scripture based on some basic errors. It also has a convoluted eschatology (the study of end time things).

Being a Calvinist is no guarantee of being a Christian, nor does it preclude anyone from being such.. Many of us hold certain things to be true that are not and this is especially true of our earlier years as Christians. We can all grow and discard error for truth as we pursue truth in the Scriptures.

It is what one believes about Christ which determines his/her salvation.
1 John 5:12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Brother Spurgeon is a brother beloved because he loved Jesus. It has often been noted by the Calvinists Spurgeon said Christianity and Calvinism are synonymous.

Non-Calvinists have pointed out Spurgeon did not PREACH like a Calvinist. His evangelical heart of love often burst the bonds of the narrow coldness of Calvinism, which is seemingly content to see millions consigned to Hell on the whim of a god more intent on exercising His sovereignty than His wonderful grace.

One can find in the writings of Spurgeon his chastising of his Calvinistic brothers for their wrong take on several doctrines, most notably the eternal security of the saints. The Perseverance of the Saints is biblical nonsense. It's really no security whatever because it's based on nothing other than one's natural ability to "hold out."

It must be remembered too, that Spurgeon was self taught, having missed the burden of "higher education" by the Calvinists schools. Nevertheless, Calvinists were prodigious writers, and all of Spurgeon's formative years were greatly influenced by their writings, as little else was available in the way of commentaries.

Those who were brave enough in the Christian world to oppose the Calvinists were made the target of their literary heavy artillery. Dear John Wesley, correctly opposed the harsh errors of Calvinism and was vilified for it, not withstanding his obvious love and service for the Savior. Yet this is certainly not an endorsement on my part of Wesley's own errors of teaching perfectionism or his erroneous doctrine of the loss of salvation by a believer. See 1 John 5:12.

So with these precautions in mind, I want to post some comments from The Treasury of David. I will put a link at the end of this article.

I have found great benefit from the Psalms as it is the experiential side of the believer's inner life, exposed and enlightened, leading to exulting in the Lord. The Treasury of David is very helpful too. Be aware the word "law" is often used when speaking of the whole word of God and the comments reflect varying degrees of light received. Some will suggest believers can lose their salvation and other such errors, especially in the comments not directly Spurgeon's own...


http://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tod/view.cgi…

Dumbing Down Christiaity

Is it funny, ironic or just crazy that Jimmy Fallon would be over dressed for the pulpit in many churches?

Doesn't he realize many of his millions of viewers might be made to feel uncomfortable by his dapper appearance? He needs to be more "user friendly" if he wants to be successful. :)

We are also told by the gurus of what-will-fly-for-churches-who-really-want-to-reach-people we need to change our terms. Seems our language is known as "Christianese".  Apparently,  the general public doesn't understand terms like "washed in the blood", "justification by faith", "sanctification", "the Rapture" or "the redeemed".

This (supposedly) makes them feel excluded. We are told by the self-appointed gurus of approachability, the public won't join our club unless we change the rules. This conclusion is stupid. It demeans the general public as not being able to learn.  It further depreciates the teachers of Christianity, who presumably are not able to teach what Biblical terms mean.

It's irony is the social secretaries of the church coined a new term "Christianese" which has to be explained. Duh! The smarter we get the further we get from simply preaching the Gospel. The Holy Spirit is able to use His own scriptural terms to bring faith into the heart of a sinner.

The Word Is Alive!

 A MESSAGE TO ALL CHRISTIANS FROM CHRIST’S APOSTLE TO THE GENTILES Colossians 1:9-14

 
9 “For this reason, (because you are Christians) since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you.”

COMMENT: (Paul had never met these Christians…he wrote and prayed from jail.)

SCRIPTURE: “We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,”

COMMENT: (Before we do anything for the Lord, even though we are saved forever, we need to be “filled with the knowledge of His will”. Many pray for the “filling of the Spirit” who neglect the written Word of God. We would expand the idea of the knowledge of His will to include “full knowledge of His will…meaning a correct understanding of future events too.)

Yet the Spirit gives wisdom and understanding through His own Word! Being filled with the Spirit and being filled with the Word, understood in wisdom, are seen as synonymous and harmonious in the Scripture and experience.

 Note; there are conflicting teachings on every major and many minor points in scripture. This does not annul or make void the Biblical claim that there is a true meaning to every doctrine coming from the God of truth.

For example, Christians believe, among all the many false notions about Jesus, that He is indeed the Son of God, perfect God and perfect man. We believe the Gospel alone saves anyone against all the false claims of all religions and earthly philosophies.

Shall we then quit looking at lesser matters which the Word teaches because they are disputed? No, we shall use the same spiritual discernment in these matters as we have in the past to find a happy resolution of difficult teachings. When these issues are settled, we shall find their truth to be in harmony with the larger truths of God’s Word.)


SCRIPTURE: 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹ being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,


COMMENT: The purpose of understanding and assimilating the Word of God is to feed the inner man in order to “live a life worthy of the Lord.” This message, this Word of God, this written Scripture is ALIVE and carries transforming power with it to enable true, Spirit filled, Godly living!

Weak as we believers are, even though born again, we are strengthened (continually as we feed on this wonderful Word) according to “His glorious might”…the same power that broke the seal of mighty Rome to allow the resurrected Son of God to emerge from the tomb and rise right through Satan’s territory (Satan is the “Prince of the Power of the Air) to enter Heaven as the glorified Son of God, victor over sin, death and Hell, alive evermore!

SCRIPTURE: 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. ¹³ For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

COMMENT: Paul reminds us again, the Christian has rejoicing rights forever, springing from a grateful heart and soul because we are QUALIFIED to go to Heaven only by the death of Christ!

 

He has RESCUED us from the darkness that once dominated our lives and brought us into a kingdom dominated by the love of Jesus! The redemption price was paid by the blood of Jesus and is a “done deal”…our sins are forgiven…not piecemeal as some erroneously teach, but once and for all!

Renewal Guarantee

True story; Last Spring (remember Spring?) the burner of my five year old barbeque was rusted out and needed to be replaced.

Clever shopper, do-it-your-selfer that I am, I began looking for a replacement unit. I just knew the original brand would be very expensive. After purchasing and returning a "universal" burner, and rejecting an expensive one of uncertain origins, I gave up.

I went to the original seller, prepared to pay any price just to move on and get it done. I reached for my wallet as the helpful clerk looked up the original sale.

"Oh", she said, "you are covered by the warranty."

The salvation we received from Jesus Christ when we first believed comes with an eternal guarantee.

Romans 4:16 states this very clearly: "Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring--not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham."

Every believer, regardless of the degree of faith in Christ, is saved forever, guaranteed.

Therefore, we should only look to Him for our spiritual needs to be met when we are burned out and rusted away in this corrosive world.

His Book, the Bible, contains all we need for this time as well as eternity. The 'living water" will never run dry; drink, today.

Isaiah 8:19 (ASV) "
19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits and unto the wizards, that chirp and that mutter: SHOULD NOT A PEOPLE SEEK TO THEIR GOD? On behalf of the living should they seek unto the dead?
 


Author's notes:

In times of stress that come to all, everyone seeks for ways to cope. God's dear people need to go deeper with Him through deeper understanding of Jesus through the scriptures.

The Atonement of Christ Is for All Men

Christ's death was for all men. Right now, every sin anyone ever did has already been paid for by Christ's blood. God's holy character demands payment for every infraction against His righteousness. 

From God's POV, all such debts have been fully satisfied because of Christ's death on our behalf. On this truth, the invitation of the Gospel can be extended to all men.

Otherwise, preachers of the Gospel lie when calling all to Christ as they are commanded and commissioned to do. They cannot, with integrity, call to salvation someone whose sin debt has not already been satisfied by Christ.


So Christ died for sin because He was the only One who could. Sinless blood is the only atonement God's holiness could and would accept in payment. Sinner's can never pay for their own sin...all are bankrupt without Christ.

Limited Atonement, an evil doctrine of Calvinism, teaches Christ only died for those God had selected before time began. This cannot be, as it would leave a huge debt on the part of sinners still owed to God through out eternity. A sinner, as we shall presently see, can only pay for one sin with his eternal soul.

God's justice can only be fully satisfied by Christ's blood and in God's sight, this was already accomplished by Christ before the world began. Not one sin, however seemingly insignificant, will ever go unpaid, or God is complicit in that anomaly by allowing it to breach the Laws of His righteousness.

All truth of God must be clarified, and this doctrine is no exception. I am not teaching universalism, that perversion of God's Word of grace.

Not all are saved because Christ died for them. Each person must accept God's free and gracious invitation to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" and be saved. Each person must be "born-again" by coming to Christ, the giver of eternal life. Christ knows His sheep, and logic demands they know Him as well.

A refusal to come to Christ, whom the Spirit is exalting in His witness to a lost world as the only Redeemer, is the sin against the Holy Spirit.

This is the one sin not covered by Christ's atonement and those who commit it shall pay for it and only it, by their spiritual death...separation from God forever. God's scales of justice will be eternally balanced, or God is not God.

Let us believe the happy truth Jesus gave as His motivation for living and dying, "I have come to seek and to save sinners."

Those who seek Him who is seeking them, will soon find the Captain of their salvation, the hero of Calvary, the ever living One, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:20

Author's notes:

Christ did not come to condemn us. We were already condemned by our sin to be separated from the Holy One, God. He came to give us freedom to walk with God without a bad conscience and thus progressively become more like Him. This walk culminates in Heaven and involves a final consummation in righteousness so we are truly good and pure, fitted by His grace to enjoy God's Presence and eternal Heaven.

Israel: Present and Future

God's Word is completely accurate and extremely precise on every subject.

Here is an example from Hosea 3:4,5 dealing with Israel's present condition and her glorious future:

4 For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or household gods.

5 Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days.

THE PRESENT BAD NEWS ABOUT ISRAEL
(For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince)

COMMENT: This part is fulfilled. The present Israel acknowledges no king, earthly or Heavenly. She rejected her true King and crucified Him. She has no king.

(without sacrifice or sacred stones)

COMMENT: The temple was destroyed in 70 AD, just as Jesus foretold. So there is, and can be, no blood sacrifice as the Temple was the site for such offerings. Therefore, the Mosaic system of Law and sacrifices is no longer operative.

(without ephod or household gods)

COMMENT: Present Israel depends solely on her own wisdom, rejecting all types of spiritual guidance, real or false.

THE FUTURE GOOD NEWS FOR ISRAEL
5 Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days.

COMMENT: This part of the passage is future, looking to the end of the Tribulation, when Israel will repent and allow God to write His Law on their hearts. Thus the New Covenant will be fully enacted in Israel for the first time. (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

The new Israel will enter the millennial reign of Christ with Him as their King, ruling from Jerusalem, seated on the throne of David. This latter truth fulfills the Davidic covenant. The Abrahamic covenant will also be fulfilled and Israel will possess all of the Promised Land for the first time, just as God promised.

SUMMATION: God keeps His Word. Just as Israel's sin blocked God's good will for them and robbed them of His blessings many times, so it is with Christians. Yet God is faithful and will keep His promise of salvation in Christ to even the weakest, out-of-the-way believer.

Israel's experience teaches us that God never fails those who have trusted Him. He will correct and guide, He will chastise us for our sins, yet He will never abandon us. Let us resolve to hear His voice more clearly and give Him the glory due His Name.

Christ died to take away our sin in every way.

PAST: the penalty of sin, paid (death)

PRESENT: the power of sin defeated (Christ lives in us)

FUTURE: the presence of sin, departed (when we see Him, we shall be like Him).

 

We who believe Christ are called to be faithful because He is faithful. We find the God of truth revealed in the Bible. Let us pursue Him there above all other voices to the contrary.

Salvation from the Power of Sin

The Galatians had been wonderfully saved through the Gospel message preached by the Apostle Paul.

 After he left, a group known as Judaizers came to these new converts, like spiritual snakes encroaching on an unprotected nest of fledglings.

Coming from Jerusalem with forged letters of recommendation from the Apostles, they impressed the novice Christians with their knowledge of the Law.

These “teachers” soon had the new converts tied hand and foot with the demands of Judaism.... They were told real believers keep the Law of God and are circumcised. Soon the joy of salvation through faith in Christ alone ebbed away and the Galatians became religious. Envy, criticism and every form of religious hypocrisy held sway.

This is a common problem all new Christians face. How do we go on after coming to faith in Christ? The Apostle Paul wrote the Letter to the Galatians to answer that question for them and for us.

Paul sets the premise of his reply in Galatians 1:3-5: "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

Are we always thinking one dimensionally in regard to Christ’s death? Was His death only useful in saving us from condemnation? Or did His death on our behalf save us from sins past AND provide a safeguard against the sin and error every new Christian must navigate in the path to spiritual maturity?

I submit Paul is pointing here to Christ’s death providing a living Savior, who is our source of strength, guidance and spiritual sustenance.
He spoke of this point of view also in Romans 5:10: “For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”

The hope of the sinner is the salvation found in Jesus Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. The hope of the believer is found in the presence of the resurrected Savior in his life made real by the ministry of the Holy Spirit. There is victory for every believer in Jesus Christ as we realize His power and presence is available to us by Christ’s death for us.

Apply With Care

It is a tremendous help in understanding the New Testament to realize not everything is written to believers.

Misapplying true scriptures (all scripture is true) is the cause of much heartache to sincere Christians. Such wrong application discourages, frustrates and stunts spiritual growth.

True growth in the Christian has its roots in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, as expressed in the Scripture. No wonder the Apostle Paul commited the Ephesian Elders to "the Word of His grace" and promised them growth and eternal rewards by this means.
Acts 20:32:"Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified."

One of the main reasons Christians misunderstand correct application of the saving word of Christ is not realizing the designation of some NT Epistles to the nation Israel in general and Jewish believers in particular. These Jewish-Christian Epistles have the dual purpose of evangelizing the unsaved Jews, and strengthening the Jewish believers.

All believers, both Jew and Gentile, are now part of the body of Christ. We are all alike sealed into Christ and Christ is in each one of us, through the Holy Spirit. Physically, Christ is right now in Heaven, praying for us that we would flourish.

Therefore, the Holy Spirit in us is representing Christ, and ministering to us individually and collectively. He does this by teaching, admonishing, and encouraging us in love, to GROW. He also uses the parts of the body (Apostles, preachers, teachers, evangelists) to minister to the body and to grow the body numerically and spiritually.

Here's an example of the spiritual duality found in the Jewish Christian Epistle of 2 Peter 3:9: "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, (about returning) as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

Part A of 3:9 carries the assurance to believing Jewish Christians that Christ is coming soon. Of course, by extension, that's good news for all Christians, Jew or Gentile.

However, part B of verse 9 can only be applied to unsaved people. As Peter is the Apostle to the Jews, we can safely presume he has unsaved Jewish folks in mind, though again, by extension, we can correctly include all unsaved alike in the application of this warning.

Let us examine the latter part of this verse: "Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

Salvation is experienced by trusting Christ. Repentance is turning from unbelief (the mother of all sins) and receiving eternal life by believing Jesus Christ paid for all sin on the cross. This is a one time event in the Christian life, never to be repeated. It is being "born-again" which only happens once in both physical and spiritual life.

Proof of Christ's full payment is seen in the bodily resurrection of Christ. Those who fail to accept Christ in their brief life span, will indeed, perish forever, separated from God while experiencing eternal torment. Jesus said in John 8:24, "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."

No wonder the God of all grace who wants no one to perish is delaying the glorious return of His Son! He is extending His offer of mercy to all, but here in particular to His beloved Israel, through the Apostle to the Jews, Peter.

No one, having received Christ, (John 5:24) is in danger of "perishing". Thus we are forced to conclude this verse is directed to the unsaved Jew.

Let us not misapply Scripture. We shall look at 1 John 1:9 next time. That verse is the most misapplied of all in the New Testament, IMHO.

 

Notes:

Jesus speaking in John 5:24: Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life."

John 5:24 assures everyone who trusts Jesus Christ already possesses eternal life and will never perish. It is on this bedrock foundation we must build our house of faith and understanding. This allows us to correctly understand scripture and apply it as intended by our gracious Savior.

Something Good About Bad Times

Psalms 119:75 - "I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right, and that You in faithfulness have afflicted me."

As people of God, we can learn much from David, the man after God's own heart. As he learned, so must we learn. We need to be corrected by our Heavenly Father. We must guard our heart against thinking evil of God or His chastening hand.

We must grow to understand the Lord's correcting hand is guided by eternal love, and there is a nail print in it to prove such correction is administered in His infinite wisdom. "God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb", as the old proverb states.

Not only are His judgments carried out in love, they are fair and impartial. We can know God knows our situation and is fully able to discern between an evasive excuse and a real reason.

We must learn to not despise on-going correction or grow weary of daily demonstrations of His authority over all His sons and daughters. The very fact that we are the objects of God's correction, argues for us being real members of His forever family.

We can rejoice we are not getting the full due of our sins and failures, since Christ already bore that unbearable burden. Yet the law of sowing and reaping has not been repealed even under grace.

Perhaps no affliction has ever been allowed in our lives without the basic aim of driving us to the scriptures. Psalms 119:71: "It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn Your statutes." In God's Word, we find ready forgiveness, renewal and redirection into the proper paths for God's dear children.

Disobedient children of God reflect on their God, just as children in the natural show the care and character of their natural parents. This is why the Apostle Paul said, "This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men." Titus 3:8

"Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." 1 Peter 2:12

"keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander." 1 Peter 3:16

Finally, let us not reject God's correction because it is delivered in a clumsy fashion by a man: "Let the righteous strike me; It shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; It shall be as excellent oil; Let my head not refuse it." Psalm 141:5 (NKJV)

The Continuing Problem of Sin in Believers

The Continuing Problem of Sin in Believers

In Romans 4, Paul teaches that salvation from sin is by grace. He uses two outstanding Godly men from the Old Testament as examples to New Testament believers to demonstrate the reality of salvation through grace imputing righteousness to believing sinners.

One example is Abraham, saved and sanctified by faith in the coming Christ, 430 years before the Law was given. This shows again the observance of the Law, the Ten Commandments, is not the means of salvation or sanctification.

The second example, King David, is pictured as enjoying the blessing of salvation apart from any works to merit such grace. Indeed, Paul utilizes King David when he is least worthy of being blessed, right after his restoration from his ugly sin with Bathsheba! Lust, lies, adultery and murder have just been wiped from David’s record by the mercy of God.

Paul quotes King David from Psalm 32 in his teaching the truth of salvation by grace through the death of Christ for all sins:

Psalm 32

¹ Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.² Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputes not iniquity,

 The Apostle Paul was a “wise master builder” so we must understand that he purposefully omitted part of verse 2 from Psalm 32. We can understand this omission when we remember Paul is limiting his teaching here in Romans 4 to how a person receives eternal righteousness through faith. He is not at this time, teaching how such faith is to be lived out.

Paul’s omission from Psalm 32:2 reads; “and in whose spirit there is no guile.” The reason he left this out is because sin continues to live in every believer, even though we are justified from all things forever. The imputation of righteousness does not eradicate the old sinful impulses as the new believer soon learns by experience if not by the Word.

 

This “guile” (many translations use the term “deceit”) is the characterization of the sin nature we were all born with. It is that innate power within us which always seeks its own way and is entirely resistant to God in every way, always. The venom of the Old Serpent entered the blood stream of our original parents in the Garden and it continues to taint the bloodstream of all who are born of them. Our glorification with Christ in Heaven will include then, and only then, the eradication of our sinful nature.

Even after conversion, our old man, our sin nature, is cunningly devising ways to gain control of our bodies AGAIN in defiance of all we (the new persons in Christ) hold precious. This old nature is dead in God’s eyes, as it died with Christ. Death here does not mean ceasing to be active, but rather separated from God. Christ cried out in agony of spirit, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” That is when we died with Him, separated as sinners with Him, the perfect sacrifice.

 

Then we rose as new creations, when He arose. This is how God now views us; perfect, seated already in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We are in Jesus forever and be sure there is no sin in Jesus. We can celebrate this wonderful deliverance from sin and death every day and be strengthened by the joy of our salvation for the on-going battle against indwelling sin. Remember Paul when describing the battle between the new and old natures within every believer, states twice in Romans 7 it is not the “real” me, the “new me” that sins.

(Romans 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me. Romans 7:20: Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me.)

So the Apostle Paul, with the precision of a skilled surgeon, uses the Word of God to teach the security and blessedness of all God’s justified children. Yet he leaves room for the operation of the Spirit of God to teach us the further truths of sanctification. Let us arm ourselves with truth for winning the inner battle to the glory of God

Heaven: It's Not for Everyone

Heaven Is Not For Everyone

The general assumption in America seems to be that everyone will go to Heaven when they die. Some profess to not care where they go, even if it’s Hell. Still others insist this life is it, and death ends everything.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, said all should strive to enter into Heaven. Yet, amazingly, He also said that many would want to enter but would be denied access!

And Jesus said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”
How can it be many will want to be saved, and yet will be rejected? Three reasons…because:

1. Many do not realize the “narrow gate” is Jesus Himself. He stated in John 10:9: “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” The “narrow” description points to trust in Him alone for salvation, nothing else. This same truth is repeated by Christ in John 14:6: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." Only Christ’s blood can remove our sin in the Father’s sight.

2. Many will not strive to enter in until it is too late. Jesus pointed this out when He said, “When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from.”

God’s timetable for this world is right on schedule and will soon culminate in the return of Christ. It will be too late then to seek salvation. The Bible consistently urges all sinners to flee from the wrath to come…now! Flee to the arms of Jesus, who bore the penalty for our sins and has risen again to give us a sure hope of Heaven here and now. The door (Jesus) is open now but will close at any moment.

3. Many will strive to enter in the wrong way. Instead of trusting Jesus Christ, they will trust their own understanding of things. Or perhaps they will trust their church, their philosophy, or their own self-righteousness. Of these Christ says they are not only denied access to Heaven, they have also been “workers of iniquity”! This because everyone is a preacher/teacher by influencing others. To teach others to trust something or someone other than the Son of God for salvation, is to be antichrist, intentionally or unintentionally.

Jesus described the reactions of those excluded from His Kingdom at the last day when the door is closed.

"then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ 27 But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ 28

There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. 29 They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God."

Anyone not trusting Jesus Christ as the Son of God, His atoning death, and bodily resurrection will be “thrust out of the Kingdom”. Some will weep bitter tears of regret while others will gnash their teeth in frustration that their assumptions about spiritual matters were so wrong. God’s truth will prevail and His Son will be exalted in all the earth. If you are not saved (in right relationship with God through Christ) the Bible urges you to realize today is the day of salvation. You can believe on Christ and receive eternal life here and now.

The Bible plainly states; “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” Romans 10:9-13

Call on Christ today and be saved today… as no one is promised tomorrow.

Except for the Romans passage, all other scripture references are from Luke 13 (NKJV)