Tag Archives: Salvation

The Issue of Homosexuality

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The issue of homosexuality has taken center stage on Christian and secular discussions; “high-profile” leaders on both sides of the issue have come out to take sides, perhaps culminating with President Obama’s recent statement of support for homosexual marriage.

I believe it’s of utmost importance that we understand the spiritual warfare going on here: this front has been carefully planned for by the enemy, Satan.  His attack is going to focus on our feeble faith in the Word of God and how willing or unwilling we are to stand in our faith.

With absolute clarity I want to say from the beginning that this is an issue first and foremost of faith, then of obedience, and finally of love.  It is now time for the Children of God to take their stand in faith and be obedient to His word as we are controlled and compelled by the love of Christ.

It is not easy to take a stand on this issue from a position of faith, obedience, and love, but we have an excellent example set for us by Bobby Conway in this video that you can watch here on this video link from GNLi.  I think he effectively communicated the attitude that Christians need to take when talking with someone who is struggling with or practicing homosexuality.

FAITH IN THE REDEMPTION OF CHRIST

What we’re seeing today are the fruits of generations of sowing in weak and unbiblical teachings, and undisciplined practices of life in Christ.  This is merely the issue exposing a deeper and more severe issue of faith that doubts the redemptive power of Jesus Christ to save you from your sins.  It is imperative that we all raise up together as one body to address this issue properly from a position of faith, and that our pastors lead this stance.  We must make an unequivocal statement that the church still believes in the redemptive power of Jesus Christ through gospel as performed in the heart of faith by the Holy Spirit.

They expose this issue of faith by their counter argument that says that they are born homosexual and, therefore, homosexuality could not possibly be wrong.  It is as natural as breathing, to them, and should therefore be accepted by all.

Even though I’m not a scientist, it appears obvious through natural observation of children from a young age that people do receive certain genetic predispositions; some are born with aggressive and violent tendencies, while others seem to have a tendency towards selfishness.  In essence, being born with a sinful nature is not surprising to me.

This is actually at the very heart of the gospel message that preaches that “no one is righteous, not even one” and we must, therefore, “repent in the name of Jesus Christ, who has overcome the world, and believe on Him for the salvation of your souls”.  This gospel, which is great and manifold, is a proclamation of reconciliation and regeneration in Christ to the whole world!  How is it, then, that we are now excusing sin based on the premise that it is, as the gospel says, part of our sinful nature?

As the Word says, God’s salvation is for all men who believe:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” –Romans 1:16

 

Each and every one of us was born carnally into a fallen and depraved world.  All of us came from various backgrounds in which sins were engrained deeply into us- some of us were fornicators, some practiced forms of idolatry and worshipped their money above God, some practiced adultery, some were thieves, some were covetous or drunkards, and some were homosexuals: but in Jesus Christ we are a new creation!

Here is what God says about the redemption of Christ:

1st Corinthians 6:9-11- 9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.  

11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

Jesus justified you before God, washed you clean, and sanctified you- you are anew in Him!

Excusing homosexuality is not loving, compassionate, or kind; it is faithlessness in the Word of God and the power of Christ.  What many people see as an act of love is a brutal butchering of souls that could otherwise have the opportunity to be saved if the gospel were preached to them and they would hear with faith as given and authored in Christ.

Part of my call here is to stir up the spirit of faith in the Church, in whatever little way I can do that, and exhort the brethren to preach the message of redemption and reconciliation in Jesus Christ to the Church.

For just as the Word says;

Romans 10:14, 17-“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

1st John 5:5- “Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

We are not helping our brothers who struggle with the sin and temptation of homosexuality by falsely excusing their sin under the banner of love; we do them no favors in this unrighteous act.  We need to be exalting Christ and preaching the power of His redemption by the Holy Spirit.

Woe to those of whom the ministry of reconciliation has been entrusted and who are found to have withheld or covered up that ministry of reconciliation by their false teaching!  The Word of God says your damnation will be just!

GOD’S JUDGMENT

God said that he would lift up a standard against the flood of the enemy (Isaiah 59:19 NKJV), and it is to that standard that we must go to receive God’s judgment upon the matter.  If I judge the matter for myself, then my judgment holds no authority, but if God gives His judgment, then His judgment will stand. 

“3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”- Romans 8:3-4

God condemned sin in the flesh and carried out righteousness in His Son that the law was powerless to carry out.  I begin with this passage because I believe it’s important for us to understand that God has condemned sin in the flesh.  We are not to live by the flesh, but by the Spirit- if you are walking in the flesh then you are walking condemned.

Is homosexuality a sinful act of the flesh?

Leviticus 18:22- 22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.

In black and white terms God said this is an abomination to Him.  Justifying an abomination before God is a very difficult thing to do.

The question is, do you believe the Word of God?

We mustn’t blaspheme God’s Word by saying that His laws no longer apply today because of Christ; they do.  According to the Lord, not a single word will pass away from The Law until both Heaven and Earth shall pass away (Matthew 5:18).  Instead, we must understand the dynamics between the Law of condemnation and the Law of life in Christ Jesus.

1st Timothy 1:10- 8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, 9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites [homosexuals- NASB], for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.

The law still has jurisdiction over the world; it governs all those that are of the world.  And unless you are born again of a new nature in Christ Jesus, a nature that is no longer bound in the desires and lusts of the flesh, you are still under The Law of condemnation.  But, thanks be to God that, though we were sinners, we have been set free from the law of sin and death and raised to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen!  Therefore we now fulfill the righteous requirement of The Law by the Law of Life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In the above passage homosexuals are specifically called out as among those whom The Law itself still condemns to this day.  Therefore, Leviticus 18:22 still very much applies to homosexuals.  All who walk according to the lusts of the flesh will perish under the law.

Therefore, in the scriptures, God’s righteous judgment has been revealed to us on this matter of homosexuality:

Romans 1:18, 26-27- 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness… 

 26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

There can be no confusion on this matter that God is storing up judgment to pour out on the unrighteous and those who suppress the truth in unrighteousness!

I pray that those who do suppress the truth in their unrighteousness would have their eyes opened to see what they are doing so that they can seek God in repentance and grace while He may still be found!

REMEMBER THE HEART OF THE MATTER

It is most important to me, as someone God has called out to help train and equip the Church, to exhort the brethren to careful and sober personal examination of themselves on this issue.

Therefore, to repeat one more time, the Word of God has made clear the power of Christ’s redemption:

1st Corinthians 6:9-11- 9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

If you are excusing homosexuality within the Church and not calling it out as a sin then you are denouncing the redemption of Jesus Christ.  You are not exhorting or encouraging your brethren in all forms of holiness and coming along side them in love to help them overcome the struggles that are ensnaring them in carnality.  You are taking the cowards way out.

This is a matter of faith: judge for yourselves if you believe God’s word or if you have to change His word to suit yourself.

The Testimony of Salvation: Not Once Saved Always or Shaky Salvation.

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Once saved, always saved or shaky salvation: is that the question we should be asking?

2nd Corinthians 11:3

But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

The simplicity and purity of our devotion to Christ is beautifully and masterfully preserved only upon the foundation that has been laid (which is in Christ and the apostles).

Even as much as I understand how necessary it is in our time to teach on this subject, I still believe that the above question is a bad question to be asking; the perils of these doctrines are apathy and arrogance towards sin on the one side and legalism and personal pride on the other.  The path that cuts through the middle of these two arguments and leads us into the Truth and mind of Christ is what we are all seeking.

So I will tell you from the beginning that I disagree with both these doctrines as they are commonly held, though in certain forms, I can agree with both.

Still more, even before I begin this I want to point out that I have met strong Christians who profess belief in both sides of these Christians and they remain strong, not because of these theologies, but because of the maturity of their faith and the Spiritual insight and wisdom that God has granted them.  These doctrines are serious doctrines, and I’ve seen the ramifications of them become devastating to many people, but they are not core-essentials (unless they are abused, misused, and used to lead into other things that affect our core essentials of faith).

I want people to understand the damages that these (sometimes) dogmatic doctrines can cause and see the faulty premises of human logic they both often resort to, and to do this I would like to look at a few examples on each side.

This first example comes from a link found at CARM.org; two pastors, who are supposed to be busying themselves shepherding their flocks, got into an online argument over IM.  Eventually, one of these pastors just had enough and quit responding.  I suppose his opponent took that to mean a victory and he ended up posting it on CARM to demonstrate the supposed superiority of his argument.

I hope that we can see how damaging their attitudes were: they stood in unrighteous judgment, not over each other, but over the Word of God by pitting His word against itself without mercy.  Furthermore, they showed no deference towards each other (something that is very easy to forget to do when talking online), and engaged in a cut-throat, winner-take-all style debate that had no hope of building each other up at all from the outset.

I point this out because I think it’s critical that we understand he heart of our intentions before we set out to engage in this kind of discussion that has so thoroughly divided the church in our times.  Are we seeking blood, or are we seeking reconciliation in The Blood?

This next argument comes from Bible-knowledge.com and takes the affirmative towards losing your salvation.  His argument is rooted and motivated primarily in human logic.  The author starts out with, “I do believe that you really have to get into some of the heavier-type sins before this actually will happen”.  I think those who take the negative to this debate would rightly and quickly point out that the Bible does not list any “heavier” sins except the sin of blasphemy.  However, he made “sin” plural by saying “sins”, so he is clearly not referring exclusively to Jesus’ teaching about blasphemy.  This quickly evolves into a merit-based salvation that gives rise to legalism, doubt (the real danger) and personal pride.

In no way am I faulting him personally of this sin; rather, I am seeking to draw our own attention to how important it is that we carefully consider the premises of our beliefs before we teach them and that we understand what we are actually teaching (which sometimes/often-times is different then what we think we are teaching).

Even in our weakness, however, the Spirit perseveres as this man did also open with an exhortation to use the Bible passages he provided to seek God’s wisdom on this highly divided topic (something I also want to encourage you to do).

To look at an affirmative argument of once-saved, always-saved, we can look at this article from COMEREASON.org.  Certainly there are articles that better reveal the many Bible passages that demonstrate the power of our salvation, however I wanted to draw our attention to the tendency to rely on extrapolated human logic based solely on one part of the Bible.

You can see that this author is trying to console a doubting sister.  And to be sure, there are times when we are being overcome by ungodly guilt in which we need to be consoled regarding the all-sufficient nature of God’s grace and kindness.  We all need that revelation that Christ is our understanding High Priest.  There are also many times when we place a dagger in someone’s conscience by trying to continually sooth the conviction of the Holy Spirit regarding a perpetual sin that is endangering someone’s faith/salvation.

Here we can see that our motivations in these arguments greatly affect the faithfulness of our teaching.  I think we do need to stop and ask why we are teaching what we are teaching.  Is it because you’re trying to comfort someone, or because the Holy Spirit is guiding you?  Is there an evidence of the Spirit’s testimony in the word present in our teaching, or are we extrapolating based on human logic from a biased starting point?

The nature of this teaching illustrated above is the nature of the teaching that I disagree with on this subject.

Now, my first point regarding the doctrine that we should understand to get a firm grasp on this teaching comes from the testimony of our salvation: the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:16 “The Spirit Himself testifies that we are the Children of God”

It is by the witness of the Spirit that we know we are saved, is it not?

Why, then, do we try to calm those once brothers and sisters worries when they are no longer receiving that witness by introducing theologies that are heavily refined and extrapolated based on logic that is not necessarily in the Bible?

It’s my belief that we should not argue with the witness of the Spirit in the life of the person we are ministering too.

Even though I do not believe a Christian can be possessed by a demon, if I see someone who was once accepted as my brother demonstrating demon possession, I’m not going to try to intellectually argue that he’s not possessed.  I’m going to come against the possession according to how the Bible tells me to come against it.

Likewise, if someone comes to us, heavy laden with guilt, and worried that their salvation is lost because of continual and perpetual sin, and we begin to minister to them and see that the Spirit is no longer witnessing of their salvation- we have to take immediate measures to help that person before it is too late.

Remember, it is the Spirit who convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment: this person may not have fallen away yet, but they are not receiving the testimony of the Spirit or seeing its fruit because they are dangling off the edge and the Spirit is convicting them of righteous judgment to come: we should not stand in the Spirit’s work, rather, we should do what we can do lead our brethren into repentance, which we are promised will result in forgiveness!

This is why the Bible always tells us to test ourselves: 2nd Corinthians 13:5, 1st Corinthians 9:27 & 1st Corinthians 11:28, etc.

If we could not fall away (ever), then why would we test ourselves?  It would not be necessary except for one initial test, which, once passed, we would no longer need to be discerning about our personal lives.  How devastating to the church would it be if we felt like we did not need to discern the character of our personal lives every day?  The church might look like… what it looks today!

God is not mute towards His children, nor is His arm insufficient for salvation:

Isaiah 59:1-2 “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear.  But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.”

Just as Jesus said, “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12).  We must realize that our sins do deeply affect our hearts and they dull our hearing.

What is very important is that we understand it is not that a sin will separate us from God, nor that any specific number of sins that will separate us from God.  After-all, what can separate us from the love of God?  Rather, it is the result of continually seeding our heart with the things of the flesh that will rise up and choke out our faith and cause our faith to dwindle and grow cold, eventually fading away.

Our hearts are led into rebellion against God by our acceptance of, and continual walking in, sin.

And this is why I believe that this question does more harm than good; because people begin to get so fixated upon the status of their salvation and they lose sight of the power in the gospel of Christ to conquer their sins and restore them to a righteous walk with Christ in every way.

The first and foremost doctrine in this is that we are to be seeking the things that the Holy Spirit testifies to us that we need: and any doctrine, whether it causes you to be apathetic or legalistic, is a misunderstanding of the Word of God if it gets in the way of that.

How do you know that you have eternal life?

The epistle written expressly to answer this question is the epistle of 1st John.

One of our key focuses as Christians and disciples of Christ should be on exhorting and encouraging our brethren to “know that they have eternal life”, and we’re told how to do that.  To get a full picture, you must read the entire epistle.

1st John 1:9, 2:1-6, & 5:13

“1:9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  2:1-6 I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.  And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins… by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.  The one who says “I Have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected.  By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought also to walk in the same manner as He walked.  5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

The Holy Spirit did answered the question “Am I saved?”  His test is “whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected.  By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought also to walk in the same manner as He walked”.

The Holy Spirit never answers to excuse sin, He always answers to overcome it.

Is there grace in the Holy Spirit’s teaching from 1st John?  Absolutely!  Grace in God’s forgiveness and the ministry of Jesus Christ our High Priest!  In fact, God’s grace is powerful because it makes way for the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit upon our lives (1st Peter 1:2-3).

Therefore, didn’t He instruct us in the power of Christ to overcome and cleanse them from sin if they confess their sins?  Wasn’t it His admonition to walk according to the way that Jesus Christ walked?

Romans 8:1 “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…”

For those who remain in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation.  He does not condemn His own: and He knows those that are His!

That is why the Spirit spoke through Paul saying, “He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach— if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard,” (Colossians 1:22-23).

You have been reconciled to Christ if indeed you continue in faith and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard!

One final concluding point is regarding “how we fall away“.

This cannot be answered apart from the Word of God- to do so is to place people into bondage to man-made laws.

1 Timothy 4:1-2

1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,

We are told, expressly, by the Spirit that there will be some who fall away from their faith by paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons by hypocrisy and the searing of their own consciences.

That is why we must pay careful attention to the doctrines we hold and protect our consciences by not allowing them to be seared and dulled in any way!

Together, I believe that this forms a doctrine that teaches us of the power of God’s grace and of salvation by faith.  If you have not one, you have not salvation.  God’s grace has been shown, once and for all, in Christ Jesus- but I believe most all of us would accept that you must have faith and accept Christ to receive the benefit of God’s grace.

Therefore, I want to bring one final exhortation in all of this: “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world” (1st Peter 5:8-9).

Thanksgiving Grace & Joy

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Thanksgiving is a time to realize grace and express joy to the Lord for His provision.

It is also an attitude from which overflows humility, gratitude, and immense thanksgiving because of the abundant provision that He has made for us.  We stop to reflect on the grace of the Lord shown to us.

Thanksgiving (the Holiday) came at the end of great trial for the pilgrims; and so also, for us as Christians, so thanksgiving is often shown after great trial and testing comes upon us as well.

2nd CORINTHIANS 12:9

And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

 

Though we labor skillfully in faith, our labors are as rubbish at the knowing of the hope which we have through a promise that is held secure for us in Heaven from Christ.  In our greatest trials, we can still hear the voice of God saying to His faithful children, “My grace is sufficient for you”.  At our strongest, we are weak, for “the weakness of God is stronger than the strength of man”- and at our weakness, He is our strength, for “power is perfected in weakness”.

If this sounds, at first, ludicrous to you, as you say “but what about my work and my labor?”  Consider what you have done- how did you do it?  Were you not but an instrument of God?  If a vessel for honor, then honor, and if a vessel of dishonor, then dishonor, but a vessel nonetheless.

Romans 12:3
For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.

Romans 15:15
But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God,

 

It is because the fruits of our labors are in accordance with the grace of God that our thanksgiving is a fruit of God’s grace!  For without His grace, where would our harvest be? Just as Paul wrote boldly because of the LORD’s Grace, and so many fruits have come according to the grace of God, so also do we labor according to His grace- whether far off, or near, at home or as strangers, in trial or in liberty- we all labor according to the grace of God.

Ephesians 1:7
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace

Titus 3:7
so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

 

By the LORD’s grace we have become partakers in every good gift: His kindness and blessings, hope and mercy, through humility, with joy- in all things, by God’s grace, we have been redeemed through His blood and made heirs in accordance with the hope of eternal life by grace!

Psalm 51:12
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit.

Psalm 51:14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation; Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.

 

Because of His salvation, we are sustained in a willing spirit and are filled with joy!  We sing of His righteousness by the overflow of His grace!  We have become joyful children of grace, if indeed we have become partakers of His grace, and declare it unto the world!

Romans 15:13
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, we shall dwell in thanksgiving through the grace of the Lord in which we abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

ROMANS 5:1-3

 1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance…

 

 

Sin & Lawlessness: Introduction

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opening questions

Can a Christian have a cavalier attitude toward sin and lawlessness?  Does the sacrifice Jesus made prohibit His followers from dwelling in sin?  There are very serious rebukes for the Church that wallows long in sin and tolerates immorality (Revelation 1-3).

Introduction

This study is the beginning point of a series regarding sin and lawlessness.  We should listen to the Word of the Lord concerning sin.

I also want to put to test the validity of what people are teaching about “the tolerant Christ” so often preached today; is this “tolerant Christ” the one that we had preached first to us by the Apostles?

In the modern assembly tolerance has been cultivated towards sin under the mask of “love” and “peace”.  I realize the intent is to reach more lost souls, but we want to consider if tolerating the very thing that Jesus came to free us from truly “saves more lost souls”.   I believe the result of this has been utterly devastating on the Body of Christ in more ways than have been recounted.  I think we’ve lost faith that “sin leads to death”.

Using the passage “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), many have preached that we should, therefore, go on sinning and that God must be very tolerant towards our sin; the attitude present in some teachings of this even make it sound like God doesn’t even care (at all) if we sin anymore.

We’re going to look at what God said towards sin and the power of His gospel that allows us to persevere in overcoming sin.  I encourage you to accept these things from the Lord.

to swim in raging waters?

In order to simplify, let’s ask ourselves this question, “would I try to teach my drowning friend how to swim in the raging waters, or would I toss him a life-line and pull him out of the water to safety?”

According to the gospel in Christ, we have been totally removed from darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of Light (Col 1:13); so why do we hear churches trying to teach people to swim in the vast ocean of sin.

We’re responsible for the souls we teach and lead; so let’s consider this with all seriousness as we realize that mishandling this can mislead souls by teaching them to swim in sin rather than pointing to the life-line that has been thrown to them by Christ.  If they take that life-line, He will pull them out of the raging waters of sin and place them securely into the ark of His covenant.  In these last hours, the Lord is not willing that His Church be condemned, rather, that she cut away those who are disobedient to Him so that they may be made shown as unfaithful.

Luke 13:27

“27 and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.’”

In plain terms, those who walked the “wide path” of sin will forever depart from Jesus because they did evil in His sight.

The designs of man are insufficient to lead us to Christ; you can not “design your own path” to righteousness.

Simply stated, your end will be in death unless something miraculous happens.

Gospel: Simplicity & Power

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Gospel: Simplicity & Power

The gospel is not complex.  It’s very simple and capable of reaching into the depths of the human soul.

The gospel is full.  It is abundant.  It is a vast message that stretches its wings so far because it has a focused and simple message.

You may examine the gospel, as we have done here, and find that there is always more to discover.  In prayer and revelation you yourself may have been taken deeper than this introductory study dared to go; that is the power of the gospel, the ability to reveal Christ to man and utterly change his soul through revealing the steadfast and eternal Christ.

What we have looked at so far, the salvation, love, and commission of the gospel, are some reverberations of the gospel message.

The Gospel Message: plain & simple

I don’t want to teach in vain only to have the message stolen away, so I’m going to return and rest securely on simplicity for our final word on the Gospel from me.

There is only one gospel message; there are many effects of the gospel, many ways in which the gospel reveals Christ to us, but all in all, there is just one message.  Anyone who would add to this message disarms the gospel of its simplicity and power and preaches another gospel that is not worthy of being preached.

“This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light and in Him there is no darkness at all.  If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.  If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

1 John 1:5-9

What can be simpler than this message?

God is the father of Light and in Him is no darkness; His children do not walk in the darkness, or else they become liars, but instead, they walk in Light, repenting of their sins and receiving in themselves forgiveness of their sins, purification from all sin, and instruction, which leads to true righteousness.

For my outline-oriented brethren, consider it as such:

1. God is Light & in Him is no darkness, at all.

2. Fellowship is found in those who walk in the Light, not the darkness.

3. No man is sinless, but those who repent of their sins are cleansed from their sins by the blood of Christ.

I think many are masking this message, but I want to examine it in plain light.

This message does not say that God will turn a blind eye to our darkness; He is incompatible with darkness.  Any message that would teach us that God turns a blind eye and does not lead us from the darkness is not the Truth; such a message denies the power of the Gospel entirely.

The gospel exposes the sins of all men and the reality that there is only one way to be saved from the ramifications of sins.

We’re taught the way of the narrow path that must be followed to escape impending destruction.  The gospel teaches men to deny ungodliness and confess their sins and turn from them.  All in all, this sounds like a message that teaches us about true cleansing from all unrighteousness.

We should pay attention to that underlined phrase; the promise of Christ is to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  He does not wrap us like a dead corpse in clean linen, rather, He removes the filth and decay from us and restores our original natures (…in the image of God).

For simplicity’s sake, look at he Oxford Dictionary, which defines “cleanse” as “being thoroughly cleaned” with a sub-definition of “being rid of” something and “free from” something.

Humanity is unambiguously declared guilty of sin and the clear remedy is readily made known to us as Christ; it is clearly taught that the mission of Christ was to bring liberty to the captives of sin, not just figuratively, but realistically.

At some point we were all children of darkness; born of the seeds of Adam. Therefore we are now born again of the Seed of Christ (John 3:1-16).

Like the birth process, there is a period of building and growth inside the womb, and then the painful entry into the world; followed by growing pains which will last into maturity.

We all were entangled in sin and must fight to overcome.  James said, “7Therefore submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you of two minds.” (James 4:7-8)

Simply stated, the gospel declares the way in which we can cleanse ourselves and submit to God.  

So, what did John’s message tell us?

  1. 1.     If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
  2. 2.     but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another,
  3. 3.     and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
  4. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness

The gospel teaches us the Truth that Jesus made know to us and shows us how to walk the path that He walked.

Christ’s love leads us in obedience and submission to the Father; into freedom from sin and the cleansing of His blood from all sin and unrighteousness.

“Cease to walk in the darkness, for the time to repent is short and judgment is approaching for those who continue to walk in their sins.“

In the words of our Master, Jesus:

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Mark 1:15

Conclusions

There is hope for the sinner; real hope.  You can be free from the sins that destroyed your life!  You have hope, if you will endure and persevere.

No one among us is sinless,  yet, who among the brethren walks in Darkness?

No one and no one.

For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and all whom the Spirit has raised in newness of life are the Children of God.

We are made to persevere through temptations and trials; a skillful adversary opposes us, looking to devour as many as he can, therefore the salvation that has been offered to us is equally mighty.

I suggest that one not allow guilt or fear to hinder oneself from accepting the Truths here in the gospel; you can receive victory over your sin in Christ if you are willing to endure and persevere.  To be reborn.

The Gospel: Salvation and Hope

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The Gospel Declared

The gospel has been heralded for many ages in God’s Word and it has been the summation of His revealed will since the beginning.  With extreme specificity God declared through His prophet Micah His word saying,

“‘But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah (lower Bethlehem), Too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.’”

Micah 5:2

A prophecy that came 500 years before Christ was born declared to us exactly what would happen, just as it did.

God cast the first shadow of prophecy at the fall of man when he said, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, between her seed and your seed; He shall bruise you on the head and you shall bruise Him on the heel.” (Genesis 3:15).

Even more specific is the shadow of prophecy given when God declared through Isaiah, “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him and by His scourges we are healed.  All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused our iniquity to fall upon Him!” and “By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities”

Isaiah 53:4-6 and 11

Making Known the Way of Repentance, Faith, & Reconciliation

At the summation of the age, Jesus brought one central message to the people:

“Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’”

Mark 1:14-15

This message of repentance had been proclaimed by the prophets of old since early times and rejected by most, much to the demise of the men of old, because “their hearts were always far from God” (Isaiah 29:3), but the people failed to receive reconciliation because of their cold hearts.

But God declared through His prophet Jeremiah that, “‘I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’” (Jeremiah 31:33).

Therefore, Christ came to make every provision to man so that reconciliation could be made (through Him) in the hearts of God’s people.  By His provision Paul declared “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Col 3:16).

Knowing the victory at hand and the judgment to come, Christ declared “repent and believe, for the Kingdom of God is at hand” so that reconciliation might be had.

The Light of our Reconciliation

“Although He existed in the form of God, He did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

For this reason, also, God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Philippians 2:5-11


At the great cost of emptying Himself of all majesty and humbling Himself, Jesus forged and authored the path into the Kingdom for us; now He has been exalted and is the victorious King.  Before Him every knee will bow and every tongue will confess.  This is inextricably intertwined within the gospel; the gospel cannot be separated from this message.  And this is a good thing, for our King is the victor!

So we, as His followers, servants, and brothers, should also have this attitude in ourselves that we would humble ourselves to the point of death in anticipation that we will be seated in the Heavenly places with Christ Jesus the Lord.

In this way God has broken the barrier that separated man from Him.  God has endured humility, emptiness, agony, and death itself for a short time so that He could descend to man because man could not ascend to Him.

The Great Love of God

We should see clearly so that no one being surrounded by darkness, trial, and despair would despair to the point of losing hope and therefore doubt the love of God!

What man is innocent of insulting and scorning God?  Who has not spat in His face?

Have you ever tried to exploit the grace of God, gloried in the glory of God for yourself, or boasted in the flesh that is not yours to boast in?

But all of this is for the glory of God so that His love might be known to abound all the more!  Even as we were cruel and spat upon His gift (that gift is a perfect and innocent Son who endured ridicule and death for our sake), He Himself would be shown to be just and merciful when He forgives us our debts and reconciled us into His presence!

Like a parent that feels the scorn of a child that turns away to follow after a life that is dishonorable and disgraceful to the parent, so we have insulted God.  Like children that declare “you are not my father. Rather, your enemy is my father”, so all the world has done when we turn away from God to follow after Satan.

Like a parent that feels the deep pain of seeing his children fight and destroy one another, being consumed by greed and bitterness, so God has endured these things as a patient Father to restore His children in proper love.

“There is no one that is righteous; not even one.  No one understands God or seeks Him. They have all turned aside and become dead” (Issaih 55:8-9; Romans 3:10ff).

Perfect love God has demonstrated to us with patience as He has worked to bring restoration, reconciliation, salvation, and hope to His children.

Therefore, “consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:3).

God’s act of love endured such great darkness, trial, and hostility so that we would not grow weary and lose heart!  He perfected our faith so that we would not lose faith.  To God be praise and glory forever and ever, AMEN!

A Gospel of Salvation and Hope

Reconciliation in Christ goes beyond “touch not, taste not, and handle not”.  It becomes a real, firm, and powerful liberation that reconciles the hearts of God’s people to Him and changes them inside out.

God said that he would place reverence in our hearts (Jeremiah 32:40) and seal us with the Spirit as the sign of His covenant (2 Corinthians 1:22) so that we would become living testimonies for Him (2 Corinthians 3:3).  When we see the witness of the scriptures declaring the out-pouring of the gospel and do not see this growth in our own life we should pay attention to this warning sign so that we can repent before the Day of Judgment comes.

So what is the way to this reconciliation?  This grand message of reconciliation and redemption is the gospel of salvation and hope.

What is our salvation?

In short, Jesus Christ lifted the veil of human flesh and saved us from three dooms: sin (Romans 3:23), death (Gen 2:17), and the eternal punishment of hell (Luke 16).

No matter who you are, living in a sinful world is not pleasant.  We have been conditioned to deal with sin, in fact, to even expect and anticipate it.  However, the doom of sin becomes apparent to every person that has been betrayed by a spouse, cheated and ruined by greed and envy, been caught in a perilous cycle of addiction and pain that has ravaged their life and relationships and left them utterly empty and void.

The doom of death is terrifying to anyone that has been faced with it, whether or not you have lost loved ones and been totally and utterly shaken, or you are approaching this fate yourself and must come to grips with the limitless uncertainty that is facing you.  The sting of death was sin (1 Cor. 15:56), and ever since that first sting, death was laying hold of all mortal flesh without mercy or exception until Jesus Christ.  Those who have been sealed in Christ are patiently waiting as death is the last enemy to be overcome (1 Cor. 15:26).

Hell and its doom, whether or not you believe in it, exist as the ultimate destiny of doom.  Reserved for the punishment of sin and the continuation of death (which represents the absence of life), this destruction is, perhaps, the most bitter of them all to man.

The efforts of Satan have tried to do away with sin and hell.  Through various methods, we have many people who count sin as a finished element that is no longer imputed (on anyone) and they teach that Hell either does not exist or is not an eternal location for human beings.

I defer to Jesus in Matthew 24:50 and Luke 16, and to Paul in Romans 6, Galatians 5 regarding these issues.

For the sake of brevity in this post, I will simply say that removing these elements from the gospel is a shameful and wicked practice that is done to falsely weaken the gospel in an attempt to render it irrelevant to the modern age.

“For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘But the righteous man shall live by faith’”

Romans 1:16-17

The power of the gospel is the power of Christ to “rescue us from the domain of darkness and transfer us into the Kingdom of Christ” (Col 1:13) and to effect salvation from sin, death, and hell.

And what is our hope?

The hope in Christ that sustains us is in His complete victory and return. Without His victory, we are doomed and our salvation is null and void.  Without His return, we are stuck in limbo waiting for a salvation that will never come.

Jesus destroyed the works of Satan and took back the keys of death and hades (Revelations 1:17-18, 1 John 3:8).  He cast the enemy down from Heaven and claimed all authority (Revelation 12:12). Although Satan is real and works with fury and wrath in these final hours to consume anyone that lets his or her guard down (1 Peter 5:8), our hope is in Christ to sustain us so that we will not despair to the point of hopelessness.

“And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment”

Hebrews 9:27

“‘And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Matthew 24:30 & 50b

Summary

Jesus Christ came and sent out His disciples to offer repentance and forgiveness of sins to all people (Mark 1:14-15, 1 John 1:5-9).  He suffered death and rose again conquering sin and death and taking the keys of hades (Revelation 1:17-18).  He destroyed the works of Satan (1 John 3:8) by bringing redemption to His people and “transferring us into the Kingdom of light” (Ephesians 1:7 & Colossians 1:13).  By His death and resurrection we have become new creations, born again by the water and the spirit and set free from the bondage of sin (John 3:3-5; Romans 6:8-11; Galatians 3 & 5).

Because of Christ it is said, “lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Hebrews 12:1-2

Knowing that, “after death comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin for those who eagerly await Him”

Hebrews 9:27-28


It is our hope that Christ will return and uphold His salvation in us!  That when that fearful and awful day comes, when all the world will be judged, our judgment will be made without reference to our sin because of the total sacrifice offered by Christ on our behalf!

Take it Further

  • 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, 14-17, 20-29, & 42-49
  • Jeremiah 6:16
  • Revelation 12:12