Contemporary Church – Page 2 – Auriesville Tubthumper

You Must View God in 3-D, Part 3

The “I AM…I AM” assertion.

When we read the Bible in its entirety we can see there is no doubt Jesus is claiming full equality with the other members of the Godhead. Most specifically one saying speaks volumes for His deity and that saying is “I AM… I AM” which is an implication that He is the one and only God. That He is the self-existent one, identifying Himself with the Old Testament deity, “I am the Jehovah of the Old Testament”.

To be very clear it is important to point out the relationship to this particular saying and the deity of Christ. This saying is clearly showing Christ’s deity and the fact that He is the one God. Leon Morris said, “John’s use of the expression is distinctive. We get nothing like it anywhere else in the New Testament (except for a handful of passages in the synoptics); thus we must recognize that John is using the hallowed expression to bring out the truth that his Master was one with a special relationship to the Heavenly Father, a relationship in which he must be thought of as partaking in the nature of deity, and a relationship which does not compromise the truth that there is but one God.^[1]

One of the most powerful claims Jesus made during His life was “Before Abraham was I AM”. That statement relates back to the burning bush incident with Moses in Exodus 3:13, “And Moses said unto God, Behold, [when] I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, what [is] his name? What shall I say unto them?” What we see here is Moses asking God, “What is your name?” And then we see the answer in verse 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.” So He tells Moses, I AM who I AM. God wants him to tell them His name is “I AM”. When Jesus used this name He used the name of the one and only God, the true sovereign Lord. Jesus was making it very clear. He was saying, “Let me be clear, I am the one and only I AM”. So we see that Jesus is naming Himself the very name of God and the Jew’s knew it. They recognized the language. When they heard it they rejected the claim and picked up rocks and they tried to stone Him.

M.M. Ninan writes, “You see in those few words He said, “Ok folks, remember Moses out there in the wilderness? Remember the burning bush? Remember that God? Remember the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Remember the God who brought you out of Egypt and out of slavery? Remember the God who gave you this land and destroyed all your enemies? Remember the God who said it is punishable by death to claim to be Him? Remember the God who created the entire universe as well as you? Remember the God who says He is the only God? Well, guess what? That is the God I am. That is the God I am claiming to be. No doubts, no questions, no confusion, I AM.”^[2]

Morris in his book, “Jesus is the Christ” tells us that Jesus was using language that accords with deity. He writes “I AM, mostly represents the speech of the heavenly Father or of the Son. The overtones of deity that we find in its use in the Old Testament are not lost when we move to the New.”^[3] Scripture showing this style of deity is found in John 8:18, “I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.”

John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This verse emphasizes the preexistence of Jesus. Philippians 2:6 shows that Jesus possessed all the attributes of God which includes preexistence.

To further affirm Christ’s deity Colossians 2:9 says, “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” So in Him the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. John 10:30 says, “I and [my] Father are one.”

John 17:5 says, “And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” Therefore, He had glory with the Father before the world began.

He is the great “I AM”. He is fully God in every respect. Jesus is equal with God; He is eternal with God; He is essential with God; He is God! He is everything.”^[4]

The deity of Christ is confirmed. Warren Wiersbe wrote, “Some students of John’s Gospel believe that our Lord’s words in John 4: 26 and 8:24, 28, 58, as well as 13:19 and 18:5-6 are all “theologically loaded” and affirm His deity as the great “I AM.”^[5]

He is the great “I Am…I AM”.

Continue to the next post and we will review the Holy Spirit in respect of Deity.

Have a Godly day,

“The Tubthumper”

Click here to go back to PART 1 or Here to go back to PART 2

[1] Leon Morris, Jesus Is the Christ (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing, 1989), 125.

[2] M.M. Ninan, “I AM”, Symbols Jesus Used to Explain Himself (Glendale, Wisconsin: Global Publishers, 2005), 9.

[3] Morris, Jesus Is the Christ, 109.

[4] Barry Davis, The Claims of Christ: What Jesus Had to Say about Himself (Bloomington, IN: Writers Club Press, 2001), 11.

[5] Warren Wiersbe, Jesus in the Present Tense: The I AM Statements of Christ (Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2011), 11.

You Must View God in 3-D, Part 2

We are referring to 3 in Deity rather than a 3 dimensional perspective in the graphics sense. The 3 dimensions we are looking at are The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and whether all three share in the deity of the Godhead.

THE DEITY OF GOD THE FATHER

There is only one God and we are to worship only one God. The Shema of Deuteronomy Chapter 6 gives a very clear indication to the oneness of God and in the New Testament James 2:19 shows us we are to believe in one God and that the devil believes it and trembles. Erickson says, “The rejection of polytheism runs throughout the Old Testament. God repeatedly demonstrates his superiority to other claimants to deity.”^[1] The deity of the first part of the Trinity is not often in dispute and the Bible clearly outlines this.

The apostle Paul wants us to have a spiritual perception regarding the deity of God when he mentioned several times that “All is of God” (I Corinthians 11:12; 2 Corinthians 5:18; Romans 11:36). Also when he is declaring that the saving is done only by the “power for salvation” which is God’s power. (Romans 1:16). Also while Paul is emphasizing that God is, “Operating all, in accordance with the council of His will.”^[2] (Ephesians 1:11)

The actual word for “Deity” shows up only once in the Greek transcripts. It showed up in Colossians 2:9 in relation to the compliment of Deity dwelling in the body of Christ. “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” The word can be defined as “that which pertains to God”, to express “the godliness of God” and to attribute to Him the Glory and honor that He deserves. We need to give God the glory He is due and remember always that the scriptures were emphatic about putting God first in our life and none other. ”“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”^[3]

John 4:24 says, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” We have the scriptures telling us God is a “Spirit”. The many ways God is described in His “Spiritual nature” indicates God to be the “absolute Power and Life giver.”^[4]

“For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light,” Psalm 36:9 and “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself,” John 5:26. God is the living God in Spirit and He possesses life within himself and through the Son.

God is the fully living power in Spirit from which all things have come to exist, “For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring,” Acts 17:28. We cannot see God, no one has ever seen God and no one will ever see God. We find this evident in 1 Timothy 6:16 where it says, “Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom [be] honour and power everlasting. Amen.”

It says in Psalm 99:2-3, “The Lord is great in Zion; and he is high above all the people. Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy.” He is Holy, He is exalted and He is separated from all other creation and sin. “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones,” Isaiah 57:15. He is the high and lofty one and his name is Holy. He lives in a Holy place and this Holiness transcends His deity.^[5]

Anyone that would deny God the glory he deserves for his supremacy and His sovereignty should turn to Isaiah 40:25 and Isaiah 45:5, “Then to whom will ye liken Me, and whose equal will I be? Saying is the Holy One … I am Yahweh Alueim, and there is none else.”^[6]

THE DEITY OF CHRIST THE SON

Scriptural Evidence

It is likely the best reference to Christ’s deity in the scriptures is Philippians 2: 5-11, “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. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Jesus was identified as God however He does have a subordinate relationship to the Father which is a concept we all need to come to grips with.

The “First and the Last” the “Alpha and the Omega”, as the apostle John called both Jesus and God equates Jesus with God. (Revelation 22:13)

Mark 2:5-7 affirms Christ’s deity, “When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.”

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1 and “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, [even] in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.” These two passages can attest to the deity of Christ and could not possibly have been taught any better, stronger or more explicitly.^[7] And what about Philippians 2:6, “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God,” could it be any clearer than this?

The apostles in the New Testament were also referring to the Old Testament when they were referring to the Angel of the Covenant and they addressed the glorious being as Jehovah to whom holds the highest credibility of deity and is worshipped by mankind. Comparing the New Testament to the Old Testament affirms that the Son (Christ) was and is, in fact God.^[8]

What about the “I AM” claims of Christ? Continue to the next post as we continue on the Deity of Christ and then move on to the Holy Spirit.

Click here to go to the next post. or here for Part 1.

God Bless you and yours,

“The Tubthumper”

[1] Ibid.

[2] John Henry Essex, The Deity of God: Part One, the Only True God, concordant.org/expohtml/GodAndChrist/The DeityOfGod1.html (accessed March 8, 2013).

[3] Ibid.

[4] Horton and Horton, The Portable Seminary, 91.93.

[5] Ibid., 92.

[6] John Henry Essex, The Deity of God: Part One, the Only True God, concordant.org/expohtml/GodAndChrist/The DeityOfGod1.html (accessed March 8, 2013).

[7] Smith, Of the Principles of Revealed Religion; 1st of the Holy Trinity: A Comprehensive View of the Leading and Most Important Principles of Natural and Revealed Religion: Digested in Such Order as to Present to the Pious and Reflecting Mind, a Basis for the Superstructure of the Entire System of the Doctrines of the Gospel.

[8] Ibid.

You Must View God in 3-D

Three in Deity, that is…not in a 3-D movie. This series of posts will address the question of deity among the three persons of the Trinity. Each part of the trinity will be examined on its own and also as a body of one. It is necessary to see the Triune God as one being yet consisting of three persons. It is important for Christians to study this theological mystery to know who to worship, who to pray to and who to believe in. Some think the Trinity is simply a spiritual power that God uses to complete His will. These posts will serve to repudiate that theory.

We all know that not everyone will believe everything and some need more facts than others while still there are others that no amount of facts will be enough. With that said; going forward these posts will assume the reader believes the Holy Bible to be the inerrant and inspired word of God and was authored by God Himself. The existence of God and the doctrine of the trinity are asserted and declared throughout the testimony of the Bible. It is for this reason the belief in the Bible must be first and foremost.

William Evans wrote, “The doctrine of the Trinity is, in its last analysis, a deep mystery that cannot be fathomed by the finite mind. That it is taught in the Scripture, however, there can be no reasonable doubt. It is a doctrine to be believed even though it cannot be thoroughly understood.”[1]

It is also necessary to understand there is a subordination aspect to the Trinity in that the Son is subordinate to the Father and the Holy Spirit is subordinate to the Son and the Father. This is not a topic to be covered in this thread and I bring it up to separate the subject of equality from deity. Each part of the Trinity is divine but not in every sense equal.

We as mere mortals can never completely understand the origins of God or the mystery of the Trinity. With tongue in cheek I enjoy the words of a writer from many years ago that mentioned the doctrine of the trinity justly excites our wonder, and confounds the imbecility of our minds.”[2] That was well said!

When we think of the doctrine of God we must also think of the Trinity. The word Trinity is not a Biblical word but it is used by mankind and has been used for ages to describe the magnificent three part manifestation of our one true God as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The word trinity is indicating that God is one being but has three co-existing persons in the Godhead of the Father, the crucified Son and the Holy Spirit. The word ‘person’ as used to describe the parts of the Trinity, is not used in the same context as a human person. It is however, used to describe the personal relationship between the triune Godhead and signifies the loving relationship between them.[3]

There is a passage in scripture that documents the Trinity pretty well and it is 1 John 5:7, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” This is surely a clear indication to the three-in-one aspect of the Trinity. It is in the Gospel of John that the most evidence of the Trinity is found. We find it in the passages of John 1:33-34; 14:16, 26; 16:13-15; 20: 21-22. Erickson noted an observation by George Henry that illuminated the inter-dynamics of three. “The son is sent by the Father (14:24) and comes forth from Him. (16:28) The Spirit is given by the Father (14:16), sent from the Father (14:26) and proceeds from the Father. (15:26) Yet the Son is closely involved in the coming of the Spirit: he prays for his coming (14:16); the Father sends the Spirit in the Son’s name (14:26); the Son will send the Spirit from the Father (15:26); the Son must go away so that he can send the Spirit (16:7). The Spirits ministry is understood as a continuation and elaboration of that of the Son. He will bring to remembrance what the Son has said (14:26): he will bear witness to the Son (15:26); he will declare what he hears from the Son, this glorifying the Son (16:13-14).”[4]

The doctrine of the Trinity is not specifically mentioned in scripture, however, there are enough suggestions of the deity and the unity of the three that it is understandable why the church came up with the doctrine and we can also deduct they were correct in developing it.

We are not holding onto this doctrine because it presents itself to us or we understand it. We hold onto the Trinity because God through His revelation is showing us what He is like. We want to be like Him. Try to explain it, and you’ll lose your mind; But try to deny it, and you’ll lose your soul.

In the next post will be an examination of the deity of the three beginning with the Father. Click here to go to PART 2.

Have a Godly day,

“The Tubthumper”

[1] William Evans, The Great Doctrines of the Bible (Chicago: Charles Aldarondo, Charles Franks, [1950?]).

[2] Samuel Stanhope Smith, Of the Principles of Revealed Religion; 1st of the Holy Trinity: A Comprehensive View of the Leading and Most Important Principles of Natural and Revealed Religion: Digested in Such Order as to Present to the Pious and Reflecting Mind, a Basis for the Superstructure of the Entire System of the Doctrines of the Gospel. (New Brunswick, NJ, US: Deare & Myer, viii, 1815).

[3] David Horton and Ryan Horton, eds., The Portable Seminary (Bloomington, MN: Bethany House, 2006), 93.

[4] Millard J. Erickson, Introducing Christian Doctrine: Second Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Acedemic of Baker Book House, 2004).

Finders Keepers Part 7

Once saved always saved? Watch it or you could lose that salvation before you die?

How much more can be said on this subject? I guess I’ll continue until it becomes exhausted in my mind. I will continue driving the subject home.

Some want you to believe you cannot be sure. Some want you to think the doctrine of the “Preservation of the Saints is a false doctrine. Some scholars call this theological doctrine the “Perseverance of the Saints”. I prefer the word “Preservation” because it is making an emphasis on the activity of God. It is He who saves us, it is He preserves us and it is He who keeps us, watches over and protects us.

I will remind you of what has already been written in my previous posts. Being saved has little to do with the response to an altar call or revival meeting emotion. Being saved has everything to do with faith. It is having a saving faith and belief in Jesus Christ as the Messiah and Lord, the Son of God. It is about you the believer being transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, and I am paraphrasing from memory, “My sheep listen to my voice and I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and no one can snatch them out of my hand.” I have mentioned this passage before and you can find the reference in a previous post within this subject. The point is that no one can snatch them away… no one can snatch you away if you have saving faith.

I recently did some work on the deity of God and the trinity doctrine and will put some of it up soon. One of the points made is even the demons believe in God. It says in James chapter 2 and verse 19, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” Let that serve as a lesson to you in that belief in God is one thing and it will not save you. In order to be saved you must worship, have faith, follow His commandments and trust Him. Belief in the Lord involves much more than simply acknowledging He exists. So a true believer is one that is transformed, follows Christ and has a changed life through the power of the Holy Spirit.

If that sounds like you and you believe the Bible is the inerrant, inspired and authoritive word of God then you can be assured of your salvation forever. You can be assured because the Bible states very clearly that we can know that we have eternal life. Turn to 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, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”

The Bible indicates that we are Children of God. It indicates this in many scriptures of which I will list a few: John 1:12, Hebrews 2: 9-10, Hebrews 12: 5-6, Romans 8:16, Galatians 3:26, Galatians 4:6-7, 1 John 3:1, 1 John 3:2, 1 John 3:10 and 1 john 5:19. If you are still a skeptic after all I have written then do this for me. Please reply to this post with a reference to one verse in the Bible where God disowns one of His children. You cannot!

I have written previously about how we, the children of God have been predestined. We have been predestined for salvation even before the creation of the world. Scriptures that tell us of this predestination are listed here: Matthew 20:23, Matthew 25:34, Mark 10:40, John 14:2-3, John 17:2-3, Romans 8: 29-30, Romans 9:223, 1 Corinthians 2:7, 1 Corinthians 2:9, Ephesians 1:5, Ephesians 1:11, Ephesians 2:10, Ephesians 4: 11-12 and Hebrews 11:16. Now I ask again of the unbelievers among you, can you please reply to this post with one verse from God’s word that refutes this? You cannot!

The Bible also tells us we are heirs of God. We have an inheritance. Scriptures that indicate we are heirs of His are: Romans 8:17, Galatians 3:29, Galatians 4:7, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, Ephesians 4:30, 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12, 1 Thessalonians 4:7, 2 Thessalonians 1:11, Hebrews 7:24-25, 1 Peter 1: 3-4, Ephesians 1:4-6, Ephesians 1:18, Jude 1:1, Revelation 17:14. Let us turn specifically to Romans 11:29, “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” To you that doubt, can you reply to this post and tell us of just one verse that leads one to a conclusion that a believer is ever un-called or sent packing? You cannot!

Scriptures tell us also that believers are chosen by God Himself. Scriptures that give evidence to this are listed here: Ephesians 1: 11-13, Mark 13:20, Luke 18:7, John 15:16, John 15:19, romans 8:33, Romans 11:5, Colossians 1:27, Colossians 3:12, 1 Thessalonians 1:4, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, James 2:5, 1 Peter 1:2, 1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 17:14, Matthew 22:14 and Revelation 17:14. With the scriptures listed clearly showing a believer is chosen please then, if you are one who thinks you can lose your salvation, reply to this post and cite me just one verse from the Bible that shows God removing a believer from the kingdom. You cannot.

We are sealed by God when we become saved by His grace. The Bible says believers are sealed by God for redemption within these verses: 2 Corinthians 1: 21-22, Ephesians 1:13, Ephesians 4:30 and 2 Timothy 2:19. Please if you don’t believe, reply to this post with just one verse where God removes the seal from a believer. You cannot.

Believers are glorified by God and the Bible says we will be glorified after death in these verses: Romans 8:17, 1 Thessalonians 2:12, 1 Peter 5:4, 1 Peter 5:10, 1 Thessalonians 2: 19-20, 2 Thessalonians 2:14, 2 Timothy 2:10 and Colossians 3:4. Now to those that oppose my view I ask for a reply to this post that shows me where in the Bible that God removes that glory from a believer. You cannot do it.

The Bible shows that we are born again and we have become a new creature when we are saved. Look to these scriptures: John3:3, John3:7, 1 Peter 1:3, 1 peter 1:23, 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Ephesians 4:23-24. Now, again I ask for a reply that would show just one verse in the bible where a believer can become unborn after being born-again. It even sounds silly.

This notion that once someone is saved and has a saving faith in God could lose their salvation is refuted in over 80 verses throughout the Bible. We, as believers are predestined, called, chosen, sealed and we are children of God that are heirs of the Father along with Christ for our glorification in Heaven.

All of the verses I will list here speak of the promise of eternal life to believers. This is not an all exhaustive list and not one of them mentions anything about the possibility of losing that eternal life. Here they are: Matthew 19:29, Mark 10:29-30, Luke 18:29-30, John 3:16, John3:36, John5:24, John6:39, John 6:40, John17:2-3, Acts 13:47-48, Romans 5:20-21, Romans 6:23, 2 Corinthians 5;1, Galatians 6:8, 1 Timothy 1:16, 1 Timothy 6:12, Titus 1:2, Titus 3:5-7, 1John 2:24-25, 1 John 5:11-13, and Jude 1:21. In John 5:24 Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” Can anyone show me anywhere in the Bible where someone is to return by passing from life unto death? No… not one verse.

In closing I must say there is one sin that is not forgiven by God. The sin of blasphemy is not forgiven. So I suppose some fool could give away by choice all that he has. That is not losing salvation given by Christ but is a conscious turning away. Blasphemy is complete unbelief. According to the Bible a true believer cannot fall into unbelief. True believers will persevere even unto the face of opposition. Recently I heard of a couple Pastors that said they went from belief to unbelief. I say they never really found out what true faith is and never were anointed by the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 1:8 says, “Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Once saved, we are confirmed unto the end and we are always saved, so that we will be blameless in the day of our Lord. Amen!

God bless your day,

“The Tubthumper”

Finders Keepers, part 6

We have been reviewing the evidence and the reasons a believer in Christ remains saved for eternity. Sealed until the day of redemption. On your own you can review these three verses, Psalm 40:23, Isaiah 42:10 and Revelation 21:1-2. What you will see is that all these verses have one thing in common. All these passages have the concept of “new”. “Behold I make all things new.”

The sixth new thing a believer has is a new knowledge in Christ. To back this up let us turn to the most comforting verse in the Bible. “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”, Romans 8:28. Please remember this verse does not say that all things will be good. What it says is that God will work all things together for good. Even the wrath of man and our own stupidity, sins and mistakes will be used by Him and He will work it together for good. Praise God! In the fullness of time He will work things for His own Glory. God allows things to come into our lives for reason. He has a plan. His plan allows things into our lives for His glory and also to our good. This only applies to those that love God. To those that belong to Him. For those that love God there is the new knowledge of a happy ending. If you love God and you are saved you know what the end is and you know it is a time of joy. The last chapter in the book reveals “The Bridegroom gets the Bride!”

The last new thing you have as a believer is a new goal. Your new goal is to be conformed to the image of Christ. “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. 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. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 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 8:29-32) Your predestination is to be conformed. The believer is predestined to be ‘like Christ’. To be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.

To carry this one step further we can look at our job in the great commission. Our job then (after salvation and maturity in the word) is to disciple others. It is to help in the conformation and help as many people as we can to be more like Jesus. We can get to work right away.

The believer is predestined and there are 5 steps leading to the goal of conformation.

1) You were already known. God knows the believer even before birth. “He did foreknow” the believer. (Romans 8:29) David laments that God knew him before he was born, “O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there…” (Psalm 139). He knew John the Baptist, the babe leaped in the womb of his mother, Elizabeth. Jeremiah said, “Thou knew thee while in the womb”.

2) “He…did predestinate” the believer. (Romans 8:29)

3) “He… called” the believer. (Romans 8:30) Actually if this isn’t the strongest verse pointing to once saved, always saved I don’t know which would be. So it deserves repeating now, “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) If, in the mind of God we are already glorified in Heaven; how then could we ever lose our salvation here on earth? That would be the $Trillion dollar question of the day. You were called, you were justified and you were glorified. AMEN!

4) “He…justified” the believer. (Romans 8:30)

5) “He…glorified” the believer. (Romans 8:30) This sounds like it is in the past-tense but it really is not. You and I are not glorified yet because you still have a sinful nature but you will be glorified. God wants it in past-tense because He already glorified us in heaven. Given this, how then can you ever lose this guarantee? You cannot.

You have an absolute guarantee of this goal. It is iron-clad and it is God that justifieth. The same judge that once condemned us now justifies us. God places you, the believer under His protection. “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” (Romans 8:34) You see, He paid for us at Calvary. He also provided for us with the empty tomb with the resurrection and He prays for us at God’s right hand. (Intercession)

So then? Who or what could possible separate you from the love of Jesus Christ if you are truly a believer and know for a fact you are sure in your salvation? No-one, nothing, notta! Let us turn to Romans 8:35-36, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

Shall tribulation (outward pressure) separate us from Christ? NO!

Shall distress (inward pressure) separate us from Christ? NO!

Shall persecution separate us from Christ? NO!

Shall famine separate us from Christ? NO!

Shall nakedness separate us from Christ? NO!

Shall peril separate us from Christ? NO!

Shall sword separate us from Christ? NO!

Let us look at the answer Paul gave in verses 37-39 of Romans 8, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” He has confirmed for us that in matters relating to God for those of us that believe and love Christ there is NO SEPARATION.

I would go so far now as to say that anyone wanting to argue they can lose their salvation once they have it are in fact arguing against the words of Paul the Apostle. I won’t do that.

We are more than conquerors! Through Him that loves us.

I may have adequately made my point by now; however, I may come back in the next post with more. Watch for a possible 7^th post continuing this process of adding evidence for “once saved, always saved.

Believe and live,

The Tubthumper

Use these links to jump to any previous posts on this series:

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Finders Keepers, part 5

This is a continuance of looking for the evidence showing that I have total security in my salvation and why you should too. The Bible teaches that we have a whole and eternal salvation. Once save, always saved!

We left off by going over the new things you have in Christ upon becoming a Christian. (Someone in Christ)

The fourth new thing you have is a new hope. You have a hope that you know will guarantee you eternal life. “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” (Romans 8:24-25) You have a hope of glory! The hope we have is because of the full and final redemption of everything. The redemption comes through the sufferings of Christ. “Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” (1 peter 1:11) You now have a hope that someday you will receive a new body. Your new body will be like Christ’s body. “We shall be like Him.” “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.” (Philippians 3:20-21) It will be a body of flesh and bone. “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) Your new body will be a recognizable body. You will sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and you will recognize them and they you. “And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 8:11) It will be a body unlimited by time, space or gravity. The Lord was able to walk through a solid door yet he had a body that could be touched, felt and a body that ate and drank. Your new body will be spiritual body, sown out of nature but raised as a spirit. “It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.” (1 Corinthians 15:44, 49)

The new hope is for the redemption of all things and so the creation itself will also be restored. The anxious longing of creation waits for the Glory of God and for creation to be set free. Creation had a great fall back in Genesis 3:17-18. “Cursed is the ground.” Creation fell when man sinned and creation will once again be restored. It will be restored when the sons of God come into their own. This will occur at the resurrection, during the millennium. In Titus 3:5 we see the regeneration of believers, “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.” Regeneration also occurs for nature. Nature itself will be converted. “And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Matthew 19:28) You have a new hope of a full and final restoration of your own body and your environment.

The fifth new thing you have is a new helper in prayer. The Holy Spirit who lives in you, witnesses to you, and now is said to pray for you and me becomes your helper. “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (Romans 8:26) The Holy Spirit indwells us and helps us to know what to pray for. It is good thing He indwells us because we need His help. The Holy Spirit looks to you to do your part but also helps you when needed. The Holy Spirit helps us with intensity through the groan of the Spirit. We have the groan of nature, the groan of the believer and now the groan of the Holy Spirit. You can see in verse 27 of Romans 8 the infallibility of our helper, “And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” The Holy Spirit, who lives within you, within your hearts, makes intercession for you and for us. The Holy Spirit is praying to the LORD Jesus Christ and then He (the LORD) to the Father, all for intercession for you and me. Isn’t that awesome! It is hard to comprehend.

In closing today I enter another piece of evidence which is powerful and may be the strongest verse in the Bible regarding eternal security. Romans 8:30, “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.” And whom He justified, them he also glorified. This verse reveals God’s view of salvation. It reveals that God’s view is that He is seeing us as already glorified before it has happened!

A done deal. Once saved, always saved.

Believe and live.

“The Tubthumper’

Come back for the next post as we continue looking at evidence for this case. Click here to go to next post.

Use these links for all previous posts on this subject;

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Part 6

Finders Keepers, part 4

Back again…

While we are still on the subject of Eternal Security let us turn to Romans chapter 8. This is probably the most telling chapter in the Bible when it comes to the subject of having security that your salvation is preserved. Chapter 8 of Romans amplifies John 5:24 and Revelation 21:5. It says in John 5:24, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” Wow, see that! The words “hath everlasting life”. How long is “everlasting”? It is not 5 years, it is not 10, it is not even 100 but in fact it is forever. FOREVER! Now look at Revelation 21:5, “And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.” He makes all things new, (all things) so alas, if you believe on Christ in faith you are a new creature. You are no longer what you were.

Shall we go deeper with the new creature issue and look at the 7 new things a believer has? Yes.

First, a believer has a new position as you can see in Romans 8:1-8. You have a new position in relation to the Son of God. In your new position you are “in Christ”. Remember the Philippian jailor in Acts 16? He felt the earth quake and then trembled and wanted to know what he must do to be saved. The answer came in verse 31, “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” “Believe and live!” When you believe you then become a Christian. A Christian is “someone in Christ.” You are in Christ. You also have a new position when it comes to the law. You are now to please the law but it does nothing to save you. The law cannot claim you, the law cannot condemn you and the law can not control you because you are now free from the law and grace abounds. We are to please the law but we no longer are claimed by it.

Romans chapter 8 begins with condemnation. There is therefore, NOW, no condemnation. Now is when it happens and not later because salvation is immediate. Romans chapter 8 then, like bookends, will end with no separation. The last verse says, “Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Nothing can separate you, ever, ever, ever. It is everlasting, and everlasting is forever. The Father cared and he sent His own son. He sent His only son. He sent His only son to die for you and me when we were ungodly.

Second, as you will see in Romans 8: 9-13, you have a new guest. Your new guest is the Holy Spirit of God. You have two in-dwellings because you indwell the Savior and the Holy Spirit indwells you. The believer indwells Christ, we are in Him. We have a new guest in us which is the Holy Spirit. Both of these in-dwellings are promised in John 15:5, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” He that abides in me and I in him. This is a perfect indwelling to make us like Jesus. This is also a permanent indwelling. “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever”, John 14:16. Abide with you forever. How long is forever? Isn’t that once and for all? Once saved, always saved. And now for what is probably the best evidence that can be introduced we have Ephesians 4:30, “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” You are sealed, “UNTIL THE DAY OF REDEMPTION.” That is always and forever, it is until the end.

Third, you have a new adoption. You as the believer are adopted by the Father. This is the theology of adoption. The word “adoption” literally means “the placing of a son.” This adoption follows your regeneration (from previous post) and provides you with the nature of a child of God. You have been adopted by the Father, “Abba Father”. The Father initiated the adoption by sending His son. He did it! We are heirs of God and joint heirs of Christ. Last, but certainly not least we see the trinity at work in this adoption. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. You have intimacy with the Father. Abba Father, Dearest Papa, Beloved Dad, affectionately. You are illuminated by the Holy Spirit as the Spirit leads and assures you. You have the inheritance through the Son. You have an inheritance to the Kingdom of God.

What we have described here is “The Preservation of the Saints”. Praise The LORD! What the Law could not do for us Christ did for us on the cross.

Believe and live,

The Tubthumper

Come back for the next post as we continue with more of the new things we have in Christ and evidence of “Once saved, always saved”. Click here to go to the next post.

Click here to jump to any past in the series:

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 5 Part 6

Finders Keepers, part 3

The last two posts have been about salvation and whether or not one can lose it once they have it. Maybe I should have done this first but lets look at the process.

The logical order of salvation is outlined in these verses of John 6:35-65. Let us review them:

1. The Father draws the un-saved by ‘revealing Christ’ as an attractive and only answer to sin and its end. (6:37)

2. The sinner, (that is us) ‘beholds’ or contemplates this gracious offer from the father. (6:37)

3. The sinner, (us again) ‘determines or decides to trust’ the atoning work of Christ for His salvation. (6:40) Should Christ be rejected at this point it ends the saving process at least temporarily and hopefully not forever.

4. With repentance we the sinners ‘come to Christ’ to be saved. We come for the purpose of salvation. (6:37)

5. We (the sinner) evidence our heart ‘of repentance’ by coming to Jesus. (6:35, 65)

6. We (the sinner) embrace Jesus Christ ‘by faith’ as our Savior. (6:35)

7. The disciple (us again, now saved) embraced by Jesus Christ, ‘never to be lost or cast out’. (6:37, 39)

8. The disciples (we disciples) enjoy a ‘growing intimacy’ with Jesus Christ during our lives. (6:54, 56)

9. We as believers and disciples shall be ‘raised by Christ in the last day’. (6:39, 40, 44, 54)

Here is Jesus talking about the true remnant being raised out of sin to life. A raising up out of the earth to be where He is. The rapture! When will that happen? It is coming sooner than you think. Like a thief in the night He will come and no man knows the hour. If you haven’t been drawn to Christ and haven’t taken the steps to be in Glory with the savior the time is now.

“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)

I saw a great statement the other day in a commentary on Romans by John Phillips, “The gospel message grips the mind, stabs the conscience, warms to heart, saves the soul and sanctifies the life. It can make drunken men sober, crooked men straight and profligate women pure. It is a message sufficient to transform the life of any who believe. It is the power of God unto salvation “To every one that believeth.” It doesn’t get any simpler than that.

We need to turn back to the subject at hand of forever salvation or not. Once we have salvation and I sincerely pray you have not gone this far without securing that between you and Christ, salvation is forever. That is still my position on the matter. Now, neither I nor anyone else can deny that there are several warning passages in the New Testament which seem to imply that there is a possibility of loss of salvation. My satisfactory explanation of these verses is that they apply to false professors of Christianity and not the true believers. You should also be aware of the difference between your standing as a Christian and your state as a Christian. A saved person’s standing is perfect, immutable and guaranteed by the Word of God, the work of Christ and the witness of the Spirit. Our state, as Christians is imperfect, changeable and in a big way, mostly dependent on us. When you are saved you are justified. You have something the world can’t give to you nor can the world take it away. You have peace with God. You can read much about your standing with God and your state with God in Romans chapters 5, 6, 7 and 8. I encourage you to go there and be blessed.

Let me pose two questions for you to think about:

1) If in the mind of God we are already glorified in Heaven, how then could we ever lose our salvation here on earth?

2) If you believe you could lose your salvation, how would you ever know when you lost it?

You can think those over while I continue.

Jesus Christ died and rose again. Christ’s death was our death; His burial was our burial; He died as me! So far as God is concerned, we are already on the resurrection side of the grave and it remains for us to realize this truth and appropriate it, and as to the point I am trying to drive home, victory is assured.

In conclusion for today we are sinners that need to be saved because of CONDEMNATION. We are saved through Christ with JUSTIFICATION. After we are saved we are set aside in SANCTIFICATION. Now we, the saved sinner remain saved through PRESERVATION. “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. There is therefore now no condemnation and salvation is immediate. There is no condemnation and there is no separation. The Bible teaches a whole and eternal salvation, once saved always saved.

Once saved there are seven new things that enable us as believing sinners to remain saved. I will review those seven things as we continue on this subject with more future posts.

The believer has a new position in Christ and experiences fellowship with a new guest because of the new relationship with Jesus. There is a theological description of the believer’s adoption by the Father that explains our eternal security. You will have a good look into each of these points as we continue in the next post at getting to the bottom line of what is called “the believers confidence”.

ARISE, MY SOUL, ARISE by Charles Wesley

Arise, my soul, arise; shake off thy guilty fears;

The bleeding sacrifice in my behalf appears:

Before the throne my surety stands,

My name is written on His hands.

He ever lives above, for me to intercede;

His all redeeming love, His precious blood, to plead:

His blood atoned for all our race,

And sprinkles now the throne of grace.

Five bleeding wounds He bears; received on Calvary;

They pour effectual prayers; they strongly plead for me:

“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,

“Nor let that ransomed sinner die!”

The Father hears Him pray, His dear anointed One;

He cannot turn away, the presence of His Son;

His Spirit answers to the blood,

And tells me I am born of God.

My God is reconciled; His pardoning voice I hear;

He owns me for His child; I can no longer fear:

With confidence I now draw nigh,

And “Father, Abba, Father,” cry.

Believe and live!

“The Tubthumper”

Join me on the next post as we continue by looking at more evidence leading to “Once saved, always saved”. Click here to go to next post.

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Finders Keepers, Part 2

The question is on the table. Can we lose our salvation?

This topic will cover several continuing posts so stay with us… People profess Christ and then fall away. What about Judas? In the Gospel of Matthew, when Judas goes to the chief priests, he asks: “What will you give me if I deliver [Jesus] to you?” (Matthew 26:15). This verse suggests Judas betrayed Jesus out of greed. In the Gospel of John, however, after Jesus gives Judas the piece of dipped bread, “Satan entered into him” (13:27). This verse suggests Satan’s spirit entered into Judas and caused him to do evil. Jesus was sitting right next to him and allowed it. We know from scripture that Jesus knew ahead of time it would happen. Was it a choice a Judas made? What about Demas? Demas had been a faithful servant of the Lord, and a trusted companion of the apostle Paul. He served the greatest cause, and he served alongside some of the Lord’s most devoted disciples. It says in 2 Timothy 4:10, “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.” So Demas chose the world over the Kingdom and deserted Paul in his greatest time of need. All of his time spent with Paul and the other disciples could not preserve him from the wiles of Satan, the lure of the world, and the lusts of the fleshly nature.

They both went back to the world, they went back to sin. Or were they ever saved to begin with?

Is there any assurance of an absolute and permanent salvation? Some say when a person turns away from God after genuinely being a Christian they lose the saving grace they once had. (This is the classic Armenian and Wesley position.) But others say when a person turns away from God and back to the world it proves they were never Christians to begin with. (This is the classic Calvinistic and reformed position.) So one says hey, “They were never saved to begin with.” And the other side says, “No sir, they once had it but they lost it.’ Where do you stand on this issue? There is yet the third position which is that once someone prays to the Lord and confesses their sin with repentance along with an outward profession of faith they are saved and they can never lose it.

But… people profess and then turn away. Sadly I am seeing a lot of it these days. Is it because of dead faith? You will find in the book of James three different kinds of faith. In James 2:14-26, we find James discussing those different kinds of faith, with an emphasis upon that faith which works to the saving of the soul. Those with a dead faith are just pretenders. Their “walk” does not measure up to their “talk”. Is only an intellectual faith and they have never really submitted themselves to God and trusted in Jesus for salvation. Any form of belief that does not result in a changed life and good works is a dead end street. It is dead. Dead, dead, DEAD! What about false faith? It says in 1 John 2:19, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.” This is what John said about those that turned against Christ. He was making a point. Just like a healthy body keeps poison out of your system and will purge your body of the poison a healthy church or healthy Christian will purge itself from the poison. The insincere become detected and the apostates and revolters and antichrists, they went out, and are made manifest that they were not all of us.

You may be reading all these words about faith and thought we were on some rabbit trail. All this about faith is because a truly saved individual has saving faith. Saving faith causes a regeneration of the person which then becomes manifest in works revealing the fruit of the spirit. Others will know of your regeneration by your fruit. Without regeneration it is morally and spiritually impossible to savingly believe in Christ. “Except a man be born again, he cannot see, he cannot understand, he cannot come to Christ”, (John 3:3; 6:37, 44; 1 Cor. 2:14). Regeneration is the renewing of the heart and mind; and the renewed heart and mind must act according to their nature. This regeneration is the act of God alone. But faith is not the act of God. It is not God who believes in Christ for salvation; it is the sinner. Although it is by God’s grace alone that a person is able to believe, faith is an activity of the person alone. In saving faith we receive and rest upon Christ alone for salvation. It might be hard for you understand this concept that the Bible teaches but it is there. This is God’s way of salvation, expressing His supreme wisdom, power, and grace.

We are portrayed more than once in the Bible as sheep. There is a promise for the sheep. A true Christian, a true saved one, one with saving faith, cannot lose their salvation because of the promise scripture gives us. The shepherd gave his life for the sheep. Please allow me to turn your attention toward Jesus, The Good Shepherd in John. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand”, (John 10:27-28) Please let verse 28 sink in. He gives us eternal life and we will never perish and NEITHER SHALL ANY MAN PLUCK THEM OUT OF MY HAND! He holds us tight to his chest forever. Forever safe Forever saved.

A person that is truly one of Christ’s sheep, born again of the spirit has Christ as the shepherd with his body lying across the sheep-gate protecting and keeping His sheep. God is committed to them and he will never let them be lost.

Just be sure you have that saving faith.

Have your prayer be similar to that of the Psalmist’s:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart;

try me and know my anxieties;

“And see if there is any wicked way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.”

— Psalms 139:23-24

Believe and live!

“The Tubthumper”

Join me on the next post as we continue by looking at more evidence leading to “Once saved, always saved”. Click here to go to next post.

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Finders Keepers Losers Weepers

So you are a Christian, does that guarantee you a space in heaven? You asked Christ into your heart and you have been a disciple of Christ; so are you then saved forever? Or can you lose that salvation and become part of the lost again. Is salvation permanent and are you part of the once saved, always saved? Some say yes and some say no. I am about to delve into a subject that has often been heatedly debated. I have found myself debating this subject once in awhile among the brothers and sisters I worship with. Depending on your background and the theology you were exposed to, you may have a view leaning to one side or the other. It is commonly known that if you have been one of most protestant backgrounds you do have a foundation that once you are saved you are always saved and will go to heaven. When you come to know Jesus Christ as your savior you then believe you will end up in heaven with Christ and not burning in Hell for eternity with the evil. If you have a background of most Pentecostal denominations then you may hold the belief that you can lose your salvation and in the end face getting cast to the lake of fire. I plan on sharing my belief regarding this subject, however, I am not taking the position that my belief is the absolute and I am not taking a dogmatic position that what I believe is the proven way it is and if you don’t believe as I do you are lost. You see, there are enough scriptures on each side of the coin which are presented from both groups that lend us to say, “Maybe”. I am very well in touch and in tune with scriptures that form my conclusion and I am not as well versed on the opposing side. So if you are on the other side I welcome your comments in the spirit of learning through sharing in the spirit of love.

I look at this way: If you believe you can lose your salvation and you are backing that up by the word then hey, you are going to work very hard to be sure to keep your salvation. I see nothing wrong with that. If you believe as I do, that once saved we are always saved and it is a matter of answering to God for all our actions in the end at the judgment that works too and I hope you come along with me. I don’t look at this minor difference as a deal-breaker for any of us. So let’s stick our toe in the water and have a look at verses that I lean on.

The very first place I can reference in the Bible that will point to a salvation you can never lose is in the gospel of John. When I came to know Jesus Christ as my savior at a very young age the only exposure I had to God’s written word was the Gospel of John. It was given to me on that first day by the pastor that helped me to understand. If you are a new believer I highly recommend you get intimately involved with the gospel of John. You can read the synoptic gospels but none will reveal Christ’s love more than John. John has been called “The Apostle of Love’. As a side note, please pay attention to the word “believe” because it will show up 98 times. Believe and live! Once you finish John you should read Genesis and see the parallels and how Christ is revealed and evidence is shown that He always was, always is and always will be the great “I AM”. After that you might want to read Romans and get familiar with our friend Paul. He has a lot to say about the life of a believer in Christ.

In part of the passage about the “Bread of Life”, (John 6: 36-47) is revealed an important statement about once saved, if you are truly saved, you are always saved. I am referring to verses 36 and 37, “But I said unto you, that ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” That section should give some encouragement and comfort to many hearts. Satan is always trying to get you to not believe. Satan wants you to think there is no sense in turning to God in the first place because you’re so bad he isn’t going to let you in anyway. That is pure nonsense and trickery by the evil one. If he can get you to think that way and you allow unbelief to rule your heart then you will never be received by God because you won’t go to Him. So if Satan is trying to get you to believe you are not worthy and God doesn’t want you don’t listen to it. Just come to Jesus with belief and He will not cast you out.

In verse 38 we read, “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me”. This is the covenant of redemption between the Father and the Son. As noted in the Matthew Henry commentary it means. “This is the charge I am entrusted with, that I shall lose none. Those whom God chose to be the objects of His special love he lodged as a trust in the hands of Christ. Jesus Christ has undertaken that he will lose none of those that were thus given him of the Father.” Verse 40 shows us we have an offer of eternal life and happiness if we accept the terms of the gospel and those given to Christ would be brought to the Father. “This is the will, the revealed will, of him that sent me,that every one, Jew or Gentile, that sees the Son, and believes on Him, may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up.” Isn’t that great news? It is the “good news”. Everyone can have it. You can have it. The gospel is preached, you hear it, the offer is made, the offer comes to all of us and none can say it is not meant for us. “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”, (Rev. 22:17)

Salvation you can never lose is yours if only you believe. As none of the fragments of barley was lost, (John 6:12) so none of those the father gave Jesus will be lost.

Join me on the next post as we continue by looking at more evidence for the jury. Will the verdict be “Once saved, always saved” or “Once saved, watch it, or you will lose it”? CLICK HERE TO MOVE TO NEXT POST!

Believe and live!

“The Tubthumper”

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Part 6

Your Worst Enemy, Part 2

Part 2… Click here to start at beginning.

People are unaware and ignorant to his devices while this dirty fighting foe uses guerrilla warfare and is on our path every moment pursuing us. He is stalking every part of our households, he is walking the streets of our towns, he is present in many of our churches, he is in our courts and governments, he is seducing and deceiving, ruining body and soul of mankind, men, women and children, he is breaking up our families and sowing seeds of hatred, strife, evil and murder. We see Satan’s damages all around us and yet we remain passive and almost regard them as normal. The power to beat it is close at hand if we would just connect with it.

Satan continually seeks to overcome God’s people by working to break down the barriers that separate us from the world. “In whom the god of this world 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.” (2 Corinthians 4:4) If you haven’t decided to follow Christ and live under His laws then you are servant of Satan. Sorry to have to put it so bluntly but that is the truth. Those with an unregenerate heart have love of sin and a willingness to cherish it and excuse it away. Those that have turned to Christ have a renewed heart and a hatred of sin and should be determined to resist it. When a Christian chooses to keep company with the ungodly and share in the ways of the world they expose themselves to great temptation. Satan is hiding close by and he will work very hard to pull the wool over your eyes. A continual indifference to the world will cause you to become more and more blinded to the assault. We must be different. The world must be able to identify a difference between one who professes to be a child of God and one who does not.

By conforming to the world we have converted our churches to the world. You cannot convert the world to Christ by becoming more like them. We must be different. The more familiar you get with sin the more you will see it as acceptable and you will be lulled into a comfort zone around the master of evil. If we knowingly place ourselves under temptation we will likely fall sooner or later.

Satan works most successfully through those who are least suspected of being under his control. So he goes after those most admired and honored. He uses anyone but specializes in going after the prize. He goes after people with talent, education and culture. These talents and qualities will grace the character of Christians and work in favor of true religion but they must be consecrated to God otherwise they become a powerful weapon for evil. Many a man of intellect and polish has become an instrument of evil in the hands of Satan. Remember the example of Solomon. Solomon obtained the wisdom that earned him the wonder and admiration of the world. Then he turned from his source of strength to rely upon himself and he became susceptible to temptation. This allowed the evil one to use this wise man more effectively to complete the evil mission.

Satan is working constantly to blind you to the fact that you, “wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12) And another warning, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) And, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11)

Ever since the fall of Adam the enemy has been exercising his power to oppress and destroy all he can. He is preparing right now for his biggest and his last campaign against the church of Christ. Everyone who is seeking to follow Christ and regards themselves as a true child of the King will be in major conflict with this relentless enemy. The more we try to be more like Christ, the more we will be in the cross-hairs of the sights in the attacks of Satan. All of our people that are active in the cause of Christ will be able to join in the testimony of Paul, speaking of serving the LORD with all humility of mind, with many fears and temptations.

Satan attacked Jesus Christ with all he had. He went at Christ with all the subtle temptations he could and the fiercest advances but Christ was repulsed at every conflict. The battles between Christ and Satan were fought on our behalf. The victory of Christ made it possible for us to conquer as well. Jesus Christ will provide strength to all who will seek it. No man can ever be overcome by Satan without giving consent. Satan has no power to control your will. He has no power to force you to sin. He can distress you and he can tempt you or try to confuse you but he cannot overtake you without you giving the willful go ahead. Satan can cause you a lot of agony but he can never defile you. Christ has conquered Satan already. This should give you the courage to fight on through the battle against sin and against the evil one. You have the power to defeat your worst enemy!

Fight on…God bless you all,

‘The Tubthumper’

YOUR WORST ENEMY

The judge slammed his gavel on the podium and immediately pronounced the verdict and the sentence. Guilty was the verdict and the sentence was divine and engaged all of mankind who should ever live upon the earth. The defendant and alleged offender was one named Satan, alias Beelzebub, Lucifer, Devil and Prince of this world. The sentence which was pronounced quickly was, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15) The judge, jury and executioner was, none other than the Great “I AM”, the creator of all and our LORD and savior.

Could this also be classified as prophecy?

This word, enmity means to create a feeling or condition of hostility; hatred; ill will; animosity or antagonism which is mutual to all parties. This enmity thing is not something that occurs naturally. When Adam committed the transgression against the law that God had laid out he imposed upon all mankind an evil nature. His actions placed us all in harmony with Satan when God’s intent was for us to be in opposition or difference. Man, along with Satan became evil through an act of apostasy. If God had not taken some severe action we would have been continuously united with Satan against God.

Satan worked over Eve with deception and then Eve became an accomplice to help move Adam into sin in a grand scheme to get full cooperation in warfare against God and His Kingdom. When Satan heard the sentence of a declaration of enmity between himself and the woman, and between his seed and her seed, he understood that he had been had and that man would somehow he able to resist his powers. Drat! Sassa-frassa-rassa he probably was muttering. How could this happen?

This does not stop the evil one and only serves to slow him down. Actually, the evil one thinks he will some-day win and steps up his efforts to try and win the next battle. His fury is kindled like a camper throwing birch twigs on the hot coals of the smoldering fire.

God’s grace that he lovingly placed in the soul of man has given us enmity against Satan. Without the grace of God and His love and redemption mankind would be totally captive to Satan and we would all be servants to do his evil. The result is that in our souls there rages this conflict where before the fall of man once was a soul at complete peace. For all that choose to access it we have the power of Jesus Christ that enables us to resist the efforts of the evil tyrant that lurks at every corner and is seeking us out. Through the love of Christ we can conquer the evil passions that draw us and we can abhor sin and flee from it.

When we look at how the world treated Jesus Christ we can see it as an example or picture of the type of antagonism or enmity existing between the Spirit of Christ and Satan. The Jews totally rejected Jesus. His purity and His holiness drew out the hatred of all the ungodly around Him. For a community of sensual and proud people the sinless life of self-denial that Jesus exhibited was too much for them to take. Once again we saw this enmity. This time it was the Jews eliciting enmity with the Christ. They would deny that Jesus was the messiah. Satan found some companions with these evil men and they all joined together in apostasy to conspire against Jesus the Christ the Champion of Truth.

Please understand this very important point otherwise you will leave yourself open to destruction. The very same enmity that was manifested toward Jesus Christ is and always will be manifested toward His followers. Whoever is able to recognize sin for what it is and call upon the LORD for strength to resist the temptations will surely attract the attention of the evil one. This battle between truth and evil will exist as long as sinners and sin remain part of the earth. There will never be any harmony between Christ and anyone or anything that serves Satan. The attack and persecution leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the Cross has not stopped. “Yea and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12)

Satan continues to fight and is constantly working to build up his kingdom in the battle against the Kingdom of God. There is and will be a constant attempt to deceive any of Christ’s followers and Satan would love nothing more than to lure you in and pull you away from your allegiance to Jesus Christ. He is always working to misconstrue and pervert the Scriptures to accomplish his objective. Satan is having a hay-day right now with all the false teachers and the preachers that are watering down and adding to scripture and not preaching the truth. These weak ones are falling into his hands. There is a constant effort to malign God’s people just as there always has been since it was all foreshadowed in Genesis 3:15. This enmity will continue until the rapture and the end of the battle in Revelation when Satan is cast into the lake of fire.

Satan continues to throw all the weight he can at us. He puts his entire power into combat and the battle continues to rage. The battle rages on because we do not connect with Christ the way He wants us to. We cannot see sin as repulsive and as abhorrent as Christ did. We cannot see it because we are not putting forth the effort to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We are so removed from Christ we are destitute of the Holy Spirit. Most of us do not connect with the malignity and the expansion of sin and we are blind to the power and character of the prince of the world. Mankind does not elicit enmity against Satan and his works because mankind is ignorant regarding his power and his malice. We don’t grasp the vastness of his warfare against the Church of Christ and against Christ Himself. The masses of our land are deluded and unaware. Most are caught up in all the enjoyment of life and ignorant to the destruction around them. Most don’t realize there is a mighty general of an evil army that has a massive attack plan with calculated maneuvers to war against Christ and to stop Him from saving souls.

How many times do you hear reference to Satan from professed Christians? Not often. Certainly not often enough! What about the clergy in the pulpits these days? There is an occasional mention of the battle here and there but the evidence of his activity and success is not addressed in near comparison to the gravity of the situation. Most people are neglecting the warnings about the subtlety of Satan and most seem to ignore his very existence. Most preachers of today wouldn’t touch the subject for fear of making some people feel uncomfortable. Well guess what? You should all be real uncomfortable! The enemy is after your soul people. He is out to kill you and your family. Wake up!

Continued… in the next post. Click here to go to part 2.

Have a Godly day,

‘The Tubthumper’

Blue and in Need of Rest

I listened on two separate occasions in the last week from news sources that concerns are rising as to the health effects of Americans never taking a day to rest. It is common knowledge that we as a country work harder and longer than any other. It was pointed out on these news clips that increased stress and other complications due to our hectic lifestyle is costing us in medical fees.

The American Psychological Association pointed out increased occurrences of financial and other recession-related difficulties, we Americans are struggling to balance work and home life and make time to engage in healthy behaviors, with stress not only taking a toll on our personal physical health, but also affecting the emotional and physical well-being of our families. The most common reason given by adults for not doing more to manage their stress was being too busy or not having enough time. We Americans also recognize that we are falling short in just about all areas of well-being, from the quality of our relationships with family and friends to getting enough sleep. It seems there is not enough will-power for Americans to stop on our own and rest up some. The power of temptation and desire to keep up with the Jones takes over. Like the Eveready Bunny we last longer and longer and longer, so we think. Ask any physician and they will tell you that rest is essential for physical health. When the body is deprived of sleep, it is unable to rebuild and recharge itself adequately. Your body requires rest.

All this leads me to think about the Blue Laws. A blue law is a type of law originally designed to enforce religious standards, particularly the observance of a day of worship or rest. When I was a youngster and the cold war was in full swing you couldn’t do anything on Sunday’s except worship God and spend time with family resting. What a novel idea. Guess what? It worked so well that we as a nation gave it up. Like so many other things that worked well for families were given up.

What I remember back then is not being able to do or buy anything on Sunday. All stores and businesses were closed. The Blue Laws have evolved over time, allowing for certain businesses to open their doors. Many of the laws were directly aimed at the sale of alcohol and what is commonly called adult beverages. Until 1991, no retail stores were allowed to open on Sundays. Prior to 1967, nothing opened. We were literally forced to spend time together, like it or not. Sure, I got irritated at least once when I needed something and had to wait until Monday to get it. But you know what? I got over it quite quickly and got on with life. Wouldn’t it be nice to wake up tomorrow to a life somewhat like we once knew?

Why not revive an observance of the Sabbath to help our nation with its health? You know what the Sabbath is right? After He created the world, God rested. He told His people to do the same thing, once a week. Then later Jesus Christ came to give us rest. And in the end, there’s an eternal Sabbath waiting for those who follow Him. Easy isn’t it? In the early history of the Church, the first Christians observed the Sabbath. We can find Biblical evidence such as Acts 3:1; 5:27-42; 21:18-26; 24:5; 24:14; 28:22. In the Old Testament we see that Moses established the law around the Sabbath. Anyone found desecrating the Sabbath was cutoff from society and put to death. (Exodus 20: 8-11, 31:14-15, 34:21). This law was not an arbitrary command, but was based on us having been made in God’s image, God’s resting on the seventh day after creation, and his blessing the seventh day and making it holy. When we read Hebrews 4:8-11, we can see that keeping the Sabbath is an abiding duty as prescribed in the fourth commandment. Reading Luke 23:56 we get that when the body of Christ was being prepared by His followers, they rested on the Sabbath before finishing their work.

Some say the Blue Laws originated by the Puritans and came over with the Pilgrims thus that is how they got the start in our law books. I am not sure of the origination but do know that the blue laws have covered a multitude of things that were prohibited on Sunday. I also know that some blue laws are still currently in force. The blue laws restrict activities or sales of goods on Sunday, to accommodate the Sabbath. The first blue law in the American colonies was enacted in Virginia in 1617. It required church attendance and authorized the militia to force colonists to attend church services. I doubt we will see the police forcing us to go to church anytime soon. In fact, Hell would likely freeze over before that happens again. I suppose if I moved to North Dakota I could see how it is still working there. Virginia had a blue law they referred to as the day of rest law which entitled every employee to a day of rest. It was overturned in 2004 due to lobbying efforts of major corporations that feared no one would work on Sunday. Actually there are twelve states with active blue laws: Alabama, Indiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia. Notably, Indiana is the only state in the country that bans beer, wine and liquor on Sundays. Many states still prohibit selling alcohol for on and off-premise sales in one form or another on Sundays at some restricted time, under the rationale that people should be in church on Sunday morning, or at least not drinking.

From the First Apology by Justin Martyr, dated to between 155-157 CE, “”Sunday, indeed, is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, inasmuch as it is the first day on which God, transforming the darkness and matter, created the universe; and on the same day our Saviour Jesus Christ rose from the dead. For they crucified Him on the day before Saturday; and on the day after, which is Sunday, He appeared to His apostles and disciples, and taught them these things which we have transmitted to you also for your earnest consideration.” The focus of Sunday for the first Christians was on the Lord and His creating and re-creating power. This emphasizes and points out God’s purpose of giving us a day of rest. “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it”, Exodus 20:11.

So what would be so bad about closing everything down on Sunday and resting, worshiping the Lord and spending time with family? We all know the answer. It is the same answer when asking what happened to Christmas and why the season starts earlier and earlier each year. Everything is designed around doing more business, the economy, and acquiring material things. They are no longer built around acquiring spiritual things. America out of balance! America lost its roots. We Americans have lost our way and we are all paying the price.

I’ll bet we can all agree that consciously setting apart some time to experience rest would refresh us, give us a taste of what is to come, and would make us all the more conscious of why God allowed us to be born here in America and what we are called to do while we remain. Along with it, who knows, we just might be able to save millions and millions of dollars on medical costs along the way. We should use our temporary times of Sabbath rests to remind us what God wants us to do so others may hear the gospel and one day experience the Sabbath rest that can only be possible through Jesus Christ.

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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 11:28-29.

Make it a New Years resolution to rest and worship one day a week.

God bless you all and may 2013 be a healthy and happy year for you,

“The Tubthumper”

Love me do, part two

God says a whole bunch about love in His word. In Matthew 5:43-48 it says, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” We are supposed to love our enemies. Oh man! Now that is a tough pill to swallow and we are supposed to pray for them. It’s one thing to get caught short on loving my neighbor but my enemies. Come on now…

In yesterday’s post I asked the question, “Do you think there is more love shown to humanity and between our neighbors today than in days gone by or do you think it is less? I think we can easily be assured there is less love being shared around the land today. Several years ago the son of the late Stephen Covey wrote a book called, “The Speed of Trust”. In it he had all the documented evidence that trust had reached an all-time low throughout the world. Nobody can trust anybody anymore either. There could be a series written and it could include, ‘the speed of commitment’ or ‘the speed of responsibility’ and of course, ‘the speed of love’. I’ll bet some interesting facts could be laid out on those subjects and I’ll bet there is a lot less love shown today. The speed of love has it’s brakes on and is somewhere around 5 mph.

“Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law (Romans 13:8). Everything that God has commanded us as to loving God and living together is summed up right there. Love God wholeheartedly and love your neighbors as yourselves and that is all that is required. Love is the fulfilling of the law. See how easy it is? Similarly in Galatians 5:13 -14 it says, “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Serve one another and love one another. Take action.

I pointed out yesterday that when it comes to love it is action that makes the difference. You can talk it all you want and you can preach it till the cows come home. It will not be noticed until action speaks louder than words. I mentioned the simple things like acknowledging people with a smile and a hug or handshake. Even just approaching and talking shows love. And don’t underestimate what a nice handwritten note would do for someone. When it comes to love we do better when we get as far from the automated technology as we can. Pastor Chuck Swindoll tells of the time he dashed off a quick note to someone on a yellow pad of paper, thanking them for something. Not too long after that, he found himself in their home, and to his surprise, he found that note framed on their wall! “The first thing I did was check it for spelling!” Swindoll shares, “You have no idea how much a simple note in your own handwriting (not emailed or typed) can mean to someone.”

Talk does little but action can move a mountain. Part of action is prayer. We should all be praying for God’s love to show through us. It was proven a long time ago that negative just soaks our brains; however, the positive stuff needs to be actively forced in. If we read God’s word often and pray often along with some accountability we can make purposeful change. One thing I have been doing is evaluating my-self at the end of each day as to whether I have glorified God. Did your day glorify God today? Don’t beat yourself up too bad if some days the answer is no because there is none righteous, not one. The only true righteous is the Lord. The more times you check yourself though the better the averages get. Give it a try.

So if we say we are a child of God we are supposed to live like we are a child of God. Verse 2 of Ephesians 4 tells us how we are to live, “With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love”. With all lowliness and meekness we are to live. With long-suffering and forbearing one another in love we are to live. Can you see it? How do each of us stack up at the end of the day when we ask, “Have I glorified God today? Have I lived in lowliness and meekness today? Have I with long-suffering (patiently enduring wrongs or difficulties), with all lowliness and meekness, forbearing (accepting pain and hardship calmly with no complaint) one another (that is anyone we relate with, it is each other) in love? Oh Lord, forgive me! To kind of pile on we read in 1 Peter 1:22, “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently”.

We are to bear fruit as explained in John chapter 15. We know the Holy Spirit is working in us when we have the fruit to back it up. When the fruit of the Spirit is in our lives it is love. Love for one another. Agape love, not the mushy television soap opera kind of love but the love that the Holy Spirit instills in us. Agape love goes to the Spirit level and is all about giving. It encompasses Joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, temperance and trust. Oh boy, there is the speed of trust coming up again. That’s for another post.

I need bring this to a close now.

If you are a Christian and say you are of God, a child of God, what action have you taken today to demonstrate God’s love. Are you talking the talk or are you walking the walk? Several reading this have a stamp on the forehead. The stamp is DNA. What is DNA? It means does not apply. But I assure you, it applies. It applies to all.

Sometime long ago someone either said something to me or wrote something to me that suck in my craw like barnacles on a dirty boat. It was, “What you do speaks to loudly that what you say I cannot hear”.

Let those words settle in.

God bless you all in Christ’s love,

“The Tubthumper”

Love me do

Back in 1959 while Paul McCartney was skipping school he was scribbling some song words on a notebook and dreaming of being a star one day. John Lennon added some lines to it and they scribbled “Another Lennon-McCartney Original” at the top of the page. What was born form that scribble was the first hit single from the Beatles. “Love Me Do” backed by “P.S. I Love You” was released on October 5, 1962. When the single was originally released in the United Kingdom, it peaked at number seventeen; in 1982 it was re-issued and reached number four. In the United States the single was a number one hit in 1964.

Love, love me do, You know I love you, I’ll always be true; So please, love me do; Whoa, love me do.

Love, love me do, You know I love you, I’ll always be true; So please, love me do; Oh, love me do.

Someone to love, Somebody new, Someone to love, Someone like you.

Love, love me do, You know I love you, I’ll always be true; So please, love me do; Oh, love me do.

Love, love me do, You know I love you, I’ll always be true; So please, love me do; Whoa, love me do. Yeah, love me do; Whoa, love me do.

Sounds simple doesn’t it? Well in reality we see mostly love, love me don’t. You know it’s likely when these teens wrote this song they were thinking of romantic love with the young ladies. To an extent what I am talking about today can go there but I am thinking now of agape love, the brotherly love like in Philly.

Actually I am writing this because of a strong prompting to do so. I know not why but I have learned recently to listen to those divine prompts. Most certainly I am no expert on the subject and almost any day you could grab me by the collar and say, “now was that the love of God I saw you show just then?” And I would shrink in shame.

Think about this, would you? Do you think there is more love shown to humanity and between our neighbors today than in days gone by or do you think it is less? I’ll give some time for you think about that. I promise that I’ll come back to it.

The prompting I have been getting is telling me that speech has little value. What I mean to say is that when it comes to love talk doesn’t mean anything. Love needs action. Love comes from emotions or should be an emotion. The word emotion is derived from motive or motion, e-motion. So love should motivate. It should motivate us to do kind things and helpful things for those we love.

We should be motivated to take action. But where is the action? I have been noticing that all around there is a lack of action. I know I am addressing fellow brothers and sisters that love the Lord and of course anyone else that should happen along to my humble little blog. So it’s possible I have a mix of audience of us and them. Or call it them and us. You know, we Christians that are “born again’ and filled with “God’s love” and those that have not made a commitment to the Lord and are still in the world. (As we call it.) A friend made me accountable not too long ago. A group of people had taken a view different than we (Christian’s) would take on a subject and I said, ‘”Well those yahoo’s should get a life”. Or something very much like that and he immediately thumped me. I know that brother loved me because he abruptly and lovingly put me in the place I needed to be. He said, “Frank, don’t refer to others that way, because we are to be different.” Now, those folks never heard my comment. My brother in-Christ knew my brain needed a jog though. He knew I needed a “check-up from the neck-up” as the late Zig Ziglar used to say. He was so right though. We are supposed be different. The world is always watching. As family in God’s Kingdom we are supposed to different. In the world but not of the world. Sometimes it seems to me that we are worse at what I am taking about than the world is.

So talk is cheap. I am certain you are pretty tired of hearing that “actions speak louder than words” right? Well, it doesn’t matter how overheard the cliché is, it won’t get any less true. And oh, how true it is. Love requires action and here is the most telling point. Love requires time. An investment in time is required and it is getting very hard to find fellow human beings that are willing to invest any of their time to express love for their neighbors. It is commanded of us. Let me repeat that, “It is commanded of us!” Now even though it is commanded of us we hoard that time and use it for ourselves instead of using it for what God intends. As I see people parceling out their time I see precious little of it parceled out for the love category. Yup, there is no time for love these days. Too busy! You know sometimes it even strikes me that the world is investing a little more time in showing love than we Christians are. I know it is a sad statement but I can’t help it. Several Saints around me seem to be short on time and effort in this category. Lest I be called the fire that’s calling the kettle black I remind you that I need this as much anyone. Many seem a bit lax on this one trait that is truly the number one request of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 16:14 says, “Do everything in love.” Short and to the point. It doesn’t get any plainer than that. Ok, the context of that short verse came just after we are told to stand firm in our faith and be resolute. We are to be firm but we are not to be the devils tool in the process. Someone said that the wrath of man will never, ever work the righteousness of God. And how can it? I mentioned this was a commandment. Check the 10 commandments out but first I’ll provide these verses. “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets”, (Matthew 22:36-40).

So love your neighbor as yourself. And who is your neighbor? I will remind you that according to scripture, your neighbor is anyone you can help. And guess what? They are wanting it and waiting for it. So when you respond to someone or you address someone or more importantly, if you are in the presence of someone then acknowledge they are there and show love and kindness. Such a short time it takes for a hello or hand shake or a hug or warm look in the eyes. But few invest it. That time and effort, I mean; and many feel unloved. Mother Teresa said, “The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”

Come back and I will finish this thought… Click Here to go to Part Two

Have a Godly day,

“The Tubthumper”

A Genesis Dysfunction Junction, Part 2

It all started with Jacob wrestling with Esau in his mother’s womb. Please see Genesis 25:20-26. Rebekah was unable to become pregnant. She was only able to become pregnant because God interceded on her behalf. So she became pregnant and she was aware something strange was going on inside her. She was alarmed about this as you might guess so she went to the Lord to ask Him what was going on. The Lord told her there twins inside her. He told her it was not just that twins were inside her but there were actually two nations inside that womb. The Lord told her clearly that the older of these twins inside her would serve the younger one. When the two boys were born and emerged the first one out was Esau but Jacob was clinging fast to Esau’s heel.

These things I mention above have set the course for Jacob. There is a discord between Isaac and Rebekah. Isaac wants his boy Esau to have the blessing because he was his favorite of the two children and Rebekah wants Jacob. In fact, she is fully in tune with what God wanted from the beginning and also Jacob was her little darling. The two were split on affections for their children. They were each deceiving or being underhanded toward their mate.

Now don’t forget too that earlier Jacob purchased the birthright from Esau because Esau really didn’t care about it. He only cared about the immediate fulfilling of his fleshly desires.

This Is a Hebrew narrative which is scenic. Action moves along from scene to scene. As chapter 27 opened up it looks like Isaac is ill and bedridden, maybe an invalid for some time and he thinks he may die any time. We see the scene that he wants that nice tasting venison. That is what he is thinking of and lusting for and so he wants Esau to get him the barbecued venison by hunting and preparing the meat. Isaac can then revel in the glory of his masculine hunter-man son and then he will give him the blessing. This is all coming from the flesh and not the spirit. The Characters are always the central element in the plot. Esau was a profane and materialistic person that didn’t care about spiritual things and yet Isaac wanted to give him the blessing because he thought Esau was the greater man and he favored that son. Isaac was not in tune at all with what God desired.

Enter Abraham… when Abraham knew that his days were short he looked for a wife for his son Isaac. That is what Isaac should have been doing for his sons. But the only thing on Isaac’s mind as he was getting old was getting that blessing to his favorite boy Esau. Even though he knew God meant for it to go to Jacob from when God told his wife at the beginning. Surely you don’t think Rebekah kept her conversations with God to herself. I believe Isaac was going against Gods will because I believe Isaac knew God’s will was to have Jacob receive the blessing. I believe Isaac knew this before Jacob was born and I believe Rebekah reminded him of this many times while the boys were growing up. It is inconceivable to think that Isaac was not aware of God’s words to his wife that “the older would serve the younger”. (Gen. 25:23) Can you imagine Rebekah not telling Isaac over and over again as they were butting heads over the two boys throughout their lives? I cannot.

I have referenced many commentaries about this and know there are countless Bible Scholars that also hold this view.

I believe Isaac knew who the birthright was to go to. He knew God’s will. Isaac was directly trying to go against God’s will and give it to Esau when it was meant for Jacob. Some say Isaac had no idea it was Jacob he was blessing instead of Esau but I’m not so sure that Issac didn’t kind of half catch on that it was Jacob. Remember in the scripture where Isaac said the voice was Jacobs but the hairy face was Esau’s?

I must admit that when reading this story some years ago it was all about Jacob stealing the blessing from Esau. Now, however, the situation looks different. We can see a man that was not depending on God. We can see a man that had forgotten about his dependence on God and he was acting fully in the flesh. He was trying to have his way and figured he could direct where the blessing would go. We can see lots of dysfunction going on in the story. Isaac was trying to deceive God. Jacob was trying to deceive Esau. Rebekah was trying to deceive Isaac and help God with His plan. Esau was just being a worldly man as usual.

The characters are contrasted with each other. Jacob and Rebekah both knew that God had chosen Jacob but they thought God couldn’t fulfill His purpose without their help. That was a mistake. The trickery goes on and the blessing goes to Jacob which is right where God wanted the blessing to go. In the next scene Esau was full of anger for not getting his blessing and wanted to kill Jacob. The plot resolution occurs as Jacob was sent away for his protection from his brother.

In the end we see that Isaac lived to be 180 years old and died in the presence of both of his sons. (Gen. 35:28)

We have witnessed here a permissive father and a controlling mother. We also have an errant older son and a deceptive younger son. As mentioned earlier this all looked like dysfunction. We must not forget that Isaac’s family is one of the most important in the Bible because God used it to build the nation of Israel. No family is perfect. Mine is not and surely yours is not either. God uses broken people from broken families to accomplish His perfect purpose. He chose to do that and chooses to do similar things today. God can use our brokenness to draw us closer to Him.

Let us all take the malfunctioning parts of our lives to the Lord for He will provide the healing and rebuilding and get us on the right path.

God bless your day,

‘The Tubthumper’

A Genesis Dysfunction Junction

A Bible story I have read and heard over and over again has struck me in a different way than ever before. It is funny how we look at something a certain way and then all the sudden we see it in a different light. In Genesis 27 and 28 Moses, the writer, the story teller and the author of the Pentateuch describes Isaac. My attention turns to Isaac this time which is a different approach for me. I always looked at this particular story as being mainly about Jacob receiving his blessing as designed by God.

We get the scene laid out for us with narrative that Isaac is ill, old and blind. We have a story line that describes him as not thinking he will live long. In the end, however, we see him living for many years after this story. Is it possible Isaac was using this situation timing to do his will against the Lords? We can unfortunately relate to what he was doing.

Let’s look at the big picture. As we look at the background on Isaac we find he lived a long life. (Gen. 35:28) Therefore he lived a few decades longer. He also didn’t travel much and never moved away from the same area. (Gen 35:27) When we take the larger part of the Old Testament into consideration we get to fill in the blanks. We know that Isaac was considered one of the irreplaceable (trio) of founding fathers of God’s people just as Abraham and Jacob.

We can deduct that Isaac was always content with the simple pleasures of life. He didn’t seem to travel and do some of the other things the great men of the Bible have done. Isaac obviously knew God and feared God. Evidence is present that the Lord spoke to Jacob twice about being what He called, the God of your father Isaac. (Gen. 28:13; 46:1-3) We also can find that two times Jacob spoke of, ‘the fear of his father Isaac’. So we see the respect. (Gen. 31:42; 53) It is clear to me that Jacob saw through Isaac that God is the one that comforts and He is also the one worthy of reverence or ‘fear’. This is the ‘The fear of God’ we so miss in our land today.

As we look at the narrative of the current passage in Gen 27 we need to remember that Isaac is the only man in the entire Bible that was tied upon an altar, saw a knife coming at his heart and then heard the voice of an Angel stop his impending death as his father’s sacrifice. He knew intimately that God had spared him and was worthy of fear and worship. That is what makes this situation so troubling. This great man is going through the same things we experience!

Isaac married his cousin Rebekah and they shared a spirituality and love for God. They made some big mistakes as parents in their child rearing. They were divided on their affections between their twin children. (Gen. 25:28) We can’t tell if they didn’t bring the two children up with the word of God or if it is possible they went astray as some do with backsliding or being a prodigal. It is hard to pin this down because the two children are grown at this point. It does look like the word of God ended up being neglected and because of that issue alone the family suffered. (Gen.27:41) It was because they strayed from the word of God that when the time came for Isaac to pass on the treasured blessing He followed his logic and not the spirit to want to give it to Esau. It was evident to all that God had chosen Jacob.

Rebekah thought she could help the Lord out by scheming to get the blessing over to Jacob. Isn’t that like what happens sometimes in our lives? We think we need to help God get things done when in reality he doesn’t need us for anything.

The key descriptive is that Isaac has forgotten about God in his daily life which is similar to how we forget about the Lord. Because he forgot about God he wasn’t following the will of God. He was operating out of pride and selfishness or in the flesh rather than following the lead of the Holy Spirit. Isaac was all about enjoying Esau’s hunting skills and manliness. Rebekah also acted in the flesh by trying to do what was right through her own actions. Isaac knew that God wanted the blessing to go to Jacob so he was trying to pass the blessing on to Esau against the Lords desire. Jacob, the scoundrel, goes along and works with the deception. It looks like dysfunction junction and a lack of trust all about the family. It strikes me this time as a sort of soap opera.

Our author, Moses, guides us to make certain conclusions about Isaac’s spiritual condition. We have the characters, the plot and the plot resolution. We have the conflict and the tension to make it all exciting.

To be continued…

Follow the rest of the story in Part 2 by clicking here.

Please have a Godly day,

“The Tubthumper”

Are we a bunch of losers? Part 7

Conclusion:

The fourth Church Jesus addresses is the church of Thyatira and He starts by acknowledging they have grown from where they started, “I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.” But then comes the reprimand, “Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.” It sounds to me like He is not happy with them, to say the least… So now comes a further warning, Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.” So to those of you that are somehow righteous you better stick with the program until I come get you. Jesus then tells of the reward for doing as He commands, “To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’ – just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give that one the morning star. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Hear it? Listen to the Holy Spirit? Do not follow false teachers.

Church number five is the church at Sardis and He gets right to the point, “I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” And His complaint comes clearly, “Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent.” The warning is given, “But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.” And lastly the hope is there for those that remain steadfast in the Lord, “Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Listen to the Holy Spirit! Are you pretending to be alive but you are really dead inside?

The church at Philadelphia is the sixth church He addresses and as it is written He is happy with this church. Jesus addresses them lovingly, “I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.” He spends no time leveling any complaints to the congregants of the church at Philadelphia. He does warn them to hold tight though, “I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.” And provides further hope for them, “The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the Churches.” Continue to listen to the Holy Spirit!

The last church of the seven is the church of Laodicea where He indicates that we need to be full in and not sitting on the fence. He says, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! can see.” Then he levels the complaint with them, “So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. And if that doesn’t get your attention what will? Here comes the warning, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” Oh yes, If anyone knocks they can come in. He is that close. Just reach out and be saved! The hope he gives last as he says, “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the Churches.” Notice it again, “Whoever has ears, let them hear the Spirit!” Don’t be luke-warm, be sure you are all-in!

Wow! After reviewing those seven churches, take a deep look at your church and then our church and tell me how you think you stack up. Be honest. God knows it all anyway. Have you forsaken the love you had at first? Have you fallen? Has the sanctuary become a synagogue of Satan? Have you become idol worshipers? Have you been led into sexual immorality? Do you claim you are alive when in actuality you are dead? Are you neither cold nor hot but lukewarm? Have you watered down the scriptures and become false teachers? Have you become overprotective and are you feeding the fish and maintaining the aquarium instead of fishing for men?

Remember the consequences as you go forward. Humble yourselves before God and men. Do not remain comfortable. Take a risk. Trust God and go! Time is at hand and life is but a vapor. God will judge each of His people according to the calling placed on them. Walk worthy of the vocation. (Eph. 4:1)

“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me”. (Luke 9:23)

Take up your cross. Let’s be Christians first and Americans second. Have you done enough? How will you be evaluated? Let’s not as “The Church” be a bunch of losers.

God bless you,

“The Tubthumper”

Are we a Bunch of Losers? Part 6

Part 6

I mentioned earlier that you should evaluate the church, your church and your life. Let me draw your attention to the first six books of Revelation.

The first church Jesus addressed is the Church as Ephesus. He started with giving them a commendation, “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.” Oh, but all is not good because He then rebukes them, “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen!” If you have studied the Bible much at all you should know that love is one of the top three topics if not the one greatest of all. They had forsaken the LOVE! And then comes the warning, “Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”(In other words He would leave them in darkness!) And then He gives them a promise, “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” Now there is some fine motivation. Have you forsaken the Love?

The second church in the evaluation is the church at Smyrna. He starts again with an accolade. I think this may be where the “sandwich” style of delivering some criticism in the business world might have come from. It is usually the way we get something positive as the first slice of bread and then the filling is the rough stuff before the last slice added is a word of hope and praise. Jesus tells them, “I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” Ouch! Next comes the warning, “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Lastly he gives the hope, “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the Churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.” Notice the hint to listen to what the Holy Spirit says for the things churches are to do. Be sure you are not a synagogue of Satan.

Church number three is the church of Pergamum. Right away we see the praise coming, “I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.” Not long after, however, comes the complaint, “Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.” He is warning them against false teachers and sexual immorality which we have plenty of in these days. The warning is sharp, “Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” And He finishes with the hope, “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.” Once again He says to listen to the Holy Spirit! Do not worship idols or be committing sexual immorality.

The fourth Church Jesus addresses is the church of Thyatira and He starts by acknowledging they have grown from where they started, “I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.” But then comes the reprimand, “Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.” It sounds to me like He is not happy with them, to say the least… So now comes a further warning, Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.” So to those of you that are somehow righteous you better stick with the program until I come get you. Jesus then tells of the reward for doing as He commands, “To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’ ¬- just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give that one the morning star. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Hear it? Listen to the Holy Spirit? Do not follow false teachers.

Please join me in the next post (JUST CLICK HERE) for the conclusion as we review the last three churches and bring this series to a close.

God bless your day,

‘The Tubthumper’

Are we a Bunch of Losers, Part 5

So what is a healthy New Testament Church anyway?

A New Testament church is a church in which God is present through His Spirit, and in which He is powerfully at work to glorify Himself by manifestations of His power and grace. A New Testament church is a church where the fruits of the Spirit are as evident as the manifestations of His power. That is the kind of church we desire to be. We as individuals are “THE CHURCH”. Remember that it is ‘THE BODY’ of believers. The saints! Therefore, we as individuals are to strive to be full of the Spirit, exhibiting the fruit of the spirit and glorifying God by manifestation of His power and grace in our lives. We are to be different!

A healthy church is one that is founded upon the person and work of Jesus Christ and His infallible Word, the Bible. The first three chapters of the Book of Ephesians deal with essential Bible doctrines. Paul’s appeal to these saints to live godly lives in the last three chapters is rooted in the sound doctrine of chapters 1-3. I don’t have room to address that here but please go and read it for yourselves.

You will also notice that the subject matter of the last half of Ephesians has to do with relationships, primarily relationships in the church. In the first half of chapter four, Paul makes his appeal for unity and growth. Then, in the last half of this fourth chapter, Paul shows how faith in Christ requires a radical change in the way the believer relates to others. Relationships were an important part of Paul’s teaching, and they should be important in our teaching and church life as well. I will point out again that relationships involve intimacy and closeness. Those are two scary words in our society today. We rather isolate ourselves and communicate by means of internet like I am now. We communicate through Facebook and email. Personal contact is the last thing we want to do. We have become a non- relational world. Intimate and face to face communication is becoming extinct. Love and the manifestation of love require action and it requires time. If we are unwilling to invest the time to show others we love by indicating they exist by showing personal action to speak directly to them and acknowledge them we will always be perceived as unloving. And the perception by others is everything. We need to be clear that we have God’s love and we share it.

Let’s get back to the subject before I go off in another direction…

Looking back to the Bible in Acts we see the start of ‘The Church’. The church that is described in Acts 2:41-47 is a Jewish church, worshipping as we would expect of a group of new Jewish converts. It is a church of very new believers, who exhibit the vital signs of new life in Christ. This is not a church that has “arrived;” it is a church that has a good start and is moving in the right direction. It is a church that loves God and others. It is a Spirit-filled church that is moving toward the fulfillment of the Great Commission. But it is not a perfect church in any case. It still has some growing to do and it will.

What does this church have to teach us, to teach our church? We should always be troubled by the words of our Lord to the church at Ephesus as recorded in Revelation 2:1-7. The Church at Ephesus has “departed from their first love”.

I believe our text in Acts 2 greatly helps us discern the answer to these questions. To lose one’s ‘first love’ is to cease to love as you once did, at the beginning. Acts 2:41-47 describes the church’s first love, and thus it describes the deeds that one who has lost his first love must once again do. The early church in Jerusalem may not be the perfect pattern for all that we do as a church today, but it is an excellent example of a church that is marked by love. It was an example of a church that has a love for God and love for others.

We should evaluate ourselves and we should evaluate our church of today. Now when I say our church of today I am talking about the body of believers and the organized church as well.

We see in the book of revelation what Jesus does when he evaluates the church and what He expects.

Take an evaluative look at your local church and then do the same for your life because you are the church and then also think about God’s church in the bigger sense of things. I mean globally. Let’s take a look at what Jesus thought about the seven churches he evaluated. Let us evaluate where we are headed.

In the next two posts I will go over what Jesus saw regarding each of these churches and how he addresses them. It would serve us well to see where we have fallen and how history can repeat itself. We may want to take note as well to what happened to these churches as a result.

See you next time as we conclude with a walk through the first six books of The revelation of Jesus Christ. (Click Here for continuation)

Please have a Godly day today,

“The Tubthumper”