“To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins” —Luke 1:77
The most important question you will ever be asked in your entire life—DO YOU KNOW 100% SURE IF YOU DIED RIGHT NOW THAT YOU WOULD GO TO HEAVEN?Have you ever been asked this question before?Have you ever given this question any thought? There are many “If’s” in life but this is NOT a matter to be taken lightly.Your soul’s destiny is at stake!
Many people are in the dark concerning their soul’s salvation.They’ve heard umpteen religious teachings all their life but aren’t really sure of anything.They’ve never really settled down to business on this matter.
I would like to guide you in the following chapters into many of these Scriptures—with a sincere desire that you may come to the glorious knowledge of the truth and a personal relationship with God,Jesus Christ as your Saviour.
It is you whom God is waiting for! God does not want you to perish!You have no idea how much God loves you, what He has made available to you and how very much He wants you to get saved.Again, it is my prayer that the Holy Spirit of God will speak to your heart in the extremely important pages ahead.
I met many people who thought they were saved, but in fact were NOT.There is an abundance of false teaching and false religion all around us in society.The Devil is a master counterfeiter!Many false religions have birthed from sincere misunderstandings (false teachings) from the Bible.
I am going to share with you many of the practical truths which God has used to burn my heart over the years.I think of these truths often.I can proclaim with Jacob, “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the TRUTH, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant” (Genesis 32:10).God is wonderful to me and His truths are precious indeed.
I fervently pray that God’s truths will be a blessing to every reader.These are NOT my truths, they are God’s truths.I’m simply sharing them with you, gladly, as God, Jesus Christ has taught them to me from His Word.
I have included several chapters addressing the “assurance” of one’s salvation.I have personally known quite a few Believers who couldn’t find peace concerning their soul’s salvation.There is no reason to fear and doubt.The Bible teaches that we can KNOW beyond any shadow of a doubt that we are saved.“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may KNOW that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God” (1st John 5:13).
It is my heart’s desire to help you gain a greater understanding of God’s plan of salvation in the chapters that follow.I endeavored to keep the chapters brief, yet long enough to say what needs to be said.
Whether you’re saved, unsaved or not sure you’re saved—there is something in this book for you.It is my sincere prayer that God’s Holy Spirit will speak to your heart in the pages ahead as I speak to your mind, may God,Jesus Christ Bless you and keep you safe, always.
Saved by God, Jesus Christ’s amazing and merciful grace. God is awesome!
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you THE GOSPEL which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that CHRIST DIED for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was BURIED, and that he ROSE AGAIN the third day according to the scriptures” (1st Corinthians 15:1-4).
This is the Gospel according to the Scriptures:Jesus Christ died, He was buried and rose again.There are NO other gospels which can save!The word “Gospel” means “glad tidings” or “good news” … “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!” (Isaiah 52:7). The Gospel is the Good News of Jesus Christ. He has paid the price for our redemption.
Many of the Israelites heard the Gospel but did not believe it, “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his REST, any of you should seem to come short of it.
For unto us was the GOSPEL PREACHED, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with FAITH in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into REST, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my REST: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world” (Hebrews 4:1-3).
Many of the Israelites died and went to Hell for their stubborn unbelief.However, all believers have entered into God’s rest or “God’s Sabbath.”The Bible here is warning all people to enter into God’s rest before it is too late.If you die without Christ, it is too late!
Jesus is our Rest, our Sabbath! The Sabbath Day was first given to Moses to give to Israel on Mt. Sinai.It was a Day picturing the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Sabbath pictured man ceasing from his own works (the six-day work week) and resting in Christ alone on the seventh day (the Sabbath).As far as a ceremonial law to be observed, the Sabbath was given ONLY to Israel and NOT to any other people. God does NOT expect us to observe the Sabbath day today.If He did, we couldn’t light a fire, couldn’t leave our homes, couldn’t cook, etc.
The Sabbath pictured man ceasing from his own works (the six-day work week) and resting in Christ alone on the seventh day (the Sabbath).As far as a ceremonial law to be observed, the Sabbath was given ONLY to Israel and NOT to any other people. God does NOT expect us to observe the Sabbath day today.If He did, we couldn’t light a fire, couldn’t leave our homes, couldn’t cook, etc.
The Sabbath was given to a specific people (the Jews) living in a specific region (Israel) during a specific time period (the Old Testament).The ceremonial laws were exclusive to the Jews: the Sabbath, circumcision, the feasts and sacrifices, dietary and clothing laws, etc.Each of these earthly laws for the Jew reminded him of a Heavenly divine law.For example: circumcision was a constant reminder that the Jews were God’s people and were to separate from the gentile world (thus picturing God’s Children being separate from the heathen world).
“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written FOR OUR LEARNING, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4).
God has given us principles to live by through the experiences of the Jewish people.Hence, the Sabbath was a ceremonial law (only for the Jews) which was a lesson to the world that we are to cease from our own efforts and instead rest upon Christ alone for salvation. Isn’t that a beautiful truth!
You still have some religions today which teach that you MUST keep the Sabbath to be saved, which is untrue.You do NOT need to keep anything to be saved, just rest in Jesus.Have you entered into God’s rest by believing upon Christ to save you from your sins? Hell awaits those who are NOT resting in Christ.Only Jesus can forgive sin, because only Jesus Christ has the nail-scarred hands and feet.No one else does!
The Power of Salvation is in the Gospel, Not Our Eloquent Words
“For I am not ashamed of the GOSPEL OF CHRIST: for it is the POWER OF GOD unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).
The best way to win ANYONE to the Lord is to just give them the plain good news (Gospel) of Jesus Christ.If a person won’t obey the simple Gospel, then no amount of debate or arguing is going to change their heart’s condition of unbelief.The word “power” means “dynamite.” The Gospel is God’s dynamite to those who turn in repentance from their unbelief and to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.
Notice that God had chosen Israel as His People to propagate the Gospel throughout the earth.The Old Testament high priest would make atonement once a year for Israel’s sins.The Israelites were saved by putting their faith in Who was represented by the blood sacrifice—the coming Saviour.People in foreign nations could also be saved if they put their faith in the God of Israel. Salvation has always been by grace through faith!
When someone asks me if I use the King James Bible, I always say, “What other version is there?” As far as I’m concerned, the King James Bible is the Book for me. There are no other Bibles.I don’t like to call the King James Bible a Version; I call it the “King James Bible.”
God only authored ONE Book and promised in Psalm 12:6,7 to preserve it forever…“The WORDS OF THE LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt PRESERVE them from this generation FOREVER.”As silver “purified seven times,” that’s how pure God’s Word is.Don’t tell me that God, Who has the power to speak the world into existence, isn’t powerful enough to preserve His Word.
The Scriptures are clear that God is NOT a God of confusion… “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints” (1st Corinthians 14:33).All the different Bibles on the market today are confusing, they all say different things.
For example, many new Bibles remove the Word “begotten” from John 3:16.The King James Bible says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only BEGOTTEN SON, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).Why would anyone want to remove this truth from God’s Word?It’s a malicious attack on the Deity of Jesus the Christ.
All Believers are adopted Sons of God; but only Jesus is the begotten Son of God.To remove the word “begotten” from John 3:16 is a direct attack of the Deity of Christ.If this doesn’t make you upset, something is wrong!
We must be on guard as Christians to the counterfeit attempts of the Devil.The Bible warns us that Satan masquerades as an angel of light…“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” (2nd Corinthians 11:13,14).
Scriptures are clear that our enemy, the Devil, wears the mask of a decent and good guy.Satan comes to us as a wolf in sheep’s clothing.The highway to Hell is paved with good intentions and Satan is ready and willing to corrupt our thinking any way possible.
Destroying our faith in God’s Word is Satan’s number one goal and tactic.The serpent in the Garden of Eden asked Eve, “Hath God said?”Eve’s faith was shaken in the Word’s which God had spoken.
The next step was for Eve to disobey God.If Satan can only keep us from accepting the Bible as God’s Word, then he has won the battle over our soul.If Satan transforms himself into an angel of light, then why would it be difficult to suspect that Satan has gone into the publishing business as well.It doesn’t surprise me one bit that many of the new perversions of the bible contain thousands of errors.
So, it is vitally important that each believer be aware of Satan’s methods.One of the best ways for a sports team to prepare for future games is to study their opponent’s past games on video.They are studying the enemy.We must do the same.The Bible gives us much information concerning the methods by which Satan corrupts and destroys.
The only way we can recognize Satan, his disciples or his works is by comparing them to the truths of God’s Word. Apart from this test, they may be very wonderful people to know and be around, but still lost and on their way to Hell.Don’t let them take you with them!
God has promised to preserve His Word as we learned in Psalm 12:6,7.This means that God’s Word DOES exist somewhere in the world today.I believe the King James Bible to be that Book.Many people have used the excuse that the the King James Bible is too hard to understand.
Should we rewrite Shakespeare because it is too hard to understand? Of course not.So why can’t we study the King James Bible in the beauty of the King’s English? The truth is that the King James Bible is not difficult to understand with a little study.It is written at a fifth-grade reading level.
If you’re not a believer, then you won’t be able to understand the Bible properly until you accept Christ as your Saviour.This is the real problem.Most cults are started by people who attempt to study the Bible without the presence of the Author.The Holy Spirit is the Author.
The Bible is NOT supposed to make sense to unbelievers…“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are FOOLISHNESS UNTO HIM: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1st Corinthians 2:14).
The doctrine of the “Godhead” is foolishness to the unbeliever.The idea of God coming in the flesh is foolishness to the unsaved person. The concept of being “born-again” doesn’t make sense to the unconverted soul.
You can’t rewrite the Bible to simplify It for the unbeliever.The unbeliever won’t understand the truths of God until the Holy Spirit indwells him at salvation.You can rewrite the Bible all you want, and it won’t do any good.The only thing that the unsaved man can understand is that he is a sinner, who is guilty and needs to come to Jesus Christ for cleansing and salvation.
All the modern perversions of the Bible are copyrighted. It’s all about making more money… “For the love of money is the root of ALL evil…” (1st Timothy 6:10).One Bible versions after another keeps flooding the market. It’s just about to the place where you can join the “Bible of the month club.”
Perhaps you are wondering what a chapter about the King James Bible is doing in a book called “Salvation.” Let me explain.The Bible teaches that we are born-again by putting our faith in Jesus Christ.Why? Because He is the One Who paid for our sins.
We learn Who Christ is and what He did to take away our sins in the Word of God. So basically, we are saved by putting our faith in the Word of God… “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the WORD OF GOD, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1st Peter 1:23).
We learn Who Christ is and what He did to take away our sins in the Word of God. So basically, we are saved by putting our faith in the Word of God… “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the WORD OF GOD, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1st Peter 1:23).
We read in Hebrews 4:2, “For unto us was the GOSPEL PREACHED, as well as unto them: but the WORD PREACHED did not profit them, not being mixed with FAITH in them that heard it.Many of the Israelites in the Wilderness died and went to Hell because they heard the Gospel preached but didn’t believe the things they heard. You see my friend, you CANNOT be saved apart from God’s Word.If you don’t accept the Bible as God’s Word, then where will you find Jesus Christ?It is the Word of God that brings the Light of Jesus Christ into our darkened heart.
Jesus Christ is called the Word of God in Revelation 19:13, “…and his NAME is called The Word of God.” Do you know why?It’s because everything we know about Jesus Christ comes directly from His Written Word.The Word of God presents a picture of Jesus Christ and Who He is.
We read in John 6:40, “And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which SEETH THE SON, and BELIEVETH ON HIM, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” It doesn’t get much simpler than that. What must a man do to be saved? You must do God’s will? What is God’s will according to John 6:40? … To simply believe on Jesus Christ as He is portrayed in the Word of God.
Therefore it is vital that you have the Word of God. Notice the Words of 1st Peter 1:23 again, “Being born again, NOT of corruptible seed, but of INCORRUPTIBLE, by the WORD OF GOD, which liveth and abideth for ever.” Again, God is clear that He wrote ONE, INCORRUPTIBLE Word.
There are many corrupted bibles on the market and in our churches.You can only be born-again of the INCORRUPTIBLE Word of God.So, if your version of the Bible is corrupted, then you’re in serious trouble.You’re likely to believe a false gospel.You must have a proper view of Christ and of God’s plan of salvation if you are to be saved.Believing that Jesus was merely a good man, or a prophet is NOT acceptable to God.You must receive Him as the Son of God, the Christ.Jesus Christ is God.
All modern Bible versions present a watered-down image of Christ.By straying away from the message of Christ’s redeeming blood, many people have foolishly fallen into the heresy of Lordship Salvation.Thus, fewer and fewer people are getting saved nowadays because of perverted bibles.
The King James Bible is by far the most accurate and reliable Bible we have in the English language today.The problem with modern corrupt versions is that people are being led astray.
For example: we read in Philippians 2:5,6 of the King James Bible, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be EQUAL WITH GOD” (Philippians 2:5,6).
The Bible couldn’t be clearer that Jesus came to this earth as God in the flesh.Jesus forgave sin Christ that only God has power to.
Jesus accepted Worship that only God is entitled to. Jesus is equal with God the Father in every way.
If a person is to be saved, then they must accept Jesus Christ as the Bible portrays Him.Surely, the simplest of faith is all that God requires to be saved; but that faith must be in Lord Jesus Christ; and not in “another Jesus” which many false religions have to offer.Too many people say that they’re trusting Jesus, but don’t really know Jesus.Anybody can say they’re a Christian, and that they’re trusting Christ; but salvation is of the heart (which only God can see).
The word “sanctimonious” refers to someone who does everything right on the outside, but things aren’t right on the inside.They look very sincere and cross every “t” just right.They dot every “i” just right.They look like the genuine McCoy.However, they are hypocrites!They are pretentious and fake.
Jesus referred to such people in Matthew 23:27, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed APPEAR BEAUTIFUL OUTWARD, but are WITHIN FULL OF DEAD MAN’S BONES, and of all uncleanness.”People aren’t always what they seem! We must not be sanctimonious.
I only use the Authorized VERSION-King James Bible and would accept no others.The King James Bible is the soul-winners Bible and has stood the test of time.Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, “…man shall NOT live by bread alone but by EVERY WORD which proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” If I am to live by EVERY WORD of God, then I need an “Every Word Bible.” Not all Bibles say the same thing. Therefore, they can’t all be God’s Word.
There are multitudes of counterfeit Bibles on the market. We are to live by EVERY WORD of God.This means that God’s Word has an exact number of Words in it.Surely a translation will NOT have the same number of words as the original Greek or Hebrew; however, there is an exact meaning which must carefully be conveyed by the translators.
When men translate or paraphrase the Bible, they are warned by God against ADDING or SUBTRACTING from God’s Word… “Ye shall NOT ADD unto the word which I command you, NEITHER SHALL YE DIMINISH ought from it” (Deuteronomy 4:2).
When I find a bible that is missing certain verses and passages of Scripture, I know it’s a counterfeit.When I find a bible that diminishes Jesus Christ and Who He is, I know it’s a counterfeit.When I find a bible that diminishes the existence of hellfire, I know it’s a counterfeit.
When I find a bible that removes the word “begotten” from John 3:16, I know it’s a counterfeit. When I find a bible that removes the word “virgin” from Isaiah 7:14, then I know it’s a counterfeit. In mentioning these counterfeit bibles, I am using a lowercase “b” on purpose.
I have no respect for counterfeit bibles.There is NO compromise!Christians are much too complacent concerning the Bible and false doctrine.We should stand and contend for the truth… “Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?” (Psalm 94:16).
Tampering with God’s Word is a woeful iniquity.It is a deadly and wicked sin to change the Bible… “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall ADD unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall TAKE AWAY from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book” (Revelation 22:18,19).
God does NOT take it lightly when someone alters His Word.Listen to the warning by the Apostle Peter in 2nd Peter 3:16, “As also in all his (Paul’s) epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest (twist), as they do also the other scriptures,UNTO THEIR OWN DESTRUCTION.”
Peter admitted that some of Paul’s writings were difficult to understand.They were NOT difficult to read but to comprehend.Some people were attempting to REWRITE Paul’s words into a more understandable paraphrase. Peter said they were doing it unto THEIR OWN DESTRUCTION.
In other words, these people were changing the Bible into lies.They didn’t know what they were doing! This is the same situation today.These so called “experts” have rewritten and changed the Word of God to allegedly make it more easily understandable.
The result is a lot of heresies and misinterpretations of the truth.The King James Bible is NOT hard to read but will be impossible to comprehend if you are not a Believer. For the Believer, we must “study” … “STUDY to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH” (2nd Timothy 2:15).We must not be lazy in our Bible studies.
The King James Bible is not “a book,” it is “The Book.” It is not a version; it is the Bible.It is the Hope of our salvation and a Lamp unto our feet.It presents our only hope in Christ crucified.It awakens man to his sinful condition and directs us to our wonderful Saviour.It is as a friend while we walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
The Word of God has been preserved, Word for Word, in the King James Bible.May we love, cherish and obey the precious Word of God, for to do so is to love the precious Lord Jesus Christ Himself.Amen!
If someone says that Jesus is not Almighty God or that there is no Godhead (Trinity), then you know that he is a liar.
The test is to ask the other person what they think about Jesus Christ! Specifically, you want to find out if this person believes that Jesus Christ is Almighty God.
“Every spirit that confesseth that JESUS CHRIST IS COME IN THE FLESH is of God.” What does this mean? Nearly every false religion believes that Jesus had a fleshly body.This Scripture must mean something entirely different.
Ignorance concerning Christ won’t keep you from being saved, BUT a misconception of Who He is may. If you believe on the True Christ as He is, you WILL be saved. The only way to be saved is to simply believe on the Lord Jesus Christ apart from all else.However, if you’ve been taught that Jesus is not God and you refuse to admit that your thinking is corrupt, you are on your way to hellfire! You must believe on the correct Jesus. 
“Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed, bear with me. For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth ANOTHER JESUS, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive ANOTHER SPIRIT, which ye have not received, or ANOTHER GOSPEL, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him” (2nd Corinthians 11:1-4).
The Apostle Paul was not the average minister. Paul had a sincere desire to go above and beyond the mere formalities of religion, he truly cared about people and wanted to protect them from false religion and false prophets.Here in 2nd Corinthians 11:1-4, Paul warns us that some people are dangerous and extremely hazardous to our spiritual health. There are many people today, just as then, who preach ANOTHER JESUS—not the Jesus which the Scriptures portray.
If someone comes along teaching that Jesus never died on the cross, then you know he’s an imposter—a heretic.
If someone teaches that Jesus’ physical blood has no redeeming power, then you know he’s a false prophet.
If someone says that Jesus is not Almighty God or that there is no Godhead (Trinity), then you know that he is a liar.
If someone teaches that trusting Jesus as Saviour is not enough in itself to be saved, then you know that he is of the Devil.
If anyone says that a priest can forgive your sins or that you should bow down and pray to a statue (Mother Mary), then you know that he is of the Devil.
If someone denies the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ, then you know he is an unsaved person without Christ.
There are thousands of religions in this world.My dear friend, salvation is not found in any of them! You don’t find salvation in a religion, you find it in a person—Jesus Christ!!!
There are many concepts of Jesus the Christ in the minds of people throughout the world, but the true Jesus is only portrayed in God’s Word.Satan has introduced many false Christ’s and false bibles and false religions into the world to deceive mankind.We are warned by the Apostle Paul against accepting ANOTHER JESUS.
Paul also warns us of those who bring in ANOTHER GOSPEL or ANOTHER SPIRIT… “For if he that cometh preacheth ANOTHER JESUS, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive ANOTHER SPIRIT, which ye have not received, or ANOTHER GOSPEL, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.” The Gospel is the “Good News” of salvation. We are saved by God’s grace through our faith in Christ alone.
Most ministers today teach some OTHER way of getting to Heaven besides through Jesus Christ.They teach a false plan of salvation.The Bible calls them wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15).They do this to their own destruction!
The Bible tells us to TEST the things which people teach… “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but TRY THE SPIRITS whether they are of God: because MANY false prophets are gone out into the world.Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world” (1st John 4:1-3).
The Bible tells us to TEST the things which people teach… “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but TRY THE SPIRITS whether they are of God: because MANY false prophets are gone out into the world.Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world” (1st John 4:1-3).
People are spirits in the flesh.That is what we are! When we try (or test) the spirit of another, we are simply finding out whether they have God’s Spirit.We are NOT to judge or condemn anyone, we are simply told to decipher whether they are saved.Either they have God’s Spirit, or they don’t.We can KNOW if a person is saved or not by the doctrines which they believe concerning salvation and Jesus Christ.
As believers, we are commanded to “try the spirits” (test other people) to see if they are saved or not. If the person is not saved, we are to avoid yoking together with them… “BE YE NOT UNEQUALLY YOKED TOGETHER WITH UNBELIEVERS: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” (2nd Corinthians 6:14). This means that a Believer is NOT to marry an unbeliever; a Believer is NOT to go into business together with an unbeliever; a believer is NOT to become close friends with an unbeliever, etc.This is a command from God.
We are not to entrust a class or other position of church leadership to an unsaved person. We must test every doctrinal teaching using the Word of God as our Final Authority.
Anyone who teaches that Jesus is NOT Almighty God is a liar. Every Believer has God’s Spirit! The test is simple! The Bible tells us what the test is. If a person fails this test, they are NOT of God and have not His Spirit.
The test is to ask the other person what they think about Jesus Christ! Specifically, you want to find out if this person believes that Jesus Christ is Almighty God.
“Every spirit that confesseth that JESUS CHRIST IS COME IN THE FLESH is of God.” What does this mean? Nearly every false religion believes that Jesus had a fleshly body.This Scripture must mean something entirely different.
Here’s the real question:Do you believe that Jesus existed before He came to the earth? Do you believe that the pre-incarnate Christ became flesh? Do you believe that Jesus is Almighty God?
Every false religion attacks or diminished the deity of Jesus Christ in one way or another.
Many new perversions of the bible diminish Christ’s deity! Modern bibles that change and twist important Scriptures concerning Christ are all of the Devil. Listen to what the King James Bible proclaims concerning Jesus… “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be EQUAL with God” (Philippians 2:6).
We are surrounded by deceivers… “For many DECEIVERS are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist” (2nd John 1:7).
Those who deny that Jesus Christ is Almighty God in every way are NOT of God! Jesus is the Creator, He is the Father, He is the Holy Spirit, He is the Son, He is Omnipotent (all powerful), He is Omnipresent (all present), He is Omniscient (all knowing), Jesus is Wonderful!!!
Anyone who teaches that Jesus is NOT the Only Way to Heaven is a liar. We’ve often heard the saying, “all rivers lead to the ocean.” This simply is not so with salvation.It all depends which way you are going. Do all airplanes lead to one place?Of course not!There is a great danger in adopting the silly sayings of ignorant people concerning God and salvation.
Another lie you may have heard is “We are all God’s Children.” That sounds cute but it’s NOT true! We are all God’s creation, but we are NOT all God’s Children.You are only a Child of God if you’ve been born-again into God’s Family.
Listen to the warning of Proverb 14:12… “There is a way which SEEMETH RIGHT unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” It is a dangerous and foolish thing to decide for yourself what is right and wrong. God’s Word is pure, decent and upright—there is NO reason for any sensible person to ignore the Bible.
There are people everywhere in this world who know NOT the Lord and have adopted a crazy insane form of thinking. Even some Believers end up out in left field doctrinally because of a lack of proper Bible knowledge and a close walk with God.There is a fine line between faith and foolishness.We must combine common sense with godly wisdom.
Anyone who denies that Jesus Christ is God Almighty or that Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to Heaven is unsaved.
The Plan of Salvation is Simple, but the Devil Tries to Corrupt It
“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the SIMPLICITY THAT IS IN CHRIST” (2nd Corinthians 11:3). “In whom the god of this world (Satan) hat Blinded THE MINDS of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2nd Corinthians 4:4). Satan is a master counterfeiter!
The Bible is clear that salvation is SIMPLE! Salvation is found in the Person of Jesus Christ, nowhere else. Satan BLINDS the MIND of the unsaved to prevent them from accepting the truth. Most people already KNOW the truth, but willfully reject it.
They have some form of FALSE THINKING that overrides God’s truth. Humanism is an insane form of thinking that invades the human mind convincing it of its own superiority over God and His Word.This is the big problem—humanism! Humanism has no church, no organized religion, no building—yet it is the biggest religion in the world.
Humanism is the religion of “self” … “Beware lest any man spoil you through PHILOSOPHY and VAIN DECEIT, after the TRADITION OF MEN, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Colossians 2:8). Satan uses a counterfeit Jesus Christ, false gospels, corrupt bibles, worldly philosophy and useless teachings and traditions—to blind the minds of billions of people around the world. “And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own TRADITION” (Mark 7:9). Remember, “…LET GOD BE TRUE, but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4).
You must acknowledge Christ as He is. If you only view Christ as a prophet or as a good man, you can trust him all you want but it won’t do you any good because you have found another Jesus.
Let’s read this powerful passage again… “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth ANOTHER JESUS, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him” (2nd Corinthians 11:3,4).
The Apostle Paul warned of false prophets who would bring in damnable heresies, teaching ANOTHER JESUS which is not of the Scriptures. If you say that you are trusting Christ AND keeping the Seven Sacraments to be saved, then you have never been saved, because you’ve never completely trusted Christ.
We must make sure we are completely trusting the “Jesus” of the Scriptures and not some mythical or fictitious Jesus. Jesus as taught in the Scriptures died, was buried and rose again bodily 3 days later. Most religions have a misconception of Christ and nearly all false religions diminish Christ’s deity (that He is God).
We read in John 6:40… “And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which SEETH THE SON, and BELIEVETH ON HIM, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
This chapter, ANOTHER JESUS, has been written to help you recognize the proper Jesus of the Bible.All you need to do is simply believe on Him the best you know how. Call upon His name for salvation to forgive your sins.
Salvation is NOT difficult, but we tend to make it difficult. The hardest thing about getting people saved is first getting them lost.Fortunately, when I was saved it was only a matter of accepting and believing the truth. All I knew was that I was a lost sinner and needed Jesus Christ to save me.I only knew that I was a sinner and that Jesus the Christ had died on the cross for me.That’s all you need to know to be saved.God only requires a child-like faith to be saved.Salvation is NOT difficult.
To be saved, these folks would have to admit the errors of their thinking and then turn to Christ ALONE for salvation. No one is worthy to be saved, no one.
Salvation is a free GIFT from God, paid for by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. If we believe on the name of Jesus—that ALONE is perfectly sufficient and acceptable to God for salvation.We must always remember that we are saved solely by Christ’s righteousness, and not by our own self-righteousness.
We must NOT create God in our own image. There are over billions of people in the world who believe good works are necessary for salvation and that faith alone in Christ cannot save.The Bible says there is more hope for a complete fool than for someone who is too blinded by pride to admit the errors of their way.It is a foolish thing to create God in one’s own image.
We must realize that we are created in God’s image and CANNOT redefine God. Good works are NOT a necessary part of salvation and WILL prevent you from being saved if you trust in them for salvation. Mary CANNOT save you and praying to her is idolatry!
So many people today are following the lie that salvation is conditional upon the life we live; but the Bible says we are saved by HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS (Matthew 6:33), i.e., the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
No amount of religious devotion, or performing good deeds can substitute for the righteousness of God… “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.” Amen!
Salvation is found only in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you THE TRUTH?” (Galatians 4:16).
We read in Isaiah 53:6 that people are like sheep, “All we LIKE SHEEP have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” People are like sheep! Sheep are not known to be smart or cunning animals when it comes to safety; rather, they are susceptible and tend to wander away from the protection of the shepherd.People tend to wander away from God, from everything that is right and holy.
Salvation is found only in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you THE TRUTH?” (Galatians 4:16).
At no time in History has the terms “Christian,” “saved” and “born-again” been more misunderstood and misused than now. These terms have sadly become commonplace and are flippantly thrown around with little or no significance.
Genuine repentance brings about a change of heart, which should discourage a believer from parading their sins in public or committing evil deeds behind closed doors with no sense of shame or remorse.Although a person does NOT have to give up their sins to be saved, there should at least be a desire to give up their sins because they ARE SAVED.There’s a big difference between the two.
Fortunately, a person who is living in such gross sin (and all sin is gross to God) can become saved… “Whosoever will” may come! “…and him that cometh to me I WILL IN NO WISE CAST OUT” (John 6:37). What a wonderful promise from Jesus Christ, our God and Saviour! Anyone, no matter how deep they’ve gone into sin, can come to Christ for salvation.
We read in Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your SINS BE AS SCARLET, they shall be AS WHITE AS SNOW; though they be RED LIKE CRIMSON, they shall be AS WOOL.”It’s interesting that the word “crimson” in Hebrew means “worm.” It was a worm used in the making of dyes for clothing.Stains are hard to get out! Perhaps you feel that your life has been permanently stained with sin and there is no hope for you. Oh, yes there is!
The blood of Jesus can wash away the toughest stains which sin may leave on your soul! “…Unto Him that loved us, and WASHED US FROM OUR SINS IN HIS OWN BLOOD” (Revelation 1:5). Jesus saves!
Salvation is not found in a religion, but in a Person; namely, JESUS CHRIST!You get saved ONE TIME! In John 3:7 Jesus told Nicodemus, “Ye MUST be born again,” not born again and again and again.You can only be born ONCE physically; likewise, ONCE spiritually.
“And IF BY GRACE THEN IT IS NO MORE OF WORKS: otherwise grace is no more grace. But IF IT BE OF WORKS, THEN IT IS NO MORE GRACE: otherwise work is no more work.” Clearly, salvation is either “BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH” in Jesus Christ alone OR you are doing what Cain did—offering your WORKS to God. It CANNOT BE BOTH!
God rejected Cain’s offering and he will reject your efforts as well.Abel demonstrated his faith in the coming Saviour through a blood sacrifice.God was pleased by his faith. Cain had no faith but misunderstood and tried to please God in his own SINCERE but foolish efforts, just as billions do today! Cain went to Hell, Abel went to Heaven!
May I say, if you’re a true Believer, you should KNOW how You became a true believer!If you’re a genuine Christian, then you have the Holy Spirit of God inside and you can KNOW beyond any shadow of any doubt that you are saved.
You might have some doubts or concerns about your own salvation, but you should at least be able to explain to someone what it means to be saved.If you can’t tell someone else how to be saved, you had better examine your own heart and make sure you are really a Christian! If you know how you were saved, then you should be able to tell someone else how to get saved.Now maybe you don’t know all the Scriptures, but at least you should be able to tell someone the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Can you do this? Do you know how and why you’re saved?
Salvation is so simple!All we need to do is put our 100% faith (total reliance) upon Jesus TO FORGIVE OUR SINS and save our souls.Turning over a new leaf is unacceptable.Your sins must be dealt with! You need forgiveness from the ONLY ONE WHO CAN FORGIVE SIN, Jesus Christ.
Believe on Jesus Christ to forgive your sins immediately if you’ve never done so.Repent, by owning before God that you’re a vile, GUILTY, hell-deserving sinner as His Word declares you to be! TURN TO JESUS CHRIST in faith, trusting upon Him alone as your ONLY way to Heaven. Have you, yourself done this? Remember, ONLY Jesus paid for your sins on the cross, so ONLY Jesus can forgive those sins and save your soul from Hell.
Don’t play games with your soul and risk eternal hellfire and damnation, turn to Christ now for the forgiveness of sin. It doesn’t matter whether you pray or not. It doesn’t matter where you’re at. It doesn’t matter how you feel at the moment. It doesn’t matter what sins and faults you may have in your life.
What does matter is that you acknowledge before God that you are a guilty sinner, guilty for violating His holy Law, and then call upon Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and cleanse you with His precious blood.Have you ever done this?
Are you trusting Christ alone and NOT your own self-righteous works?Are you trusting upon HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, i.e., the righteousness of God which is attributed to our record through faith in Christ?
Are you trusting Christ alone and NOT your good deeds? Are you trusting Christ alone and NOT your religion? We need HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS! Eternal life is a free gift. Salvation is receiving; Not giving.
I am the good SHEPHERD: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and ONE of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of THAT SHEEP, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.
“Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish” (Matthew 18:11-14). What an encouraging truth! Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd. All Believers are the sheep of His fold.Jesus the Christ is called the “Good Shepherd” because He will not allow even ONE of His sheep to be lost. Amen!
The individuality of each believer is important to God. You don’t hear much of this these days. We often hear broad terms such as “mankind” and “humanity” used in religious teaching, resulting in a loss of feeling special as an individual to God.
Let me tell you, if you were the only person to have lived—Jesus Christ would have died on the cross for you! You are very special to God, no matter who you are or what you may have done in your past.Remember—CHRIST DIED FOR THE UNGODLY (Romans 5:6).That includes you and me.
Let me tell you, if you were the only person to have lived—Jesus Christ would have died on the cross for you! You are very special to God, no matter who you are or what you may have done in your past.Remember—CHRIST DIED FOR THE UNGODLY (Romans 5:6).That includes you and me.
Perhaps you feel insignificant to God as a believer, thinking you are the least of all believers.Fret not and take to heart the encouraging Words of our Lord in Matthew 11:11… “Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” No matter how insignificant you may feel about yourself, Jesus Christ said you’re already considered greater than John the Baptist in the Kingdom of Heaven!
“For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the SHEPHERD and Bishop of your souls” (1st Peter 2:25). The grace of God, Jesus Christ is all about forgiveness and moving forward for God.Others may not forgive you, but God always will, because the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.
Jesus doesn’t say, “Well, I’ll make it with ninety-nine of My sheep, we won’t miss that one.”No, no, no, ten thousand times no! Jesus said He will NOT leave a single sheep behind, no not ONE. As a matter of fact, Jesus said He would go back and search for that lost sheep until He finds it. This is a wonderful truth teaching the eternal security of the Believer in Christ.We are safe in the hands of Jesus!
People are easily swayed by the news media and by the politicians of our day. It appears that many people tend to believe everything they hear over the TV set. Quite a few folks have become lazy and have allowed a generation of unbelievers to tell them what to believe instead of making their own intelligent decisions.Most of the silly polls which the media conducts end up somewhere near fifty percent.The United States of America is divided on nearly everything.No wonder God likens humanity to sheep, so predictably unpredictable!
Society has reached the point of insanity. Young people start smoking for various goofy reasons and then spend a lifetime trying to break the addiction. People pump their bodies with steroids and all kinds of enhancement drugs just to compete or impress others.
Look at all the artificial additives in our food that are known to cause cancer in helpless and innocent lab animals. Millions of children are legally murdered through abortion annually, yet a woman goes to prison because she took drugs while pregnant and the baby died.
A grade school child is arrested for saying “I’ll kill you” to a classmate, but the cartoons he sees on TV are filled with such statements.Illegal drugs and violent crime are glorified by musical artists for our young people emulate. It’s all insanity.We’re destroying our own children.Oh, that people would seek the Lord.
Think for a moment with me, if you will, about the kind of society we live in.One guy won a contest and was put in the Guinness Book of Records for holding up a weight with his arm for five hours.The flesh was tearing off his hand with blood dripping.This is the insanity which Satan puts into the hearts of men.Billions of dollars are spent on space exploration each year, while millions of people are dying from starvation.
Legalized alcohol is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people each year and costs taxpayers billions in damages. Why is alcohol legal? It’s because of the greed of evil men.If you’ve never lost a loved one to alcohol, be quiet! Ask the mother who just lost her son to beer what she thinks about alcohol?
The evil beer companies tell people, “don’t drink and drive.” My question is: How do you know not to drive if you’re too drunk to think straight? I mean, if you’re intoxicated and out of your mind, how do you prevent yourself from driving?It’s all a bunch of hype from the greedy beer companies. LIQUID DEVIL-Booze has always been synonymous with sin, trouble and disaster.
It’s about time we started teaching this to our children. “say NO to bad influences,” “say NO to abortion,” “say NO to the queer lifestyle,” “say NO to Fornication,” “say NO to sodomy,” “say NO to pornography,” “say NO to cigarettes,” “say NO to corrupt modern bibles,” “say NO to false religions,” “say NO to forced drugging and torture, etc.”
I’m simply saying that Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd, and oh how our wayward society needs to stop following demonically inspired influences, and start following the God of the Bible.
Christians who preach the Bible are often wrongfully labeled as hateful. In Psalm 97:10 God commands believers to HATE EVIL. The unsaved often mistake hatred against evil as hatred for sinners, but it’s not. I preach against sin because I love the Lord and want to please God, but I also love people with God’s unconditional love. God loves us, not because of who we are, but because of Who He is. And so, must we love sinners for who we are in Christ.
We are to shine as lights in this old sin-cursed world, “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God,without rebuke, in the midst of A CROOKED AND PERVERSE NATION, among whom ye shine as LIGHTS in the world” (Philippians 2:15). Christians are to be harmless and to live decent, holy, upright lives.
Let’s say “yes” to Jesus! It’s not enough just to teach kids to say “NO” to what’s wrong. We must also teach them to say “yes” to what’s right. Just as Jesus Christ is the Shepherd of every believer; likewise, every parent is the shepherd of their own children. Teach them in the Lord.
Christ is the Good Shepherd and we will never go astray in life if we will simply follow the Light of God’s Word. Jesus is the Living Word (Revelation 19:13). Get you a King James Bible and love it, read it, study it, and live it.
“For the wages of sin is death; but the GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).Eternal life is a gift, complements of the Godhead, i.e., God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
Jesus the Christ paid a great price with His own precious blood. It is Jesus Who has the scars in His hands, feet, head, back and side. Jesus was beaten beyond recognition… “As many were astonied at thee; HIS VISAGE WAS SO MARRED more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men” (Isaiah 52:14).
Listen to the Prophetical Words of king David concerning Jesus Christ… “For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.I may tell all MY BONES: THEY LOOK AND STARE UPON ME.They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture” (Psalm 22:16-18). Jesus’ skin had been torn right off His bones.
Perhaps this was from the cat-o-nine-tails whip (a whip with nine strands of leather, each with a piece of glass, rock or jagged metal at the end).Perhaps the bones Jesus spoke of were in His wrists, pulled apart by the nails and the weight of His body hanging on the cross.Most of the pictures of Jesus hanging on the cross show a little blood, but this is not accurate.Jesus must have been bathed in blood from head to toe, hanging naked upon the cross in shame for our sins.
The Roman soldiers ripped Jesus beard out, smote Him over the head repeatedly with a rod to drive the crown of sharp thorns into his scalp, He was physically beaten with their fists, stripped naked, spit upon, scourged with a whip and mocked.Jesus did this for us because He loves us so.Oh, yes, my friend, Jesus paid a great price for your salvation.
The gift of eternal life which is freely offered to us cost God a great price. I bid you, please do not say “no” to Jesus.The trifle sufferings of this life cannot be compared to the eternal damnation of those who die in their sins without Christ as Saviour.Hell is forever. The sad thing is that no one needs to go to Hell, Jesus Christ has paid the price.
Eternal life is a gift. Even though a gift is free, it MUST be accepted.Jesus Christ has purchased you a gift, it is sitting in Heaven with your name on it, but you MUST reach out by faith and receive it. If you don’t, then it will go unclaimed.
Eternal life is a FREE gift from God… “But not as the offence, so also is the FREE GIFT. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the FREE GIFT is of many offences unto justification” (Romans 5:15,16). How much plainer could the Bible be concerning the gift of eternal life?
Eternal life is a FREE gift from God… “But not as the offence, so also is the FREE GIFT. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the FREE GIFT is of many offences unto justification” (Romans 5:15,16). How much plainer could the Bible be concerning the gift of eternal life?
Let’s say you go out and buy me a nice gift. When you offer it to me, I open my wallet and try to pay you some money. You say, “no, no, it’s a gift!” I continue to try to pay you for your gift, but you refuse. This is no different than the person who seeks to impress God with their own self-righteousness.
Eternal life is a gift my friend and there’s nothing you can do to buy it. If you try to earn it, then it is no longer a gift. You can observe the Seven Sacraments all you want, but it will avail you no good on Judgment Day. You had better receive the gift of God, so that Christ’s righteousness will be imputed to your record.We need HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Eternal life is a gift my friend and there’s nothing you can do to buy it. If you try to earn it, then it is no longer a gift. You can observe the Seven Sacraments all you want, but it will avail you no good on Judgment Day. You had better receive the gift of God, so that Christ’s righteousness will be imputed to your record.We need HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.
First, the Bible says we can KNOW we’re saved in 1st John 5:13… “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may KNOW that ye have eternal life…”
“For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him” (Matthew 21:32).
In Matthew 21:32, Jesus plainly taught that repentance is synonymous with believing on Jesus Christ.Who was it that believed?; the publicans and harlots. It was the self-righteous crowd who refused to repent and get saved.
The Bible doesn’t tell us that the publicans and harlots gave up their sinful lifestyle. No, rather, the Bible simply states that they repented and believed on Jesus Christ, i.e., they acknowledged their guilt of sin and wanted Jesus to save them. Eternal life is a free gift, freely given, and freely received.
Romans 4:5 and 6 couldn’t be any plainer: “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works.”
Imputeth! That means God literally takes Jesus Christ’s righteousness and places it upon our sinful record, declaring us justified… JUST-IF-I’D never sinned at all. What a Wonderful Saviour!
Jesus said in John 3:20… “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” It is not that we cannot be saved by holding onto our sins; but that our love for sin will prevent us from coming to the Savior to be saved.
Salvation is receiving; not giving.You don’t have to give up anything to be saved. A gift is given unconditionally and freely received (Revelation 22:17).
A genuine “gift” means you don’t have to do anything other than freely receive it. Well, there’s a lot of false advertising in the religious world today concerning salvation.
Salvation is not a reward; but rather, a free gift. If you have to open a new bank account to obtain a so-called “gift,” then it’s not truly a gift; but rather, a reward that you earned by opening a new account. Anyone who tells you that salvation is a free gift; but first you have to forsake your sins to get it, is a liar! Salvation is not a reward; It’s a free gift paid for by Jesus’ literal, physical, precious blood (1st Peter 1:18,19; Hebrews 9:12).
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine HEART that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9). Salvation is of the heart, NOT the mouth.
The Word of God is eternal! The last Word of Revelation already existed in heaven before the first verse in Genesis was ever written.The Bible is eternal, without beginning or end. “FOR EVER, O LORD, thy word is settledin heaven” (Psalm 119:89). “Forever” means without beginning or end. God is forever eternal and so is His Word. His Word is “settled.” God has not revised, rewritten, paraphrased or changed His Word. Men have NO RIGHT to alter and change God’s Word. There are hundreds of bibles on the market that are counterfeits of the truth.
God magnifies His Word above His very name! “…for thou hast MAGNIFIED THY WORD ABOVE ALL THY NAME” (Psalm 138:2). How dare any man or woman make light of the Word of God. To make light of the Word of God is to make light of God Almighty. God’s Word is more important than God’s name. Why? Because God would be a liar if His Word was not truth. God’s name would mean nothing if His Word was unreliable! Do you see how important the Bible is? It is a dangerous thing to tamper with the Bible. You CANNOT love God and hate the Bible.
We learn from various Scriptures that the Bible is more than just a book, it is a person. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and THE WORD WAS GOD” (John 1:1). “And THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
Jesus said, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). That settles it!The doctrine of Lordship Salvation is dangerous because it adds to what Jesus said concerning salvation.
The doctrine of Lordship salvation is of the devil.Salvation is a FREE GIFT of God and we must NOT add or subtract anything from it.
The truth of the matter is that Jesus automatically becomes your Lord and Savior the moment you believe on Him.
Romans 3:23 tells us, “For ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Again in Romans 3:10 we read the words “There is NONE righteous, No NOT ONE.” We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12).
Romans 5:12 teaches us that Adam’s spiritual death has been passed down to all of humanity. This means we are ALL born spiritually dead. Adam and Eve would have lived forever had they not sinned.This is why each person MUST be born-again! The term “born-again” means “being born for the second time.” There is the physical birth and then there is the spiritual birth.We are born spiritually dead into this world without God.We are all born with a fallen nature, a natural tendency to sin.
As sinners, we cannot do anything of our own effort to reconcile ourselves with God—We must follow God’s plan of salvation. All of our GOOD WORKS CANNOT SAVE US… “For BY GRACE are ye saved THROUGH FAITH; and that NOT OF YOURSELVES: it is the GIFT OF GOD: NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9).
NOT BY WORKS of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us” (Titus 3:5). Read the following words spoken in Isaiah, “But we are ALL as an unclean thing, and ALL our righteousnesses are as FILTHY RAGS; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isaiah 64:6).
We are all sinners. God is simply trying to show you that your NOT as righteous as you may have thought you were. As a matter of fact; “There is NONE righteous…” (Romans 3:10). First John 1:10 declares that if we deny that we have sinned, we are calling God a liar. It is the LAW (commands of God) that show us just how wicked we really are, “…for BY THE LAW is the KNOWLEDGE OF SIN” (Romans 3:20). The law condemns us and points us to Christ.
We are all hell-deserving sinners, guilty, worthy of death and punishment. Whether we agree with the Bible or not, the truth cannot be changed. If a person claims that Hell does not exist and thinks a loving God would not send someone to burn in Hell forever, then that person is an UNBELIEVER. He or she simply do NOT accept the plain teaching of God’s Word. If you do not believe the Bible is God’s Word, then you are an UNBELIEVER.
Romans chapter one gives us the “progression” of people who have decided to travel the highway of destruction (to ultimate misery and judgment) in hell. Surely, God doesn’t want anyone to perish. The Bible declares that we are responsible for ourselves—we must decide our own fate! Why would a person reject God? Why would any man or woman despise their Creator? It all begins in Romans one with the easily overlooked little phrase, “…WHEN THEY KNEW GOD…” (Romans 1:21). Every man and woman at some point in life “knew God.” The Greek word for “knew” here means “to be aware of” or “to perceive.” Thus, we have all perceived God’s presence at some point in our life.Everyone has had the chance to do what’s right and seek after God.
Romans chapter one gives us the step-by-step downfall of those who choose the wrong path by deciding they don’t need God. “…they did not like to RETAIN GOD in their knowledge…” (Romans 1:28). What a sad statement! They simply didn’t want God in their life, not even in their mind.
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that ALL SHOULD COME TO REPENTANCE” (2nd Peter 3:9). God wants ALL people to repent; that is, change their mind. Repentance is a change of mind.Most people try to rationalize and justify their sins.
You can put all the faith in Christ you want, it means nothing if you’re in denial about your sins… “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1st John 1:10).
God COMMANDS us to repent… “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30). It is not an option whether or not we want to repent, it is a divine command from Almighty God. 2nd Thessalonians 1:8,9 WARNS… “In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction…” This is a serious matter friend. God has commanded all men to repent.
Soulwinning Christians are sometimes accused of propagating “Easy Believism.” Some might call this the “1-2-3-follow-me-plan-of-salvation.” This is where a soul-winner takes a Bible and shows someone a few quick verses (concerning salvation of course).
Look up the word “compel” and you might be surprised. It means “to force or make someone do something.” Wow!!! Does Jesus want us to force people to get saved? Well, yes and no. No, because you can’t force a person to accept Christ-It must be from the heart. Yes, because people get stuck in life and need someone else to prod (help) them along to do what is right.
Then
shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into
everlasting fire, PREPARED FOR THE DEVIL AND HIS ANGELS (Matthew 25:41). God
never intended for one single person to end up in Hell. It is NOT God’s will
that anyone should perish in their sins and go to Hell… “The Lord is not slack
concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward,
NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, but that ALL should come to REPENTANCE”
(2nd Peter 3:9).
“And
the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month
shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the
year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth
day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the
house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little
for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according
to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your
count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first
year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth
day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel
shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the BLOOD, and strike it
on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they
shall eat it. And they shall eat the
flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter
herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but
roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until
the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn
with fire. And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your
feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the
LORD’s passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will
smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against
all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And the BLOOD shall be to you for a token upon
the houses where ye are: and WHEN I SEE THE BLOOD, I WILL PASS OVER YOU, and
the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of
Egypt” (Exodus 12:1-13).
I
had to learn that it was God’s Salvation, not mine—God did the saving, not me.
I was looking to what I had done in the past—Did I mean what I said? … Did I
pray just right? … Did I have enough faith? … What if God didn’t save me? … Am
I really saved? … What if I didn’t know I was a sinner? … What if I only turned
over a new leaf? …What if? … What if? … What if? I was driving myself out of my
mind worrying!!! Sound familiar?
God
is very real to me and it is a bit scary sometimes to realize that I MUST one
day stand before Him.However, my fears are alleviated when I realize that I am
safe in Christ, and that He is my Defense Attorney (Advocate) in Heaven (1st
John 2:1). If you’ve ever been summonsed to court, and had the privilege of
having a lawyer, then you know the sweet peace that having a lawyer brings. Jesus’ Christ blood sacrifice made everything right between God the Father and me the day I
got saved. However, I still fear to stand before the God of the universe,
because I must give account for my life (Romans 14:12; 2nd Corinthians
5:10-11).
I
would like to say again that your hope of salvation should not rest in the
past. However, you should remember AT LEAST A TIME AND PLACE where you believed
on Jesus to save you. It might have been at home in your room, or at the park,
or in a subway, or at church, etc—It does NOT matter “where” or “when”—Just as
long as you confessed you were a sinner to God and trusted Jesus Christ to
forgive and save you. That is very simple isn’t it? Salvation is simple.
If
you have present, genuine faith in Jesus Christ, that He is the only One Who
can cleanse your sins, and you are trusting Him alone for salvation—then you
are saved. Think about this: You weren’t born trusting Jesus—If you are
trusting Jesus now then you MUST have started at some point.
Jesus
NEVER told anyone “to pray” to be saved. Jesus never told anyone “to make a
decision” to be saved. Jesus never told anyone “to have an experience” to be
saved. Jesus never told anyone “to have much faith” to be saved. No, Jesus
simply told the people to believe on Him.
I
hope some of the things I have shared with you has been helpful.I have asked
the Holy Spirit umpteen times throughout the writing of this book for guidance
and wisdom.I believe He has helped me throughout.I claim to be a sincere
woman with an honest heart’s desire to help others obtain God’s salvation and
the full assurance of that salvation.So much could be said about this matter.
On the contrary, we read the opposite in Matthew 7:21, “Not every one that saith unto me, LORD, LORD, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” We are NOT saved by saying certain magic words or by performing certain religious rites.The Scriptures are clear—we are saved by doing God’s will. And John 6:40 tells us what God’s will is concerning salvation—to BELIEVE on Jesus Christ!
These people in Matthew chapter seven were sincere I believe, they were religious no doubt.Let’s hear their testimony in Matthew 7:22, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?”
They had done so many wonderful things “in Jesus name,” but listen to what Jesus told them in Matthew 7:23… “And then will I profess unto them, I NEVER KNEW YOU: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Whoa! These people had spent their lives prophesying “in Jesus name,” casting out devils “in Jesus name” and doing many wonderful works “in Jesus name.”Now they’re about to be cast into Hell for their disobedience. They failed to do GOD’S WILL.
People get the wrong impression that they can earn their way to Heaven or merit salvation by their own works—this is a lie of the Devil! There is NOTHING we can do to earn Heaven. We ALL deserve to burn in Hell.
The passage of Scripture we just read is perhaps the most shocking and eye-opening truth in the Bible. It’s hard to imagine these sincere people going to Hell after spending so much time trying to help others in the name of Jesus. We learn a few truths from this passage:
First, The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Many sincere and loving people will be shocked someday to find out that their name is NOT in the Book of Life. They thought they were going to Heaven, for any number of reasons, but THEY WERE WRONG. “There is a way which SEEMETH RIGHT unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12).
Second, many false religions operate in Jesus’ name. I cannot stress this fact enough, beware! I only wish I could get people to realize that most religion is of the Devil. Jesus said in Matthew 7:23 that false prophets are “workers of iniquity.”
Third, The only way to be saved is by doing GOD’S WILL. What is God’s will? We find the answer in John 6:40, “And this is the WILL of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” God’s will is for each and every person to see Jesus as He is portrayed in the Word of God and to BELIEVE ON HIM. Many religions come to us today, but they have “another Jesus.” We must believe on Jesus Christ as he is presented in the Scriptures—as God manifest in the flesh.
Fourth, We are NOT all God’s Children. I often hear Modernists say, “We are all God’s Children.” Not so! We are all God’s creation, but we are definitely NOT all God’s Children.A “Modernist” is someone who speaks of spiritual matters, but is unsaved.They make light of the Bible. These are not God’s Children.Only those who are truly born-again can truthfully claim to be the Children of God.
Someone has foolishly taught concerning salvation that all rivers lead to the ocean.Actually, it all depends how you look at it. It depends on which was you’re traveling. Do all airplanes fly to Israel?Do all trains lead to New York? Do all ships lead to NC? It is frightening the way people think, and base their eternal destiny on such foolish thinking.
God Authored the Bible for us, to show us the way of salvation, so we wouldn’t have to guess or make erroneous conclusions.
“For with the HEART man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10). It is with the heart that we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. The confession of the mouth can only follow the believing of the heart. It is the believing of the heart that makes us righteous in God’s eyes because of Christ’s righteousness which is applied to our record. If we believe on Christ in our heart but fail to confess Him to men with our mouth, we are still saved. Why? Because it is “with the heart” that a person believeth unto righteousness.
The very fact that a mute person cannot confess Christ audibly is proof that God doesn’t require it as part of saving-faith.Salvation is of the heart.We are saved by believing on Christ.
Neither is water baptism necessary for salvation, but it is something that God wants us to do if we have the opportunity to do so.When we get baptized, we are making a public profession of our faith. We are displaying outwardly what has happened inwardly.
Baptism pictures the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.We symbolize our faith in the Gospel in being baptized.It is similar to wearing a wedding ring. The ring doesn’t make you married, it is simply a symbol of ownership. You own each other. If the ring is destroyed, the marriage is still valid. Two people do not need a ring to be married in God’s eyes.
Likewise, water baptism does not save, nor is it required to be saved… “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that BELIEVETH NOT shall be damned” (Mark 16:16). The emphasis is upon BELIEVING. Water baptism cannot save a person any more than walking into a garage makes one an automobile. A wedding ring means nothing if you have no marriage. Likewise, water baptism means nothing if you haven’t believed in your heart on the Lord. Salvation is of the heart.
It is NOT what you say in a sinner’s prayer that is important. In fact, you don’t need to pray at all to be saved. What does matter is that you BELIEVE in your HEART that Jesus is the Saviour, the Son of God, and you trust upon Him and His blood sacrifice to wash away your sins. You need not open your mouth to be saved, salvation is of the heart.
It is not uncommon these days to hear people claim that they “used to be a Christian.” That is not true. There’s no such thing as a former Christian.They may have experienced the philosophy of Christianity, or belonged to a religious organization; but they never became a born-again Christian in Christ Jesus.
The world’s churches are filled with religious people who are woefully ignorant of the truth of God’s Word. Their minds have been filled with religious ideas and Biblical stories; but they’ve never personally come to God as a guilty sinner in need of salvation. It is only when we repent, by owning to God that we are as vile a sinner as He has declared us to be in His holy Word, and place our faith in the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ to wash away our sins, believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, that we are born-again anew.
Salvation begins with the Word of God! Apart from God’s Holy Word, we would be up a creek without a paddle. “Being born again, not of corruptible SEED, but of incorruptible, BY THE WORD OF GOD, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1st Peter 1:23). The Word of God is NOT merely a book, the Word of God is alive! Notice the words, “…which liveth and abideth forever.” It is alive because Christ is alive.
The Bible is the “seed” in our heart that can sprout into new spiritual life. This can only happen by the power of God’s Holy Spirit. Whether or not the seed dies or lives is dependent upon you. The seed is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you believe upon Christ, then the seed of God’s Word has sprung new life in you through the Holy Spirit—God’s Holy Spirit born in you. You will have been born-again.
The bottom line is that you CANNOT be saved without the Word of God for it is the very seed which brings new life into your heart. If you refuse to accept the Bible as God’s Word, then you are hopeless my friend. I have witnessed to many people who say they do NOT recognize the Bible as God’s Word.
Perhaps this is the greatest challenge of all for the soul-winner—trying to convince a person that the Bible is God’s Word. Once a person accepts the Bible as God’s Holy Word, then they are more likely to listen to what you have to say from the Bible. I have even heard people curse and say horrible things about the Bible. When a person tells me they don’t believe the Bible is God’s Word, I realize that our conversation is nearly over because we are thinking on two different wave lengths. We have nothing in common on the matter.
Everything I have to say as a Believer is based upon THE BIBLE. To search for salvation apart from God’s Word is futile. That’s like telling a doctor you want to be healed without medicine or telling a mechanic you want your car repaired without tools.
I’ve never met a Bible-rejecter who was willing to accept Christ as Saviour.You simply cannot be saved without believing the Bible is God’s inspired Holy Word. If you reject God’s Word, you are rejecting the light.There are many people who will call themselves Christians but their faith is NOT based upon the Word of God.Their faith is based upon a false religion, a personal philosophy, an organization, etc. Your faith MUST be based upon the Word of God and the truths it teaches concerning Christ and salvation.If a person will NOT accept the Written Word, neither will he accept the Living Word.
Do you accept the Bible as God’s Word?You must examine the Bible and make this decision for yourself, no one else can do it for you.Pray and ask God to open the eyes of your understanding.Salvation is a matter of the heart, let God’s Holy Word speak to your heart.
You CANNOT neglect your Bible and stay in fellowship with the Lord. The Bible means everything to the serious-minded Believer. And by the way—I don’t care how much Bible knowledge you may possess, If you don’t spend time daily walking with your God, you will be carnal. How sad it is to hear of Christian people who injure others. They have a surplus of Scriptural knowledge but somewhere along the way got away from walking with God. This is the danger of success.
We learn from various Scriptures that the Bible is more than just a book, it is a person. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and THE WORD WAS GOD” (John 1:1). “And THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
Jesus Christ is the LIVING WORD, the Bible is the WRITTEN WORD. Jesus is the Word of God. “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called THE WORD OF GOD” (Revelation 19:13). Let me say, to spend time with God’s Word is to spend time with God. If we obey the Bible, we are obeying God. If we don’t believe the Bible, we are spitting on God.
The Word of God is a book of power! “For the WORD OF GOD is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
There is NO book in the universe that can compare to the power of the Word of God.It was the very Word of God that created the universe.It was the Word of God that became flesh and dwelt among men and they beheld His glory as of the only Begotten Son of God. It’s been said, “If man could write the Bible, he wouldn’t and if he would, he couldn’t.”
There is no way possible that such a book could have been written by mortal men.The Bible is the only Book in the world that shows men their sinfulness and offers a plan of redemption.The Bible is alive because the Holy Spirit (God) speaks to us while we read it.God has promised to guide His Children into the truth through His Holy Spirit. God is the Author of the Bible, not man. The Author will guide us if we will allow Him.
Many people are scared of the Bible.The Bible scares many people because it demands an answer.Everyone must decide whether or not there is a Hell, a Heaven, a God, a Devil, eternal damnation, life beyond the grave, etc. Every single human being must decide these things.
The Bible is a constant reminder that time is running out. You cannot read and familiarize yourself with the Bible without being convicted by the Holy Spirit of God for He is the Divine Author. John 3:20 tells us why many people avoid the Bible, “For everyone that DOETH EVIL hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, LEST HIS DEEDS SHOULD BE REPROVED.
The Bible is a book of conviction.Many people miss out on salvation because of their love for sin, because they refuse to admit that they’re ways are sinful.You see my friend, you can’t get saved until you admit that you’re a sinner, deserving of Hell. If you’re not willing to confess your sins by admitting your wicked ways to yourself first and then to God, then you don’t need a Saviour.Many people will not be honest with themselves. If there’s no crime, then there’s no punishment. Do you see your need for Christ?
Perhaps you do not accept the Bible as God’s Word.I once heard a man say that he would never accept the Bible as God’s Word until God Himself handed it to him.This man is living dangerously!That’s like saying he won’t be careful around electricity unless he can see it or saying he won’t look before crossing the street unless he can hear the cars.
Faith requires us to believe in spite of the doubts which we may have. No one has an excuse not to follow after God.If you do not believe in God or fail to acknowledge His Word as being inspired, I encourage you to read Romans chapter one (the entire chapter).If you still do not accept the Bible as God’s Word after reading Romans Chapter one, it’s only because you have not glorified God in your life.
One of the chapters in my book is entitled “When They Knew God.”It’s a brief Bible study from Romans chapter one. This is a practical lesson but to the point.There is not a clearer passage in the entire Bible concerning those who run from God.
The Word of God is precious to the Believer because of all the thousands of promises which God has given us. Our very hope of salvation is based upon our faith in God’s Word. The Bible is not merely a book—It is THE BOOK. Our attitude toward the Bible is a direct indication of our attitude toward God Almighty.Sometimes Christians are called “narrow-minded.”All Believers ought to be as narrow-minded as the Bible.Too many people are experts on evil and dirty thinking.
God wants us to be naive concerning evil and knowledgeable concerning good.“…I would have you WISE unto that which is good, and SIMPLE concerning evil” (Romans 16:19). This means we need to spend more time reading our Bible than we do reading the newspaper.We should hear from God before we hear from man. We should avoid listening to gossip.Learn to say, “I really don’t need to hear this.”
It is good for us to get into the Word, but it is MUCH BETTER for the Word to get into us.The Spirit of Christ comes into our heart at the moment we accept Christ as our Savior.As we read and study the Word of God, the Spirit of Christ will reveal to us the true meaning of His Word.
It is good for us to get into the Word, but it is MUCH BETTER for the Word to get into us.The Spirit of Christ comes into our heart at the moment we accept Christ as our Savior.As we read and study the Word of God, the Spirit of Christ will reveal to us the true meaning of His Word.
The Word of God is inseparable to our salvation and our Christian growth.We must prioritize the Bible as the center of our thoughts and meditate upon the Scriptures throughout our daily lives.
There is a heresy going around in many of our churches today known as “Lordship Salvation.” This false doctrine simply teaches that a person must accept Jesus Christ as the “Lord of their life” to be saved.
Before I confuse you, let me explain what the word “Lord” means. “Lord” in the New Testament most often comes from the Greek word, “kurios.”It means “supreme in authority.” Here is a good example: When Saul (later to be known as Paul the Apostle) was traveling towards Damascus, something amazing happened.
Let’s read Acts 9:1-5, “And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, LORD (kurios)? And the LORD (kurios)said, I AM JESUS whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”
Saul recognized the One speaking to Him as the Supreme Being of the universe. Saul asks the identity of the Lord, the One Who is supreme in Authority—It is Jesus Christ!!!
The Bible teaches that a person must trust Jesus as Lord (Almighty God) in order to be saved.If you deny that Jesus is the Creator, Almighty God, the Everlasting Father—then you are believing on the wrong Jesus my friend. You must believe upon the true Christ, not a counterfeit.
There are many counterfeit Jesus’ out there in the world. How do you view Christ? If you only view Jesus as a prophet, then you know not the God of the universe. Oh listen my friend, Jesus Christ is the King of kings and Lord of Lords, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Lamb of God, the Prince of peace, the Everlasting Father, the Rose of Sharon, the Bright and Morning Star, the Lily of the Valley, the Son of God, the Way, the Truth and the Life, the Resurrection, the Door, the Great Shepherd, the One and Only, the Redeemer, the Great Physician and Almighty God of the entire universe!!!
Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.The Bible will stand true! Jesus Christ is the Supreme Creator and God of the entire universe.You must accept Him on these terms.Many people have a distorted view of Who Jesus really is.
The words “Lord and Saviour” can be misleading.It all depends on what is meant by “Lord.” If you mean that a person needs to trust Jesus Christ as deity to be saved, the Bible agrees.If you mean that a person must be willing to commit their life to serving God, the Scriptures do NOT agree.Let me say, there is a “growing-in-grace” period for the Believer.
As a matter of fact, it is a life-long growing process.No Christian can ever claim to have “arrived” in this fleshly body.We are all sinners saved by God’s grace—deserving of hell.
It matters not how good a Christian you may think you are, you are a nobody without God. Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul in Galatians 6:3, “For if a man think himself to be something, when HE IS NOTHING, he deceiveth himself.”
It matters not how good a Christian you may think you are, you are a nobody without God. Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul in Galatians 6:3, “For if a man think himself to be something, when HE IS NOTHING, he deceiveth himself.”
Oh the delusion of so many people, they think they’re God’s gift to the world.Let me tell you, we are nothing without God. The only good thing about any Believer is the Lord Jesus Christ.Apart from God, we are simply wicked, hell-deserving sinners.Don’t misunderstand the Bible, we are special to God and the object of His love—so much so that He laid down His own life for us. However, Jesus Christ will never truly be in absolute control of our life until we are rid of this earthly body.
Question: how much would a person have to make Jesus the Lord of their life to be saved? The answer is simple, none. Why? Because you can do NOTHING of your own to merit God’s free gift of eternal life—it was paid for by Jesus alone.It is silly and wicked for anyone to teach that a person must make Jesus the Lord of their life to be saved.
A person only needs to trust the Lord, not dedicate their life to Him.This may come later but it has nothing to do with being saved.You need NOT do anything to be saved except admit you’re a sinner and then call upon the precious name of Christ Jesus.
When a lost sinner turns to Christ for salvation, they have just turned from their unbelief (this is repentance, a turning point, a change of mind).If you are truly repentant concerning your sins, then you won’t have the arrogant attitude that you can happily continue living in sin.No way!If you are sincere, then you’ll feel convicted over the sins and failures throughout your life.
God does not expect you to clean up your act in order to be saved; on the contrary, He wants to help you clean up your act after you’ve been saved.Just as lost people cannot save themselves, neither can Believers live the Christian life apart from the Holy Spirit of God.We absolutely need God to help us along the way. We are saved by faith—we live the Christian life by faith!!!
Jesus said “whosoever believeth in Him should not perish.” For Christ to be the Lord of your life means that you have given Him complete control of your life.Though this would be a wonderful change in the life of any Believer, it is NOT a requirement for salvation.
Again, the Bible speaks of “growing in grace”—“But GROW IN GRACE, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” (2nd Peter 3:18).
Every new convert needs to grow in grace.It is impossible for a new Believer in Christ to have the understanding and discernment that a mature Christian would have. “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may GROW thereby” (1st Peter 2:2).The Christian life is all about changing.Moment-by-moment, we must ask the Holy Spirit to show us areas in our life that need improvement.
Every new convert needs to grow in grace.It is impossible for a new Believer in Christ to have the understanding and discernment that a mature Christian would have. “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may GROW thereby” (1st Peter 2:2).The Christian life is all about changing.Moment-by-moment, we must ask the Holy Spirit to show us areas in our life that need improvement.
This does no good if we are stubborn and unwilling to change. Change is not a joyous experience at first but brings a sweet peace with it in the end. Peace is found in the will of God.God has many “wills” for our life.There is no one big will for our life and we must not feel distraught because we have made some BIG MISTAKES—we all blow it from time to time.
I am simply saying that it takes time to grow in the Lord. What if an unsaved person says, “I’ll admit I’m a sinner and trust Christ but I’m not ready to make Jesus the Lord of my life?” Can this person be saved? Of course! You do NOT need to make Jesus the Lord of your life to be saved, just TRUST JESUS as Lord (Almighty God) and Savior and ask Him to forgive you of your sins.
Salvation is simple, men make it complicated. I believe many people are confused on this subject. God wants nothing from you to be saved. As a matter of fact, only those who come to Jesus empty-handed will ever be saved. You must bring nothing and cast your sinful heart at the feet of Jesus to be saved.
Jesus paid a debt He did not owe because we owed a debt we could not pay.The price has been paid in full.All we need to do is accept the free gift of eternal life.
“Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the FREE GIFT came upon all men unto justification of life” (Romans 5:18).Eternal life is a free gift to each and every one of us, paid for by the precious blood of Jesus Christ.
“Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the FREE GIFT came upon all men unto justification of life” (Romans 5:18).Eternal life is a free gift to each and every one of us, paid for by the precious blood of Jesus Christ.
The devil is a trickster my friend—he is a busy beaver, working to kill, steal and destroy. He is a master of twisting words and meanings.Let me clarify here to avoid any confusion—it is not wrong to accept Christ as your Saviour and Lord (if “Lord” refers to the fact that Jesus is Almighty God, the Supreme Authority of the universe).This is what the Bible teaches.It is however a wicked heresy for anyone to teach that you must “make Jesus the Lord of your life” to be saved.
To “trust Jesus as Lord and Saviour” means something entirely different than to “make Jesus the Lord and Master of your life.”Many people would lead you to believe that in order to be saved, you must surrender your life to God and be willing to do anything He wants you to do, go anywhere He wants you to go, be anything He wants you to be.These are wonderful things, but these are the traits of a mature, seasoned Christian—not necessarily of a new convert.
It takes decades sometimes for a Believer to grow in the Lord to reach this point of care and concern for the lost souls of others.Don’t misunderstand me, many new converts do yield their lives to God right away BUT IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO THEIR SALVATION.
Howbeit, most Believers never reach the promised land of the victorious Christian life.Oh they are saved alright, but they have been choked by the cares and riches of this world.
Jesus is NOT the Lord of their life and He probably never will be, not in this sin-cursed fallen world. It only took God one day to take Israel out of Egypt, but it took God forty years to take Egypt out of Israel.Though many of the Israelites who wandered in the wilderness were saved, they never saw the promised land.
In the same way, we are saved the moment we trust upon Christ; however, it usually takes God a lifetime to straighten us out.This does NOT mean we are not saved, it simply means that we still have a lot of spiritual growing-up to do.Whether Jesus is the Lord of your life or not, you simply need only trust the Lord to be saved.
Anyone who adds anything to simple faith in Christ is wrong. Salvation is Not found in good deeds or merit, it is NOT found in religion or behavior, it is NOT found in giving up sins or turning over a new leak, it is NOT found in being kind or giving away lots of money, it is NOT found in how good a person you may think you are—salvation is found in a person, Jesus Christ.
Are you right with God? Do you know what it means to be right with God? Let’s see what the Bible says, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have PEACE WITH GOD through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Anyone can have peace with God. We must come to God through Jesus Christ. Trust Christ now if you have never done so, ask Him to forgive your sins and save you.There is nothing else you need to do, He has already done it all for you.
Do you believe that Jesus is God’s Son Who came to this earth as God Almighty in the flesh? Do you believe that Jesus is Almighty God today?Do you believe He died in your place to pay for your sins and redeem you from hell? Do you believe Jesus was crucified, buried and raised up after three days? If so, won’t you trust Christ now as your personal Saviour if you’ve never done so? If you will simply confess to God that you are a wicked sinner, deserving of hell, then all you must do is turn to Jesus in heart’s faith, asking Him to forgive and save you.
You don’t need to make Him the Lord of your life to be saved, just realize that Jesus Christ is God Almighty and believe in Jesus.
Jesus never told anyone to give up their sins to be saved, He simply asked us to believe on Him (John 6:40).All Jesus wants from us is simple childlike faith.Jesus didn’t require people to give up their sins to be saved, He saved them and then told them afterwards to go and sin no more (Jesus said “…go, and sin no more” -John 8:11).
The whole teaching of Lordship salvation is distorted. The second I trust Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour and asked Him to forgive my sins, He became my Lord and Saviour.
Never let anyone lead you astray from the simplicity of God’s Word. The “growing in grace” process is a lifetime process; no believer is without fault or sin.If we as believers had to meet a certain standard for Jesus to be our Lord, then NONE of us would qualify.
The only condition, which needed to be met, was our simple faith in the Blessed Saviour.So again, if you are a born-again child of God, Jesus is already your LORD. He becomes your LORD the same moment He becomes your SAVIOUR.
Adam was that “one man” who committed the original sin. God had told Adam and Eve that they would die on the very day they sinned. “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the DAY that thou eatest there of it THOU SHALT SURELY DIE.” (Genesis 2:17). Interestingly, Adam and Eve lived many years thereafter. How could this be? The reason is because they died spiritually, NOT physically when they sinned. Their perfect relationship with God was over. They now had the sin nature and were at enmity with God. The days of paradise in Eden were at an sudden end.
The sin nature has been passed down to us from Adam. No one needs to teach a child how to lie, steal, cheat, etc. On the contrary, children need to be taught NOT to lie, steal or cheat, etc.The only two individuals who were ever born into this world without a fallen nature (sin nature) were Adam and Jesus Christ.
Adam of course sinned and took upon himself the sin nature; Jesus NEVER sinned, not even once.Adam’s love for Eve superceded His love for God.He chose to sin with Eve at the expense of facing the judgment of God. Adam became a sinner and died spiritually the moment he sinned. He would be a sinner from that day forward, even unto his death.
The rest of mankind does not have a choice on the matter, we all have that same sin nature because Adam chose to have it. We are all descendants of our great ancestral father, Adam; therefore, we are all born with the same infectious curse of sin and death.
We all have the sin-tainted blood of Adam.We are all born spiritually dead (the natural man).Jesus on-the other-hand NEVER sinned, not even once… “For he hath made him to be sin for us, WHO KNEW NO SIN” (2nd Corinthians 5:21). This was absolutely necessary if Christ was to offer Himself up as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind (as of a lamb without spot or blemish). I will cover this more later. You need to realize at this point my friend that you are a guilty sinner.
The truth could not be any plainer than this—you cannot earn your way to Heaven! You cannot brag about your self-righteousness to God because you have no righteousness of your own to offer.Adam and Eve could not make up for what they had done.All of their own good works could not get them out of the situation they had entangled themselves in. They had sinned and were bound for Hell.
What were they to do? Ah, but God in His love had a plan to redeem mankind… Christ who knew no sin became as sin so that we who knew no righteousness could obtain Christ’s righteousness. Salvation is God’s FREE GIFT, paid for by Jesus at the cross. No amount of good deeds can undo the bad we have done.
God hates sin so much that He can’t even describe it in words we would understand. So God instead tells us what He thinks about all the good things we do—they’re nothing but filthy rags in His sight.Don’t misunderstand—God loves good works, but God hates when we trust our self-righteousness to get us into Heaven.Salvation is receiving, not giving. If you are trying to please God with the nice things you do in hopes of making it to Heaven someday, you’re in for a horrible surprise! Why?
Because committing ONE SIN makes us guilty of ALL in the eyes of God… “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet OFFEND IN ONE POINT, he is GUILTY OF ALL”(James 2:10).Whoa!That doesn’t sound too fair does it? The point is that a sinner is a sinner. Whether you sin once or a thousand times, you are still a sinner in need of a Savior. Adam and Eve sinned just once but that was enough to bring them under the condemnation and judgment of Almighty God.
As with any court, ignorance is no excuse for the law. Cain killed Able before the Law of Moses was ever given but God still held him accountable. The Law simply reinforces our moral conscience.Let’s read the purpose of the Mosaic Law (which includes the 10 commandments) in Romans 3:19, “Now we know that what things so ever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and ALL THE WORLD MAY BECOME GUILTY BEFORE GOD.
The purpose of the Law of Moses was to reveal to Israel and to the rest of humanity just how wicked we really are. No person alive can keep the whole Law of God perfectly, NO ONE. The Law shows us our hopeless condition and then graciously points us to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.
Salvation is in Christ, NOT ourselves. “Wherefore THE LAW WAS OUR SCHOOLMASTER TO BRING US UNTO CHRIST, that we might be JUSTIFIED BY FAITH” (Galatians 3:24).Keeping the ten commandments will not save anybody! Being a nice person CANNOT help you earn you heaven! Getting water baptized simply won’t help!
The Law shows us our need for Christ’s work of redemption. The Law was given to us by God that our sin might become “exceeding sinful” in our own eyes. “…that SIN by the commandment might become EXCEEDINGLY SINFUL” (Romans 7:13). Having done it’s job, we must admit our hopelessly sinful condition and turn to Christ for our salvation.
The problem that most people face is that they look and compare themselves with other people instead of God’s Word. “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are NOT WISE” (2nd Corinthians 10:12). This passage was written to Believers to warn them against comparing themselves with others. It is unwise to compare ourselves to someone else because everybody is totally different. Each one of us has been created in God’s own image, but very unique at the same time.
There is no one else exactly like you nor will there ever be. We must be careful about comparing ourselves with others. This unwise practice has caused many unsaved folks to believe a lie! It’s very easy to view one’s self as being righteous if we COMPARE ourselves to our fellow mankind. Surely most people will look good in their own eyes if they watch the evening news.We hear of all the scandals and crimes being committed.
No doubt, there are some real sick people in this world. To be Scriptural, we’re all sick.All humans are born sinful and prone to wander into mischievousness.Even Believers sometimes can commit the most hideous of crimes if they wander out of fellowship with the Lord.
All people need to trust Jesus Christ as personal Savior to be a Christian and then all Christians need to walk humbly with their God on a daily basis to stay out of trouble. Living the Christian life isn’t hard—it’s IMPOSSIBLE without the Lord’s help.All the Bible knowledge in the world means nothing if you don’t WALK WITH GOD.
You hear about all the crime and horrible things that people do and then conclude that your not so bad after all. However; if we will COMPARE ourselves to a Holy God and His perfect Word, we can only say as Isaiah the prophet, “Then said I, WOE IS ME! FOR I AM UNDONE; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5).
We read of a foolish man in the Bible who COMPARED himself to another man… “Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as OTHER MEN are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke 18:10-14). The Pharisee made the woeful mistake of comparing himself to “OTHER MEN.” The publican had his heart set on God alone.
No true Believer with Christ in their heart can honestly DENY that the Bible is God’s Word. Revelation 21:8 makes clear that UNBELIEVERS will one day be cast into the Lake of Fire for all eternity (the second death)… “But the fearful, and UNBELIEVING, and the abominable, and murderers, and whore-mongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” It is the UNBELIEVER who will burn in Hell down-the-road when this life comes to an end. NO ONE escapes dying or judgment!
As a matter of fact, the UNBELIEVER is the ONLY person that will burn into Hell someday. When you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, you are no longer under the condemnation of God’s Law. The curse is removed. Your sins have been placed on Christ’s record and Christ’s righteousness is placed on your record. Amen! This is called “imputation.”
The dictionary defines the word “impute” as “the attribution to a source or cause.” In other words, your sins are attributed to Christ and His righteousness is attributed to you… “For he hath made him to be sin for us, WHO KNEW NO SIN; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2nd Corinthians 5:21). Jesus became as sin for us and died a sinner’s death on the cross, that we who knew no righteousness might be made as the righteousness of God. What a wonderful Saviour!
When a man trusts Jesus Christ as his Savior to forgive his sins, that man is JUSTIFIED (Just-if-I’d-never-sinned). There are only two types of people in this world: the WHOSOEVER WILLS and the WHOSOEVER WONTS… “For WHOSOEVER shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).Either you are trusting Jesus Christ OR you are not, plain and simple! If you are NOT, then you are an unbeliever in danger of hellfire and damnation.
God judgeth the righteous, and GOD IS ANGRY WITH THE WICKED EVERY DAY” (Psalm 7:11).It is not a trifle nor light matter with God that people live in sin. Sin is not a light matter to be laughed at… “Who KNOWING THE JUDGMENT OF GOD, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them” (Romans 1:32).
Many people enjoy watching others commit the same sins they commit (it’s called TV).The Bible says that these people KNOW Judgment Day is coming, yet continue in their sins because they don’t care. They are enslaved to sin… “Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the SERVANT OF SIN” (John 8:34). Let’s go a step further, “He that committeth sin is OF THE DEVIL” (1st John 3:8). It is sin that brings eternal punishment, which should cause born-again believers to have a passion for lost souls.
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but THE WRATH OF GOD ABIDETH ON HIM” (John 3:36). These are the stern words of warning spoken by John the Baptist under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. God is ANGRY with Christ-rejecters!
God is ANGRY with false religion! God is ANGRY with those who pervert and change His Word into lies. God must be ANGRY at quite a few folks nowadays, billions.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, WHEN THEY KNEW GOD, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen” (Romans 1: 16-25).
King Josiah in the Old Testament grew up in the worst of sinful conditions with ungodly parents and yet he served the Lord and did what was right. Anyone can do right! … “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to ALL men” (Titus 2:11). God’s “grace” is sufficient for ALL our needs. God is fair!“For the INVISIBLE THINGS of Him from the creation of the world are CLEARLY SEEN…” (Romans 1:20).Wow! The Scriptures teach that we can indeed see invisible things! How? “…being understood BY THE THINGS THAT ARE MADE…” (Romans 1:20).
We read in Psalm 19:1-3 that “The heavens declare the glory (goodness) of God; and the firmament SHOWETH His handiwork. Day unto day UTTERETH speech, and night unto night SHOWETH knowledge. There is NO SPEECH NOR LANGUAGE, WHERE THEIR VOICE IS NOT HEARD.” Just as with music, nature needs no interpreter. The Scriptures plainly teach that God has provided enough light (through the things that are made) for anyone to clearly see the things (which are invisible). “…even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are WITHOUT EXCUSE: Because that, WHEN THEY KNEW GOD, they glorified (to esteem glorious-honor, magnify) Him not as God, neither were thankful” (Romans 1:20,21).
Christ-rejecters are without excuse! Those who will someday die and plunder into hell fire will be without excuse! Anyone can come to the knowledge of the truth if they so desire.We all perceive and become aware of God’s presence at some point in our life. We all must decide to go down one of two possible paths: God’s or our own.
It all begins with being unthankful and not honoring God. The word “honor” means “to value.” How can anyone not value and want God? When the Scriptures speak of honoring your parents, it means to value them and treat them as such. Jesus, even while dying on the cross, expressed concern for His mother’s well being after He was gone (John 19:26).
Do you value (honor) your parents and God? Can you live just as well without Jesus? No, you can’t! Many today are arrogant and self-righteous and don’t want a Saviour. They don’t like God and don’t want to think about Him! They mistreat God.
Do you value (honor) your parents and God? Can you live just as well without Jesus? No, you can’t! Many today are arrogant and self-righteous and don’t want a Saviour. They don’t like God and don’t want to think about Him! They mistreat God.
These people, being unthankful and reluctant to honor God Almighty—became vain and foolish. “…but became vain(empty, silly) in their imaginations, and their FOOLISH HEART WAS DARKENED. Professing themselves to be wise, THEY BECAME FOOLS,” (Romans 1:21,22). So many are foolish today! This lost and wicked world that we are living in today—worships sports and sex; glorifies sin and rebellion; thrives on greed and corruption; practices covetousness and maliciousness; diminishes the sacredness of the family, marriage and God; honors the immoral and heathen; Rejects Christ and has no place or purpose for the Word of God. God says; “…they are WITHOUT EXCUSE” (Romans 1:20); “…Who KNOWING the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but HAVE PLEASURE IN THEM THAT DO THEM” (Romans 1:32). This sounds like TV doesn’t it? Is the TV your idol? Don’t be too quick to say “no”! Read your Bible lately? How much time do you spend watching the box? Idolatry is anything that means more to you than God.
By nature man is full of pride, arrogance and self-righteousness. For those who avoid God, live in sin and “do-their-own-thing”—they must redefine God and His truth to maintain self-respect. So, they change, discredit and misquote God’s Word. They have a distorted view of God. “And CHANGED the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image…” (Romans 1:23). “Who CHANGED the truth of God into a lie…” (Romans 1:25). So they explain away God and His Holy Word with silly thinking and worldly philosophy. “PROFESSING THEMSELVES TO BE WISE, they became fools” (Romans 1:22).
Are you a fool? Did you travel down the wrong path in life after the time “when you knew God?” What a statement—“WHEN THEY KNEW GOD!” (Romans 1:21). Some people deny God’s Word. Scriptures say that the “invisible” things of God are “clearly seen.” The rich man in Hell begged Abraham to send Lazarus from the dead to warn his five brothers “lest they also come into this place of torment.” Abraham said, “If they will not hear Moses and the prophets, NEITHER WILL THEY BE PERSUADED, THOUGH ONE ROSE FROM THE DEAD” (Luke 16:27-31).
No excuses! If you go to hell, it will be no one’s fault but YOUR OWN. People are great blame-shifters. Adam and Eve both sinned; Adam blamed Eve, Eve blamed the serpent. This is typical of humans, to shift the blame elsewhere. If we cannot shift the blame, then we try to cover our sins as Cain did. “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).
Cain killed Able and then pretended he was ignorant concerning Abel’s death. On and on we could go. Everyone wants to shift the blame. No, my friend, you CANNOT blame anyone else for your wrong doing and mistakes. Anytime you point your finger at someone else, there are three of your own fingers pointing back at you.
We are all losers without God, Jesus Christ.Accept who you are and turn to God in faith for salvation.Let me also say, “there are no losers with God.” Admit to God you’re a sinner and ask Him to forgive your sins, realizing that Christ paid for them.Decide to rely upon Jesus Christ as your Savior because of all that He did to pay for your sins. Make that decision now!
We are all losers without God, Jesus Christ.Accept who you are and turn to God in faith for salvation.Let me also say, “there are no losers with God.” Admit to God you’re a sinner and ask Him to forgive your sins, realizing that Christ paid for them.Decide to rely upon Jesus Christ as your Savior because of all that He did to pay for your sins. Make that decision now!
Being saved is the easiest thing in the world but people make it difficult. It’s so simple to be saved. You are a sinner my friend. Because of your sins, you deserve to go to Hell. Jesus died on the cross, was buried and rose again to pay for your sins. If you’ll simply trust in Christ as your Door into heaven, you can be saved… “I AM THE DOOR: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture” (John 10:9).
You must simply go to the Lord and BELIEVE on Him. You may call on Jesus Christ in prayer and ask Him to forgive your sins and take you to Heaven when you die.The important thing is that you trust upon the Lord in your heart. Decide that you are going to rely upon Christ and nothing else to save you.Not baptism, NOT the dope, NOT good works, NOT religion, NOT merit, NOT sacraments, NOT turning over a new leaf—But trusting Jesus alone for salvation. Becoming a Christian is a win-win situation.
There are no losers in God’s family, only winners! Become a Child of God right now, Call on Jesus the best you know how to save you.His righteousness will save you. God bless.
Romans 3:19 states… “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become GUILTY before God.” We are all guilty sinners, under the condemnation of God’s Law, justly deserving of Hellfire. Thanks be to God the Father, He sent His only begotten Son into the world to pay for our sins by His own LITERAL blood (Hebrews 9:12).
To be saved, one must turn in faith to Christ alone, believing on Him for the forgiveness of sins. Acts 20:21 speaks of “repentance TOWARD GOD.” The Word of God NEVER teaches repentance FROM sin to be saved; BUT, rather, repentance TOWARD GOD.
Repentance is a change of mind concerning sin and the Saviour. Childlike faith is all that is required for salvation. If a person knows they are a guilty sinner, bound for Hellfire, and turns in faith to Jesus Christ to forgive their sins and save them–that person has repented.
The entire matter of salvation deals with OUR SINS. Thus, repentance is when we come to the realization that we have sinned AGAINST GOD.Notice what Joseph said to Potiphar’s wicked, adulterous wife who tried to seduce him in Genesis 39:9… “There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin AGAINST GOD?”
Joseph realized that if he did commit adultery, he would be sinning AGAINST GOD! In Luke 15:21, the repentant prodigal son said… “Father, I have sinned AGAINST HEAVEN, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.” Notice what king David said in Psalm 41:4… “LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned AGAINST THEE.”
Notice what the Apostle Paul taught in Acts 20:21… “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, REPENTANCE TOWARD GOD, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” Carefully notice in Mark 1:15 what Jesus said… “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” Notice that Jesus DIDN’T say “repent ye, and forsake your sins.” No, rather, He said, “repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
Salvation involves BOTH the sin-question and the Son-question:
THE SIN QUESTION. If a person does not see their need, then why would he or she need a Saviour? To be saved, the sin-question must be dealt with. We are all sinners (Romans 3:23), guilty before God (Romans 3:19), and justly deserving of eternal punishment (Romans 6:23).
1st John 1:10 states that we are calling God a LIAR if we deny that we have sinned.Many people today falsely think they are going to Heaven because they “committed their life to Christ,” or “made a decision for Christ.” There can be NO salvation without the Law of God.
1st John 1:10 states that we are calling God a LIAR if we deny that we have sinned.Many people today falsely think they are going to Heaven because they “committed their life to Christ,” or “made a decision for Christ.” There can be NO salvation without the Law of God.
Many unrepentant people today, who are proud and self-righteous, “think” they are saved simply because they “gave their life to Jesus.”This is the nonsense being taught in Charismatic circles today, and by their televangelists.Judas gave his life to Jesus and went to Hell. The Pharisees gave their lives to God, and went to Hell.You’d better get BORN-AGAIN! We are saved through Jesus’ blood, that takes our sins away.
Too many preachers today explain the CURE without the GUILT of sin. We don’t hear much today about the GUILT of sin. What we do hear a lot about is the CURE. Televangelists utterly fail to preach against sins.All we hear is how someone was on the brink of bankruptcy, but then sent in their last $20 to the wealth ministers, and now their life is a bed of roses.2nd Peter 2:3 describes these greedy imposters in exact Words… “And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.”
THE SON QUESTION. It is not enough to merely decide to turn over a new leaf to be saved. One cannot admit his or her sinful condition, and then attempt to reform the sinful flesh, expecting to be saved. Only Jesus has the nail-scared hands and feet, and we can only be saved through Christ. There can be NO salvation apart from the name of JESUS (Acts 4:10-12).
Thus, repentance is a change of mind, i.e. turning by faith to Jesus Christ for forgiveness, because of the acknowledgment of one’s sinful condition. It’s that simple. It is the blood of Jesus that washes our sins away; not water baptism, not church membership, not turning over a new leaf, not surrendering one’s life to God, not forsaking one’s sins, etc. We are sinners, and Jesus is the Savior! To go to Heaven, our sins must be washed away by Jesus’ blood, and all we have to do is BELIEVE upon the Lord as our Saviour.
Death is often sudden, and without warning.
Are we any better than others, that we are immune to heartache and tragedy? No, not for one moment. Are you ready to die?
The earth is under a curse because of man’s sin, and all men are susceptible to the woes of living in a fallen world. Life is short. All that will matter 100 years from now is whether you died in the Lord (Revelation 14:13), or in your sins (John 8:24). Hopefully, you’ll die in the Lord. 2nd Corinthians 6:2 states, “…behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Only a fool would postpone getting saved.
The road to Hell is paved with good intentions and neon signs. The road to life is plain and simple. The road to Hell exalts religion; but the road to Heaven exalts Jesus. There are two types of religions in the world: DO and DONE. Either you believe that you must DO something to get into Heaven OR you are simply resting upon Jesus and His precious blood. DO or DONE, which are you? I’m in the DONE category!
Many critics have tried to discredit other soul-winning Believers who have successfully won many souls to Jesus Christ. These scorners accuse us of being “out for the numbers” so we can brag to others of what we’ve done for God. Let me tell you my friend, it is “…GOD THAT GIVETH THE INCREASE” (1st Corinthians 3:7). I cannot save anyone (surprised huh?). That was a joke of course. No priest or Pope can save you-Only Jesus!!! All we can do as soul-winners is to speak the Gospel of Christ to lost sinners and then pray that God will work in their hearts. However, it will be God that does the saving, not us.
Someone who would criticize a church for knocking on doors to win souls has a problem. Thank God for the churches who take the time and effort to go out into the streets and the community preaching the Gospel. Listen to the Words of Jesus Christ Himself, “Go out into the highways and hedges, and COMPEL THEM TO COME IN, that my house may be FILLED” (Luke 14:23).
We must be gentle though, “…be gentle unto all men, apt (ready) to teach, patient” (2nd Timothy 2:24). God does NOT want us to shove the Gospel down anyone’s throat. However, we are COMMANDED to go forth preaching the Gospel, “GO ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).
The biggest problem with Believers today is that they have lost their “get-up-and-GO.” GO!!! Soul-winning is NOT an option, it is a command from God. You can argue and speculate whether or not a Christian should go out door-to-door-soul-winning, but you cannot argue about soul-winning.
If you’ll do some homework you’ll find that the Believers who are not actively involved in a soul-winning church rarely ever tell a soul about Jesus Christ-If ever!!! When do you tell others about Jesus??? This is what the ministry is all about–Finding a way to get the Gospel to others.
Very few Believers have any idea what I am talking about- It’s called soul-winning. Also notice the word “filled” in Luke 14:23-God wants His house FILLED! If God is not interested in numbers, He’s sure not interested in empty pews!!! God wants us to “compel” others to come to church to hear the preaching. Perhaps this means giving away bikes, a meal or a computer as a promotion. This is acceptable to God–He told us to “compel” others to come. God wants us to “compel” others if necessary to allow us to share the Gospel of Christ with them. They won’t come to us–We must go to them!!!
There is a great enemy of soul-winning called “lifestyle evangelism.” It is the belief that a Christian does not need to go soul-winning, just as long as he lets his light shine (a lifestyle) so others will come to him and want what he has. Now I’m not against letting our light shine-God commands us to do so, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). However, this is NOT acceptable as an end in itself.
Too many Believers are looking for excuses not to go soul-winning. Jesus wants us to tell others about the good news of Christ.This is all God is asking of us.We don’t need to act religious or wear some strange clothing. No, we simply need to be ourselves and share with others what the Lord has done for us through His infinite grace. God is simply saying that He wants us to put forth as much effort as possible (to do what it takes) to help bring other folks to Christ as Saviour.
The argument against “easy believism” is that many people are coerced into praying a prayer but DON’T get saved because they didn’t know what their doing. Unfortunately, I would have to agree that this does happen sometimes; However, it is not for us to judge what is going on in another person’s heart. There are people in the past with whom I had spent countless HOURS UPON HOURS teaching them the Word of God. Today many out of them are out of church and I sincerely doubt their salvation.
Whether you spend five minutes or five years teaching someone–some people will disappoint you. It’s painful to see many years’ worth of labor go down the tubes to Satan.The Apostle Paul felt the same way towards the Galatians, “I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you LABOUR IN VAIN” (Galatians 4:11). These folks were dabbling with false religion and the Apostle Paul was sick over it. I know to an extent how Paul must have felt.
The only true test of whether a person is saved or not is by the testimony of their own mouth.
I simply don’t buy this criticism of “easy believism.” Why not? Because it is EASY to get saved. God only requires faith as a small grain of mustard seed for us to be saved.
I’m tired of dead-beat Believers attacking dedicated Christians Who are getting the job done.Praise God for the soul-winners!!! “High-pressure, button-hole evangelism” some call it. So be it!!! Of course, it’s high-pressure when a Bible-toting soul-winner walks up to a child of the devil and presents the Gospel.Of course, you’re going to offend wicked sinners when you tell them they deserve to go burn in hell.I could introduce you to multitudes of Believers Who would thank God that some soul-winner cared enough and was willing to OFFEND them one day.
Jesus said, “…blessed is he, whosoever shall not be OFFENDED in me” (Matthew 11:6; Luke 7:23). Most people are offended at the mention of Jesus’ name. Many people throughout history have even lost their lives for mentioning Jesus’ name.What a wonderful Saviour–Jesus, Christ!!!
We hear of churches which claim to have hundreds of people saved (even thousands) on a single Sunday. I say “Amen!!!” It’s easy for the critics of red-hot soul-winning Christians to sit on their blessed assurance and criticize. These dead-beat Believers never do anything for God, they just try to quench the spirit of those who have a zeal for God.
Hell has fire folks!!! If you don’t agree with me, I sincerely wonder just how much you believe in a place called hell that burns with fire and brimstone.Those who die in their sins will plunder into the depths of hell-fire and be tormented. How could anybody be against promotions which bring people to church to hear the Gospel.
Perhaps you think God is not interested in numbers.” Oh? You had better read Luke 14:23, “And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be FILLED.” “Filled” is the opposite of “empty.” Lord deliver us from lukewarm Christianity!!!
Jesus said He wants us to be hot or cold!!! Listen to the Words of Revelation 3:16, “So then because thou art LUKEWARM, and neither COLD nor HOT, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” God detests middle of the road Christianity. Where are you? The term “easy believism” was conjured up by some jealous and immature people who were too lazy to do any soul-winning for themselves.
That is so typical of human nature–If I am not willing to do what is right, then I must tear down and discredit those around me who are doing what is right-to make myself feel better. This is childish and foolish. Unfortunately, many people never grow up. We must grow up in the Lord. The Apostle Paul said, “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away CHILDISH THINGS” (1st Corinthians 13:11). What childish things did the Apostle Paul put away?
Childish thinking, understanding and speaking. So many adults are still stuck in the rebellious teenage mentality. So many adults are like little whining and fighting children. It’s not hard to get people saved, it hard to get Believers to obey God’s Word and GO soul-winning with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Life is short, heaven and hell are real, we must GO if souls are to be saved. Too many believers are sitting on the premises instead of standing on the promises. God only expects us to do what we can.
“…How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:15).
Soul Winning is God’s Plan to Bring Lost Sinners to Christ for Salvation
The term “soul-winning” simply refers to the practice of trying to lead lost sinners to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Surely, I nor you can save anybody—Only Jesus Christ can save!!! However, God Almighty has entrusted the job of soul-winning to ALL HIS DISCIPLES. If you are a saved, born-again Believer, then you are COMMANDED to be a soul-winner.
Listen to the clear teaching of Jesus Christ Himself in Matthew 28:19 and 20, “Go ye therefore, and TEACH ALL NATIONS, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: TEACHING THEM to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
It is our duty as Children of God to “teach them.” Teach who? We are to teach the Gospel of Christ to lost sinners. We are to teach those whom we lead to Christ how to win others to Christ. We are we supposed to teach them. What do we teach them? “…to observe all things whatsoever, I have commanded you.”
It was the responsibility of the disciples in Jesus’ day to teach the Gospel to all nations (all people).If someone became a Believer, accepting Jesus Christ as Almighty God and Savior, then the disciples were to help that new convert grow in the Lord and become a soul-winner also. This is God’s divine plan to win the lost to Christ—We are responsible!!!
The Bible praises the soul-winning Christian, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and HE THAT WINNETH SOULS IS WISE” (Proverb 11:30). It is wise to win souls to Jesus Christ! It is wise to go soul-winning! It is wise to witness to friends, family and strangers concerning the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ!
Don’t let the pessimism of fools rob you of your reward in heaven—soul-winning is wise!!! By the way, the opposite is also true—it is foolish NOT to be a soul-winner—It is foolish to criticize soul-winning—it is foolish NOT to warn your loved ones of the coming day of judgment when they will stand before God. We read the following words in Mark 16:15, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and PREACH THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE.”
Lest there be any doubt as to whom we should witness to, God tells us to witness to ALL.
Jesus clearly stated, “…him that cometh to me I WILL IN NO WISE CAST OUT” (John 6:37). “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1st John 1:9).
What a blessed promise! Anyone, no matter how wicked or sinful, can come to the Lord Jesus for forgiveness and salvation.
We can’t know what has happened or not happened in another person’s heart—Only time will tell. Never underestimate the power of the Gospel.
Soul-winning works!!! Many people who will not come to church or read a tract will listen to someone whom they feel treat them with kindness. Jesus said, “Say not ye, there are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for THEY ARE WHITE ALREADY TO HARVEST” (John 4:35).
The Bible teaches that there is always someone who is ready to get saved. You may witness to many people who seem disinterested but in fact, you have sowed a seed in their heart that the Holy Spirit will use to lead them closer to salvation.Eventually, hopefully, some soul-winner will have the joyous opportunity to win that person to Christ as Saviour. Therefore, Jesus said, “And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth” (John 4:37).My point here is that you may think your wasting your time witnessing to some people, but your not.
Only God knows the countless number of sinners who were eventually reached for Christ because of all the failed witnessing attempts by other soul-winners.You simply don’t know my friend what is going on in the heart and life of another person. It is our duty to witness to others concerning Christ crucified, whether they listen or not is an entirely different matter between them and God.
Our job is to get the Gospel out to sinners. Ecclesiastes 11:1 declares, “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.” Soul winning is never in vain. You never know which of those planted seeds may one day sprout into a born-again believer. The seed of God’s Word needs to be planted first before anything can happen. Soul winners are seed planters. The Holy Spirit waters the seeds.
Most Believers are NOT soul-winners.This is because they are NOT soul-conscious!!! There is no burning hunger in their hearts to see sinners come to know Christ as Personal Saviour.There is no sadness over the fact that most of the world is headed straight for hell to burn in torments of fire and brimstone. The Bible teaches SOUL-WINNING.
I believe in approaching people concerning their salvation. If the Gospel offends them, so be it. If hell is real and hell has fire and people without Christ go to hell—We must warn them!!! Going door-to-door soul-winning is taught in the Bible.
The Bible tells us that the Apostle Paul was a door-to-door soul-winner, “…but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from HOUSE TO HOUSE” (Acts 20:20).
Houses have doors and doors need to be knocked on if the Gospel is to be taught to the folks living inside. Sure, most people won’t listen to you, BUT SOME DO LISTEN AND SOME DO GET SAVED.
The Apostle Paul was a door-to-door soul-winner!!! Acts 20:20 has been referred to as the “Christian’s 20/20 vision.” Are we better than the Apostle Paul?I think not.If the Apostle Paul went door-to-door, we have no excuse not to at least confront our loved ones and friends concerning Christ.
ALL Believers are expected by God to make an effort to lead others to Jesus Christ for Salvation. Unfortunately, people are selfish and self-centered by nature and seek not the things of the Lord.
These were the words of the frustrated Apostle Paul, “FOR ALL SEEK THEIR OWN, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s” (Philippians 2:21). Paul was a loner, he had a hard time finding other Believers who cared about lost souls. This is the same situation we face in America today. So many Believers have been choked by the cares and riches of this present world.
It’s difficult to find Believers that truly have a heart’s concern to see people saved anymore.Sadly—social-media, music, TV, sports, cars, sex, murder, alcohol, drugs, casinos, the stock market, parties, lotteries and Bollywood and Hollywood have become the false gods of the world.
Certainly, each of us can do more for Christ in our personal soul-winning efforts. Every Believer should have a ministry, a life of prayer, a consistent Bible study and a time for witnessing to others concerning our wonderful Saviour.
Question: How much faith do you need to be saved? How much do you need to believe to get your prayers answered? In Mark chapter nine, a man’s son was possessed, afflicted by a demon. The father had brought his son to Jesus’ disciples but they could not heal him. Then Jesus came and the father told of his son’s pain and suffering. The young man would jump into burning fires, gnash his teeth, foam at the mouth, try to commit suicide, etc. The father asked Jesus if anything could be done and this was Jesus wonderful reply… “If thou canst believe, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE TO HIM THAT BELIEVETH” (Mark 9:23).
What a wonderful thing to hear! The father begins to cry. Could this stranger from Nazareth make my son well again? After years of watching his son live in torment, could there be any hope? Jesus is about to heal the boy. What a wonderful Saviour!If we simply believe, ALL things are possible. Do you believe?
But we still haven’t answered our question: How much do we have to believe to see results from God? Let’s hear the father’s response to Jesus Words… “And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I BELIEVE; HELP THOU MINE UNBELIEF” (Mark 9:24). Notice the father’s interesting statement… “help thou mine unbelief.”
The fact that the father asked Jesus to help his unbelief, shows that the father wasn’t sure how much faith he had. Did he have enough faith? Evidently the father feared he might not have enough faith to help his son.In desperation he casts any doubts he may have upon Jesus and begs for mercy.Why did Jesus grant this man’s request? Did not the father say he had unbelief?
There’s two little magic words which the father said to Jesus… I Believe! You see, it doesn’t matter how much doubt you may have—Just as long as you believe. Isn’t that a wonderful Saviour!It didn’t matter how much doubt the father had as long as he “believed” that Jesus was able to heal the young man. Amen!
The disciples were trying to heal the boy in their own power, not the Lord’s. This is why Jesus rebuked them for their lack of faith. Our faith must be in Jesus Christ, nothing else. This broken-hearted father had just enough faith to say “I believe.” But that’s all Jesus needed to hear to heal the afflicted son.Notice that Jesus did NOT say “all things are possible to him that believeth MUCH.” No, Jesus simply requires us to believe! No amount of doubt can prevent our salvation or hinder answers to prayers if we just believe on Jesus. Do you recognize the power of Christ?
The disciples were powerless to heal the young man. The father was frustrated. Jesus said, “O FAITHLESS generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me” (Mark 9:19).What is so amazing to me is that the father had more faith than the disciples did. You’d think that the disciples would have demonstrated great faith from being around Jesus so much, but they were powerless.How could this be? The father said to Jesus, “help thou mine unbelief.” He admitted his existing doubts.
The disciples were respected and recognized by the crowds as men of faith. The disciples would never have admitted to such unbelief publicly. The father did say he had just a little faith, but IT WAS FAITH!That’s all that mattered.This was the great difference.The father had faith, the disciples didn’t. What an interesting passage of Scripture! Notice that Jesus did NOT rebuke His disciples for having “little faith.”Jesus rebuked His disciples for being “FAITHLESS.”They had NO faith in the matter! They were trying to heal the sick boy in their own strength. The bottom line is you either have faith in Christ or you don’t.
There is only one reference in the New Testament about “increased faith” and it was the disciples who made reference to it… “And the apostles said unto the Lord, INCREASE OUR FAITH. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you” (Luke 17:5,6).
Jesus never taught degrees of faith. On the contrary, Jesus taught that you either had faith or you didn’t. Jesus taught that faith as a grain of mustard seed was more than sufficient to accomplish all that we might need or expect from God.
It is fascinating to learn that the mustard seed is a tiny seed that produces one of the largest plants in the world. The black mustard plant in Israel grows to be over 12 feet tall. Jesus purposely chose to use the mustard seed as an illustration because of this very fact. Faith, no matter how small, will open the windows of Heaven and call forth the grace of God.
It is fascinating to learn that the mustard seed is a tiny seed that produces one of the largest plants in the world. The black mustard plant in Israel grows to be over 12 feet tall. Jesus purposely chose to use the mustard seed as an illustration because of this very fact. Faith, no matter how small, will open the windows of Heaven and call forth the grace of God.
“For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him SHALL NOT BE ASHAMED” (Romans 10:11). I have heard some preachers on the radio say, “a person who is ashamed of Jesus is not saved.” This is heresy my friend—Don’t you believe that garbage for one moment. Romans 10:11 is a quote from the Old Testament… “…he that believeth SHALL NOT MAKE HASTE” (Isaiah 28:16). In other words, whosoever believes on the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior will not be disappointed. Jesus will NOT let us down.
We will not have to run in shame or hide on the Day of judgment. Jesus will make good on His promise to us. Jesus said what He meant and meant what He said, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). What a blessed promise from God!!!
So many people have foolishly misunderstood Romans 10:11. Just because a person is ashamed of Jesus does not mean they are not a Believer. Was not Peter ashamed when he denied Christ three times and cursed the name of Jesus? Were not all the disciples scared when they forsook Christ while he was being scourged and crucified?
Was not Joseph of Arimathaea a secret Believer? “And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews” (John 19:38). He feared for his life. Yes, they were all afraid and ashamed. They didn’t dare tell anyone who they were for fear of being crucified themselves.
People who fear embarrassment, harassment or rejection by their co-workers, family and friends usually are reluctant to bring up the name of Jesus. It is the same type of fear as the disciples dealt with. However, does this mean they were not saved? Of course not—they were still saved!
Peter didn’t lose his salvation when he cursed and denied Christ, he simply lost his inner peace. Later Peter bitterly wept and asked God to forgive him. Of course, he was instantly forgiven. God knows that we are only human, “For HE KNOWETH OUR FRAME; HE REMEMBERETH THAT WE ARE DUST” (Psalm 103:14).
What a wonderful truth!!! God never forgets that I am made of the dust of the earth, He is patient and long-suffering. He knows me better than I could possibly ever know myself. How foolish it would be for me or anyone else not to trust God wholeheartedly. If God is long-suffering with the unsaved, how much more is He patient with His own?—very much so.
Do you see my friend? We are not able to live perfect as long as we dwell in this earthly tent (body). We will always be at war with the sinful flesh. Every Believer has three primary enemies: Satan, the world and the flesh. We can only defeat these enemies in the power of God’s Holy Spirit.
We must pray and ask God to keep us from temptation. But when we do fall, we must understand that we are only human beings incapable of being perfect. The key is to identify our weaknesses and focus our Bible study and prayer in those areas. On the contrary, this certainly does not give us God’s permission to sin. We are to strive to be perfect while at the same time realizing that we will never be perfect in this life.
Someone put it this way, “Do your best and put the rest into God’s hands.” Surely, it is a sin for us to disobey the leading of the Holy Spirit; however, we are sinners and will falter at times. This is the great dilemma in the Believer’s life, “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do” (Romans 7:19). These were the words of the mighty Apostle Paul, the great defender of the faith. He doesn’t sound too much in control does he? He says he’s prone to do the opposite of what he wants to do. Sound familiar? If you’re a Believer it should.
Listen to Paul again in Romans 7:24, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Paul doesn’t sound too confident does he? Compare this to the health, wealth and prosperity preachers that have infected our TV and radio channels everywhere. Paul asks the question, “who shall deliver me?”
The Apostle Paul answers his own question in Romans 7:25, “I thank God THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD. So then with the mind I myself serve the Law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” This is a life-long battle and only Jesus can deliver us from our self. Jesus said, “…the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). We must not forget this.
In conclusion, it is silly for anyone to say that a person is not truly saved simply because they may sin or deny the Lord at a particular moment or time in their life. John the Baptist became so discouraged while in prison that he sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He were really the Christ. Matthew 11:2,3, “Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?”
We all go through the valleys of life.This does not make it right but it surely does not mean we are not saved either.Salvation is of God, not man.We don’t obtain salvation by works and we don’t keep it by works. I love God, Jesus Christ since I was a child.
I love the film Jesus Christ of Nazareth and the booklet or tract titled Somebody Loves Me. My sister invited me to church and I made the decision to trust God, Jesus Christ as my Saviour in 1997, and was baptized as a public declaration of my faith the same year.
I asked Jesus Christ to forgive my sins and He did.I have been saved ever since.Though I am far from perfect, I know that God, Jesus Christ will NOT let me down because I am trusting upon Him.
My mommy always encouraged my sister and I to attend church services and Bible Schools as children.She accepted God, Jesus Christ as her Saviour in 2015, and wanted to be baptized in 2017, but due to extreme bullying, abuse, and illnesses, we didn't get to do any long distance traveling.She finally passed away into the everlasting arms of her God, and Saviour, Jesus Christ in 2018.
“But
seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things
shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33).
The
Bible teaches that we are saved by HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, i.e., Christ’s
righteousness. We read in 2nd Corinthians 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin
for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God IN
HIM.” And again, in Romans 10:3-4 we are told, “For they being ignorant of
God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have
not submitted themselves unto THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. For Christ is the end
of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.”
The
Bible plainly teaches that mankind has NO self-righteousness to offer God… “But
we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;
and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us
away.” Our self-righteousness is filth to God, because even the best we have to
offer cannot undo the sins we’ve already committed.
No
matter how much good a person may do, the sins which they’ve committed are
still recorded in Heaven (Revelation 20:12). Thus, we need the righteousness of
Jesus Christ which is only made possible by His blood sacrifice for sin . . .
Romans
3:25 states, “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through FAITH IN HIS
BLOOD, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past,
through the forbearance of God.”
Ephesians
1:7, “In whom we have REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD, the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of his grace.”
Ephesians
2:13, “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are MADE NIGH BY
THEBLOOD OF CHRIST.”
Colossians
1:14, “In whom we have REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD, even the forgiveness of
sins.”
1st
John 1:7, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have
fellowship one with another, and THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST HIS SON CLEANSETH US
FROM ALL SIN.”
Revelation
1:5, “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten
of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and WASHED US FROM
OUR SINS IN HIS OWN BLOOD.”
So
many of the world’s religions today teach a works-based salvation, where you
are required to do this and do that to get to Heaven; but the Bible calls that
a false gospel.
The
Bible tells us that Christ has already made the payment for our sins, so that
we may be freely pardoned by God’s grace and mercy, by simple faith in Christ.
Eternal life is a free gift. Salvation is of the Lord. Our part is simply to
acknowledge our guilt of sin and trust the Lord as our Savior.
In
Galatians 2:21 Paul states, “I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if
righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” Thankfully,
righteousness does not come by the Law, or else we’d all be in big trouble. Who
amongst us is without sin? None of us! I am a sinner I know, and so are you if
you’ll be honest with God. We need HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS to get to Heaven. This is
what Matthew 6:33 commands us to do… seek “HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
Many
people fail to understand the Biblical doctrine of IMPUTATION, but it is
beautiful. Literally, God charges Christ’s righteousness to our record at the
time of salvation… “Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man,
unto whom GOD IMPUTETH RIGHTEOUSNESS WITHOUT WORKS” (Romans 4:6). Amen! That is
such a wonderful Scripture.
God
the Father charges Christ’s righteousness to our account, so that we are viewed
in God’s eyes as having the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and this is all done
freely by faith, without any required works of self-righteousness.Salvation is
receiving; not giving. It is the gift of God; not a reward that must be earned
or maintained. Salvation is solely of the Lord.All we need do is BELIEVE on
the Lord Jesus Christ.
“For
Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the
figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now TO APPEAR IN THE PRESENCE OF
GOD FOR US” (Hebrews 9:24). Jesus had to appear before God the Father with the
shed blood. This is why He told Mary not to touch Him when He arose from the
dead. “Jesus saith unto her, TOUCH ME NOT; FOR I AM NOT YET ASCENDED TO MY
FATHER: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and
your Father; and to my God, and your God” (John 20:17). If Mary had touched
Jesus, the blood sacrifice would have been tainted with corruption.
Jesus
Christ was heading towards heaven with the blood which needed to be applied to
the mercy seat in Heaven. “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the
sum: We have such an HIGH PRIEST, who is set on the right hand of the throne of
the Majesty in the heavens” (Hebrews 8:1). Jesus Christ is our High Priest!
“Seeing then that we have a great HIGH PRIEST, that is passed into the heavens,
JESUS Christ THE SON OF GOD…” (Hebrews 4:14). Jesus’ tabernacle is in Heaven,
not on earth, “A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which
the Lord pitched, and not man” (Hebrews 8:2).
The
Mercy seat is located within this tabernacle in Heaven, just as it was in the
Old Testament tabernacle. God had required for the Jewish High Priest to
perform a ceremonial sacrifice once per year to atone for the sins of the
Israelite people. The sacrifice pictured the coming Messiah Who would someday die
on the cross for the sins of all people. This ceremonial event ceased when
Christ died on the cross because the shadow of things to come was now obsolete,
Jesus had fulfilled the prophecy.
The
Old Testament tabernacle, priests, holy of holies and mercy seat were all a
shadow (or replica) of the Tabernacle and in Heaven. “Who serve unto the
EXAMPLE AND SHADOW OF HEAVENLY THINGS, as Moses was admonished of God when he
was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things
according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount” (Hebrews 5:8). The Old
Testament tabernacle was a mirror image of the tabernacle in Heaven where
Christ would someday make the ultimate sacrifice with His shed blood. Jesus
used His own blood to pay for our sins. Christ’s blood was applied to the Mercy
seat in Heaven. For anyone to teach that Jesus’ blood has no redeeming power is
a false prophet. To diminish the necessity of Christ’s blood sacrifice is an
abomination unto God.
Just
as the Jewish high priest was required to enter into the holy of holies once a
year, likewise Christ had to enter into the Holy of Holies to appear before
God. The Old Testament tabernacle was divided into three parts: the outer
court, the inner court and then the holy of holies. Only certain priests who
followed certain cleansing rituals were allowed into the inner court.
Absolutely no one could enter into the holy of holies except a certain high
priest once a year. Disobeying certain rules meant death. For example, if the
high priest entered into the holy of holies without the lamb’s blood, God would
have killed him.
The
blood atonement was sacred to God. Christ’s blood is a serious matter to God.
We must not make light of something that God holds dear. “Forasmuch as ye know
that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from
your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But WITH THE
PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1st Peter
1:18,19). Jesus is precious! Jesus’ blood is precious!
Carefully
note that the word “atonement” is an Old Testament word which means “to cover.”
Jesus DIDN’T merely cover our sins, He took them away forever with His blood.
Amen! This is why, when speaking of Christ’s work of redemption, I refer to His
“blood sacrifice” instead of using the word “atonement.”
What
a wonderful and loving God, that He would provide salvation to us through His
own suffering and sacrifice. Surely there is no greater love than this. Do you
fail to see God’s love toward mankind? If so, it is only because of your sinful
unbelief. Believe my friend and let God have His way with your heart.
“Having
therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS,
By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil,
that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God. Let
us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts
sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water”
(Hebrews 10:19-22).
As
believers, We are not to live with guilt over the past. We are to sprinkle our
past sins and mistakes with the blood of Jesus Christ. What this means is that
you must realize in your mind that Christ’s blood has washed your sins away and
they are gone forever. “…Unto him that loved us, and WASHED US FROM OUR SINS IN
HIS OWN BLOOD” (Revelation 1:5).
Have
your sins been forgiven? Jesus Christ has made the provision for your
forgiveness. All you have to do is say “yes” to He Who knocks at the door of
your heart and invite Him in, “Behold, I STAND AT THE DOOR, AND KNOCK: if any
man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with
him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). Is Jesus knocking at the door to your
heart? Let Him in. By the way, you can’t invite Him in twice. Would you invite
someone into your house who has already entered? Of course not! The same is
true with salvation—If saved, always saved.
Once
Jesus Christ comes in, He never leaves. You can’t throw Him out either! You
might stick Him in a closet and forget He’s there, just like any other old
stuff in the attic or closet, but He’s still there. You absolutely CANNOT lose
your salvation. Whether or not you have ever been saved is another story. Many
folks who think they are saved are NOT! Only Jesus, trust in Him.
“Who
needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his
own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did ONCE, when he offered up
himself” (Hebrews 7:27). This is important to understand, Jesus died and atoned
for our sins ONCE. Jesus is not still hanging on a cross as false religions portray
Him. The false religion teaches that when you take the Lord’s Supper (Holy
Eucharist) that the bread and juice literally become the blood and body of
Jesus Christ when digested. They believe this is necessary for renewed
spiritual life. This of course is as ridiculous as it is totally unscriptural.
The
bread and juice simply remind us of what Christ has done for us to redeem us unto
Himself, no more. There is NO magic power in partaking of the Lord’s Supper.
Jesus does NOT die every time. False religion teaches that Jesus Christ dies over and over again. This is NOT what the
Bible teaches. Jesus died ONCE, He shed His blood ONCE, He applied the Blood
ONCE—it is finished. “So Christ was ONCE offered to bear the sins of many”
(Hebrews 9:28).
“By
the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ ONCE for all” (Hebrews 10:10). Jesus did NOT stay on the cross bless
God, He did NOT remain in the grave, He arose triumphant over death and is
alive forever more.Thanks be to His name.
We
read of the rich man who went to hell in Luke 16:19-31. He died in his sins.
Let’s read this factual account in the Scriptures . . .
“There
was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared
sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was
laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which
fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his
sores.And it came to pass, that the
beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham‘s bosom: the rich man
also died, and was buried; And IN HELL he lift up his eyes, being in TORMENTS,
and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said,
Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of
his finger in water, and COOL MY TONGUE; for I AM TORMENTED IN THIS FLAME.But
Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good
things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art
TORMENTED. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed:
so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass
to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore,
father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify
unto them, lest they also come into this place of TORMENT. Abraham saith unto
him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay,
father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And
he said unto him, IF THEY HEAR NOT MOSES AND THE PROPHETS, NEITHER WILL THEY BE
PERSUADED, THOUGH ONE ROSE FROM THE DEAD.”
The
word TORMENT(S) is found mentioned 3 times in verses 23, 25 and 28. Just as
today, A MAN IS ONLY AS GOOD AS HIS WORD. We must believe then that JESUS SAID
WHAT HE MEANT and MEANT WHAT HE SAID! The rich man was not a criminal, he was
not a drug dealer, he was not a murderer, etc. What was it that kept the rich
man from getting saved? Ready for this? He thought he had heaven on earth so he
didn’t take the Word of God seriously.
The
rich man lived for himself.He could
have cared less about the poor—people such as Lazarus. Lazarus was very poor
and diseased. The rich man was very rich and stingy. Lazarus ate the crumbs out
of the garbage pail of the rich man.The rich man was selfish and self-centered
but that’s not what sent him to hell. He went to hell because he never put his
FAITH in Christ as Savior. He was guilty of the worst sin of all—UNBELIEF.He
never stopped long enough to consider his ways and turn to God for the
forgiveness of his sins. He probably thought the preacher was a quack and the
Word of God was just another religious book.Unfortunately, hell became his new
home because of his wealthy pride that blinded him in unbelief.
Oh
how many rich people are sadly in hell right now. “Go to now, YE RICH MEN, weep
and howl for your MISERIES that shall come upon you” (James 5:1). “For it is
EASIER FOR A CAMEL TO GO THROUGH A NEEDLE’S EYE, than for a RICH MAN to enter
into the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:25). “For the sun is no sooner risen with a
burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and
the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the RICH MAN FADE AWAY
IN HIS WAYS” (James 1:11).
Most
people in the United States are rich and don’t realize it. These verses may
indeed be speaking about you. The United States is a very rich nation. Even
homeless people living on the streets have something here that immigrants are
willing to risk their lives to have—opportunity.
People
are dying in the oceans and in box cars trying to escape the poverty-stricken lands
they reluctantly call home. However;
along with this prosperity has arisen a stiff-necked people, full of pride.
The
rich man is Luke sixteen which we just read about had no color TV set—he had no
refrigerator, no telephone, no electricity, no car, no plumbing, no washer or
dryer, no modern medicine, no camera, no CD player, no radio, etc.By today’s
standards he would be considered poor. Yet, he was called a “rich man” by God.
I
contend that we’re all very rich indeed and in danger of the same kind of fate
that the rich man met—Eternal damnation in hell.Do you take the Word of God
SERIOUSLY? Or do you take God’s Word lightly?
Let’s
look at some more verses concerning hell. Jesus foretells of WEEPING and
GNASHING OF TEETH, “…there shall be WEEPING and GNASHING OF TEETH” (Matthew
8:12).
“Bind
him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there
shall be WEEPING AND GNASHING OF TEETH” (Matthew 22:13).
“And
shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there
shall be WEEPING AND GNASHING OF TEETH” (Matthew 24:51).
“And
shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there
shall be WEEPING AND GNASHING OF TEETH” (Matthew 25:30).
“There shall be WEEPING AND GNASHING OF TEETH,
when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the
kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out” (Luke 13:28).
“And
if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life
maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the FIRE THAT NEVER SHALL
BE QUENCHED: Where their worm dieth not, and the FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED. And if
thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into
life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the FIRE THAT NEVER SHALL
BE QUENCHED: Where their worm dieth not, and the FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED. And if
thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the
kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into HELL FIRE:
Where their worm dieth not, and the FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED” (Mark 9:43-48). Hell
has fire!
Do
you really think Jesus Christ would have spoken all these Words if hell didn’t
have fire? Let’s hear Jesus’ Words in
John 14:2, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: IF IT WERE NOT SO, I WOULD
HAVE TOLD YOU. Jesus said what He meant and meant what He said.
For
anyone to deny that hell has fire is unbelief. When a man tells me he doesn’t
believe that hell has fire, I know that he doesn’t believe the Bible.
The
Bible teaches that Hell is fire and eternal damnation. I’ve heard people
contend that the word “hell” only means grave. In some places in the Bible this
is true, but in most others, it means
hell fire and punishment.
Psalm
9:17 is a good example of where “hell” CANNOT mean simply “grave.” … “THE
WICKED SHALL BE TURNED INTO HELL, and all the nations that forget God.” Do not
the righteous also go to the grave? If the word “hell” only means “grave,” then
both the wicked and the righteous go to the same place. Only a fool would say
such a thing. In most cases in the Bible, the word “hell” implies damnation and
fire.
The
wicked go to hell-fire and punishment, the righteous go to Heaven for life
everlasting. Don’t be foolish my friend in denying that hell is real. I can
assure you that this world we live in is NOT hell. I believe the worst thing
about hell won’t be the suffering and torment, it will be the constant
realization that you could have been up in heaven serving a loving God for all
eternity.
Oh
how bitter the bitterness which will be inflicted upon those suffering in Hell,
an eternity to sulk in regrets and resentments. Perhaps this is the “worm that
dieth not” which we read about several times in the Scriptures—the conscience.
No one knows for sure what the “worms” are but whatever they are, I sure
wouldn’t want to find out.
The
only safe place to be is in the everlasting arm of Jesus… “The eternal God is
thy refuge, and underneath are THE EVERLASTING ARMS” (Deuteronomy 33:27). Are
you safe and secure in the Everlasting Arms? Only in Jesus Christ can any
person find true salvation and security.
You
must realize and admit to God that because of YOUR OWN SINFULNESS, you are
under the CONDEMNATION OF GOD and are DESERVING of the PENALTY of HELL FIRE and
DAMNATION.
The
Bible makes this clear. WE EARN DEATH by the SINS WE HAVE COMMITTED, just as
you would earn wages from working a job… “For the WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH”
(Romans 6:23). The Scriptures declare that those who die without CHRIST AS
THEIR SAVIOUR WILL DIE A SECOND DEATH as well as a first death. If you are NOT
saved, you are already spiritually dead. You are simply awaiting your future
home in hell, the second death.You need to do absolutely nothing to go to
hell, but you must be born-again to go to heaven.
The
Bible speaks of a second death… “But the fearful, and UNBELIEVING, and the
abominable, and murderers, and whore-mongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and
ALL LIARS, shall have their part in THE LAKE WHICH BURNETH WITH FIRE AND
BRIMSTONE: which is the SECOND DEATH” (Revelation 21:8). “Blessed and holy is
he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the SECOND DEATH hath no
power” (Revelation 20:6).
How
many people does a person have to kill to be considered a murderer? Obviously,
JUST ONE! So likewise, how many lies does a person have to tell to be a liar?
Again, JUST ONE! Revelation 21:8 tells
us that ALL LIARS will have their part in the SECOND DEATH (THE LAKE OF FIRE).
James 2:10 affirms this, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet
offend in ONE POINT, he is GUILTY OF ALL.” Once Adam and Eve had committed sin,
they were bound for an earthly grave as well as an eternal grave in hell
forever. Hell is the destiny of all those who are spiritually dead when they
die. If you die in your sins, it is too late.
It
is also worthy to mention that Adam and Eve only committed ONE SIN; thus,
disobeying God. What was their horrible sin? Eating some fruit! It is common for
people today to diminish the wickedness of sin. We must NOT make the sin of
deciding how sinful sin is—ALL sin is wicked and wrong because ALL sin is
rebellion against God. Also, Adam and Eve were not degenerate people before
they sinned, they were perfect and upright. This teaches us that NO ONE is
above sin. We ALL have the potential to sin, no matter how close we walk with
God. The old sin nature CANNOT be tamed!
There
seems to be a misunderstanding concerning spiritual death. May I say, the
“second death” is NOT the same thing as “spiritual death.” If you are NOT saved, you are already
spiritually dead. The “second death” is when you die and go to hell. Let me say
again, if you are not saved—You are already spiritually dead! You are already a
child of hell. That’s why you need to get saved, so you can have spiritual life
anew in Jesus Christ. Without Christ,
you are of the Devil.
Those
who are NOT saved have the spirit of Satan working in them, “And you hath he
quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of
the air, THE SPIRIT THAT NOW WORKETH IN THE CHILDREN OF DISOBEDIENCE”
(Ephesians 2:1,2). Satan has the great power of influence upon this old
sin-cursed world. The Bible teaches that the natural (unsaved) man is prone to
follow worldly philosophies and entertainment (which are really Satan’s
teachings and activities).
People
who are spiritually dead (unsaved) are naturally inclined to heed the Devil’s
call because he is bankrupt of any goodness or integrity. Satan’s voice prompts
his children to selfish thoughts, self-centered activities and self-righteous
religion. Satan is the father of all liars and murderers! The Devil’s goal for
each of us to keep us from doing God’s will. Satan has NO WILL for your life,
he wants you to do “your own thing.” In so doing, you have forgotten about God.
The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
The
bottom line is this, WE MUST ALL STAND BEFORE THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF GOD SOMEDAY…
“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this THE JUDGMENT”
(Hebrews 9:27). ARE YOU READY? The teaching of Hell may not be popular but it
is a clear Bible teaching. Let’s look at some Scripture references concerning
ETERNAL PUNISHMENT.
“…suffering
the vengeance of ETERNAL FIRE” (Jude 7). “And others save with fear, pulling
them out of theFIRE; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh” (Jude 23).
“…for their worm shall not die, NEITHER SHALL THEIR FIRE BE QUENCHED…” (Isaiah
66:24). “Where their WORM DIETH NOT, and the FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED” (Mark 9:44).
“…Whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in DANGER OF HELL FIRE” (Matthew
5:22). “And fear not them which kill the
body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather FEAR HIM which is able to
DESTROY BOTH SOUL AND BODY IN HELL” (Matthew 10:28).
Notice
from the Scripture we just read that God has the power to destroy both our soul
as well as our body. If “hell” only refers to the grave, then why should we
FEAR. If the worst thing that can happen to me is to be annihilated
(non-existent), then why in the world should I FEAR? This is the erroneous
teaching of the false religions. They are dead wrong! “If you’re right about
Hell, I’ll just be dead and unconscious someday; But if the Bible is right
about Hell, you’ll burn in hell-fire for ALL ETERNITY.” So which road am I
safer on, the false religions’ road or the Bibles?
I’ll
take the Bible road any day! “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye
escape the DAMNATION OF HELL?” (Matthew 23:33). “And these shall go away into
EVERLASTINGPUNISHMENT: but the righteous into life eternal” (Matthew 25:46). If
there is no consciousness in the grave of the dead, then how can one’s
punishment be everlasting? The Bible must be taken at face value, it says what
it means and means what it says. The Bible has much to say about hell. The
Bible has more to say about hell than it does about heaven, read it for
yourself.
We
are CONDEMNED ALREADY and the WRATH OF GOD is upon us IF we have NOT accepted
CHRIST AS OUR PERSONAL SAVIOR. Listen to the Words of John the Baptist, “He
that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the
Son shall not see life; but THE WRATH OF GOD ABIDETH ON HIM” (John 3:36). “God
judgeth the righteous, and GOD IS ANGRY WITH THE WICKED EVERY DAY” (Psalm
7:11). If you die in your sins, you must face the TERROR OF GOD. “Knowing
therefore the TERROR OF THE LORD, we persuade men” (2nd Corinthians 5:11).
The
terror is NOT for the Believer but for the unbeliever. “And they journeyed: and
the TERROR OF GOD was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did
not pursue after the sons of Jacob” (Genesis 35:5). “It is a FEARFUL THING to
fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). For anyone to say that
there is no hell or that hell does not have fire is a foolish thing indeed.
What fear is there in facing God if there is no Hell which burns with fire.
There is no fear in annihilation (ceasing to exist). No my friend, Hell is very
real.
It
is NOT God’s fault if men and women are stubborn and unwilling to REPENT of
their unbelief. Hell was NOT created for human beings but rather for Satan and
his horde of demons. We are ALL without excuse for the wrong decisions we make
in life—we CANNOT blame God. Perhaps other humans influenced us to make some
wrong decisions but that’s not God’s fault. I often tell people, “Don’t give up
on God because men fail you.” Let Job be our example, “Though he slay me, yet
will I trust in him” (Job 13:15). What a statement!
And
when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there
met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce,
so that no man might pass by that way.
And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee,
Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither TO TORMENT US BEFORE THE TIME?”
(Matthew 8:28,29).
All
demons know that judgment day is coming for them. These demons in Matthew
chapter eight were afraid that Jesus Christ was going to confine them to the pits of
hell before their time was come. Evidently some angels are so wicked that God
has bound them in chains, awaiting the Day of Judgment.
We
read of such angels in Jude, “And the angels which kept not their first estate,
but left their own habitation, he hath RESERVED IN EVERLASTING CHAINS under
darkness unto the judgment of the great day” (Jude 6). Jesus had the power to
send these demons to the everlasting chains of confinement.
“For
if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down TO HELL, and
delivered them into CHAINS of darkness, TO BE RESERVED unto judgment” (2nd
Peter 2:4). These demons are reserved in chains awaiting the day of God’s
judgment. Even Satan himself will be bound in chains during the
one-thousand-year millennial reign of Christ upon the earth, “And I saw an
angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and A GREAT
CHAIN in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is
the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:1,2). So
we learn that Hell was only intended to be the place of reservation for the
fallen angels.
Notice
that the demons in Matthew 8:29 asked Jesus if He had come to TORMENT them.
Hell is a place of torment. The demons know that judgment day is approaching.
Presently, many of the demons are free to roam about through the earth. We see
this in 1st Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the
Devil, as a roaring lion, WALKETH ABOUT,seeking whom he may devour.” Satan is
alive and well folks!
The
Devil wants to render you useless for God, “The thief cometh not, but for to
steal, and to kill, and to destroy…” (John 10:10). Satan is that murderous
thief. We are told in Revelation 12:12, “Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and
of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he
knoweth that he hath but A SHORT TIME.” Satan’s days are numbered! This
particular Scripture verse is referring to Satan’s mischief during the
tribulation period.
The
Devil is always good for nothing and up to something. Satan knows the Bible
better than any human being but is a rejecter of the truth—he is full of hatred
and deliberately changes and counterfeits the truth. After the seven-year
Tribulation Period, Satan knows that He will be bound in chains for one
thousand years. This time of Satan’s rage during the last three and a half
years of the Tribulation Period is known as the time of “Great Tribulation.”
The Bible warns of the atrocities of that coming time.
Also
notice in Matthew 8:29 that the demons said, “what have we to do with Thee,
Jesus, thou Son of God?” In other words, “we’re minding our own business, why
are you here?” The demons fear God! We read in James 2:19, “Thou believest that
there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and TREMBLE.”
The
fallen angels know that their time of judgment is inevitably approaching. Hell
was created for the Devil and his angels as a jail to contain them until the
judgment. Why certain angels are free to roam the earth and others are reserved
in chains unto judgment?—the Bible does not say. We’ve seen already from the
Scriptures we’ve studied that demons are afraid of Jesus, afraid of being
tormented before their time.
We
read these interesting words in Revelation 20:14, “And DEATH AND HELL were cast
into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” How can Hell be cast into the
Lake of Fire? How can death be cast into the Lake of Fire? There are two
different Greek words used here. The Lake of Fire is the Greek word Gehenna.The word “hell” in Revelation 21:14 is the Greek word Hades. So we learn from
the Bible that Hades will be cast into Gehenna. Hades is a temporary place, but
Gehenna will be the eternal home of the damned.
Hell
is a jail where the unsaved await trial and sentencing before being cast into
the prison of the Lake of Fire. Please understand that if you are not a
Believer—you are already condemned! … “He that believeth on him is not
condemned: but he that believeth not is CONDEMNED ALREADY, because he hath not
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18).
Death
is man’s great enemy! All the wealth, fame and worldly enjoyments a person may
experience in this lifetime CANNOT go with them beyond the grave. Once you’re
dead, it’s over! It’ll be too late to live for God when your six-feet-under.
Death
means SEPARATION. The first death is the SEPARATION of body from soul and
spirit. This is true of the saved and of the unsaved because we must ALL experience
the first death. Only the unsaved must experience the second death. If you’re a
Believer, you will receive your resurrected incorruptible body at the Rapture
(after the Tribulation Period); If you’re NOT a Believer, then your body will
be resurrected after the Millennium to stand before God at
the
Great White Throne of Judgment. “And the sea gave up THE DEAD which were in it;
and death and hell delivered up THE DEAD which were in them: and they were
judged every man according to their works” (Revelation 20:13). There will be a
reuniting of the body, soul and spirit at The Great White Throne of Judgment.
Body, soul and spirit will all be cast into the Lake of Fire.
The
Bible makes reference to the body being destroyed in Hell… “And fear not them
which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him
which is able to destroy BOTH SOUL AND BODY in hell” (Matthew 10:28). Those in
Hell will be cast into the Lake of Fire. The second death is a SEPARATION of
your body, soul and spirit from God for ALL ETERNITY!
How
sad. If man will not accept the gift of eternal life from God, then he will
receive the only other alternative—eternal punishment in the Lake of Fire. God
never created mankind to be put in such a horrible place, but there is no other
place for him. Hell was created for the Devil and his angels. I take it that
this is a place where God never goes. The second death means eternal and
absolute separation from God.
Did
you read that? The Lord was going to smite the firstborn in all the land of
Egypt because of the false gods of the Egyptians. However, the Lord would NOT
smite the firstborn if He saw the BLOOD upon the side posts and upper door
post. The blood had to be applied! What if the lamb had been killed but the
blood had NOT been applied to the door posts? Then the firstborn died! The
killing of the lamb was NOT enough by itself, the lamb’s shed blood had to be
applied. The lamb had to be a young male lamb without any disease or
abnormalities. The lamb had to be killed and the blood collected so it could be
applied to the doorposts of the home. This was the ONLY way of escape for the
firstborn Israelites!
This
event in the history of the Israelites is called the Passover (a Passover day,
followed by the seven days of unleavened bread.) “In the fourteenth day of the
first month at even is the LORD’s PASSOVER.And on the fifteenth day of the
same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must
eat unleavened bread” (Leviticus 23:5,6). So, we learn from Leviticus 23:5-6
that the fourteenth day was the day of Passover and AFTERWARDS followed seven
additional days of eating unleavened bread.
Jesus
is Our Passover Lamb (through Christ’s blood we are saved)
The
Passover is a picture of Jesus Christ (Who is our Passover), “Purge out
therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For
even CHRIST OUR PASSOVER is sacrificed for us” (1st Corinthians 5:7).
The slain
lambs in Exodus 12:1-13 picture the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. Jesus was as a
lamb without spot nor blemish, He was perfect.Jesus was killed and His blood
shed for our sins, “…without the shedding of BLOOD there is no remission”
(Hebrews 9:22). There can be no redemption without Christ’s blood. Jesus
absolutely had to shed His blood or mankind would have been doomed to Hell for
all eternity.
Beware
of corrupt teachers who claim that Jesus’ blood is of no significance! These mislead people believe that only the death of Christ is of
importance, not the blood. This is corrupt doctrine, lies. From reading Exodus
12:1-13 we have learned that the BLOOD HAD TO BE APPLIED to the door posts of
the house if the firstborn was to survive through the night.
The
Lord said He was specifically going to look for the BLOOD, not the dead lamb.I
sincerely doubt the salvation of any person who makes light of the blood of
Jesus Christ.The Scriptures proclaim the message of the blood of Christ from
Genesis to Revelation.
Romans
3:25 states, “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through FAITH IN HIS
BLOOD, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past,
through the forbearance of God.” The word “propitiation” in the Greek means “to
appease one’s wrath.”
In
other words, it is our faith in the shed blood of Christ that removes us from
under the condemnation of God’s Law. God’s wrath is turned away and we obtain
divine favor because of Jesus’ blood. It is “FAITH IN HIS BLOOD” that brings
the forgiveness and cleansing of sins. Anyone who denies the importance of
Jesus shed blood is a heretic.
Let’s
read another Scripture concerning the blood, “In whom we have REDEMPTION
THROUGH HIS BLOOD, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his
grace” (Ephesians 1:7). The Bible is clear as can be—the blood of Jesus
redeems! How can anyone be so foolish as to deny the power of the blood? “But
now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are MADE NIGH BY THE BLOOD OF
CHRIST” (Ephesians 2:13).
We
are reconciled and brought back close to God by Christ’s blood. “In whom we
have REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD, even the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians
1:14). There are a multitude of other references throughout the Bible teaching
that Jesus’ blood is very important. It is a dangerous thing to make light of
the blood of Christ, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we
have fellowship one with another, and THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST HIS SON
CLEANSETH US FROM ALL SIN” (1st John 1:7).
It
is Jesus’ blood that cleanses away the sinners sins. “And from Jesus Christ,
who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince
of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and WASHED US FROM OUR SINS
IN HIS OWN BLOOD” (Revelation 1:5). What a wonderful Saviour!
We
owe Jesus a debt of gratitude which cannot be adequately expressed with words.
Christ has paid the price to redeem us unto Himself. Only a fool would deny the
necessity of the blood for redemption. Yes, the death of Christ is important
also but it would not have been sufficient by itself to redeem us. The blood
had to be shed and applied to the mercy seat in Heaven (we will study this in
the next chapter.)
Everything
concerning our Lord Jesus Christ was leading up to the blood atonement in
Heaven. Christ’s virgin death was absolutely necessary to validate the blood
atonement; however, Jesus’ Virgin Birth would have been in vain had He not
applied the blood in Heaven.The same is true of Jesus’ sinless life, His
death, His burial and His resurrection. These all would have meant NOTHING had
Jesus not presented Himself before the Father in Heaven. The blood had to be
applied to the Mercy-seat in Heaven!
There
are many misconceptions concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. False religions have
portrayed Jesus Christ as everything from a space alien to merely a myth. Many people believe that Jesus was only a
prophet.
Perhaps
you ask, “can a person be saved if he or she doesn’t believe that Jesus is
God?” The Answer is that a saved person
WILL believe that Jesus is God.A saved
person WILL believe in the virgin birth of Christ.A saved person WILL believe that Christ died
on the cross. Now when I accepted Christ
as my Saviour as a teenager, I had never heard of the deity of Christ.
The
Bible teaches that Jesus is God, Almighty God. He came to earth as the Son of
God, God in the flesh. He has existed and will exist for all eternity, without
beginning or end.
Jesus
was never created but He is the Creator of all things. Jesus existed in heaven
before He ever took on the form of a man in the flesh. At times, Jesus made
physical appearances in the Old Testament (to Abraham and Sarah, Jacob,
Nebuchadnezzar, etc).
Jesus
is omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing) and omnipresent
(everywhere). Jesus lives within the heart of every Believer as the Holy
Spirit. Jesus is named as the second
person of the Godhead—One God Who has manifest (revealed) Himself to mankind in
the form of three distinct individual Persons: God the Father, God the Son and
God the Holy Ghost.
By
the way, the Holy Spirit is a person. I often hear Believers say, “something
spoke to my heart.”That “something” is
the Holy Spirit. Do you recognize the Holy Spirit in your life? Every Believer
needs to acknowledge the Holy Spirit’s presence and welcome Him because He is
God and He already lives within your heart.
I
learned that Jesus was God I readily accepted that truth and have never doubted
it one time since. The Holy Spirit bared
witness with my spirit that this was the truth.
If you were to tell me that you do NOT believe Jesus is God, then I
would have no doubt that you are NOT saved.
No way!
Listen
to the Words of Christ, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your
sins: for if ye believe not that I AM he, ye shall die in your sins” (John
8:24). If you look in your King James
Bible, the pronoun “he” is in italics.
Italics were added by the 48 King James translators because they felt it
was necessary to add clarity to the original meaning.
One
language doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing in another language so the
translators had the great responsibility of making sure that the proper
original meaning was conveyed into the translated Bible. The added words were put into italics by the
translators out of fear of making a mistake.
They
left the final decision up to us—This was very scholarly of them because they
wanted to be as honest and accurate as possible in their translating work. This allows us to decipher the meaning for
ourselves without any translator’s bias.
You
won’t find any italics in other versions of the Bible—They all foolishly assume
they are correct. The result is much
heresy and errors. The King James Bible
is a beautiful work of art and scholarship.
So what John 8:24 literally says is “I AM.”
Jesus
was claiming to be the “I AM” of Exodus 3:14, “And God said unto Moses, I AM
THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM
hath sent me unto you.” If you don’t
believe me then take a look at John 8:57,58, “Then said the Jews unto him, Thou
art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM.”
Jesus
claimed that He existed before Abraham was ever born! This made the Jews very angry because they
knew what Jesus was claiming—to be God Almighty. They began to stone Jesus, “Then took they up
stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going
through the midst of them, and so passed by” (John 8:59). Jesus said that the person who does not
believe that He is the “I AM” will die in their sins. Do you believe Jesus is the “I AM?”
Ignorance
concerning Christ won’t keep you from being saved BUT a misconception of Who He
is may. If you will only believe on the
“True” Christ—You may be saved!!! The
only way to be saved is to simply believe on the Lord Jesus Christ apart from
all else. However, if you’ve been taught
that Jesus is not God and you refuse to admit that your thinking is corrupt,
you are in danger of hell fire! You must
believe on the correct Jesus.
You
must acknowledge Christ as He is.If you
only view Christ as a prophet or as a good man, you can trust him all you want
but it won’t do you any good because you have found another Jesus. “But I fear, lest by any means, as the
serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted
from the simplicity that is in Christ.
For
if he that cometh preacheth ANOTHER JESUS, whom we have not preached, or if ye
receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye
have not accepted, ye might well bear with him” (2nd Corinthians 11:3,4).
The
Apostle Paul warned of false prophets who would bring in damnable heresies,
teaching ANOTHER JESUS which was not of the Scriptures. If you say that you are trusting Christ AND
keeping the seven sacraments to be saved, then you have never completely
trusted Christ.
You
must trust Jesus Christ alone to save you!
You must come empty-handed to the Saviour if you want to be saved—You
can bring nothing of your own to merit salvation—It must all be of Jesus
because only Jesus Christ can save.
We
must make sure we are completely trusting the “Jesus” of the Scriptures and not
some mythical or fictitious Jesus. Most
religions have a misconception of Christ and nearly all false religions
diminish Christ’s deity. We read in John
6:40? “And this is the will of him that
sent me, that everyone which SEETH THE SON, and BELIEVETH ON HIM, may have
everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Do
you see Jesus? How do you see Him? Have
you been viewing a counterfeit Jesus? Hopefully you have found the true Jesus and are trusting Him.This chapter “misconceptions concerning
Christ” has been written to help you see the correct Jesus of the Bible.All you need to do is simply believe on
Him.Call upon His name for salvation
and the forgiveness of sins.Jesus Christ will
not disappoint you.
If
I had been in a false religion or had been influenced by a corrupted perversion
of the Bible, I would have had a more difficult time getting saved. Why?
Because I would have had to admit my thinking was wrong in order to
grasp the truth. This is very difficult
for some people.
False
religion is one of the most common methods which Satan uses to blind
people.Fortunately, when I was saved it was only a
matter of accepting and believing the truth.
All I knew was that I was a lost sinner and needed Jesus Christ to save
me.I only knew that Jesus had died on
the cross for me.That’s all you need to
know to be saved. God only requires a
child-like faith to be saved.Salvation
is NOT difficult.
The
problem is that many people have been taught misconceptions concerning
Christ.As I’ve already mentioned, you’d
be surprised how many people will say they’re trusting Jesus AND SOMETHING
ELSE.This is NOT acceptable to
God.
To
be saved, these folks would have to admit the errors of their thinking and then
turn to Christ ALONE for salvation.No
one is worthy to be saved, no one.
Salvation is a GIFT from God, paid for by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. If we believe on Jesus, that ALONE is perfectly sufficient and acceptable to God for salvation.
Salvation is a GIFT from God, paid for by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. If we believe on Jesus, that ALONE is perfectly sufficient and acceptable to God for salvation.
I
AM simply saying that you CANNOT be saved if you willfully maintain certain
distorted views of Who Jesus Christ really is.Certain misconceptions would not
matter. For example: some people view God as a big ogre up in heaven with a big
stick ready to beat us over the head when we sin.This is FAR from the
truth!However, this misconception would
NOT keep a person from getting saved.
Sadly,
there are countless people in the world
who do not believe that Jesus Christ was ever crucified. “Seest thou a man wise in his own
conceit? there is more hope of a fool
than of him” (Proverbs 26:12).“Conceit”
(stubborn pride) has sent billions of unrepentant souls to hell.We must NOT create God in our own image.
There
are over one billion people in this
world who believe sacraments and good works are necessary to salvation. They
believe that Mary (Jesus’ earthly mother) is a co-saviour with Jesus.This is a lie of the devil and NOT found in
God’s Word.Mary was a mere human, no
more. She is no different in heaven
today than any other saint in heaven.She is a sinner saved by grace, as ALL God’s Children are.The Bible says there is more hope for a
complete fool than for someone who is too blinded by pride to admit the errors
of their way.
It
is a foolish thing to create God in our own image. We must realize that we are created in God’s
image. Good works are NOT a necessary
part of salvation and WILL prevent you from being saved if you trust in them
for salvation. Mary CANNOT save you and
praying to her is idolatry. “Am I
therefore become your enemy, because I tell you THE TRUTH?” (Galatians
4:16). This is plain old-fashioned
Bible teaching.
Many
of the misconceptions concerning Christ have resulted from watered-down
perversions of the Bible. There are many
counterfeit bibles selling on the market and being used in churches today. It should NOT surprise you to learn such a
thing, for the devil is a master counterfeiter.
“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, TRANSFORMING themselves
into the apostles of Christ. And no
marvel; for Satan himself is TRANSFORMED into an angel of light” (2nd
Corinthians 11:13,14).
The
word “transformed” here means that Satan has the ability to “change” his
appearance. He comes to us as a wolf in
sheep’s clothing. He offers us a new and
better bible. He offers us a new
religion, another Jesus. The devil
promises us a better life that he CANNOT deliver. We must not be ignorant of Satan’s tactics
or methods. It’s been said, “Satan is
to be dreaded as a lion, dreaded even more as a serpent and dreaded most of all
as an angel.”
Many
misconceptions about Christ have their source in people’s ignorance concerning
God’s Word.
The
following Scriptures reveal the Heavenly father’s desire concerning our attitude
towards Christ. “And after six days
Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a
high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine
as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses
and Elias talking with him. Then
answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if
thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses,
and one for Elias. While he yet spake,
behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud,
which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; HEAR YE HIM”
(Matthew 17:1-5).
Moses
and Elijah had appeared. Peter said he
wanted to build three tabernacles: one for Jesus, one for Moses and one for
Elijah. God the Father stepped in and
said, No way! You magnify Jesus
only!
The
message is clearly—we must worship, praise and listen to the Words of Jesus
Christ only. “And when the disciples
heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said,
Arise, and be not afraid. And when they
had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, SAVE JESUS ONLY” (Matthew
17:6-8).
God
wanted to make sure that only Jesus was worshipped and glorified, so He
immediately removed Moses and Elijah.
Peter, James and John looked up and only Jesus remained. This is a lesson to us also that ONLY JESUS
is to be worshipped; not Mary, not the Pope, not Allah, not Buddha, not
Confucius, not a denomination, not a religion, not a man—ONLY God, JESUS Christ.
Beware of any doctrine, religion or person that diminishes (makes less) of
Jesus Christ in any way.
Another
misconception concerning Christ is that he was created with Lucifer—This is a
lie.
Jesus
Christ is the Creator of the universe, He was NOT created. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and THE WORD WAS GOD.The
same was in the beginning with God.ALL
THINGS WERE MADE BY HIM; and without him was not anything made that was
made. In him was life; and the life was
the light of men.” (John 1:1-4).
Jesus
is the Word that is God.It is Jesus
Christ Who created ALL things.This should
not be a surprise in the least seeing that Jesus is Almighty God. God had no creator for He has no
beginning.
“In
whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is
the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: FOR BY HIM WERE ALL THINGS CREATED, that are
in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: ALL THINGS WERE CREATED BY
HIM, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist”
(Colossians 1:14-17). “Firstborn”
refers to the fact that Jesus was the first to receive the resurrected
body.
We
will receive our resurrected bodies at the rapture when Jesus returns “FOR His
own.”
We
read in Acts 17:25, “GOD THAT MADE THE WORLD and all things therein, seeing that
HE IS LORD of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither
is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing HE GIVETH
TO ALL LIFE, AND BREATH, AND ALL THINGS.”
Jesus
is the Creator! Jesus is the Lord! Jesus is God!
The Eternal Godhead of the universe walked this earth in the visible
body of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, “For in him dwelleth all the
fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9).
The
doctrine of the trinity is often attacked by false religion and the
unbelieving.The word “trinity” is NOT
in the Bible, but the word “Godhead” most certainly is. This doctrine cannot be denied for it is
taught throughout the Bible.
“Jesus
answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my
Father will love him, and WE will come unto him, and make our abode with him”
(John 14:23). Who is “We?” God the Father and God the Son of
course. When you accept Christ into your
heart as your Savior, you get the full package.
If you are saved, God the Father and God the Son live in your heart in
the form of God the Holy Spirit.
Holy
Spirit merges and unites with your dead spirit at salvation and you are
“quickened” or “made alive.” “And you
hath he QUICKENED, who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). If you are saved, you don’t have a problem
believing in the trinity because He lives in your heart. I say “He” because there is only ONE
GOD.
“Hear,
O Israel: The LORD our God is ONE LORD” (Deuteronomy 6:4). There is only ONE God. Those who believe in the trinity are
sometimes accused of being “polytheists” (a belief in multiple god’s). This of course is far from the truth.
The
Bible teaches that there is only ONE true and living God. However, we cannot dismiss the fact that this
ONE God has revealed Himself to mankind as God the Father, God the Son and God
the Holy Spirit.
Three
distinct persons all equal in power, might and knowledge. “But ye are not in
the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now
if any man have not the SPIRIT of CHRIST, he is none of his” (Romans 8:9). This Scripture is clear—if you do NOT have
the Holy Spirit living within your heart—you are NOT a Child of God.
Notice
that the Holy Spirit is called the “Spirit of Christ.” This is simply because they are both one in
the same Spirit of the same ONE God.
Jesus Christ lives within my heart as the Holy Spirit. They are the same God, yet two distinct
persons. Notice the Bible prophecy
concerning Christ in Isaiah 9:6-7, “For unto us a child is born (Jesus), unto
us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder (during the
Millennium): and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty
God, The EVERLASTING FATHER, The Prince of Peace.
Of
the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne
of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment
and with justice from henceforth even for ever…” What a wonderful promise from God!
One
can only await with great anticipation for the day when Christ will reign, and
the world will be under His perfect government—no more political scandals, no
more corruption, no more bribes, no more favoritism, no more injustice, no more
treason, no more lies, no more taking advantage of the less fortunate. What a day that will be!
Notice
the phrase, “the EVERLASTING FATHER” in Isaiah 9:6. Jesus is called the “Everlasting
Father.” Jesus and the Father are
ONE. Jesus is as much the Father as the
Father is the Father, yet they are two distinct persons. “Go ye therefore, and
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the FATHER, and of the SON,
and of the HOLY GHOST” (Matthew 28:19).
Three
persons, ONE God. If you are saved, you
believe this—You may not understand it, but you wholeheartedly believe it. “But wisdom is justified of all her
children” (Luke 7:35). Are you a Child
of Wisdom, a Child of God? Notice the
powerful words of Romans 1:20, “ For the invisible things of him from the
creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are
made, even his eternal power and GODHEAD; so that they are without
excuse.”
We
covered this in an earlier chapter. “Godhead” refers to the Father, Son and
Holy Ghost. The invisible spirit world
is clearly seen by the things which are made.
This means that every person knew at one time in their life that there
was a God. It is only when a person
fails to glorify God in their life that their foolish heart is darkened and
grows cold.
I
don’t believe anyone is born an atheist.
Somewhere at some point in their life, they knew God. Life and people can sometimes be cruel. This
often turns many people away from God and His Word. They fail to differentiate between God and
religion. God is God and religion is
religion—don’t confuse the Two.
I’m
saying, don’t blame God because man fails you!
Religion can often be a very bad thing.
Let’s take a look at another Scripture
concerning the “Godhead.” “For in him
dwelleth all the fulness of the GODHEAD bodily” (Colossians 2:9).
Jesus
came to this earth as God (the Son) in the Flesh. Jesus
had the absolute fullness of the Holy Spirit, “For he whom God hath sent
speaketh the words of God: for God GIVETH NOT THE SPIRIT BY MEASURE UNTO HIM”
(John 3:34). Jesus had unlimited power
while on the earth. He said He could
have called twelve legions of angels to come to His rescue if He simply spoke
the word (Matthew 26:53). Jesus had the
Holy Spirit “without measure.” This is
amazing!
As
Believers, the Holy Spirit “indwelt” us at salvation. That is to say, the Godhead (Father, Son and
Holy Spirit) moved into our heart and united with our spirit (which was
dead). We became a Child of God, a
member of the body (family) of Christ.
This simply means that He came into our heart to live forever. He united with our spirit in a spiritual
marriage. However, even though God now
lives in our heart, we need to daily “yield” our will to obey His will. To do so brings the “fullness” of the Holy
Spirit.
You
see, the Holy Spirit can’t fill our mind and heart if we are full of
ourselves. If we want the fullness of
the spirit, we must empty our minds of the world and fill it with God’s Word. We must keep our heart close to the Lord in
truth, gratitude, humility and holy fear.
The
Christian life can only be lived ON PURPOSE.This requires a sincere desire on our part to live according to God’s
Word. Many people do not want to live
for God. However, Jesus had the 100%
fullness of the Holy Spirit. Nowhere in the Bible is it ever said of any other
man that he had the Holy Spirit “without measure”—This was only said concerning
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Truly this was the Son of God.
Another
misconception concerning Christ is that He only died for Adam. Others believe that Jesus only died for the
saved.These are erroneous teachings.1st Corinthians 5:21 reads, “For he hath made
him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him.” Some people believe
this verse only applies to the saved because “us” and “we” refer to the
Believers unto Whom this epistle of Paul was written. Though this letter was indeed
written to the Believers at the Church of Corinth, we must consider other
Scriptures before making such faulty assumptions.
The
Bible says in 1st Timothy 2:4-6, “Who will have ALL men to be saved, and to
come unto the knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for ALL, to be testified in due
time.” “ALL” people everywhere may be
saved. God is no respecter of persons
and “ALL” are welcome at the feet of Jesus. “For WHOSOEVER shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).
God
says, “WHOSOEVER” desires salvation may come to Jesus for salvation—that means
anybody. “For GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD,
that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
There’s that word “WHOSOEVER” again.
Notice that God loves the entire world.
God
loves people—all people, in every nation, of every race, of every background,
of every village, of every upbringing, of every heartache, of every deformity,
of every handicap, of every mistake, of every sin, of every attitude, of every
religion, of every belief—God loves people!
God doesn’t send anyone to hell, we choose to
go there by our own unbelief and love for sin. The Scripture we just read tells
us why Jesus hasn’t returned yet—because God is patiently waiting for more
sinners to get saved. God
wants people to repent of their “unbelief.”
Don’t
be deceived folks, there is only ONE Jesus.
All of the misconceptions concerning Christ are simply decoys which
Satan has cleverly conceived to prevent people from being saved, “In whom the
god of this world (Satan)hath BLINDED THE MINDS of them which believe not, lest
the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine unto them” (2nd Corinthians 4:4).
Don’t you see my friend?
The
devil is a master liar and counterfeiter.
More people will burn in hell someday because of religion than probably
anything else. I’ll say it again,
salvation is NOT found in a religion but in a person—Jesus Christ!!!
Do
you have salvation? Have you found Jesus
yet? Have you admitted to Him your
wickedness and asked Him for forgiveness?
Only Jesus has the scars so ONLY Jesus can save!!! Only Jesus shed His blood for your sins so
ONLY Jesus can wipe the slate clean. If
you want to be saved, come as an empty-handed sinner to Jesus Christ and ask
for forgiveness.
You’ll bring nothing, but you’ll leave with
everything and then some. Don’t bring
your good works with you—God will not accept them. Don’t bring baptism, kindness or religion—God
will not save you if you do. You MUST
come empty-handed, offering nothing for salvation. Salvation is of God, we deserve nothing
except eternal fire in hell.
Leave
your misconceptions behind and turn to the True and Living Christ—Almighty God,
the Everlasting Father, the Prince of peace, Creator, Saviour, Lord of lords
and King of kings, the I AM, the Alpha and the Omega (the Beginning and the
End), the Light, the Way, the Truth, the Life, the Resurrection, the Spirit of
Christ, the Door, the Good Shepherd, and Friend.
“For God so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever BELIEVETH IN HIM should not perish,
but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). “For ye are all the children of God
by FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST” (Galatians 3:26). The Bible is clear concerning this
matter—All people are to believe upon Jesus Christ.
The
main purpose for which Christ came into the world was to save sinners, “For God
sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world
through him might be SAVED” (John 3:17).
We are so blessed to have been made
the object of God’s great love, “But God commendeth (demonstrated) his love
toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans
5:8). What a wonderful God!
It
is joyful to know that God loves us. God is not out to get us; rather, He wants
to prepare for us a place in Heaven, that where He is we may be also (John
14:1-3).
God is not willing for any to perish, but that all would come to
repentance (2nd Peter 3:9).God wants us to believe on His Son, Jesus Christ.
To
believe on the Son is to believe on the Father because Jesus and the Father are
One. There is NO condemnation to those who are resting upon Jesus Christ for
salvation… “There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION to them which are in Christ
Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:1).The
only safe place to be is in the everlasting arms of God, Jesus Christ.
Those
who do not believe on Christ are already condemned… “He that believeth on him
is not condemned: but he that believeth not is CONDEMNED ALREADY, because he
hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18).We
MUST put our faith in Christ Jesus, there are NO other options.It’s Jesus or
Hell.My friend, what will you do with Jesus Christ?
The
Bible tells us why some people won’t come to Christ… “And this is the
condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather
than light, because their deeds were EVIL.For every one that doeth EVIL hateth
the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved”
(John 3:19,20).
We
have no excuse if we miss Heaven. God has made salvation very simple and
accessible to anyone.Eternal life is a free gift, paid for by Christ’s blood
sacrifice.
Salvation is receiving, not giving. All we need to do is acknowledge
our guilt of sin before God, and put all our faith in Jesus Christ, that His
blood will wash away our sins forever.
Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by THE DOOR into the sheepfold,
but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber” (John 10:1).God says you are “a thief and a robber” if you are trying to enter Heaven
through a side door or an underground tunnel.You’re a thief because you’re
illegally trying to make an entrance.
Jesus Christ paid for our sins because we CANNOT
pay for our own sins.The ticket into Heaven has been paid for—all you have to
do is accept the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ.
Since
you cannot pay for your own ticket into Heaven, you don’t have any other choice
if you want to enter into Heaven’s pearly gates. It’s Jesus Christ or Hell folks, I
cannot stress this enough! John 10:9 says, “I AM THE DOOR: by me if any man
enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
Jesus
is the Door into Heaven. Listen to John 11:25,26… “Jesus said unto her, I AM
THE RESURRECTION, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead,
yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.
Believest thou this?” Believest thou this? Do you believe the Words which Jesus
spoke?
“Jesus
saith unto him, I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE: no man cometh unto the
Father, but by me” (John 14:6).Only Jesus CAN save you and forgive your
sins.
“I
AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (John
10:11).What a wondrous Saviour! Being saved is so simple—all we must do is
believe—“Just enough”—to call upon the name of the Lord… “For whosoever shall
call upon the name of the Lord shall be SAVED” (Romans 10:13).
The
word “call” means to believe.It does NOT means that you have to audibly sound
your voice to be saved. Salvation is of the heart, not the mouth.The mouth can
do nothing to save you.You must believe in your heart that Christ raised from
the dead and trust upon Him alone for salvation.Do you believe Jesus Christ arose
after being crucified and buried?
Some
people think Jesus is still dead.Let me tell you, Christ is alive and
well and lives within the heart of every Christian Believer.Let me encourage
you again to put all your faith in Jesus Christ if you have never done so. Make
that decision now.
“For
whom he did foreknow, he also did PREDESTINATE to be conformed to the image of
his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29).
Does God choose some people for salvation and not others?
Whosoever
Will May Come
As
we learned in the previous chapter, “WHOSOEVER WILL MAY COME” for salvation.
The invitation to be saved is to WHOSOEVER… “And the Spirit and the bride say,
Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And
WHOSOEVER WILL, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17).
Whosoever will may come to be saved.This is the freewill of mankind.
We
read in Romans 10:13, “For WHOSOEVER shall call upon the name of the Lord shall
be saved.” God is a “whosoever God.” He says that anyone may come to the throne
of grace for salvation. All that God asks is that we come by way of faith in
Christ Jesus alone.
There
is NOTHING in the Bible about God choosing anyone for salvation.Mankind has
been given a freewill by God to make our own decisions.
Let’s
look at Romans 8:29 again… “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate
TO BE CONFORMED TO THE IMAGE OF HIS SON, that he might be the firstborn among
many brethren.”
Predestination
means that God has chosen us “to be conformed into Jesus’ likeness.” The Bible
does NOT say anything about being chosen for salvation.God knows in advance
who will be saved and who won’t, but He does NOT choose who will be saved or
lost. We decide to accept or reject Christ of our own freewill.
Nevertheless,
there are still those who teach that you cannot be saved unless God first
chooses you—this is utter foolishness. Phooey unbiblical sacraments and all the other writings of men which distort the Word
of God. The Bible should be our Final Authority as believers.
The
truth concerning predestination is that God looked ahead in time, in His
foreknowledge, and saw those who would one day be saved, and He predestinated
them to be conformed into Christ’s likeness.
The
Bible doesn’t say that God predestinates anyone to salvation. No, rather, the
Bible says that God predestinates them to be CONFORMED to the image of Christ.This is what predestination means. God has predestinated for my life to be
conformed into Christ’s image, and directs the events of my life as such.
God
has many plans for each and every Believer! “In whom also we have obtained AN
INHERITANCE, being PREDESTINATED ACCORDING TO THE PURPOSE of him who worketh all
things after the counsel of his own will” (Ephesians 1:11).This is very
interesting! God has a purpose for every Christian.
Jeremiah
1:5 declares, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou
camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet
unto the nations.” God had a predetermined purpose for Jeremiah before the
prophet was even born.
God
has a purpose for all His children.God works all things according to His own
will. This is why Romans 8:28 teaches that all things will eventually work out
for good for all Believers, “And we know that ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD
to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
Notice
that all things are NOT good! The Bible says that all things will WORK OUT for
good.You WILL experience pain, suffering and loss in this earthly life.Fortunate are those who have had the opportunity to enjoy a rich and happy life
with little problems down here; however, most are not as fortunate.
There
are billions of people living in poverty right now. Millions of children are
dying in other nations because of starvation and lack of simple vitamins.Most
people don’t know what suffering is.Yet, we all have our heartaches and
problems in life.Even in a wealthy nation like the USA which has been blessed by Almighty God, pain and suffering are all too common.
No one in this life is immune to loss,
sadness, sickness, disappointment and hurt.The Bible does not promise paradise
on earth; on the contrary, God told Adam and Eve that they would suffer in pain
and toil. Howbeit, the Bible promises that ALL THINGS will work together our
good in the end. We know at least that all things will be good when we get to
Heaven to be with the Lord.
Most
people don’t associate the word “predestination” with Romans 8:28. What does
predestination have to do with the things in my life working together for good
down the road? It has everything to do with it.
You
and I have been predestinated to receive an inheritance from the Lord.Let’s
read Ephesians 1:11 once more, “In whom also we have obtained AN INHERITANCE,
being PREDESTINATED ACCORDING TO THE PURPOSE of himwho worketh all things after
the counsel of his own will” (Ephesians 1:11).
God
has so many wonderful things for us when we get to Heaven, we cannot even begin
to imagine all that will happen. God has given us the Holy Spirit as a
“down-payment” or as a “token of His promise” that He has purchased us and we
have an inheritance in Heaven,“…ye were SEALED with that holy Spirit of
promise, Which is the EARNEST of our inheritance until the redemption of the
purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13,14).
A
Believer knows that they are saved because they have the Holy Spirit—God’s
pledge to every Believer that He will perform all that He has PROMISED to do
for us as His Children.
Do you have the Holy Spirit living within you? I do!
God has given me the Holy Spirit to let the Devil know that I have been
PURCHASED By God.I have been purchased with the blood of Jesus Christ.I am a
Child of the King, a member of God’s Family. So the next time you think of
Romans 8:28 when things are going bad, remember that ultimately we all fall
into God’s divine plan which He will accomplish.
No matter how bad things may seem here on
earth, be rest assured that our Heavenly Father is still on His throne and is
in absolute control, we have NOTHING to fear. Bad things will always happen in
life, but someday (within God’s predestinated plan) we will all be very happy
and content in the Lord. It’s just a matter of time!
Moreover
whom he did PREDESTINATE, them he also CALLED: and whom he called, them he also
justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified” (Romans 8:30). The
word “called” means “to invite.” God invites all men to salvation, “For the
grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to ALL MEN” (Titus 2:11). If
God chose people for salvation, then Titus 2:11 would not be true.
The
grace of God has appeared to all people everywhere (an invitation to be saved).
What we do with that invitation is another story.The word “called” can be
misleading if you take it our of context.We must interpret this verse within
the context of the complete Word of God.
There
are plenty of Scriptures teaching that salvation is available to anyone who
wants it. This doctrine of predestination simply means, “what God has started,
He will finish!” “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun
a good work in you WILL PERFORM IT until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians
1:6).God will continue with us ‘til the end of this life and beyond. God will
never leave us or forsake us… “…I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee”
(Hebrews 13:5). What a wonderful God!
For
those who are saved, God predestinates them to become like Jesus and to receive
a divine inheritance… “Having PREDESTINATED us unto the adoption of children by
Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will” (Ephesians
1:5).
God wanted those who would someday be saved to be as His own Children, so
God adopted them. If you are saved, you are an ADOPTED child of God.Now Jesus
is the “only begotten” Son of God but God has many “adopted” sons and
daughters.
For
those who receive Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour, God has already predestined
them to be adopted.God says, “You accept Me and I’ll adopt you as my very own
child.”
A decent Dad tries to leave an inheritance to his children and to his
grandchildren… “A good man LEAVETH AN INHERITANCE to his children’s children…”
(Proverbs 13:22).Truly, God is the greatest of all Fathers and has provided us
with an inheritance in Christ Jesus.
I
believe day-by-day God is preparing things for us in Heaven.Is this not what
Jesus said in John 14:2, “…I go to PREPARE A PLACE for you.”This is all part
of the predestination of God. God foreknew who would be saved and decided to do
all these wonderful things for them. Oh how God loves His Children!
You
can know for certain that you are saved!!! I say this confidently because God
knows whether or not you are His Child.Any uncertainties which you may have
concerning your salvation does not change God’s certainty of your salvation. If
you are God’s Child, then He has promised to tell you that you are saved… “The
Spirit itself with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16).
When
you became a believer, the Godhead moved into your heart—i.e., God the Father,
God the Son and God the Holy Spirit came into your soul to live forever. The
Godhead lives within our body in the Person of God, the Holy Spirit. It is
God’s very Spirit that testifies to our own spirit that we are a Child of God.
What a wonderful blessing!!!
How
does God’s Holy Spirit bear witness to our spirit that we are saved? Listen to
the precious Words of Jesus… “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you
another,,that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom
the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye
know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:16,17).
Wow!!!
What a wonderful truth to know that God (the Comforter) lives in my heart. This
is how I know I’m saved—He lives within my soul.He talks with me and walks
with me all along life’s way.The Holy Spirit is “God with me.” He’s that
little voice that continually convicts me, comforts me and brings truths to my
mind to remind me of how to live for God.
The
Holy Spirit speaks to me about God’s will. I remember when I first became a
Believer as a young woman. There were some obvious changes in my life which
occurred, but I did not recognize them until years later. One big change was a
sincere desire to read and learn the Bible after I became a Christian.Another
big change was a conviction over the sins in my life and the fact that God
wanted me to live right.
I
had never felt that before until I became saved.I remember for the first time
in my life experiencing that little small voice of the Holy Spirit saying, “GOD
doesn’t want you to do this anymore” or “GOD wants you to start doing this.”
Something was very different in my life after I became saved.
I
even recall hearing my mother say to me, “You’ve really changed lately.” Again,
God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit came to live within my
heart in the person of God the Holy Spirit the day I accepted Jesus as Savior.
The Holy Spirit is a Spirit, just as I am a spirit. He is God in every way.
Also,
When I became a believer many years ago, God’s Spirit merged in holy matrimony
with my spirit—a marriage.This is why the Church is referred to as the “Bride
of Christ” in the Book of Revelation.
Jesus Christ is the Bridegroom of the Church. There is a spiritual union between God’s
Spirit and the spirit of each and every one of His Children.If you do not have
the Holy Spirit living within your soul—you are NOT God’s Child!!!
Only a Child
of God has the Holy Spirit living inside—It is His very presence that makes you
God’s Child. If you are God’s Child, it is simply because God literally lives
in you. This is called the “new birth” or being “born-again” … “Ye must be Born
Again John 3:7). It is the Holy Spirit’s uniting with our spirit that conceives
the new birth within us. It is the Word of God which is the Seed that brings
salvation.
I’d
like to say a bit concerning the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a Person, just
as I am a person. I believe He has a physical body in Heaven, just as God the
Father and God the Son each have a physical body in Heaven. We read that Jesus Christ sits on the right hand of the Father in Heaven.
1st
Peter 3:22 states concerning Christ that He is… “gone into heaven, and is on
the right hand of God.” For someone to do a physical act (such as “sit”), they
would require a body. Therefore, it is only logical that God the Father and God
the Son have physical bodies in Heaven. They both sit upon their thrones.
True,
God told us He is a Spirit and they that worship Him must do so in spirit;
however, we are all spirits as well. We are spirits living in a material world.
What John 4:24 means is that our DEAD spirit cannot communicate with His LIVING
Spirit unless we become born-again… “And you hath he quickened, who were DEAD
in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1).
The
word “quickened” means “to make alive.” When we accept Jesus Christ as our
Savior and ask Him to forgive our sins—His living Spirit brings life to our
dead spirit and we become ONE with God. This is the new birth. Even though
Jesus’ body dwells in Heaven, His spirit dwells in our soul as well (if you are
saved). This is why Jesus is referred to as the “Spirit of Christ”… “Now if any
man have not the SPIRIT OF CHRIST, he is none of his” (Romans 8:9).
Incidentally,
don’t let anyone fool you concerning the resurrection of Christ—He arose in a
physical body. When Jesus Christ ascended into Heaven, His body was seen moving
farther upward and upward into the Heavens… “And when he had spoken these
things, WHILE THEY BEHELD, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of
THEIR SIGHT. And while they LOOKED STEDFASTLY toward heaven as HE WENT UP,
behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of
Galilee, why stand ye GAZING UP into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up
from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner AS YE HAVE SEEN HIM go into
heaven.” There’s no doubt about it, Jesus left this earth in a physical body.He rose up into the clouds until His body could be seen no longer. He went to
Heaven.
Either
you have the Holy Spirit within or you don’t!!! Either God lives in your heart
or He doesn’t. Either your saved or you are not. I wanted to start this chapter
with the Holy Spirit because God has PROMISED to bear witness with our spirit
if We are indeed His Children.
The
presence of the Holy Spirit is the best way to know your saved. Why? …because
the world CANNOT receive what they CANNOT see.An unsaved person CANNOT see the Holy Spirit of God.They don’t feel the
conviction from God to forgive others, even as we have been forgiven by Christ
(Ephesians 4:32).The Spirit of God guides us as we read the Scriptures. The
unsaved person CANNOT makes heads-or-tails out of the truth they are reading.
To the unsaved, everybody is a Child of God, which is NOT true.
To
the unsaved, the Cherubim’s of Ezekiel one are flying saucers—ridiculously NOT
true. To the unsaved, the Bible is strictly supposed to be a Book of love and
the homosexual lifestyle is to be tolerated, which is unbiblical.To the
unsaved, the Bible is a fairytale; but to us who believe it is God’s holy Word.
There
is a world of difference between the saved and the unsaved. Look over your life
and try to see the Holy Spirit.I honestly believe that many Believers have
problems with the assurance of their salvation simply because they are ignorant
of the Holy Spirit—His presence, His purpose, His power, His Deity, His
knowledge, His person, etc.
Learn
about the Holy Spirit for He is your Guide and Comforter through life and
beyond.He is God in your heart. He will rebuke you and chasten you with
conviction when you sin. He will empower you as you tell others of Christ. The
Holy Spirit will strengthen you and heal you.
He
will remind you that God loves you dearly during the darkest hours of your
life. Volumes of books could be written about the wondrous Holy Spirit.Look up
the term “Holy Spirit” in a Strong’s Concordance and read all the Scriptures
concerning Him—this is how you learn about Him.
Now
I’m going to help you immensely if you are still having doubts about your
salvation. I’ve introduced you to God the Holy Spirit—Because you need to
recognize Him in your life. If you are saved, He lives inside your soul.
Now
I’d like to tell you why you have doubts. We read in Hosea 4:6, “My people are
destroyed for LACK OF KNOWLEDGE.” Have you ever walked into a dark house and
were afraid while looking for the light switch? I have. I remember as a small
girl going down into the pitch black room.I would walk slowly into that dark
house while gently swinging my arm, feeling for that string. I couldn’t find it
fast enough it seemed!!! Why was I scared? …because I didn’t know what might be
lurking in the dark.
The
same is true of walking down a dark alley at night. People are afraid of the
unknown—this is normal. People are naturally afraid of the things in life which
they don’t understand. If someone says they have AIDS, most people want to get
as far away from them as possible—but the truth is that AIDS is not contagious.Many deformed people are shunned and made to feel as inferior because of the
way they look. Why? …because people don’t know how to deal with something they are afraid of.
Ignorance
is largely the problem!!! Why do people fear their salvation? …because they are
ignorant of the Word of God!!! It’s as simple as that. This book I have written
contains many truths which the Holy Spirit of God has taught me over the years
through my own painful experiences.
I
take no credit for myself—these are God’s truths!!! I simply needed to hear
from God and He opened the eyes of my understanding through the Scriptures.
This is why Jesus tells us in John 5:39 to… SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES!!!
The
Lord gave me the sweet knowledge and assurance, beyond-any-shadow-of-a-doubt,
that I am saved. I had been focusing upon whether or not I did everything just
right to be saved; but I came to understand that I am saved by HIS
RIGHTEOUSNESS, i.e., the imputed righteousness of Christ Jesus. Amen! My part
was simply to believe.
I was looking to a past experience and not to
the faith which I PRESENTLY possessed in my heart. I realized one day that
salvation does NOT rest in a past experience—It rests in Jesus Christ. I had a
present faith in the Lord as my Savior. I wasn’t born with that. Somewhere
along the way I had become a believer, but couldn’t remember where or when.
Oh,
I could point to a bunch of times and places where I prayed the sinner’s
prayer, asking for Christ to forgive my sins; however, I had little idea WHEN I
had been saved. To this day, I can’t remember the exact year, but I remember
the place. It was scary not being able to identify a particular time when I was
saved. I had asked the Lord to save me dozens of times for fear I hadn’t been
sincere enough each time.I was scared and kept asking the Lord to save me.
I
was confused, wondering which of those dozens of times I had cried out to God
He had saved me.The answer is simple my friend—The very first time!!!
The very
first time you turn to Jesus Christ—even with the smallest amount of faith—He
comes into your heart as your Savior and forgives all your sins.All the other
fifty or so times I had prayed for God to save me was simply done in ignorance
and God didn’t mind that a bit—He knew that I needed to learn many things.
The
older I get, the more I realize how little I really know. God’s infinite power
and creation is beyond the scope of human understanding.We must trust God with
the things we don’t understand.We must not place God on trial as the heathen
do.
Do
you realize that God can listen attentively to the prayers of ten thousand
saints all at the same time!!! How can a mere human being comprehend such power
and greatness??? Oh, that men would fall on their faces before God in
repentance.God is so wonderful and precious!!! Do you fear God? You certainly
should.
I
look forward to that day, but I fear it as well. I want God to settle every
matter, and make things right.I surely don’t deserve anything besides hell-fire
but thank God that Jesus atoned for my sins so that I could be saved and become
heir to share in Christ’s riches in eternity. This is true of each and every
Child of God.Are you a Child of
God?
Perhaps
you say, “But I don’t know what I prayed years ago, I can’t remember?” Don’t
fret my friend, I’ve been where you are. First, stop looking to the past!!! Ask
yourself this question: If I died right now, am I 100% sure I would go to
Heaven? If you think you would, but are not confident about it, then ask
yourself this next question:What or Who am I trusting to get me to Heaven when
I die? If your answer is Jesus Christ alone, then you have no cause to fear.
Now
ask yourself this question: Why am I trusting Jesus? What is so special about
Jesus that I am supposed to trust Him alone? Here is how I would answer…
“Because
I came to God as a guilty, hell-deserving sinner who could NOT save myself. God
Almighty came down from Heaven into this sin-cursed world and became flesh.
Jesus was born of a virgin and lived a sinless life as God in the flesh. Jesus
came as the Christ (the Messiah) to save lost sinners. He was falsely accused
and wrongfully tried. Jesus was beaten, mocked and shamed by the Roman
soldiers. Jesus Christ was crucified on a cross. He shed His precious blood for our
sins.He died and was buried. Jesus then arose bodily from the dead three days
later. He ascended into Heaven to present Himself before the Father with the
shed blood (Hebrews 9:12,24). Jesus sprinkled His blood on the heavenly Mercy-seat
in the presence of God the Father. God was pleased and His requirement for
justice was completely satisfied by Jesus’ blood.The blood made salvation
available for ALL mankind.”
That’s why I trust Jesus for my salvation…
because Jesus has the scars. Why should I trust Jesus? …because Jesus paid the
price!!! Jesus Christ paid a debt that He did NOT owe, because we owed a debt that we
could NOT pay.
Listen
my friend, you don’t just accidentally wake up one day and find out that you
have faith in Christ. No, at some point in the past you made a DELIBERATE and
CONSCIOUS DECISION to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior. If you are trusting
Jesus “now,” then somewhere in the “past” you started—Where or when is not
important just so long as you are trusting Him NOW.
I’m
simply saying that you CAN determine if you’re saved by what is in your heart
NOW—you do NOT need to confirm past prayers or experiences within your mind.
Salvation is NOT a prayer, although you may pray for Jesus to save you.Salvation is NOT an experience, although you might remember a specific time and
place where you called on Jesus Christ.
Salvation
is NOT a decision, but you’ll need to make the decision to call upon Jesus Christ to
be saved.What is salvation??? Salvation is a supernatural act of Almighty God
in response to your faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, because of what Jesus
accomplished to pay for our sins and redeem us back to God. If Jesus hadn’t
died on the cross or shed His blood, then it would be in vain to trust Him.
The
reason why we are commanded to believe on Jesus Christ is because Jesus paid
the price to satisfy God’s wrath.Only through Jesus Christ can mankind be
reconciled with God the Father… “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth,
and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, BUT BY ME” (John 14:6).
Do
you see my friend? If you are saved now, then that is all that matters—Not what
happened in the obscure past which you’ll never be able to remember. Are you
trusting Jesus today? Are you looking to the Lord presently for salvation? Then
you must have started somewhere!!! Where or when does NOT matter just as long
as you are trusting Him NOW.
Any
amount of faith is satisfactory, just so long as it is placed in Jesus Christ.This is true today as well as 2,000 years ago, or 4,000 years ago. Genesis 15:6
tells us that Abraham believed the Lord and it was counted unto him for
righteousness.Either you have faith or you don’t.You don’t need a certain
amount of faith to be saved—even the smallest amount of faith will satisfy the
Father in Heaven.
The
question is do you have faith in Christ??? Most people will admit that Jesus
exists, but they aren’t relying upon Him for salvation. They are trusting their
own self-righteousness and religion to save them. They have a distorted view of
Christ. How do you view Jesus? Every false religion diminishes Jesus’ Deity.
Jesus Christ wants us to accept Him as God Almighty… “for if ye believe not that I AM
he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24).
Note
that “eternal security” is different from “assurance of salvation.” Some folks
believe you can lose your salvation. This is NOT true.However, we are not
discussing that matter. We are discussing “How to know you’re saved.” I just
wanted you to know the distinction between the two. Many fine people are saved,
but live in constant fear due to a lack of understanding about the Bible.I cannot
stress this point enough.
This is what you need—Confidence, which can
only come from an understanding of how the Bible works.
To
start, try to find out why each Bible Book was written. Did you know that the
Apostle Paul wrote Romans specifically to lead the Romans to Christ? Did you
know that Paul wrote Galatians because some of his converts were yoking
together with a false religion? Did you know that Paul wrote Philippians while
sitting in prison?
Did you know that the Apostle John wrote 1st John
so we could KNOW we’re saved? …“These THINGS have I written unto you that
believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may KNOW that ye have eternal
life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God” (1st John 5:13).
So
we see that we can KNOW that we’re saved. There is no excuse to wonder or fear.
What “things” did John write about? Well, I think the two preceding verses sums
it all up very nicely, “And this is the record, that God hath given to us
eternal life, and THIS LIFE IS IN HIS SON. HE THAT HATH THE SON HATH LIFE; and
he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1st John 5:11,12).
Eternal life
comes from God alone.This “eternal life” is found in Jesus Christ alone.If
you have Jesus living in your heart, you have salvation.Simply trust Christ
with all your heart.
Put
all-your-apples-in-one-basket so to speak.Don’t trust the church, religious people,
self-righteous works, good deeds, baptism or anything else—only God, Jesus Christ!!!
Remember, salvation is NOT found in a religion, it is found in a person—Jesus
Christ!!!
“Even
as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God IMPUTETH righteousness
without works” (Romans 4:6). What in the world does that big word mean? The
word “impute” means “to pass to one’s account, to count over” It means that
Jesus took our sins upon His record and then placed His righteousness upon our
record.
I
used to wonder if I had enough faith to be saved. What if I didn’t have enough
faith at the time I thought I was saved? What if I didn’t get saved? How could
I know if I had enough faith? How do you measure faith? I remember attending a
meeting as a teenager and I learned a wonderful truth which I have never
forgotten. I will share it with you now.
If
you have “just enough” faith to put your trust in Christ and go to Him for the
forgiveness of your sins, that’s all the faith required. As a matter of fact,
the more doubt you have, the greater your faith if you simply act on the
belief. If you have so much doubt, that you CANNOT believe on Christ, then you
have a serious problem. However, If you have “JUST ENOUGH” faith to take God at
His Word and obey the Bible, then you are doing exactly what God expects of
you.
“Whom
God hath set forth to be a PROPITIATION through faith in his blood, to declare
his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the
forbearance of God” (Romans 3:25). The word “propitiation” means “to appease
one’s wrath.” “Appeased” means “to make peace with.”
“Herein
is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be
the PROPITIATION for our sins” (1st John 4:10).
When
I first became a Christian, I doubted my salvation for several years. I simply
didn’t understand the Bible enough to KNOW whether or not I was saved. I had
dozens of questions going through my mind. Did I have enough faith? Did I
really “believe” on Christ? If I did believe, then why am I unsure about my
salvation? What if I’m not saved? Is God upset with me because I keep asking
Him to save me? Does it show a lack of faith because I keep asking God to save
me? Why can’t I find peace on the matter?
The
doubts continued for several years. The Holy Spirit showed me many wonderful
truths and finally, in time, I grasped the assurance of my salvation. I had
been saved all along but lacked the Bible knowledge to be at perfect peace
about it. I had been afraid of something which I didn’t understand.
What
does the Apostle Paul mean here in Galatians 5:1-4? What is meant by the phrase “fallen from
grace?” In order to fully understand
what Paul meant, we must understand the purpose of the Book of Galatians.
The Believers at Galatia had fallen victim to a false religion. And let me pause right here to say that there are MANY false religions in the world today, right in our own neighborhoods.
This
is so often the case, greedy people try to capitalize on the goodness of God’s
Children. I’ve had several people in my lifetime try to recruit me into selling
something for them to make money.They knew I was a zealous soul-winner and
figured they’d make an easy buck if they could get me to do all the work for
them.
The
Galatians had heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ and yet we’re being entangled
into this works religion mess. Paul was starting to wonder if these folks had
really been saved in the first place.
Notice
again the Words which we just read in Galatians chapter three, “This only would
I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the WORKS of the law, or by the
hearing of FAITH?” Do you see?
Also,
let me make clear that you only need to be saved once and can NEVER fall from
grace.As I’ve mentioned before, we
didn’t deserve salvation in the first place and we never will deserve it.If we
cannot do good deeds to earn Heaven in the first place, then we cannot do evil
deeds to lose it.
You
have probably heard the following verse quoted at some time in your life, “Be
not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he
also reap” (Galatians 6:7).
“NOT
BY WORKS of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he
saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost”
(Titus 3:5). This Bible verse makes it plain and simple that good works will
not save anyone. Listen to the message of Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye
saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: NOT OF
WORKS, lest any man should boast.” 
Over
and over the Bible proclaims that good deeds CANNOT merit us salvation.Someone
needs to tell this to the Pope! He preaches a message of kindness and love, but
rarely mentions the name of Jesus Christ.You’ll never hear the Pope speak of
the torments of Hell.I’ve never heard him speak of being born-again either.
All the love and kindness in the world will NOT get you into Heaven.
Jesus
paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay. That’s
God’s grace! Like it or not, you are just too sinful and wicked to save
yourself—you CANNOT earn your way into Heaven. This is the very reason why God
had to provide a way of escape for humanity. This way of escape has been
provided through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
God
wanted you to be like Him. Someday, if you’ll let Him, He wants to give you
everything… “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all,
how shall he not with him also FREELY GIVE US ALL THINGS?” (Romans 8:32).If
God was willing to sacrifice His only begotten Son for us, don’t you think
He’ll also give us all things? Yes, that is exactly true. God says… what’s mine
is yours! Of course, this does not include sinful things because sin belongs to
Satan and man—not God. Everything that is righteous and holy will be ours when
we get to Heaven to be with God, Jesus Christ.
The
richest people in the world are poorer than poor without Jesus Christ as their
Saviour. I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes for all the money in the world.
They give away billions of dollars to charity each year but that doesn’t merit
them one iota with God. Their good deeds CANNOT save them.
The
grace of God is available to help each believer through every trial and problem
in life because we can’t make it on our own.God wants to help us through the
tough times. It is our privilege and God-given right to approach God’s throne
of grace in times of trouble, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of
grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find GRACE TO HELP in time of need”
(Hebrews 4:16). This is only made possible by the blood sacrifice of Jesus
Christ. Amen!
The
Scriptures proclaim that Jesus Christ died on the cross! False religions CANNOT
save your soul because false religions did not die on the cross for you.False
Religion does NOT have the nailed scarred hands that Jesus Christ has.Jesus
Christ was nailed to the cross, not false religion. Mary was NOT nailed to the
cross for you. Confucius was NOT nailed to the cross.
For
the wages of sin is DEATH; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). The Bible teaches that it is our sin that brings
death. How then could Christ die? The answer is simple, had Jesus not been
murdered by His own people, He would have lived forever.
“But
we see JESUS, who was made a little lower than the angels FOR THE SUFFERING OF
DEATH, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should TASTE
DEATH FOR EVERY MAN” (Hebrews 2:9). Jesus Christ willingly went to the cross as
a falsely accused wrongdoer to pay for the sins of the world. It’s hard to
imagine that God incarnate (in the flesh) was crucified by us human beings.
Nevertheless; Jesus the Christ was beaten, spit upon, mocked, stripped naked
and nailed to a tree. 
The Jews had misinterpreted the Old Testament and were anticipating a great King.No, rather, Jesus Christ needed to come to earth as a humble servant… “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, HE HUMBLED HIMSELF, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5-8).
We
don’t hear too much about Christ’s burial, but it is one-third of the Gospel.
The fact that Jesus was buried is as important as His death or resurrection.
Little
did they realize that they were benefiting the cause of Christ.Three days
later when Christ’s body was gone, word spread like wild-fire throughout the
region that Jesus’ body had vanished from a heavily sealed and guarded tomb.
Wow!!!The chief priest’s scheme backfired beautifully. They wanted to prevent
the people from saying that Jesus Christ arose. Ah, but Christ did arise and
now the evidence was overwhelmingly in favor of the Gospel.The Jewish
religious leaders had blown it!!!
Notice
that two-thirds of the Gospel is bad news. The word “Gospel” means “glad
tidings” or “good news.” Strangely enough the Gospel was mostly bad news for
the disciples—Jesus Christ died and was buried—They had lost their good friend.
Jesus meant everything to some of these folks.Some of Jesus’ followers had given
up their jobs, home, wealth and friends to minister (serve) with Him. Now
everything came to a standstill and Jesus was gone.Oh, the grief and the
sadness that filled the disciple’s hearts when Jesus Christ was crucified—Their
mentor was gone.
“When
the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also
himself was Jesus’ disciple:He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.
Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen
cloth, And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and
he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed” (Matthew
27:57-60).
“For I delivered unto you first of all that
which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the
scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he ROSE AGAIN the third day
according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the
twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom
the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that,
he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of
me also, as of one born out of due time” (1st Corinthians 15:3-8). 
Romans
chapter four speaks concerning Abraham, “For what saith the scripture? Abraham
believed God, and it was COUNTED UNTO HIM for righteousness” (Romans 4:3).
Abraham was not saved by good works; rather, he believed God and was saved by
Christ’s righteousness. Christ’s perfection was imputed (placed) on Abraham’s
record in Heaven.
God
viewed Abraham in the righteousness of Christ’s own likeness. Abraham believed
God concerning the coming Messiah which was to save His people from their sins.
Why was Abraham able to simply believe God in place of merit (good works)? It’s
because Jesus paid the price for all people to be saved. You see, Abraham could
NOT have lived perfect enough to please God.All mankind is corrupt and
destitute of God and decency. Even in our sincerest efforts, humanity is
tarnished with the curse of sin and rebellion. We need God.
We
read in Romans 4:8, “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not IMPUTE sin.”
Not only was Christ’s righteousness imputed (counted) to Abraham’s record, but
Abraham’s sinful record was imputed to Christ. Literally, Jesus became as sin
for us and died a sinners death, “For HE HATH MADE HIM TO BE SIN FOR US, WHO
KNEW NO SIN; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2nd
Corinthians 5:21).
“And
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man
be lifted up” (John 3:14). The children of Israel had sinned by complaining and
God was punishing them. Many Israelites were dying from the bite of fiery
serpents. The people came to Moses for help and then Moses went to God in
prayer.
Here’s
what God told Moses, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery SERPENT,
and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is
bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live” (Numbers 21;8). This serpent
symbolized sin but it represented our Lord Jesus Christ who became as sin for
us. John 3:14 says that Jesus, just as the fiery serpent in Moses’ day, needs
to be lifted up for all people to look upon for salvation.
Are
you perishing in sin? Look to God, Jesus Christ! Are you discouraged and
lonely? Look to Jesus! Are you worried or scared? Look to Jesus! Are you tired
or burned out? Look to Jesus! Are you sad or depressed? Look to Jesus! Are you
feeling empty or worthless? Look to Jesus! Are you living in conditions of
misery? Look to Jesus! Have you recently failed at something? Look to Jesus! Do
you have guilt or hurt feelings over something in the past? Look to Jesus! Are
you stressed out or panicky? Look to Jesus! Have you a sick loved one? Look to
Jesus! Do you have Asthma? Look to Jesus Christ! Do you have Cancer? Look to
Jesus Christ! Are you in prison? Look to Jesus! Did your child died? Look to
Jesus Christ!
Likewise,
are you healthy? Look to Jesus! Are you blessed and happy? Look to Jesus! Is
everything going your way? Look to Jesus! No matter what your situation, Look
to Jesus! Look to Jesus! Look to Jesus! … “Casting all your care upon him; for
he careth for you” (1st Peter 5:7).
And
therefore, it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for
his sake alone, that it was IMPUTED to him; But for us also, to whom it shall
be IMPUTED, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead”
(Romans 4:22-24). Amen!
These
Scriptures were written that we also might have Christ’s righteousness imputed to
our record and our sins imputed to Christ’s record. He who knew no sin became
as sin that we who knew no righteousness could be made the righteousness of God
in Christ. What a wonderful truth!
To
think that Jesus Christ would bare my sins upon His own body and suffer the
crucifixion for me. Even more wonderful is that He would place His
righteousness upon my record so that I might be viewed upon by God as having
the righteousness of Christ. Now that’s a loving God! Do you realize all that
you will miss if you reject Christ as your Saviour?
“And
the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was
IMPUTED unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God” (James
2:23). Would you like to be the friend of God? It all begins when you say “yes”
to Jesus Christ and let Him become your Saviour. Jesus Christ earnestly wants
to impute His righteousness to your record—all you must do is believe. Admit
you’re a sinner, guilty of violating God’s holy Law, and deserving of
punishment in Hell.
Turn
to Christ now by faith and trust Him to forgive your sins and save you. We are
not saved by our own self-righteousness; but by Christ’s righteousness, i.e.,
the righteousness of Jesus Christ which is imputed to us at the time of
salvation by faith in Christ alone.
Let’s
look at Romans 10:13… “For whosoever shall CALL upon the name of the Lord shall
be saved.” What a precious promise from God! If we will only call upon the Lord
Jesus Christ for salvation, that is all the faith we need to be saved.
Jesus
Christ never one time spoke of degrees of believing. Jesus simply told us to
“believe on Him” … “And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone
which seeth the Son, and BELIEVETH ON HIM, may have everlasting life: and I
will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:40). If you “believe” upon Jesus
Christ as your personal Saviour, that is all that matters. Do you believe Jesus
can save you? Do you believe that you are a sinner?
Do
you believe you deserve to go to Hell because of your sins? Do you believe
Jesus Christ died on the cross and shed His blood? Do you believe He was buried
and rose up again three days later? Do you believe that Jesus came to the earth
as God in the flesh? If you believe these Bible truths and have “JUST ENOUGH”
faith to CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD—You will be saved!
This
is what Romans 10:13 says. You don’t need to spend countless hours worrying
over whether or not you have enough faith. If you have “JUST ENOUGH” faith to
“CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD,” that’s all the faith you need to be saved.
Either you “believe” on the Lord Jesus, or you don’t. I believe!
Humanity
had sinned. God was angered. God’s holiness demanded justice. Humanity could
not redeem himself and was at enmity (hostility) with God. Humanity had become
the enemy of God because of sin.
Nevertheless,
God expressed His love for humanity by coming down to the earth in the form of
a man and laying down His own human life in sacrifice to pay for the sins of
humanity. Jesus died, was buried and rose again. Christ‘s blood was applied in Heaven.
The father’s anger was APPEASED by the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
God’s
demand for justice had been completely satisfied by the redeeming work of His
Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus had made peace with God the Father possible again for
mankind… “Therefore, being justified by faith, we have PEACE WITH GOD THROUGH
OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST” (Romans 5:1). Christ had opened the door for all
humanity to be at peace with God the Father through faith in the Son of God.
Propitiation
is Jesus meeting the demands of the Father, to appease His wrath, so that
humanity could be redeemed to God. Thankfully, Jesus paid the price for our
sins.
Eternal life is a free gift, paid for by Christ’s own physical blood.
This gift can only be received by faith alone in Christ. All you have to do is
admit to God that you’re a guilty sinner and believe upon the name of Jesus for
forgiveness… “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name
whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43).
The
choice is completely yours to make! God will not make you believe on Christ
when you have it in your own power to do so. If you refuse to believe on
Christ, then you are still in your sins and the wrath of God abideth on you…
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not
the Son shall not see life; but the WRATH OF GOD ABIDETH ON HIM” (John 3:36).
Though
God’s demand for justice was met by Christ’s blood sacrifice, you are willfully
rejecting that provision if you reject Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. By
so doing, you are negating what Christ did for you; therefore, you are choosing
to remain under the condemnation of God’s Law and under the wrath of God. If
you go to Hell, you’ll have no one to blame but yourself!
And
he is the PROPITIATION for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the
sins of the whole world” (1st John 2:2). What a wonderful truth, JESUS Christ IS
OUR PROPITIATION! Again, It is Christ’s blood sacrifice that squares everything
away with God concerning our sin debt. Jesus met the Father’s requirements for
justice and God’s wrath is appeased when a sinner appropriates that blood
sacrifice through faith in Christ.
We
just read in 1st John 2:2, “And his is the propitiation for our sins: and not
for ours only, but also for THE SINS OF THE WHOLE WORLD.” Jesus died for all
mankind. False prophets errantly teach that Jesus only
died for the elect, i.e., the saved. This is not so.
The
Word of God plainly states that Christ died for all… “For the love of Christ
constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one DIED FOR ALL, then were all
dead” (2nd Corinthians 5:14). And again in Romans 4:5 we read, “But to him that
worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth THE UNGODLY, his faith is
counted for righteousness.” Whom does Jesus justify by faith? … THE UNGODLY.
Jesus Christ died for ALL SINNERS!
2nd
Peter 2:1 gives solid evidence that Christ died for all men, even unbelievers…
“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be
false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even
denying the Lord THAT BOUGHT THEM, and bring upon themselves swift
destruction.” Here we see that Jesus BOUGHT these false prophets!
The
invitation to be saved is to WHOSOEVER… “And the Spirit and the bride say,
Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And
WHOSOEVER WILL, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17).Whosoever will may come to be saved. This is the freewill of mankind.
Notice
again from the Scripture we just read that Jesus is the “propitiation” of THE
WHOLE WORLD. All people of every nation may come to know the Lord as personal
Savior. God is no respecter of persons. Jesus has made provision for ALL PEOPLE
to be saved and become the Children of God by way of Christ’s blood sacrifice.
By
the way, anyone who says that all people are the Children of God is a false
prophet. You are NOT a Child of God unless you have been BORN-AGAIN (John 3:3).
Certainly, we are all God’s creation and the object of God’s unconditional
love, but only those who place their faith in the Son of God are members of
God’s family.
This
whole matter of salvation centers around our sins. Mankind has sinned, and we
are under the condemnation of God’s holy Law until we repent of our sins, by
acknowledging our guilt of sin and believing on the name of Jesus for
salvation.
Repentance
is simply a “change of mind.” Repentance is owning before God that I am as vile
a sinner as He has declared me to be in His holy Word.
John
3:20 states: “For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to
the light, LEST HIS DEEDS SHOULD BE REPROVED.” In John 5:40 Jesus said, “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have
life.” Carefully notice that Jesus DIDN’T say “ye cannot come.”
The
idea that God chooses some to salvation and others to eternal damnation is
unbiblical.2nd Peter 3:9 plainly states, “The Lord is not slack concerning his
promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not
willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” God
desires for all sinners to come to repentance.
There
are many wonderful unsaved people, who are very friendly, loving and kind.They
are decent people, humanly speaking. However, this does not merit them Heaven
and they will go to Hell if they don’t get saved. This is the sad part about
life, many good people fail to realize that all good people are still vile
sinners when compared to the Holy Word of God.
Romans
3:12 tells us that there are NONE THAT DOETH GOOD, no not one. Earthly
speaking, there are many good people in the world; Heavenly speaking, there are
none righteous, no not one.
We
must follow God’s Word, not our own reasoning! James 2:10 tells us, “For
whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty
of all.”
Adam
and Eve found out the hard way what just one sin could do—plunging humans into
sin and darkness. Thankfully, God has made a way of escape for mankind, by way
of the blood of Jesus Christ.
God
loved us (all of us) and sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to meet the demands which
needed to be met in order that all people might be saved. “For this is good and
acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have ALL MEN TO BE SAVED,
and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, andone
mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1st Timothy 2:3-5).
God
wants ALL people to be saved. Notice that Christ is the ONE MEDIATOR between
God and humanity. Do you know why it is Christ and only Christ? … Because Jesus
is the only One Who met the demands of God the Father. Only Jesus was as a Lamb
without spot, nor blemish (perfect).
Only
Jesus Christ was born of a virgin. Only God, Jesus Christ was sinless. Only
Jesus Christ could have paid for our sins and praise God that He did! Therefore,
Jesus Christ is our Mediator, because He is our propitiation. He met the
demands of God the Father, so He is now the One and Only Mediator between God
and Man. If you want to be saved, go to Jesus the Christ. Don’t go to the Pope,
or to a priest, or to your minister, or to a religion, or to a baptistery, or
to a confessional booth—Go to Jesus Christ and Him alone for salvation and
forgiveness of sins.Jesus Christ is our PROPITIATION.
Faith
is not optimism. The dictionary defines “optimism” as: “The optimistic feeling
that all is going to turn out well.” This is definitely NOT faith.
I
can say all day long that “I believe” a chair will hold me up, if I stand on it,
but that’s NOT faith—that’s optimism. Faith would be for me to go over and
stand up on the chair. Do you see the difference? To stand upon the chair would
require my trust, my faith, that it will hold me up. One can say he believes in
Jesus Christ all he wants to but that is NOT faith unless he actually places
his trust upon Christ. Salvation is NOT merely a belief, it is believing on
Jesus Christ. Believing requires a personal decision on your part to trust God,
Jesus Christ.
Salvation
is a relationship; a relationship where you become a child of the heavenly
Father. Either you are a child of God or else you are a child of the Devil.
Believing that Jesus Christ is real is NOT enough. Even the demons believe that
Jesus exists… “…the DEVILS ALSO BELIEVE, and tremble” (James 2:19).
You must not only acknowledge that Jesus is the Saviour—you must personally BELIEVE on Him to forgive your sins. You must decide for yourself to rely 100% upon Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and save you. Only Jesus Christ died on the cross for you. Only Jesus the Christ shed His blood for you. Only Jesus Christ has the nail-scarred hands and feet.
You must not only acknowledge that Jesus is the Saviour—you must personally BELIEVE on Him to forgive your sins. You must decide for yourself to rely 100% upon Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and save you. Only Jesus Christ died on the cross for you. Only Jesus the Christ shed His blood for you. Only Jesus Christ has the nail-scarred hands and feet.
Have
you ever made a deliberate, conscious decision (acknowledging before God that
you are a guilty sinner) to rely upon Jesus Christ to forgive your sins? Have
you ever believed on Jesus as the Christ to save you? You should remember a
time in your life when you did so. If not, there’s no time like the present.
Maybe you remember praying many times, but don’t know which time you were
saved. That’s easy—The first time!
God
only requires a childlike faith for salvation. If you had enough faith to “call
upon the name of the Lord,” then that’s all the faith required for salvation…
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord SHALL BE SAVED” (Romans
10:13). That is a promise from God. Salvation is of the heart my friend, it is
NOT optimism.
There are millions of people who are optimistic they will make it to Heaven one day, but they won’t. This is the woeful deception of religion and good works. The Bible is clear, “The just shall live by FAITH” (Romans 1:17). You must put your faith in Christ!
There are millions of people who are optimistic they will make it to Heaven one day, but they won’t. This is the woeful deception of religion and good works. The Bible is clear, “The just shall live by FAITH” (Romans 1:17). You must put your faith in Christ!
Over
the years which followed, I purposed in my heart to learn the Bible. I wanted
to know everything about salvation and faith there was to know. Anytime I heard
a sermon about faith or believing, I listened attentively at the edge of my
seat. I read every Gospel tract I could get my hands on, each several times
through.
Time
and time again I would admit to God I was a sinner and ask Him to save me. I
was scared. I remember reminding God in prayer that I had a right as His child
to KNOW if I was saved. I told God that I would get saved in a heartbeat if I
wasn’t saved. The big problem was that I didn’t KNOW 100% sure whether I was
saved or lost. I was confused and uncertain about my salvation.
I
had been looking to a prayer and a past experience instead of looking to what
was in my heart in the present. I was focusing on myself, rather than focusing
upon the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
I
had learned that salvation is of the heart, not the mouth (Romans 10:9, “…and
shalt believe in thine heart…”). It wasn’t my prayer, nor even my faith that
saved me—it was HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS (Matthew 6:33), in response to my faith.
After several years of searching and wondering, I finally had the assurance of
my salvation. I realized that Salvation is of the Lord. My part is only to
believe, and God does the rest.
Salvation
is receiving, not giving. Eternal life is a free gift, paid for by Jesus
redeeming blood sacrifice (Hebrews 9:12; 1st Peter 1:18-19).
Next
to my salvation, my assurance is the greatest gift which God has ever given to
me. I had learned that faith is NOT optimism. It is okay to doubt, just so as
long as I “believe on Jesus Christ.” No amount of doubt can keep a soul out of
Heaven, if that soul believes upon the Lord Jesus Christ… What must I do to be
saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be.
Once
Saved, Always Saved – A Person CANNOT Lose Salvation
Stand
fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free and be not
entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Behold,
I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you
nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a
debtor to do the whole law. Jesus Christ is become of no effect unto you,
whosoever of you are justified by the law; YE ARE FALLEN FROM GRACE” (Galatians
5:1-4).
Many
sincere folks have misinterpreted this Scripture to conclude that a Believer
can lose their salvation—this is a false teaching! “Falling from grace” does NOT mean falling
away from God’s salvation and God’s promises.
God made us a promise in the Bible, “For whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).
My
part is to “call”, God’s part is to “save.”
I cannot save myself, nor can you.
Only God can save a person because only God can forgive sin. No priest,
minister or Pope can forgive (or absolve) anyone’s sins. Penance is simply NOT a Bible doctrine.
I
must go to Jesus Christ and Him alone! Thanks be to God, I did this as a young woman and have been saved since
that day. Though I am still a sinner and
often fall short of God’s standards, I am still a Child of God—safe and secure
in the everlasting arms of the Father.
I
CANNOT lose my salvation, no way. No
amount of evil or wrong doing can undo what God has done.I didn’t deserve to
be saved in the first place so my actions have no bearing on my salvation. This
does not give us a license to sin, it just means that salvation starts and ends
with God. The only thing God requires of
us is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.
Thank
God! Jesus Christ washed my sins away and wrote my name in Heaven! He saved a sinner from hell-fire! God placed
Jesus’ righteousness on my account and placed my grievous sins on Jesus
account!The Father declared me
J-U-S-T-I-F-I-E-D, Just-if-I’d never sinned!
Now that’s a wonderful God!
The Believers at Galatia had fallen victim to a false religion. And let me pause right here to say that there are MANY false religions in the world today, right in our own neighborhoods.
These
“deceitful workers” that appear as angels of light are two-fold the “children
of Hell.” Not only are they unsaved but
they subtly propagate damnable heresies to lead others into Hell with them (the
blind leading the blind).They are dangerous and must be exposed for who they are—antichrists!
They are against Christ!
There
were false religions in Paul’s day as well. One false religion in particular
had preyed upon the church at Galatia. This false religion wanted to merge with
the true Believers in order to promote their own false religion. This was a
false religion that taught “works” was necessary to be saved.They believed that a man needed to be
circumcised in order to be saved. This
was known as Judaism (the keeping of the ceremonial laws, etc). Listen here to Paul’s warning to the Galatia
Christians, “As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain
you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross
of Christ.
For
neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have
you circumcised, THAT THEY MAY GLORY IN YOUR FLESH” (Galatians 6:12,13).This false religion didn’t care about these
true Believers, they only cared about promoting their own heresies and
foolishness.
Paul
heard of the evil which was happening in Galatia and writes this letter of
warning to the church. Paul brings to attention the fact that these unbelievers
DON’T keep the very law that they claim can save them if they obey it. No
person can keep all of God’s law, “…there is NONE RIGHTEOUS, no not one”
(Romans 3:10). This is true of false
religion today as well.
One
cannot be honest with God until willing to first be honest with one’s self.
This takes an honest person. Most people
run from the truth at all costs and refuse to face the facts.You can deal with
the truth, but a lie cannot be dealt with.The truth is often painful to
accept.
Having
laid the groundwork, now let me explain what Paul meant when he said, “Ye are
fallen from grace.” Paul was simply
saying that Jesus Christ is the only ticket to Heaven. If you miss Jesus
Christ, you will have missed your only bus ride to Heaven.
If
an unsaved person rejects Christ as Saviour, then there is NO OTHER WAY to be
saved. This is all that Paul was saying. Paul speaks strongly in Galatians
3:1,2, “O FOOLISH Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey
the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth,
crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by
the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so FOOLISH? having begun in the
Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?”
Nobody
likes to be called “foolish.” Paul’s
strong words must have been a big surprise to these folks; nevertheless, they
were much needed words.“Am I therefore
become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” (Galatians 4:16).
I
find myself quoting this verse often because many people do not want to hear
the truth.We must learn to accept the
truth, seek the truth and love the truth because God is truth.
“I
marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of
Christ unto another gospel: Which is not
another; but there be some that trouble you and would PERVERT THE GOSPEL OF
CHRIST” (Galatians 1:6,7).
The
Gospel is easy to pervert, simply add something to it and it is corrupted. For example: If you add baptism to the
Gospel, then you have added a “work” to God’s simple plan of salvation by grace
through faith.No good deeds can save
us, and they absolutely cannot be added to salvation otherwise you will have
perverted the truth of the Gospel.
Baptismal
regeneration perverts the Gospel of Christ.
Some people have the false impression that they are saved, but they
truly are NOT because of various misunderstandings concerning salvation. Adding
or subtracting anything to simple Gospel of Christ is a sure road to Hell.
If
You Reject Jesus as Saviour, then You are Fallen from Grace
If
you have heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ, look no further. You must simply believe the Gospel, making
the decision to trust Christ as Saviour, asking Him to forgive you of all your
sins. If you have heard the Gospel of
Christ but it hasn’t affected you, I feel sorry for you.
If
you refuse to call upon the name of the Lord, you are fallen from grace (you
have rejected your only way to salvation).If you have called on the Lord but are also trusting in your good works
to get you into Heaven, then you are not truly trusting Christ.
I’ve
met some people who have told me that they are trusting “faith and works” to
get them into Heaven. No sir! You won’t get into Heaven any other way than
through the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son.
Salvation
cannot be by works, only by faith.If
the Galatians had fallen prey to the false belief that circumcision was
necessary for salvation, then it would have revealed beyond a shadow of a doubt
that they were NOT saved. I often am
concerned myself about the salvation of other professed Believers.You’d be surprised just how many people think
they’re genuinely saved simply because they made a commitment to Jesus Christ
at a crusade or turned over a new leaf at a revival meeting.
Let
me tell you, your sins are the big issue my friend. Have your sins been dealt with? Have you gone to God as a hell-deserving
sinner and pleaded for forgiveness for the sins you’ve committed?
Have you turned to Jesus Christ in faith,
believing that He alone paid for your sins and that He alone can forgive and
save you? “Fallen from grace” simply means that you have overlooked the saving
power of the Gospel, you have been deceived and sold a phony life insurance
policy.
I
don’t know about you, but I have “all Saints insurance” with Jesus Christ.It’s
a free policy paid-in-full by Jesus Christ Himself. God the Father is my agent.
Anybody can have this insurance.
I
have no deductible and no hidden costs.Are you insured with the Heavenly
Father?Don’t miss your only bus to
Heaven, trust in Jesus now and let Him become your personal Saviour.
We
are kept saved by God’s power and God’s promise, our part was only to believe
on Christ.Once saved, always saved and that’s the Gospel truth! The Bible
teaches that a person must be “born-again”, NOT “born-again and again and
again.”
We
are born physically into this world one time and we can only be born of God one
time.We become a “new creature” in Christ when God’s Holy Spirit unites in a
Holy Marriage with our own spirit (that spirit which was once dead in
trespasses and sins but is now made alive by the presence of God in our heart).
I
became curious one day about the context in which this statement was made. Surely, we ALL deserve to get what we have
coming to us—none of us are without sin. However, what is the application in
Galatians 6:7? Paul makes this
interesting statement that we will “reap what we sow.”
I
searched the Scriptures and learned that the Apostle Paul had made this
statement (about reaping what you sow) in regard to the Galatians who were
about to enter into a false religion.The people which Paul had previously ministered
to in Galatia were about to sow something evil.Paul was warning them that false religion can only lead to confusion and
Hell.As I mentioned earlier, Paul was
skeptical concerning their salvation.
Had they been saved at all? Were
they going to follow this false religion?
The
Apostle Paul certainly had a reason to be very concerned. Paul was simply saying that you had better
make sure you don’t wind up in some false religion, because you’ll have to
answer to God one day for it.
You
had better “try the spirits” as we are warned in 1st John 4:1, “Beloved,
believe not every spirit, but TRY (or test) THE SPIRITS whether they are of
God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”
People
are spirits in the flesh, that is who we are.Once the tent of the body is no longer fit for use, the spirit returns
to God.So, what the Scripture means by
“trying the spirits” is simply—test someone with the Bible. Ask them if they believe Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God.
Ask
them if they believe that Jesus Christ is God Almighty, Who came in the flesh.Ask them if they believe in the virgin birth and the blood atonement of Jesus
Christ.Ask them if they believe in the bodily resurrection and the coming
physical return of Jesus Christ.
Ask
them if they believe that God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit
are all One in the same Being. Ask them if they believe that Jesus is Eternal,
without beginning or end (He had no Creator).
Please
don’t miss your only ride to Heaven (falling from grace) by following a false
religion that perverts the simple Gospel of Jesus Christ.The only way to be
saved is by simple heart’s faith in the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Jesus
Christ paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not
pay.If you will simply believe upon the
Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, then you will be saved. Be not
deceived my friend!!!
How
many Scriptures does God need to put in front of our face before we get the
idea—salvation is not by merit. “Knowing that a man is NOT JUSTIFIED BY THE
WORKS OF THE LAW, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in
Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and NOT BY THE
WORKS OF THE LAW: for BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW SHALL NO FLESH BE JUSTIFIED”
(Galatians 2:16).
The
road to Hell is paved with good intentions!!! The plain teaching of the
Inspired Word of God is that salvation is NOT BY WORKS.You just read the
Scriptures for yourself.
Catholicism
teaches that a person must keep the “Seven Sacraments” to obtain Heaven.This
of course is a lie of the Devil!You do NOT need to be baptized to go to
Heaven! You do NOT need to confess your sins to a priest in order to be
forgiven.No priest can forgive anyone’s sins!!!You do NOT need to go to
confirmation to be saved, no sir! These are lies of the Devil.
Romans
11:6 clarifies this matter, “And if by grace, then is it no more of works:
otherwise grace is no more grace. But IF IT BE OF WORKS, THEN IT IS NO MORE
GRACE: otherwise work is no more work.” If salvation comes by works, then it is
NOT by God’s grace anymore.
The
whole reason that Jesus Christ died on the cross is because we cannot do enough
good works to get saved. There is NO amount of good deeds that can reconcile us
to God.Only through Jesus Christ can anyone be saved.If it is possible for us
to get to Heaven by living a good and upright life, then Jesus died for
nothing… “I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the
law, THEN CHRIST IS DEAD IN VAIN” (Galatians 2:21).
In
John 6:29 Jesus tells us the only WORK which men must do to be saved… “Jesus
answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him
whom he hath sent.” Amen!
God
did this because He loves us very much, more than we can possibly comprehend.Don’t make the mistake of creating God in your own image, you were created in
God’s own image.
You are the object of the Heavenly Father’s love—so much so that He created you in His very own likeness. Jesus Christ paid for our sins because He loves us… “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1st John 3:16). What a precious Saviour!
You are the object of the Heavenly Father’s love—so much so that He created you in His very own likeness. Jesus Christ paid for our sins because He loves us… “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1st John 3:16). What a precious Saviour!
Perhaps
you ask, “then why doesn’t God make me rich now?” Because that would likely be
the worst thing that ever happened to you my friend. Great and many are the
sins of the rich and famous.You are abundantly rich if you have Jesus Christ
in your heart. There are two ways to be rich: Have all you want OR want all you
have! The greatest things in life are NOT things. Money CANNOT buy anyone into
Heaven.
The
ONLY way to be saved is to crawl to the feet of Jesus Christ as a
hell-deserving sinner.There aren’t many rich people who are willing to crawl
on their spiritual knees to the mighty throne of God—it’s beyond their dignity
to admit they deserve to burn in Hell.Let me tell you, whoever you may be, you
are a hell-deserving sinner! Yes, you are, and so am I.
Your
good works mean nothing to God concerning your salvation… “But we are all as an
unclean thing, and ALL OUR RIGHTEOUSNESSES ARE AS FILTHY RAGS; and we all do
fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isaiah
64:6).Your money, kindness, sincerity, generosity and commitment mean nothing
to God if you are relying upon your own self-righteousness. If you are trusting
in the righteousness of Jesus Christ (realizing that you have no righteousness
of your own), then all the good things you do as a Child of God are well
pleasing unto the Lord.
“But
by THE GRACE OF GOD I am what I am” (1st Corinthians 15:10).The Apostle Paul
knew where his bread and butter came from. He knew Who had given him the wisdom
and ability to write to the churches.Paul didn’t take anything for granted,
but gave God the benefit of the doubt for everything good in his life.God’s
grace is God’s goodness, His doing for us what we certainly don’t deserve.We
deserve to go straight to Hell, but God has given us the gift of eternal life.
This is by God’s grace.
God’s
grace is everything that God has ever done, is doing, or ever will do for us.
We deserve nothing! When someone arrogantly claims that they are trying to
impress God with their good works, they are unknowingly admitting that they
know nothing concerning the grace of God.
Salvation
cannot be of grace and works as we have already learned from Romans 11:6.The
grace of God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves, if we could save
ourselves, then we wouldn’t need the grace of God or a Saviour.
“For
I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that CHRIST
DIED FOR OUR SINS according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that
he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1st Corinthians
15:3,4). It is Jesus Christ who died on the cross for sinners, NOT mother Mary
or others.
False
religions don’t even believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross yet
deceitfully claim that we all worship the same God—NO WE DO NOT! Allah is a
non-existent god. False Religion is the god of people who know not the Lord.
“Howbeit then, WHEN YE KNEW NOT GOD, ye did service unto them which by nature
are no gods” (Galatians 4:8). It is the unsaved who serve false and lifeless
gods.
“The
other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said
unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the PRINT OF THE NAILS, and put my
finger into the PRINT OF THE NAILS, and thrust my hand into his side, I will
not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas
with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and
said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and
behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be
not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord
and MY GOD” (John 20:25-28).
Thomas
wanted to see Jesus’ scars. The reason Thomas wanted to touch Jesus side was
because Jesus had been pierced with a spear by a Roman soldier while hanging
from the cross.When Thomas saw and felt the scars in Jesus’ hands and feet and
His side, he properly recognized Jesus as his Lord and God.Do you properly
recognize Jesus the Christ?Do you see Him with His scars? Do you realize that
He died for you because He loves you and wants you to be in Heaven with Him for
all eternity? Yes, Jesus does! Jesus Christ is a person, just like you and me.
He is full of compassion and understanding, a friend at all times.
Adam
would have lived forever had he not sinned, but he did, and death was the
ultimate consequence.Jesus Christ was perfect in every way, without sin! Jesus
Christ was crucified as a criminal for a crime He did NOT commit. He died for
you and me, the righteous for the unrighteous. We all deserve to go straight to
Hell for our own wickedness—If you don’t agree, then you have not been at the
feet of God, Jesus Christ.
Perfection
was hated and rejected by mankind, Christ was crucified.God did this for you
and me because He loves us and wanted to express that love to us.How could any
intelligent person reject such a wonderful Saviour and God?
Notice
from the verse we just read that Jesus was “MADE a little lower than the
angels.” In other words, God became a mortal man. Why? The verse tells us,
“…for the SUFFERING OF DEATH.” Jesus Christ came to earth, born of a poor
family. Joseph and Mary were too poor to afford a lamb for sacrifice, so they
offered up two birds instead, “And to offer a sacrifice according to that which
is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons”
(Luke 2:24).
Jesus
Christ could not come to the earth as a mighty King if He was to die on the
cross. If Christ had come in power and might, he would have made a lot of phony
friends.
The Jews had misinterpreted the Old Testament and were anticipating a great King.No, rather, Jesus Christ needed to come to earth as a humble servant… “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, HE HUMBLED HIMSELF, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5-8).
Jesus
Christ is equal with God because He is God. God came to the earth in the “form
of God” and in the “fashion of a man.”When people beheld Jesus the Christ,
they beheld God in the flesh. However, He was humble with a meek and lowly
Spirit about Him, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and
lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matthew 11:29).What a
wonderful Saviour!
How
often do people picture God as a mean Ogre up in Heaven with a big stick just
waiting for us to mess up. Some people
are terrified of God and think God is judging them every time they sneeze or
break a leg.Listen to this encouraging verse found in the Old Testament book
of Jeremiah… “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD,
thoughts of PEACE, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (Jeremiah
29:11).
God
wants you to have peace more than you want to have peace. God thinks no evil
thought toward you. Satan tries to make us think that God hates sinners; on the
contrary, it is God’s love for sinners that causes Him to hate sin. God hates
sin because it ruins people’s lives! Sin destroys! Sin separates! Sin breaks up
families! Sin brings shame and guilt! It is sin that God hates, and not the
sinner. God may be angry with sinners, but He doesn’t hate them.
Oh,
that people would realize that God loves humanity! Jesus Christ is a great Guy.
How many people do you know who’d be willing to die for you? Jesus Christ did.
Don’t listen to the Devil or foolishly develop your own preconceived ideas
about Jesus—spend time with Jesus Christ yourself and get to know Him in His
Word. Don’t just read your Bible, study and learn it! Ask yourself, “what is
God trying to tell me in this passage?” … “How can I apply this truth to my life?”
…“How
can I please God more in my daily life?” Pray and ask the Holy Spirit of God to
open the eyes of your understanding and to guide you into the truth of God’s
Word. No one can make the truth work for you, you have to apply it to your own
life!
For
the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if ONE DIED FOR
ALL, then were all dead (2nd Corinthians 5:14). There is a heresy going around
which teaches that Jesus only died for the saved, this is a lie.
The
Bible teaches the truth that Jesus Christ died for ALL because ALL were dead in
trespasses and sins. If a person dies in their sins and goes to Hell, their
gift of eternal life will rot in Heaven.
All
of mankind’s sins have been paid for by Christ Jesus at the Hill of Cavalry in
Jerusalem. This is where Jesus our Saviour hung on a cross and paid the great
price. Jesus Christ paid for the sins of the vilest wretched sinner and all
that sinner needs to do to be saved is to admit their sin and turn to Christ in
faith for the forgiveness of sins, believing that Christ and Jesus Christ alone
will save.
The
burial is significant in that it verified (or officiated) that Jesus was in
fact dead. The chief priests and Pharisees were worried that someone might
steal Jesus’ body and say that He had arose from the grave, so they took
drastic measures. “Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation,
the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, Saying, Sir, we
remember that that DECEIVER said, while he was yet alive, After three days I
will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the
third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto
the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than
the first.
Pilate
said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. So
they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch”
(Matthew 27:62-66).
Can
you imagine someone calling the Great God of the entire universe a “deceiver?” Jesus is the great God of the entire universe—He was then (on earth) as much as
He is today (in Heaven).How wicked and how foolish are the hearts of those who
reject Christ.
The
Jewish chief priests and Pharisees called Jesus a “deceiver.”These unbelievers
weren’t taking any chances that someone might steal Jesus’ body from the tomb:
they inspected the tomb for any secret entrances, they sealed the tomb with a
large stone, and then they asked the Roman Government to place a
round-the-clock guard watch upon Jesus’ tomb.
The
best thing the evil chief priests and Pharisees could have done would have been
to leave Jesus’ tomb unguarded and unsealed in the first place.They weren’t
that smart.They truly believed that Jesus Christ was a fake, a deceiver.
They
never would have imagined in a hundred years that Jesus’ body was going to
vanish.Can you imagine how stupid they felt when the body was gone?Can you
imagine the fear that struck their souls?
The
scheme of the priests and the Pharisees to obliterate Jesus’ deity had failed.Truly, Jesus Christ had been Almighty God in the flesh.What the Pharisees and
the priests had intended as evil, God worked it out for good. This is so true
of every circumstance in life—when someone tries to hurt and abuse Christians,
it ultimately will backfire on the perpetrator.
“But whoso shall offend one of these little
ones WHICH BELIEVE IN ME, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged
about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6). This Scripture is referring to ALL of God’s
Children.God will avenge His Children!!!You’d better think twice before you
hurt God’s Own.
This
little truth has a wonderful practical application for our life.Although the
situation seemed bad at the moment for the disciples, the sins of the whole
world had been atoned for.What seemed bad was actually very good.Sometimes
things may seem to be very bad in our lives, but God can make them turn out for
good.
Notice
In Romans 8:28 that all things are NOT good, “And we know that ALL THINGS WORK
TOGETHER FOR GOOD to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to his purpose.” The Bible says that all things “work together for good.”
The
Bible does NOT say all things are good.It is a sad thing when a loved one
dies, but we know that God is still on His throne and in control. Sometimes we
don’t know “why,” but we trust the Eternal One Who does know “why.” Many things
in life are bad, but God promises (only for His Children) that ALL things will
ultimately work out for good.
If
a person dies in their sins without Christ, then all hope is gone, they are
doomed to hellfire forever. Also, We are commanded to be thankful “in
everything,” not “for everything.” “IN everything give thanks…” (1st
Thessalonians 5:18).
I am NOT thankful that my Neo suffered and died; however,
I am thankful that I had a chance to spend 6 blessed years of my life with her.
I
am not thankful that my mommy suffered and died, but I thankful for spending
many blessed years with her, and I am very grateful to my great God and Saviour
that she accepted His free gift of Salvation, and is safe is His arms.
We
must realize that problems and losses are a part of life.Every birth means a
future death, every start means a future end, etc.This is the “reciprocating
law of life.” You can’t have light without darkness or joy without misery or
work without rest. Though the Gospel means “Good News,” the situation at the
time of Jesus’ death and burial looked grim.
The
“Good News” was beyond the understanding of the disciples at that time.God saw
the big picture that humanity could not see. Jesus Christ had paid the price of
our sins—Paid in full!!! What Satan, the scribes, the Pharisees, the angry mob
and the Roman soldiers had meant for evil—God worked it ALL out for the good of
the entire human race.What a wonderful God that has such infinite power!!! Let
this be an encouragement to us to trust and never doubt the wisdom and workings
of God.
Interestingly,
God is NOT mentioned even once in the Book of Esther in the Bible, yet we can
see the clear working and intervention of a loyal God to His own in a time of
trouble.This teaches us a wonderful truth—When you can’t see the HAND of God,
trust the HEART of God!!!
This
Scripture contains another little truth tucked away in the pages of God’s Word
that will bless your soul. This man’s
name was “Joseph” and the Bible says He was also one of Jesus’ disciples.No
mention is ever made of this man until the time of Christ’s burial.He is
mentioned in ALL four Gospels, but not until the time of Christ’s burial.
I
want you to notice two things concerning this man: first, he was rich and
second, he was an unsung hero. It’s often easy to get a negative view of rich
people from reading the Bible because the Bible has much to say about the
vanity of riches.
We
read of the “love of money” in 1st Timothy 6:10 as being “the root of all evil”
and so forth.However, the Bible does not condemn being wealthy.
The
Bible condemns hording one’s riches and failing to be rich towards God.It is
wrong to have a negative attitude towards someone simply because they are
better off than we are in life.We must be thankful for what God has provided.Our society has become so materialistic and covetous nowadays—saying, “more,
more, give us more!” Hebrews 13:5, “…and be content with such things as ye
have.”
Also,
notice that this Christian man was never recognized in the Bible for anything
other than providing a burial place for Jesus Christ.He was an unsung hero
whose time had come.
Joseph
saw the opportunity to use his wealth to serve the Lord and he did so.Though
the Bible does not condemn being wealthy, It most certainly DOES condemn the
majority of wealthy people… “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of
a needle, than for A RICH MAN to enter into the kingdom of God” (Matthew
19:24).Most rich people are going
straight to Hell when they die!!! Get mad at God, He said it. The wealthy often
think they already have Heaven on earth, so they don’t need God.
Howbeit,
thank God for the few rich people such as Joseph who remember God.This rich
man, Joseph, was hid in the shadows and none of the other disciples knew who he
was until the appropriate time.
There
are many Christians, for one reason or another, who do not make themselves
known to the rest of us. They are saved, love the Lord Jesus and are ready for
when God needs their services.Thank God for these unsung heroes who love the
Lord and are there for Him when they are needed.
The
Bible not only declares that Jesus Christ arose from the grave, but also tells
us of all the people who saw Jesus in His resurrected body (a physical body).Jesus was seen at the tomb by Mary and others, He was also seen by Cephas, He
was also seen by the twelve disciples, He was also seen by over FIVE HUNDRED
disciples at ONE TIME, He was seen by the Apostle Paul himself on the road to
Damascus.
Jesus
Christ did not raise up from the dead in secret; on the contrary, He appeared
unto literally hundreds of people… “For the king knoweth of these things,
before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things
are hidden from him; FOR THIS THING WAS NOT DONE IN A CORNER. King Agrippa,
believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Then Agrippa said unto
Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian” (Acts 26:26-28).
The
Apostle Paul was witnessing to King Agrippa concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.The king admitted that he almost became a Christian, what held him back? Why
didn’t he get saved?Only God knows.How sad that so many people will go to
Hell, having missed Heaven by a thread.Paul explained to King Agrippa that
Christ died, was buried and arose again and these things were NOT done in a
secret corner.
Jesus
Christ was crucified before a multitude of people, He was buried in a secure
tomb with constant guard watch, He was miraculously raised up and seen of
Literally hundreds of people.This was no mere rumor started by some religious
group.
The
evidence was overwhelmingly in favor of what Paul was saying to the King, so
much that the King was tempted to trust Christ, but He chose foolishly not to
do so.Oh, how foolish was that man!I’ll guarantee he regrets his decision
now!!! He is suffering in Hell for his sinful unbelief. Acts 26:28, “…ALMOST
thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” Unfortunately, “Almost” is NOT good
enough. I wonder how many people are burning in Hell right now that “almost”
accepted Christ as Saviour, but didn’t do so. Why play with God?
There
is as much proof that Jesus Christ arose from the dead as there is that
Alexander the Great existed. As a matter of fact, there is much more.Can you
prove to me that Julius Caesar ever lived? No!You can show me some archeology
and a history book, but you CANNOT absolutely prove that this man ever lived.
You CANNOT prove to me that anyone in history ever lived—apart from something
you read in a book, saw on TV, heard in a class, etc.
Everything
we believe concerning history is by faith!I CANNOT prove to you that Jesus
Christ ever existed.Who says anybody in the past ever existed?Can you prove
that? No, you CANNOT.
The
only exception is the people who are still living today who can tell us about
things that happened fifty to one hundred years ago.Beyond the last century,
history is all by faith—We go by what we read and hear.Everything we believe
concerning history is based on something we’ve seen or heard—everything!
This
is why I won’t argue over which Greek text the Bible came from.You can’t prove
anything to me and I can’t prove anything to you.There has been so much
corruption and tampering throughout history.
I don’t believe that God would
leave His children at the mercy of historical research to verify which Bible is
the true Bible.I believe the King James Bible is the preserved Word of God.
Why? Because it burns the heart like no
other book has ever done.These new watered-down Bibles don’t do anything for
me.
The
King James Bible has stood the test of time.Show me the Christians who can
quote verse after verse, word perfect from of their HIV bible’s, you’ll have a
hard time finding one.I have never met one!These phony bibles have no
conviction, no power, no gravity that pulls us closer to its Divine Author.
The
King James Bible has been preserved for the English-speaking people.But you
say, “there are more reliable Greek manuscripts now available.” Oh, is that so?
Who says!You can’t prove anything to me because you weren’t there centuries
ago and neither was I.We must accept history by faith.The big question is
what will you accept as truth and what will you reject as lie?
I
choose to accept the King James Bible as God’s inspired, infallible, inerrant,
preserved, incorruptible Word because it faithfully upholds the Deity of Jesus
Christ, the Godhead and the precious name of Jesus Christ.
Evolution
is accepted solely by faith.There is NO proof of Evolution.Dinosaur bones
don’t prove anything except that there were once dinosaurs.The only thing
scientists have learned about the Missing Link is that it is STILL MISSING.If
men came from apes, then why are there still apes?
Unbelievers
have been searching frantically for centuries to uncover any morsel of proof
that a half man/half ape creature ever existed.
The
Bible clearly teaches that such a creature has never existed.A man is a man
and an ape is an ape (1st Corinthians 15:39)—Settled!!!
May
I say, I am not against history! History contains much truth as well as many
lies.In fact, the truth is almost always found in the midst of lies.You and I
could argue all day long over which historical items are reliable and which
ones are not. I have faith in God’s Word for what It is today, for what It is
doing for my heart personally in the present.
The
bottom line is you either believe the Bible or you don’t.Either you believe
Jesus Christ was resurrected or you don’t.There is nothing I can magically
show you to make you believe.The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ arose and is
alive forevermore.
The
Bible is clear concerning the Lord’s resurrection. Either you accept this as
truth or you don’t. I surely hope that you do believe it for your soul’s
sake.
There
is no such thing as “Good Friday.” That’s right, it was really “Good Thursday”
if anything. The Bible says that Jesus arose on the FIRST DAY of the week… “The
FIRST DAY of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto
the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre” (John 20:1).
The
first day of the week was Sunday then just as it is now.There are only two
days from Friday to Sunday.So, Friday is not accurate… “Saying, we
remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After THREE DAYS I
will rise again” (Matthew 27:63).Jesus had told everyone that He would rise up
after three days.If Christ arose on Sunday, then He had to die on Thursday.There are many erroneous teachings that have come from false religion that are
NOT supported by the Bible.
Some
theologians believe that Jesus Christ was crucified on Wednesday and rose again
Saturday evening.The Jewish day didn’t extend from midnight to midnight as
today; but rather, from sundown to sundown (or about 6 p.m. to 6 p.m. the next
day).Either way, we know of a certainty that Jesus DIDN’T die on a Friday.The
Catholic tradition of Good Friday has its origin in the pagan Philistine
worship of the fish god, Dagon.
There
is nothing in the Bible about abstaining from meat on Fridays.There is nothing
in God’s Word about abstaining from marriage for ministers.There is nothing in
the Bible about sprinkling holy water or of saying “Hail Marys.”There is
nothing in the Bible about baptizing babies. There is nothing in God’s Word
that says we should confess our sins to a priest or to recite a Rosary.
Religion
is the worst thing to ever happen to this world. The Devil has duped the minds
of so many simple people through false religion (2nd Corinthians 11:13-14).I
encourage you to learn the Bible and serve God for yourself. In John 5:39 Jesus
commanded for each of us to… SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES!!!
Don’t
allow religion to control you—Allow God to control you.Give God your heart and
let His Holy Spirit guide and teach you.Trust Him as your Saviour.Believe upon
Jesus Christ to forgive your sins, not others.
I’d
like to clarify here that Jesus Christ arose BODILY from the grave.There are a
great number of ministers who will tell you that they believe in the
resurrection of Christ, but they really don’t.Ask them if they believe that
Jesus Christ arose bodily from the grave and see what they say!!! You may get
laughed at.
The
Bible is clear in 1st Corinthians 15:6 that Jesus Christ was SEEN by over 500
people after He arose from the dead. Jesus asked Thomas to touch the scars in
His hands and side… “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle
me, and see; for a spirit hath not FLESH AND BONES, as ye see me have” (Luke
24:39). In Acts 1:9 Jesus Christ
ascended BODILY into the clouds…
“And
when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a
cloud received him out of their sight.” They saw Jesus physically ascended into
the clouds when He left earth, and He will return in the same fashion… “Ye men
of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken
up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go
into heaven” (Acts 1:11).
Jesus
Christ had a physical body when He arose and ascended into heaven!!! The
Scriptures are clear on this and we must beware of any false prophets who would
teach us otherwise. Amen!
“…And
if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous” (1st John 2:1).
You
are in trouble with the Law—God‘s Law. All humanity is sinful in God’s eyes,
because we’ve all broken God’s Laws. Romans 3:19 states: “Now we know that what
things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every
mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”
The
word “guilty” in Romans 3:19 means “having lost one’s case in court.” God’s Law
indicts (formally charges) mankind for having violated God’s holy Law.
God
has declared all mankind “guilty,” and has thus declared the death penalty for
those found guilty, to suffer eternal punishment in the Lake of Fire (Romans
6:23; Revelation 21:8; 2nd Thessalonians 1:8-9).
Thankfully,
Jesus offers to be our Advocate (Defense Attorney) . . . “And if any man sin,
we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
The
word “advocate” comes from the Greek word parakletos and means “an
intercessor.”Hence, Jesus Christ is our defense attorney who intercedes for us
in God’s divine court. This is only made possible by the blood sacrifice of
Jesus Christ (1st Peter 1:18,19).
Jesus
Christ (the Son of God) shed His physical blood for our sins at Calvary, to pay
for our sins, thus enabling God the Father (the Prosecutor) to offer mankind a
plea agreement.It is often said that Christ died for us, but the main thing
was that Christ died FOR GOD in order that God could accept us back, for Christ
and Christ alone satisfied the righteous and holy demands of God!
All
that God requires is that we come by way of the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation
(John 14:6).There is no other hope of salvation (Acts 4:10-12).If we do not
accept the plea agreement, then we are summoned to stand trial at The Great
White Throne of Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15).The lost will be judged
according to their works (Revelation 20:13).
“But
to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his
faith is counted for righteousness.Even as David also describeth the
blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works”
(Romans 4:5-6).This is God’s plea agreement for mankind.If we are willing to
admit our guilt of sin, and believe on Jesus Christ for forgiveness, then God
is willing to justify us on the basis of Christ’s blood sacrifice and set us
free from the curse of the Law. Amen!
