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)

NT Canon: Sorry, We're Closed

Evaluating the Glory of God on Cape Cod's results and resources...

Just scrolling through the Facebook page of the Glory of God On Cape Cod to see if there has been a manifestation and I missed it.

Has there been one?

I mean like the one they are praying for, not the "ordinary" dealings of the Spirit. It has to be a lulu if it happens, 'cause that's what they're praying for.

Looking at their leaders' teachings, I see the continuance of the weird wedding of Old Testament scripture (intended for the backsliding nation Israel) applied to the part of the New Testament church which has yet to receive the Word: the New Testament canon is closed.

Prophetic prayer life is the newest thing being promoted as the solution to the churches ills. We're told it's "little known" and "generally overlooked". From MPOV, such neglect might be understandable, since it has little basis in the church teachings of Paul,

I often wonder why Christians are so enamored of "revelation" coming from all sorts of sources when they have not fully absorbed what God has clearly written out in His Book?

It's going to be awful difficult for a prophet of today to top what's coming down the pike in God's already revealed plan for the culmination of all things to His glory.

In fact, it's forbidden to try.

Revelation 22:18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Paul or Matthias?

The Apostle Paul Took Judas' Office, Not Matthias, and Why It's Important



The Apostle Paul took the place of Judas. This is true because:

1. there are only twelve Apostles of the Lamb. This is a distinct group, even though any messenger of God may be called an apostle. For instance, Barnabas was an apostle, but not an Apostle of the Lamb, one of the twelve.

2. The Bible reveals that the Apostles of the Lamb are only twelve and their office is fixed eternally. Revelation 21:14: Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

3. The twelve recognized their distinct calling, both individually and as a group. Peter knew they needed twelve Apostles, so went about remedying the situation. He seemed to forget that Jesus was alive and well and about to pour out his Spirit on them.

The entire truth of the church was not known at this time. Peter did not even know the Gentiles were included in the church until later (Acts, chapter 9). The full revelation of all things regarding the church was given to the Apostle Paul as (a secret now revealed, formerly hidden in God).

4. Peter made several mistakes in seeking to replace Judas. First, he forgot that Jesus Himself is the only one who selects His Apostles.

Next, he was incorrect in believing that an Apostle had to be an eye-witness to the resurrection to be an Apostle. Any Christian today can testify to the truth of the resurrection, yet none of us were there. Even the Apostles heard it first from the Godly women. Yet Paul did see the resurrected Christ, and more than once.

Then last of all, Peter used an Old Testament method of determining the will of God. This was especially crude when contrasted to the Promise of the Spirit, not yet received. Later on in the church experience, the Spirit revealed Paul to believers and to the earlier Apostles, who then acknowledged his office. Peter's premature action in forcing a resolution to a need instead of waiting on God to do it His way, is characteristic of Peter ... and us, as well.

5. Peter is later proven wrong in the hasty selection of Matthias, by the Lord's selection of Paul to fill out the number of the Twelve.

Acts 9:15: But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he (Paul) is a CHOSEN vessel of MINE to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake."

Paul himself knew and claimed the office of Apostle: Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead), 2 and all the brethren who are with me...

Paul's works prove he is a true apostle...especially in the delivery of sinners from sin to Christ.

1 Corinthians 9:1: "Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? 2 If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord."

Acknowledging the Apostle Paul as the twelfth Apostle of the Lamb is important because:

1. It's always important to honor all of God's truth and the position Christ has chosen for men.

2. The ministry and teaching of the Apostle Paul to and in the church is of crucial importance in understanding Biblical Christianity. He is the Apostle to the Gentiles and the steward of the church age truth. We should recognize this all important church truth and as one brother wrote: "run all things (teachings) through the filter of Paul."

3. The Enemy still seeks to deny, disparage and cast doubt about the authenticity of the Apostle Paul and his scriptural teachings. Let us, conversely, understand and honor Paul's Apostleship and study his unique writings, given to him by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

4. The sinner needs Jesus to be saved from the penalty of past sins. The believer needs Paul to be instructed in how Jesus presently saves us from a sinful life. The church needs Paul to instruct us in how Jesus is going to save us from the Tribulation and deliver us into glorification.

5. The failure of church teachers of the past and present to allow Paul to occupy the place Christ has given him, is a major reason for untold misery and error in the church, throughout the centuries.

Christ's delegated authority as given to the Apostles is to be honored by believers just as one honors Him:
Matthew 10:14: "He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me."

Note:

The Apostle Paul is our role model in Christianity. He like us, had a sinful nature, but learned how to win the victory over it in order to live for Christ effectually. We do well to learn from him.

The Submerging Church

The Submerging Church

I look back on some 60 years of being a Christian. In that time, the church has been submerging into a cesspool of worldliness and wickedness, symptoms of its own spiritual weakness. I have seen believer after believer fall away from any profession of faith and some even into open sin of the worst kind. Even those who remain faithful seem to be only clinging to the sinking s...hip, with no strength to aid others who are drowning. THIS SHOULD NOT BE!

This weakness is directly attributable to the preaching and teaching of its leaders. Ignoring or lightly regarding Paul’s teaching concerning all doctrines to do with the believer and the church is to ignore Jesus Christ’s authority in appointing the Apostle to the Gentiles. Resisting Paul or failing to understand his role and revelation has allowed all types of humanism to adulterate the purity of the Word of God.

The current sad state of affairs has given occasion and boldness to the proponents of falsehood. Glitzy personality driven national “ministries”, driven by greed, have made tremendous inroads into true Christian churches. The ignorance of the basics of the Gospel has left the lambs vulnerable before the “roaring lion”, Satan. Believers feeding largely only on the latest Christian music are unable to discern the good from the bad and so are apt to build a tolerance for error in exchange for a spiritual high.

What is needed to strengthen the church is up to date preaching that is in line with the times, according to God’s prophetic clock. The exit of the church is imminent, and as soon as that breath-taking event happens, the Day of the Lord begins for all the unbelievers left on the earth. Jesus said this will be the worst thing that has ever happened on earth to any people. God’s wrath, fueled by His righteous rage against a world that has rejected His Son and His supreme sacrifice, will experience this Divine venting …and who shall stand?

Some, with no biblical basis, are teaching a great end time revival. Such teaching is exactly opposite of what the Word of God clearly states. (See Scripture below.)

Preaching the end time events now, while these cataclysmic things are about to break on an unsuspecting world, is the responsibility of the church! This doctrine preached and believed will clean up believers and result in a repentance commiserate with such powerful truth. This will engender a thirst for the truth of God’s Word in all matters. This thirst satisfied will cause growth in grace leading to the joy of the Lord in the believer.

1 Thessalonians 5 New King James Version (NKJV)The Day of the Lord

5 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.

5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

Getting the Rapture Right: What Are the Signs to Look for? None!

“Rapture” is a Latin term for the taking away of a large group of people from one place to another. An early translation of the Bible, the Vulgate, used the term and it is now the ordinary way of naming this great event.

The Apostle Paul is the source of the doctrine of the Rapture.
This is not surprising, when we accept that Paul was given the secret of God, never disclosed in the Old Testament. This secret was a mystery to everyone until Paul, the Apostle of Jesus Christ, was allowed to open it to us. It was a detailed revelation of the make-up, offices, structure, development and departure of the completed Bride of Christ to meet the Heavenly Bridegroom in the air.

Romans 9-11 are Paul’s explanation of God’s sovereign right to offer salvation to the Gentiles. This would be a real shock to the Jews as they knew their distinctive calling by God to be His people. This was true, but had been perverted into a sinful nationalistic Godless pride that dishonored God and offended Gentiles. Paul’s explanation was meant to establish God’s faithfulness in the minds of all, and to reaffirm His righteousness in all His ways.

What is the Rapture?
It is the return of Christ for His Bride, the church, made up of born-again people. Christ will return in the clouds, just as He left, and call all living believers to Himself. Saints who died before this event will already be with Him in spirit form. Their bodies will be called out of their graves and instantaneously transformed into glorified form.

Living believers will not have to die, but will be transformed into the eternal state as they rise to join the saints and meet Christ in the air. So shall we ever be with the Lord. Christ then will usher us into Heaven, to His Judgment Seat, and then present us to the Father.
Who will go in the Rapture?

Every person who is born-again, whether living or dead. We are a spiritual body, and no part of the Bride will be left behind. “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:13 (NKJV)

What about Christians with no visible “fruit” or who once seemed to love the Lord but have drifted away? Will they go? Yes. Salvation from the punishment of sin has never been based of the performance of any believer. Thankfully, eternal life has always been a gift, based on the sterling performance of Another, the Lord Jesus Christ. There will be no mistakes made, as God can read hearts, while we as humans can only see works. God sees faith in Christ in its embryonic form before it matures, just as He even knows how many apples a tree will produce at its planting.

If we are concerned some are getting away with sin and slackness, remember, all believers will appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ to have their earthly works approved or disapproved. Only works will be judged there, not souls, as our sins were judged before at Calvary in the Person of Christ.

This is a great incentive to seek the filling of the Spirit daily that we might serve Christ in an acceptable manner. It’s pleasant to remember Jesus promised even the slightest deed done in His Name, (like giving a brother a glass of water) would be rewarded. How like Jesus, seeking the good, even in the least of us! (Pause for tears of gratitude here).

What are the signs to look for? How close are we?

There are signs for the Second Coming, which will be all about the redemption of Israel. This is in keeping with the manner in which God authenticated His messengers and His message to Israel in the past. God’s method explains the main reason Jesus did so many signs, wonders and miracles in His earthly ministry, as He presented Himself and the Kingdom to Israel in His first Advent. The last and final sign to Israel was His bodily resurrection. A sign does not require faith to happen, like a miracle does. The resurrection is thus a fitting sign and the last one to an unrepentant Israel.

The Rapture, in sharp contrast, is imminent, meaning it could happen anytime. It needs no signs, since the Bride has been made ready by the Spirit. The Spirit has also given us His Word on this event, so we need no sign. The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:51, expresses the faith that he would be in the Rapture while still alive. This was not an error on his part. It is always right to anticipate the Rapture until it happens or until we die.

If we die before the Rapture, we will instantly be with Christ and return in the sky when He does in that great event. Our dead bodies will be raised and transformed into a glorious resurrection body like Christ’s and our new nature will slip into its new, eternal home. Then we will watch with joy supreme as living saints, our brothers and sisters, are caught up to be with the Lord and us. They will be transformed into the glorified creatures we have just become, by the grace of God. They come to us without even dying. What a joyous time!

What wonder as our oft-tested faith is proven true in the wonder of His Presence…and so shall we ever be with the Lord!

Understanding this truth will put a lot of scripture into proper perspective. Which is a good thing, since knowing the future always relieves present pressure, especially when the eternal future is going to be so wonderful! Accepting this truth of the Rapture has benefits. It helps us focus on spiritual matters, is a present hope in the midst of trials, and is an incentive to purify our thoughts and lives by the surety of the Rapture. It’s called the Blessed Hope for a reason, and a special reward (crown) is promised for those who deliberately keep it in view. We are to comfort one another with this truth, not beat them with it!

How will I react to all of this before and when it happens?

1 John urges Christians to continue to develop their faith into mature faith. Those who don’t cooperate with the means of growth in grace (Scripture, prayer, fellowship, service) will understandably suffer some trepidation in anticipation of the Rapture. Yet when Christ does return and we see Him, we shall be like Him.

I take this to mean we will undergo a great change in our thinking, along with the wonders of the rest of our glorification. We will think completely like Christ about righteousness and purity. Earthly relationships will be seen in the light of eternal truth and our questions about lost loved ones and what might have been, resolved at last, to the glory of God.

The best result of knowing this Rapture is coming is to plant a new zeal in our hearts to pursue the scriptural Christ in our thinking, to really hear Him who loved us unto death and washed us in His own blood. This true hearing of His word includes the acceptance of all of God's Word, but Paul's teaching in particular when it comes to the church's earthly existence and Heavenly destination.

 It's my conviction the failure in diminishing his role and revelation in the plan of God is the cause of much confusion. Let us listen to Paul, just as we would listen to Christ if we would truly understand church doctrines to the glory of God.  
Christ will help us by His Spirit to live to honor Him and do something for Him, in some way, even today.

Compromise Leads To Slavery

Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, "Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? What is this you have done to us?" (Judges 15:11)

I knew a man who was in WW 1, who told me the following story. The war was often fought from trenches, with Germans dug in on one side of the field of battle and our troops on the other. These battles could go on for weeks sometimes, and in this case, the opposing troops had worked out an unwritten "cease fire" on Sundays. Then one peaceful Sunday a new recruit showed up who knew nothing of the "cease fire" edict.

Spotting one of the enemy, he fired on him. The Germans were so outraged by this breach of the "peace", they unleashed every weapon they had on our guys. An understandable response in the light of the compromise.

The poor recruit! He thought there was a war going on and he was supposed to fight the enemy. But when he did, his own fellow soldiers turned on him and blamed him for rousing the enemy! These soldiers had lost sight of the larger purpose for the conflict and had compromised for the sake of a quasi-peace.

Samson found himself in a similar situation. Israel was called to execute the judgment of God against the heathen nations that occupied the Promised Land. God had given the idol worshippers over 400 years to repent and now He was set to take vengeance on them. His patience had not profited them and no doubt He was filled with disgust and wrath at their horrible worship of idols that included the burning alive of their own children. Their denial of the true God led to such awful practices, even to the raising of some of their children to become temple prostitutes, both boys and girls.

Under Joshua's leadership, a good beginning of fulfilling the will of God had begun, but it faltered after the passing of that great leader. Instead of obeying God and possessing the land, Israel found themselves in bondage to their enemies in Samson's time. God used Samson in the role of the "raw recruit" to renew the battle and save Israel.

In Samson, they saw a demonstration of the power of God using a man as flawed as they were to defeat the enemy. As Samson seized on the new jawbone of an ass and slew a 1000 men singlehandedly, so the hand of God seized Samson, even in the rotting flesh of the old nature and wrought victories through the Spirit. This example is for all of God's people, so we know our weakness and waywardness can yet be overcome, so we too can be used of the Spirit of God.

Was Israel grateful that they had a new champion? No! Instead they blamed him for getting them into trouble with their "rulers"! What a terrible thing to do for the people of God! Calling their oppressors their "rulers" an allegiance which belongs to the true God alone. They had forgotten the God who freed them from slavery from the most powerful nation in the world. And the manner in which He brought about their deliverance..."with a high hand". They came out of Egypt supernaturally, with Egypt's gold as pay for their years of slavery. They came out, not to die in the wilderness through unbelief, but to go in and conquer and possess the land given to Abraham by God.

Do not compromise with the Enemy of your soul but believe God and fight with the word and the weapons of the Spirit as God leads and guides you. The war will not be over until Jesus takes the Throne of David in Jerusalem.

Author Notes Christians are going against the traffic of the world system which is headed for destruction. Compromise leads to disaster. Be strong in the Lord and the power of His might.

The Blind Bind

12 But they (Samson’s Jewish brothers) said to him, “We have come down to arrest you that we may deliver you into the hand of the Philistines.”
Comment: Weak, compromised, defeated believers are always trying to “keep the peace” and “not make waves” because they are not filled with the Spirit. We are told “do not quench the Spirit” yet many will seek to quench the Spirit active in God’s man…so beware. David had more trouble getting through detractors and well-meaning advisors... then he did with Goliath!

“Swear to me that you will not kill me yourselves.”

Comment: Samson still treated those as brothers who were weak and did not attack them to deliver himself. He is nobler than they in this incident, and allows them to bind him.

13 So they spoke to him, saying, “No, but we will tie you securely and deliver you into their hand; but we will surely not kill you.” And they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.

Comment: Being themselves blind to the reality of spiritual conflict, weak believers want to comply with the Enemy rather than become winning warriors for God. They are so spiritual blind they would rather bind God’s man than follow him into battle.

14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting against him. Then the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him; and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds broke loose from his h
ands. 15 He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and killed a thousand men with it.

Comment: The philosophies of defeated men are snapped and superseded by the Spirit of God, just as Samson’s binding ropes were unable to restrain the power of God. With an unlikely weapon, God brings about His purposes. May He use our jawbones to His glory and praise in all the earth.

Let us beware of fleshy methods coming from compromised men of flesh seeking to restrain the demonstration of God’s power through His Spirit-filled men and His Holy Word.
Judges 15:12-14 (NKJV)

Podcast of New Man Radio: The Call of Paul _2

The Call of Paul _2

The Apostle Paul's Dovetailing of Israel and the Church

Romans 9.10,11 are used by the Apostle Paul to show us how God is saving the Gentiles, just as the Prophets said He would. Those same Prophets of the Old Testament had no understanding of how God was going to bring this about.

They knew nothing of the church that Christ announced and then later revealed, in detail, to the Apostle Paul. They knew what the Spirit testified to them about the salvation of the Gentiles, but not the how or when. This glorious mystery was revealed by Christ to Paul, who has been trying to explain it to us in 13 Epistles, as well as by his sacrificial life and death!

The fact of the church as a separate entity from Israel is often denied by many, but Paul tells us that the church was “a secret hidden in God” until made known to him and the other Apostles. It’s simple enough to see that the church can’t be in the Old Testament since its foundation is comprised of Christ Jesus, the Apostles and the New Testament Prophets. No foundation…no church; an easy deduction.

In these three chapters, the Apostle Paul’s message is that the church, made up of believing Gentiles and Jews, does not replace Israel or alter God’s covenants with His beloved people, Israel. This is very important, because God cannot lie, nor does His word contradict itself, as some erroneously teach.

Unfortunately, teachers of the past and present have failed to see the true meaning of these chapters and have gotten bogged down in endless speculations, complicated by their misunderstanding of election.

The true purpose is to show that God has every right to extend His mercy to the Gentiles, even though Israel is His beloved, eternal nation. Saving Gentile sinners as a work of God may not be difficult for some to grasp, but you must put yourself in the shoes of a proud Pharisee for a moment. From the time you were a child on your father’s knee, you have been told you are special, one of God’s chosen people.

You have heard the amazing story of how God picked the Jewish nation from all of the others to love and through which to display His power to all the earth. You grew to revel in your kinship to Abraham, a name revered and respected by all. Your pride in your nationality and religion grew as you heard about the miraculous deliverances from slavery in Egypt. You admired Moses, even as children today admire sports stars. You grew in zeal for the Law, the Temple and the rituals of the Mosaic system. You knew that you were special in the eyes of God and all others, the outsiders, the Gentiles, were dogs.

Suddenly, a false Messiah appeared, doing signs and wonders by the power of Satan to deceive the people. You raised your voice in protest and rejoiced that he was brought to justice. Then you found that many were saying he was alive! A large number of your Jewish people had accepted him as the Messiah and now…to top it all off…Gentiles were being added to what you now view as another Jewish sect! What can be the meaning of all this?

Romans 9, 10, 11 explains how both Israel and the church all fit into the grand plan of God, who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to save us, Jew or Gentile, through faith. 

Here is a summation passage from Romans 11:28-32: ²⁸ Concerning the gospel they are (Jewish leaders, unbelievers) enemies for your sake (through their hard hearts, Christ was rejected until the church is born, formed, and flown in the Rapture),

but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. NOTE; all Israel is the elect nation, but not all are saved. Election always has to do with purpose and nothing to do with predestination to salvation. Please see Paul speaks here of these hardened Jews as part of the Elect…yet they certainly aren’t saved)
 ²⁹ For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. ³⁰ For as you (we Gentiles) were once disobedient (unbelieving) to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, (their rejection of the Messiah through unbelief delayed the coming Kingdom and allowed us Gentiles to be saved and made members of the church, His body)  

³¹ even so these (unbelieving Jews) also have now been disobedient (unbelieving), that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. (even though Paul was the Apostle to the Gentiles, he longed for his unbelieving Jewish brothers to be saved; so should we!)
³² For God has committed them all (unbelieving Jews…and Gentiles by extension) to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.

Verse 32 is proof that salvation is not determined by predestination, but by faith in Christ. These unbelieving, hardened Jews who were willing to reject Christ and see Him crucified, can yet be saved if they simply believe the Gospel.

Paul’s misunderstood statement in Romans 9 that God will have mercy on whom He will is more fully seen here as wanting to have mercy on all, even those who crucified His Son! Paul’s earlier point was intended for the Jews to show that God has every right to extend His mercy to the Gentiles.

 

 

Paul, Christ's ambassador in chains.

 

 

 

Hijacking the Bible Study

Dennis Clough

Hijacking the Bible Study
Sometimes the leader of a Bible study will encourage participation by saying, "There are no 'dumb questions', so feel free to ask anything."

Well intentioned as this statement may be, it sometimes leads to taking the "Bible
study" far from its intent: learning and understanding the scriptures.
In this incident, Jesus was teaching the multitudes some heavy duty scriptural doctrines concerning Heaven and Hell, faithfulness and death.

One of the crowd was so caught up in his own world that he couldn't hear what Jesus was saying. But since people were giving attention to the Teacher, he tried to hijack that power for his own purposes. Perhaps his brother was in the crowd also and it seemed like a good idea to use Jesus and the power of "religion" to get what he really wanted.

Christ would have none of it, rebuked the man and used the incident to teach the danger of a lust for riches. Don't let your Bible study veer away from the scriptures in a misguided attempt to "minister" to the felt needs of those who desperately need to hear what Jesus is actually saying. "Gentle" Jesus embarrassed this presumptuous man for his own good and the good of His hearers...and us.

Can a Christian Lose Their Salvation?

2 Peter 1 has many encouragements in it for Christians to mature and show the fruits of righteousness in our lives. The encouragement stems from our eternal position in Christ, and there simply is no threat of eternal condemnation to believers ever, in the writings of the Apostles. 

Yet many of us know some who have started well by putting their trust in Christ and then fallen by the wayside, wandering far from what we can legitimately expect of one trusting Christ. It is very easy to use their bad example to promote something far worse; the teaching that a born-again Christian can after all, be sent to Hell.

Let us be honest, it seems logical, and even fair, that defectors should lose their salvation. It would be simple justice if such were the case. We, however, are under grace. Justice was executed at Calvary, for us. God's character is at stake in promising free salvation to all who believe and eternal life as a present possesion. God is not a man that He should lie.

Yet there is still something for the Christian to fear and that is failure to grow in grace. Admonitions for Christians never use loss of salvation as the basis of their warning but rather the loss of blessing and future reward.

The truth is that many have"lost their salvation", in the sense of "working out their salvation with fear and trembling". In other words, their sanctification, the process where God grows His children into a practical holiness here and now, has gone off the rails. The scripture speaks of this as the "shipwreck of faith."

Peter describes the problem of altered spiritual growth in 2 Peter 1:8: "For if you possess these (Christian virtues) qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins."

Please note that Peter does not say these are non-believers or that such have lost their "no condemnation" standing with God. God is true to His promises, whatever any man does.

Rather than thinking that believers who fail are lost, let us see Peter's words as a warning and encouragement to us. Any of us can fail...we can forget that we've been cleansed by the blood...and therefore go into a spiritual blindness that keeps us from seeing what God has planned for those who love Him.

Losing our Heavenly vision causes us to focus only on our immediate life. If persisted in, this life style will be the cause of losing what we might have gained by continuing to grow in grace. The Prodigal son returned to the father, but he still had wasted his inheritance and would never get it back.

Peter's words are for our good so that we don't stop growing and so that we will receive the rewards of a good Servant of Christ at the Bema seat. Not the least of these rewards is the Savior's commendation, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

No Condemnation Ever

"No Condemnation Ever"


 


    Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns?

It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. (Romans 8:33, 34)

No one has the right or the power to bring an accusation against any Christian in order to condemn a believer in Christ. It is God Himself, who alone is worthy to condemn sinners, who has already done the justifying! There is no power higher than God. This is our guaranteed salvation which can know no "deal breaker".

Certainly Christ Himself will never condemn the weakest believer, since it is He who died for all of our sins. The righteous charges against us were placed on Him. God looked on His sinless Son as though He were a sinner and emptied His cup of righteous indignation, boiling with His pent-up wrath against sin, directly on the open soul of the Lamb of God.

In a spiritual agony far beyond the physical pain of the cross, Christ's agonized cry showed the depth of His separation from God. "My God, my God...why have you forsaken Me?"

Bear in mind, that until He appeared as our substitute before God, He always called Him "Father". On the cross, bearing our sin, He calls the Judge of the universe, God. So will every unrepentant, Christ-rejecting sinner in that final day.

We who believe need to meditate on this sacrifice to end all sacrifices offered for us. Those who believe not, need to heed the warning...if God did not spare His own Son who came before Him with sin on Him, where will you find mercy if you die in your sins?

He also rose from the dead as evidence that our debt to God's holiness has been fully paid. He is our Living receipt before God, testifying to the glorious truth, our sin debt has been paid in full!

While no charge can be brought against us that would ever reverse our salvation and find us condemned after all, we are not above being corrected for our actions. Some have taken God's eternal justification as a completed present sanctification. Yet sanctification is the process of God's righteousness, imputed to us when we were justified, being worked out in our daily lives.

Therefore, we should not balk at any correction, no matter how poorly ministered, and dismiss it as condemnation. This is spiritual foolishness. Every Child of God will be trained and corrected by God. This is one of the marks of our relationship with our Father and is intended for His glory and our good. Correction of temporal behavior is not to be misunderstood as eternal condemnation. Hebrews 12

Three Big Surprises (Romans 9)

Three Big Surprises

 

1. Paul was stunned to find that the one he thought was a false Messiah, and who he thought was dead and buried, was now speaking to him from Heaven as Jesus, the Lord.

2. How amazed the disciples in Damascus must have been to find their well-known persecutor among them as one who loved and worshipped their Lord!

3. How astonished were the unbelieving Jews to find their former leader and ally preaching Jesus as the Christ in the synagogues!





Paul asked two questions of Christ:

1. "Who are You Lord?" Christ responded, "I am Jesus..."

2. "What do You want me to do?" Christ responded, "Go..."


These questions should be asked of God by every person. Learn first, through the Scriptures, who Jesus is, and then serve Him as He unfolds His plan for your life through the scriptures.