Category: The Meat

Items of interest to more advanced Christians. Those that have a good grasp on Bible knowledge, theology and doctrine.

You Must View God in 3-D

trinityThree 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

God Eternal Security 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

eternal-security-of-the-believerWe 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 7th 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

Eternal SecurityThis 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

security_blanket_3Back 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

eternmanThe 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,

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,

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,

“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,

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,

With confidence I now draw nigh,

And “Father, Abba, Father,” cry.

 

Believe and live!

“The Tubthumper”

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Finders Keepers, Part 2

demas-2The 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. Lost sheep3 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

findersSo 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

A Genesis Dysfunction Junction, Part 2

birthannouncementIt 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,

FJ1‘The Tubthumper’

A Genesis Dysfunction Junction

Esaus blessingA 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

church7Conclusion:

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,

FJ1“The Tubthumper”

Are we a Bunch of Losers? Part 6

Christ Church StellartonPart 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

church29So 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”

 

 

 

Are we a Bunch of Losers, Part 4

church-wallpaperWhat about us?

I can’t leave this subject without pointing out the responsibility of the believer.  God uses the believer in many ways to build His church.  For this position I will turn to the 6th chapter of Acts and look in verses 1-7. In verse 1 we see that disciples were multiplied which is our commandment.  We are to go and make disciples.  The number of disciples was multiplied: Multiplied meant to them that souls were added to the kingdom and the church was growing.  I need to mention here that growing pains were felt as the church was growing just like it happens now-days.  There were two sides involved in this church, the Grecian Jews and the Hebrews.  Apparently the Hebrews were being slighted and there was some complaining going on.  We see in verse 2 the Apostles were responsible for the church and they had to carry out both a spiritual ministry and a material ministry of helping the needy.

The church then lived very close. They shared everything and knew what everyone was doing.  They had everything in common and probably had something like a commissary. When the Bible mentions “tables” they are actually stations where money and food was distributed.  Each day the food and other things were given out according to need.  This is where the problem arose regarding some of the widows allegedly getting more than others.  By the way, all widows were completely taken care of by the church.  What a great concept!  Oh, one other thing, we must realize that we are not apostles. Apostleship was unique and not something we can repeat.  We are not apostles.  This is one of the “river of differences” between then and now.

The church was to look among the congregants to appoint seven men that were spirit-filled to act as “deacons”.  The word deacon literally was not present and I use it as descriptive. (They were to look for men of honest report and men full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom.) This will allow the apostles to continue in the ministry they were appointed to and continue steadfast in prayer and the ministry of the word.   The Apostles wanted to remain devoted to the most important duties.  Notice the priority of prayer first.  Pray steadfastly!  They appointed Stephen, Philip, Prochurus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas.  All seven men have Greek names showing that they came from the Grecian numbers to represent them fairly.

In verse 6 they prayed and laid hands on the men.  Laying on of hands was used in the Old Testament to confer blessing, transfer guilt from sinner to sacrifice and to commission a person for a new responsibility.  I notice they prayed first and then laid hands on them.  Most of the time today we do it in the opposite pattern, we lay on the hands and then pray.

The last verse, verse 7, shows the number of disciples multiplied and a great number of the priests were obedient to the faith.  This meant they were accepting the preaching of the apostles that proclaimed a sacrifice that made the old sacrifices unnecessary. They became obedient to the faith.  Luke pauses throughout his story to summarize the progress of the gospel and the growth of the Christian community. This last verse was one of five summaries he gave.

We can see a theological principle here. God makes his will known to believers in the book of Acts.  God uses a variety of means to guide his people. In this passage he uses other believers.   Theology of work is evident in this passage.  It is service… Serving God, serving society and serving wherever needed.  The spirit filled men that were chosen as “deacons” to take care of the tables did not complain because they couldn’t do what the apostles did.  They served where they were needed. Overseeing the food distribution was just as important as the work of preaching the word of God.  Commitment to service needs to be our foundation.  “The one constant is that God directs our paths in a variety of ways—of this we can be confident!”

So then, how should individual Christians apply this principle today?

We should all be willing servants of the Lord wherever we are needed.  We need to understand that being filled with the spirit and having wisdom equips us to heal any division in our communities or churches. It allows us to assist in the growing pains that will naturally occur from church growth. Every job is reliant on the Spirit to do good work.  Every work we do has the capacity to be a means of participation in God’s plan for the world by the power of the Holy Spirit. Believers’ need to serve where we are needed.  If we are obedient to the Lord and follow His word then He will do the rest.

There is so much more in the Bible about what we are to do as believers and I could do over 100 posts on this subject alone. I probably will before I am done.  If we take the big picture it comes down to one concept once we are part of the Kingdom and it is ‘The Great Commission’.  You can find it in Matthew 26: 16-20. Simply stated, ‘The Great Commission’ is comprised of three parts: 1) Make disciples, 2) Baptize them, 3) Teach them to observe all things that I have commanded you.  That is Divinely Authoritive and The Great Commission is job number one of ‘The Church’ and so it is job number one for us. This is the umbrella under which all of our functions should take place.

Over the years man has distorted what God’s word has brought forth and people go to organized churches today that are miles away from what God intended.  People are getting false teaching and heresy and the only way they can see the difference is to read and listen to the truth.  The truth is God’s word as it was written.  As I mentioned in the first post, the message has been dumbed down, changed by mankind to suit their needs and watered down to draw crowds and not offend anyone.  The truth is needed!  True disciples of the Lord are never offended by the truth!  We seek it, and we want to get to the meat of true spirituality.

We are to be intimately involved with each other and every saint to insure that others are equipped for ministry and then they can go on and minister to others.  We are to equip others to the building up of the body of Christ.  The body of Christ, wow!  That is ‘The Church’ we have talking about.

I am out of space today and need to close by asking you to go to the Word and read these scriptures: Proverbs 3:5; Colossians 2:8-11; Proverbs 1:25-30; Proverbs 8:14-17; Isaiah 5:21; Isaiah 30:1-3; Isaiah 40:13-14, Job 38:2-7; Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; Romans 3:18; timothy 3:16-17; and last but not least 2 Peter 1:2-4.

Do not rely on the wisdom of men for it will let you down.  “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding”, Proverbs 3:5.  

(Click Here to) –  Join me in the next post as we look at the necessities of being a healthy “New Testament Church”.

May God bless your day today,

“The Tubthumper”

Are we a Bunch of Losers, Part 3

Failing-Church-plantThe stark reality of it all…

““Millions of American evangelicals are absolutely shocked by not just the presidential election, but by the entire avalanche of results that came in,” R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in Louisville, Ky., said in an interview. “It’s not that our message — we think abortion is wrong, we think same-sex marriage is wrong — didn’t get out. It did get out. “It’s that the entire moral landscape has changed,” he said. “An increasingly secularized America understands our positions, and has rejected them.””.  From The New York times, November 12, 2012.

Why is America increasingly secularized?  Because the ‘The Church’ has failed.  We find in the book of Acts how the church should be.  How God meant it to be.  Let’s take a look at how the church should look to us. I say should.

By reading God’s word in Acts 2:42-47, we can see the first of several assessments of the state of the church.   We should first note that the text begins and ends with a statement about the unusual growth of the church.  Growth comes from identifying disciples and helping them to discover their spiritual gifts and then equipping and training them to turn their spiritual gifts into ministry that grows ‘The Kingdom’. The church gets built on disciples who are willing to take up their crosses and die for our Lord. (Matt.16:24)

From reading in the book of Acts you can know that in the big picture the Church was meant to be a vibrant, balanced, growing community of disciples of Jesus Christ.  Discipleship comes in response to the Gospel and the Gospel Is Love.  In Verse 42 of Acts it lists four of the activities to which the church devoted itself and verses 43-47 serve to further define the four activities.  We should, therefore, consider each of the four activities along with Luke’s further description of them.

The four activities of the earliest church are introduced to us as the priorities of the church. These are the four things to which these saints devoted themselves. These were not options. These were the fruit of a genuine conversion and of life in Christ.  Here they are and they are not meant to be kept as a secret.

The Apostles’ Teaching: We should focus on one aspect of the apostles’ teaching.  The Apostles proclamation of the gospel was recognized as authoritative, due to the authentication of God through miraculous works. Please remember that Peter reminded his audience that the teaching of Jesus had been divinely accredited by the Father. The apostles’ teaching has been preserved in the New Testament Scriptures, so that we have their instruction as well as the early church.  We can never over-emphasize the importance of sound, biblical teaching. The Word of God is the foundation and starting point for every aspect of the Christian life. I need to point out that it is the unchanged and complete Word of God I am talking about.  Not the false teachings that prevail today.  At the conclusion of this series I intend on looking at evaluating your church.  If you do not attend a church that has a Pastor or minister expounding on the complete and never-changing Word, giving you the bad with the good and everything in between.  You need to find a church that does. It is time we fired the imposters.

Fellowship: The term Luke uses for “fellowship” in the text is a much broader term than our English word. Essentially, “fellowship” means “joint participation” or “sharing something in common.” It is thus a kind of partnership. In Philippians 2:1, the term is used of a common sharing in the Holy Spirit. In Philippians 3:10 and 1 Peter 4:13, it is used of sharing in Christ’s sufferings. In Galatians 2:9, it appears to be a sharing together in ministry. The most common expression of “fellowship” in the New Testament is that of sharing financial and material resources.  It was giving to one another when there was a need. One can “fellowship” with fellow believers in a number of ways, including the partaking of meals and engaging in prayer. If Acts 2:44-45 is Luke’s further description of what fellowship looked like in the newly-born church in Jerusalem, then his emphasis would fall on the fellowship of sharing one’s material goods with others.  By reading in Acts you will find that no member of the church had a need that went unmet.  If there was a need it was filled by another member of ‘The Church’. People took care of each other. That was love. It takes intimacy and closeness. Two scary words for today.

The Breaking of Bread: Breaking bread is not always a reference to the observance of Communion.  The expression might simply refer to the eating of a meal together. After he said this, Paul took bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all, broke it, and began to eat (Acts 27:35). The sharing of a meal was perhaps the most intimate form of fellowship one could have with fellow believers. In the ancient near-eastern world, when a guest was invited to a meal with his host, it was incumbent on the host to provide protection for the guest. This would partly explain the actions of Lot when the men of Sodom wanted to do harm to his guests (Genesis 19:1-8). The eating of a meal is also used as a description of our fellowship with God.

The Prayers: Luke is telling us that in its very early days the saints in Jerusalem diligently persisted in the observance of the stipulated times of Jewish prayer at the temple. These were newly-saved Jewish believers who were just beginning to grasp the significance of the things they had done as Old Testament Jews, even though they were unbelievers at the time. Throughout the four gospels in the New Testament prayer is emphasized over and over.

This text has been used by many to describe the essential functions of a church. The danger we can run into is that it becomes a “to do” list of activities.  If we do all these things, then we feel like we are obedient and in a worse case, we may even be proud that we are biblical. (self-righteous) The test for ‘The Church’ is not just doing the right things.  The test is more a matter of having the right attitudes.  The success comes from having the right heart and maintaining right relationships. It wasn’t just what the church in Jerusalem did that Luke is trying to convey in his writings.  What he wants us to know is how and why they did the things they did.  We need to be aware that in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus condemned charity, prayer, and fasting that was done in the wrong spirit, and for the wrong reasons (Matthew 6:1-18).

Join me in the next post JUST CLICK HERE and we will have a look at the responsibility of the believer.  Is that you? I know it is me.

Until the next time,

FJ1

 

‘The Tubthumper’

A Bunch of Losers, Part 2

church05

We left off yesterday with a look at two parables and I hope you opened your Bibles and read the actual scriptures for yourselves.  We know about the ‘Rich Young Ruler’ that wanted to get to the Kingdom but would not give up the material things he acquired in order to have eternal life.  It seems like what we would call a no-brainer doesn’t it?  But humans just don’t see it that way.  We are mortals that think we will live forever.  In my business I am consistently pointing out the risks people face only to hear, “it won’t happen to me”.  I am always amused when one of my clients begins reviewing the ownership of their assets.  It gets me when they say, “If anything happens to me what happens to this stuff?”  I always very quickly point out that something will happen. Yes, you will die, so prepare.  And I will die.  We all will come to room temperature sooner or later.  When it happens it always is too soon.

We looked at the ‘Rich Fool’ that wanted to build bigger barns to hold his stuff but didn’t know he was about to die that night.  You know, just before the parable of the ‘Rich Fool’ Jesus addressed another unknown character from the crowd that had a question.  It was what led to him giving the parable.  Jesus didn’t spend too much time on the question because it was a guy that wasn’t happy about how much inheritance he was getting and wanted Jesus to help him get more from his brother.  He and his brother had to settle that score themselves.  The greedy brother wanting the inheritance was not following the ideal of living in harmony with his brother. “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1) We can assume this man knew the Scriptures but did not care much. The greedy brother treasured riches more than his relationship with his brother. He did not love people. Verse 15 gives us a big clue as to what the point of the parable of the ‘Rich Fool’ was going to be.  Jesus condemns greed and warns that even if the man gets a larger share of the inheritance, it will not bring life.

The point of the parable is not that death may come at any time, however, that centering one’s life on possessions and pleasures is not to be the focus.  The kingdom is at hand!  The message was and is, that we are not to put too much emphasis on acquiring wealth. People think that if they can only get enough material things these things will produce the abundant life.

What profit will it be to gain the world and then lose our soul?  We need to be careful to not get caught up in covetousness.  In our society it seems to sneak up on us and get us no matter how hard you try to ward it off.  It is like being that frog in the cold water on a fire that slowly turns to boiling and eventually takes your life.  The experience we should get from this is to spend much time in prayer and in the Word.  We should concentrate on Godly things and that is where our treasure should lie.

Getting back to the main subject at hand, we would need to surrender everything. Not just most of it but, I mean every ounce of all we desire in order to completely follow Christ.  I left off by saying, “We are all unwilling to take that step”.   We go away in sorrow and we live in some kind of faith that seems to comingle the parts of God’s word we can deal with and the parts of the world we must partake of.  We are so weak!  And it is so shameful.

In many ways we are much more deceived than the two rich guys I mentioned earlier.  Satan is having his way with us.  We and the people in our nation are reaping the consequence.  Let’s face it.   We are letting God down.  Revival is needed and revival starts in the heart.  Has your heart waxed cold? If not, get back in the race.  The time is now!  I read somewhere the other day that when people really know Christ they ‘talk about Him’.  How much do we talk about Christ each day?  How many times do we avoid talking about Christ when we should because we don’t want to make waves or we don’t want to make someone uncomfortable.  Maybe it is so it won’t make us uncomfortable?

We all read about prophecy and we know about the prophecy that has already come true.  We know about the great falling away and we can see it is happening now.  We read about the false teachers and they are about us.  But we let them do it. Why? We are responsible.  Each and every one of us owns our piece of the problem. We need to take up our crosses.

We just had a national election.  Listen to what was said by one national Christian leader, “I didn’t hear any of the candidates say that we needed to call our nation to prayer. I didn’t hear any of the candidates say that we needed to ask God for help. I don’t believe there is leadership in Washington that can solve this problem. We just deal with it as issues for the day, and it kicks the can further and further down the road. We need God’s help to solve this problem – we can’t go without God. What has happened is we have allowed ourselves to take God out everything that we do – and I believe that God will judge our nation one day” , Rev. Franklin Graham.

As “The Church” We Are Losing the Race.

Check back with me for the next post (JUST CLICK HERE) and we can see what we are supposed to look like as “The Church”.

God bless you all,

scan0012“The Tubthumper”

 

Are we a bunch of losers?

church29Are we just a bunch of Losers?

As the “Church” are we failing?  Are we just a bunch of losers?  This will be a series of several posts on the state of the church and what is happening.  As I began writing the content led me to first “What is the Church?”  After that I wanted to look at what the Bible teaches “the church” should look like, what happens to us by relating two parables and then it led to an evaluation based on the way Jesus evaluated the church in Revelation chapter 2.

Please strap your seat-belts on and ride with me as we begin with Part 1:

Are we Americans first and Christians second or are we Christians first and Americans second? What do you think of when someone mentions the ‘the Church’.  If you think it is some organization in the next county or some building up the street, then think again.  The church, my friend, is you and it is Me. The church is a group of people.  It is the believing souls that follow Christ.

“‘Church’ might be a denomination, a building, or an organized group of believers, but THE Church consists of followers of Jesus Christ who have been saved by grace through faith in him—the ‘body of Christ’. Instead of pointing fingers and saying the ‘church’ has failed at this or that, we might want to pause and take a hard look at ourselves first. Is the church failing us or are we failing the church?” – G.S. West.

The church is failing because we want to be like the world.  To completely believe in the Gospel will destroy our lives as Americans.  We have all compromised what we have been taught.  We have all forsaken the word of God.  We are a bunch of two faced hypocrites!  I use that strong language because it is true.  We are supposed to be different.  The Bible says, “They will know we are Christians by our love”.   It also says that we would easily be recognized by our fruit.

What has happened is that we have been watered down so far that we cannot be picked out of the crowd any longer.  If we all were in God’s word and in prayer each day as we are commanded something amazing would happen.  We would be so profoundly different from everyone else that the world would have to sit up and take notice.  What if preachers today expounded God’s word from what was written instead of making up their own?  A few still hold to Gospel but most do not.  What I see are preachers that only talk about the pleasantries involved and somehow skip the issue of sin and the wrath of God. There are so many false teachers out there now it is frightening.  We have all bought into the health and wealth philosophy in some extent if not wholly and it cannot be denied.  We have done it without even being completely aware it happened.  It has been like the story of how you can boil a frog.  If you try to put a frog in hot water to kill him he will just jump out quickly to safety.  If you want it done you must put the frog in a pot of cold water and let him swim around and get comfortable.  Then turn up the heat slowly and bring the water to a boil while the frog is sleeping.  And that’s it, he’s cooked!  And yes, we are cooked!  We have all been slowly boiled into the world.

Do you know the parable of the “Rich Fool” or the parable of the “Rich Young Ruler”?  Both of them serve as good examples of where we have come.  And the fix we are in.  The parables are great so read them all.  The Rich Fool parable can be found in Luke chapter 12 starting at verse 13.  Just prior to the parable on the Rich Fool Jesus was cautioning against covetousness. The text shows Jesus teaching about being ready for the redeemer.  This parable is the very first of five parables about the second coming of Jesus the Christ. He was preaching to the multitude, probably in Jerusalem because it was in the last month of His ministry.  Jesus was addressing the crowd and He was teaching.  The crowd heard about the hypocrisy of the Pharisee’s. They also heard about the Fear of God and the need to confess Him before men. They heard of the urgency of the time and that possessions are not as important as Godliness. Jesus was warning against greed and materialism.  The Rich Fool was trying to store up his mast harvest to be able to eat, drink and be merry.  What Jesus knew that the fool didn’t is that it was the last day of the fool’s life.  He would die that night. He drew a parallel between the rich fool that met an untimely death and those that store up things for themselves but are not rich toward God.  The point being: Spiritual wealth far exceeds material wealth in value. In verse 20 he was called a fool. This is the only place in the Bible where Jesus directly called anyone a fool. The rich fool was called that because he was totally self-centered.  The personal pronouns of “me, mine, and I” are used 12 times in this short parable by the fool.  It is a very telling point of reference.

Then we have the “Rich Young Ruler” found in Luke 18:18-30.  Let us look in  verse 22, “Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.”  This guy wanted to be in the Kingdom.  He wanted to be saved.  But he couldn’t unless he sold all the riches he had.  When he heard those things he became very sad for he was very rich.

With us it is not that we are all rich even though we are better off than the rest of the world.  What our problem is absolutely is the way we have come to live.  In order to completely follow Jesus we would need to surrender how we live, how we work, how we love, how we communicate and I could go on and on.  Every ounce of our lives would need to be surrendered or “sold” to completely follow Jesus.

We are all unwilling to take that step. Aren’t we?

Click here to jump to Part 2 as we reflect on the hearts of the two rich guys…

 

Upon This Rock I Will Build My Church

What a promise! ROCk

Was Peter the rock that Jesus was referring to?  Was Jesus saying he would use Peter to build His church?  I don’t think so.  I am aware that most Catholics believe that but it cannot be so. Let me share more and you should see it.

“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” ,(Mt. 16:18-19).

The basis for my saying I don’t think so is as follows:

  1. Christ was giving Peter some instructions in this passage.  Later on he gave the very same instructions to the other apostles.  Take a close look at John 20:22-23 and compare it with the verse above. 
  2. Christ and Christ only is the foundation of his church.  Evidence of this is strongly posted in Acts 4:11-12; 1 Cor. 3:11; and 1 Peter 2:4-8.
  3. In the New Testament we see Christ and only Christ as the “Head” of is Church.  For reference you can turn to Ephesians 1:20-23; 5:23; Colossians 1:18 and 2:18-19. 
  4. If we use our concordance to go to the Greek meaning of the words we find that Jesus said, “Thou art Peter [Petros, a little stone], and upon this rock [petra, a massive cliff or rock] I will build my church.”  So the church was not built on the “little stone” which is Peter.  The church is built on the “Giant Rock”.  It was built on Jesus Christ. 
  5. We can see in 1 Peter 5: 1-4 that Peter in-fact denies it.
  6. We find in Acts 15:13, 19 that James was the one that officiated at the Jerusalem church and not Peter.

So what, then was Jesus doing when he said that in Mt. 16:18?  The answer lies in Ephesians 2:19-20, “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone”.

What about that statement regarding the gates of hell?  What did he mean when He said the gates of hell shall not prevail against it?  J Vernon McGee said it best, “The gates of hell refer to the ‘gates of death’.” The word used in this text is hades and sheol of the Old Testament, referring to the unseen world and it means death.  The gates of death shall not prevail against Christ’s church.  The event being referred to is the glorious rapture.  As it is written, “Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.  But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words”, (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). You can also look at 1 Corinthians 15: 51-57.

The LORD gave the keys to heaven to Peter!   A key unlocks a door and opens something once closed.  Jesus is predicting that Peter will be given the privilege of opening the door of salvation to various peoples.  Peter later did this:  He opened the door of opportunity for any to join the kingdom from Israel at Pentecost, (Acts 2:38-42). And He did the same for the Samaritans in Acts 8:14-17.  He ministered to the Gentiles at the home of Cornelius at Caesarea in acts chapter 10.

In the last of the original passage we are addressing Christ mentions the binding and loosing.  We see in Mt. 18;18 and John 20:22-23, the authority to bind and loose was given to all the apostles and to all other believers.  The actions of a spirit-filled believer, whether positive or negative in nature, will carry with them the awesome authority of heaven itself.  As chuck Smith says “We have power as the children of God to bind the forces of darkness, and to loose the work of God.  God has given us that authority over these spirit forces, these spiritual entities, that as children of God, we do have authority over them.  We can bind these forces and we can loose the work of God. 

UPON THIS ROCK I WILL BUID MY CHURCH!

 

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ blood and

righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame.

But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ., the solid ROCK, I stand;

All other ground is sinking sand.

— Edaward Mote

ROCK of ages, cleft for me,

Let me hide myself in Thee;

Let the water and the blood,

From Thy raven side which flowed,

Be of sin the double cure,

Save me from it·a guilt and power.

Not the labors of my hands,

Can fulfill the laws demands;

Could my zeal no respite know,

Could my tears forever flow,

AII for sin could not atone;

Thou must save, and Thou alone.

–A. M. Toplady

God bless you,

“The Tubthumper”

 

A Storm Is Coming

Warning: A severe storm is on the horizon and it is headed your way!  0aStorm

Have you experienced a really bad storm in the past?  The warnings come from the weather center showing a cold front coming in that will produce high winds, damaging hail, torrential rain and possible tornado.  Along with it we generally see a posting for flash floods.  For those of us in the Northeast we last experienced a major storm when Hurricane Irene released her fury such as we have not seen in this area before.  Many within 2 miles of me lost their homes, entire farms, businesses and some lost their lives.   The power of nature is awesome and the power of God is awesome. 

There are two kinds of storms we must often endure.  There are storms of the weather (nature) and there are storms of life.  I have experienced both many times.  I am a survivor of many storms of life and have come out the other side of the storm with not only victory but as an improved individual.  Some of those storms lasted years and others quickly passed.  Each one has an indelible stamp on my mind.

There are three kinds of people in the world when we are relating to storms.  If you are reading this you fall into one of the three categories.  If you are in the first category you “recently endured a storm”.  Those in category two are “currently in the midst of a storm”.  Lastly the third category holds those who will find themselves “going through a storm in the future”.

Let’s look at a time when the disciples were out on the Sea of Galilee and a storm came up that they thought would sink the boat.  Jesus was with them and He had fallen asleep.  In fear they cried out, “Lord, save us from drowning”.   We can see what Jesus did in this account by Mark, “And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still, and the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” (Mark 4:39)  Many bible scholars believe this vicious storm was caused by satanic activity in an attempt to drown Jesus.   The account can be found in Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-37 and Luke 8:22-25.

Is there a storm in your life right now?  If you are a Christian and you are trying to weather a storm you may want to ask yourself three questions:

  1. Is the storm you are going through a punishment or is it purification?  Could it be that you are being chastened for sin? (Remember the story of Jonah and the whale.)  In another violent storm Jonah found himself swallowed and in his case he was being chastened.  Could this storm you are enduring be a trial that God has allowed to purify you as it was in this case with the disciples?
  2. Have you made room for God?  Are you totally aware of His presence always?  Or did you forget Him?  God wants you to recognize Him in your life.
  3. What does God want you to do in this time of weathering a storm? 

First, God wants your thanks.  You should thank Him for the storm.  I know that may sound crazy to you, however, it is true.  “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

Second, He wants you to be fellowshipping with Him and reading His word during the storm. “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Third, He wants us all to trust Him in our storms.  “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Please understand that Christ knows about the storm and if Christ allows you to experience the storm He has good reason.  Jesus Christ is watching over you throughout the storm and is interceding with the Father.  He will come to you at the proper time in the storm.  No one knows His time and it will be sooner or later.  During the storm He will help your faith grow.  He will see you safely through the storm and will enable you to help others.  ” Blessed [be] God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.”  (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)

Don’t face the storm alone.  Be sure Christ is your shipmate.

God bless you as you man the oars.

 “The Tubthumper” 

Round up the Strays

This post is about one of my long time pet peeves with the church.  It is about the faces I see or have seen in the seats and pews that I no longer see.  It is my concern for the sheep that have gone astray.  I am often thinking about what is done to follow up with people and find out why they are not with us.  Some like to call them lost.  There is a piece of scripture that talks about the lost sheep.  I prefer to call them strays.  I call them strays because sheep just don’t get lost.  They usually have a pen and they usually have a shepherd or some method of keeping them where they are supposed to be.  If a sheep is not in the pen it is because it wandered off or strayed away to find something more exiting outside its pen.

So why am I talking about sheep anyway?   I talk about sheep because we humans are like sheep in many ways.    I know it is not very flattering to be compared to sheep but I didn’t design it, God did.  The Bible actually compares us believers to sheep in the Gospel of John.  It also describes Jesus Christ as the “Good Shepherd”.  160px-Good_Shepherd_Vatican_Museum It is unfortunate that us sheep are disobedient and want to check out other pens.  When a sheep wanders out and moves to another pen, away from the shepherd, the evil wolves wait to devour them.

In Jesus’ parable in Luke 15 we see that every sheep is important to the shepherd.  Every person is important to Jesus.  Whatever your situation in life, however bad you are, Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, “lays down His life for you.”  He says, “Take My hand.” If you will turn your life over to Jesus Christ He will give you pardon, peace, purpose, power, and a permanent relationship with God.

When I look around and don’t see someone that once was present I want to find out where they wandered off to and what pen they are in.   Sometimes I feel as though my concern is not shared.  I even heard once that Jesus never followed up with anyone and there is no evidence in the Bible that he did so.  I can’t argue the issue of no proof that Jesus followed up with anyone.  But do we need to argue it?  Who thinks Jesus needs to physically follow up with someone to know where they are?  C’mon, we are talking about the great “I AM, I AM” here.  He knows each and every hair on your head.  He created all.  He was here before here was here.  He is omnipotent and sovereign.  He doesn’t need to follow up because he knows.  He knows your name and he knows where you are, what you are thinking and where your heart is.

There is evidence in the Bible that God does want us to follow up with people.  There is plenty of evidence.

Let me start with a passage in the Old Testament: “The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.” (Ezekiel 34:4).  God was not happy with the shepherds of Israel.  They did not seek after the strays.   They were out of favor because they didn’t work hard enough to save the lost sheep.

John Chrysostom said,  “…if a human being wanders away from the right faith, great exertion, perseverance and patience are required; for he cannot be dragged back by force, nor constrained by fear, but must be led back by persuasion to the truth from which he originally swerved. The pastor therefore ought to be of a noble spirit, so as not to despond, or to despair of the salvation of wanderers from the fold, but continually to reason with himself and say, ‘Peradventure God will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil.” Don’t be swayed by the reference to pastor in that passage because it pertains to all of us brethren.   If we are saints in His kingdom we are all lay ministers and need to follow up with our fellow brothers and sisters in the kingdom.

Now I bring attention to what I call the “one another’s” in the Bible.  There are many but we really only need to look at one.  “Love one another”.   That one is actually a commandment.  Now I ask you this, “How can you love one another without following up with one another?”   You can’t.  Need I say more?  If the Lord commands us to love one another he also is commanding us to follow up with one another.

I place before you a list of 22 of the fantastic ‘one another’ verses in the Bible.  As you read through them ask yourself how many of them you can do without seeking the lost among us, finding the strays or following up.

1. ‘Do not deceive one another’ – Leviticus 19:11

2. ‘Show Mercy and Compassion to one another’ – Zechariah 7:9

3. ‘Love one another’ – John 13:34,35

4. ‘Be devoted to one another’ – Romans 12:10

5. ‘Live in Harmony with one another’ – Romans 12:16, 1 Peter 3:8

6. ‘Accept one another’ – Romans 15:7

7. ‘Instruct one another’ – Romans 15:14

8. ‘Agree with one another’ – 1 Corinthians 1:10

9. ‘Greet one another with a holy kiss’ – 2 Corinthians 13:12

10. ‘Serve one another in love’ – Galatians 5:13

11. ‘Bearing with one another in love’ – Ephesians 4:2

12. ‘Be kind and compassionate to one another’ – Ephesians 4:32

13. ‘Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs’ – Ephesians 5:19

14. ‘Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ’ – Ephesians 5:21

15. ‘Admonish one another’ – Colossians 3:16

16. ‘Encourage one another’ – 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Hebrews 3:13, Hebrews 10:25

17. ‘Spur one another on toward love and good deeds’ – Hebrews 10:24

18. ‘Do not slander one another’ – James 4:11

19. ‘Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling’ – 1 Peter 4:9

20. ‘Love one another deeply’ – 1 Peter 1:22

21. ‘Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another’ – 1 Peter 5:5

22. ‘Have fellowship with one another’ – 1 John 1:7

We are instructed to worship steadfastly (think about that word) and to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together but to exhort one another. (Hebrews 10:25)

So can you think of someone who hasn’t been to church in a long time?  Did they leave without even an explanation or a good-bye?  What about people in our communities and neighborhoods that just plain don’t go to church.  Where’s the love?

Anyone that considers themselves a Christian and also considers themselves a leader should be taking a lead in showing genuine concern for the strays or for the lost.  We should be seeking them with a “noble spirit” and as a patient servant.

We should be rounding up those strays.

 

It amazes me how fast I can fill a post with words…

God bless you all,

“The Tubthumper”