The Gospel for the World

December 18, 2021 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Gospel of Grace for the World

Book of Romans Chapter 3

One of the biggest problems we have as humans is that we just assume that we are better than those we meet.

We think we are reborn as “judges” when the Lord intends for us to be “witnesses”!

As Christians our differences come by the “Grace” of God.

We are no better and no different than anyone else, saved or lost, except by the “Grace” of God!

Rom 10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Rom 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Rom 10:14 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?

The “lost” need someone to tell them just how wonderful our Savior is!

Rom 3:3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
Rom 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
Rom 3:5 But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man)
Rom 3:6 God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?

It is our Creator who remains their one and only “Judge” and the only Judge of all mankind!

Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Col 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

The Christian has been delivered from the power of darkness but the “Lost” have not been delivered and we need to try to explain to them the difference, the first thing being that Jesus Christ died for every human but there is a need for “Faith”.

The “lost”, those who do not have “faith” in our “Redeemer” are already “Judged” so we have no need to judge them!

We all have been “judged” guilty of sin!

In reality, before we come to know the truth of the Messiah, we are all bound for that place called Hell!

*Rom 3:9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom 3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

We should understand the Apostle Paul here. The Jews had in their possession the written Word of God preserved from the time of Adam.

The Gentiles had a view of all the wonders of God’s creation and should understand that life did not come by accident but by a Supreme Creator.

In the end there is no differences between them, both are bound for hell already under the “judgment” of God, because of the sin of “disobedience of Adam”.

When we should be seeking our Creator, we all seek after sin from the day we are born.

Yes, even a pure innocent child is a sinner though our Lord will not hold this against them until they are mentally capable of knowing the truth.

Every child and all those who never develop mentally are not help accountable but “Judged” as innocent!

Luk 18:16 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
Luk 18:17 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.

Mat 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
Mat 18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
Mat 18:7 Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!

Notice the color of their skin, the location in which they live, the language they speak, the beliefs of their parents, have absolutely nothing to do with the plan of God and the truth of God!

We have already established that being religious does not make us acceptable to our Holy God!

So, are Christians any better than those who are lost? That answer is NO!

“We are better off” because we know where our true home is located and our final resting place, but a resting place of “LIFE” and not “DEATH”.

Jews and Gentiles, religionists, and non-religionist, are all under sin and “Judged” for that sin as guilty!

1Jn 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

The sinful nature is intentionally ignorant of the truth of God!

Psa 14:1 “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God”. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psa 14:2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
Psa 14:3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

And what happens in a world that has become a place of fools?

We should be able to figure this one out, we see it in the news everyday!

*Rom 3:12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

One man wrote: The Way

The earliest disciples were called followers of “The Way”, which is important because Christianity was never meant to be just another religion, but a “Way”.

It is both a journey and the path you walk on!
It is not static but in constant motion.
It is not just one choice but a lifetime of choices.

We have not yet reached our destination!

Our best life, our God-given potential are always on “the way” and we are called to make “a way” for others to join us.

We are called to follow not formulate!

Follow the way of the One who is The Way, The Truth, and The Life, Jesus Christ.

In Matt 4:19 Jesus said: “Come, follow me,” to his first disciples, and He says the same to us today.

It is a walk with Him, and we are all just on “the way”.

It is not always easy, but it is always that simple.

Since the time of Adam and Eve, the Almighty God has shown us “The Way” that pleases Him, and it is by obedience to His Word!

What is “the way”?

Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
Heb 10:20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
Heb 10:21 And having an high priest over the house of God;
Heb 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
Heb 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

What is “the way”?

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

A sinful nature is useless to our Creator!

Those who are useless are those who continuously reject the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ!

The Holy Spirit begins to describe them here.

*Rom 3:13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
Rom 3:14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:

The sepulcher is a grave.

I suffer from PTSD and to stand in sight of an empty grave is not pleasant for me. It reminds me of death.

The mouths of those who reject the Lord Jesus are much worse!

I also cannot stand to be around those whose mouths are so full of filth.

How can such foulness come out of people?

Filthiness causes more corruption, and more corruption causes more filthiness, and it is a continuous cycle until there are no pleasant things spoken by anyone.

We can see this truth outside the Church.

The language used in Hollywood is so foul it is intolerable, and it is the same language of the world!

No matter how pleasant we may appear, once that foul mouth begins, it erases any sign of a good personality.

What else does the Bible say?

Jas 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

The world is so full of deceit today, that it has nothing good to say about anyone who disagrees with it!

The word deceit is continuous, so the world is not only guilty of deceiving, but it is a continuous process and all we need to do is take a good look at our world today and we can see the truth of this statement!

The sinful tongue is verbal poison!
The sinful tongue is full of cursing.
The sinful tongue is full of bitterness.

The sinful tongue not only curses God, not only curses the Christian, but curses each other.

What is the reality of the sinful tongue?

Psa 109:17 As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.
Psa 109:18 As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones.
Psa 109:19 Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually.

They are swift to bring Spiritual death to all they meet!

*Rom 3:15 Their feet are swift to shed blood:
Rom 3:16 Destruction and misery are in their ways:
Rom 3:17 And the way of peace have they not known:
Rom 3:18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Why is there so much murder, and mayhem in our world today?

Remember God has given them over to a reprobate mind, and it continues including these things also!

Why is there so much destruction done in the name of protesting?

It is because of the cruelty and hatred that has taken over the souls of those that God has rejected!

If we, in any form or fashion, contribute to the downfall of these who are so lost we have become Spiritual murderers ourselves!

Those who are reprobates destroy and cause misery wherever they go, even within their own families and neighborhoods and cities where they live!

They do not want peace because they are uncomfortable with any peace.

They are not at peace with themselves, and they do not want anyone else to be at peace!

The reprobate soul will not allow any peace within that lost person!

Sinful acts are disrespectful of all others!

They ignore God though they believe He does exist.

They do not want Him to have any part in their corrupt minds, so they live as if there is no God!

They stay focused on their own misery.

Rom 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

They do not fear the wrath of God because they can think of only those things that affect this life.

Psa 10:3 For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.
Psa 10:4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.
Psa 10:5 His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.
Psa 10:6 He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity

It is only by the Word of God that anyone can find the answers, the solutions to their dilemma!

*Rom 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

The Law:

We speak of laws in our world today which is in fact becoming more lawless.

We do need some laws in our life so we can keep our freedoms.

We should clearly understand that salvation cannot come by the keeping of laws!

There is no manufactured commandment that can open the doors of Heaven for you!

Jesus preached:

Mar 7:6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
Mar 7:7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Mar 7:8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.
Mar 7:9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

There is no manufactured law that can save you!

Rom 2:25 For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.
Rom 2:26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?
Rom 2:27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?
Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

We are instructed to be obedient to manufactured laws so we can live in peace in this world.

1Pe 2:13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;
1Pe 2:14 Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.
1Pe 2:15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
1Pe 2:16 As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.

The true law is the voice of God written down for us in what we call the Bible.

In reality the Bible is a “Library of Divine Revelation”!

God has taken the time to reveal who He is and His plan for us to join Him.

It is then the plan of salvation! Being saved from the wrath that is coming to this ever-darkening world.

The Scriptures from which we get our English translation are 100% the truth!

Every translation is capable of containing mistakes, but the “Received Text” is the accurate precise Word of God!

The truth of the Law is that since no human could keep those laws, we are then all guilty before the eyes of God!

The Bible as the Word of God then, is a book of “Good News” that God reveals to us how to overcome this guiltiness.

We can only overcome this guiltiness by a “Pardon” from the only One capable of true “Judgment” the One who gave us this amazing Book of Knowledge, from our Divine Creator!

It is only He who can judge our righteousness and or our guiltiness and we are therefore all guilty. We have no goodness at all!

As we are all guilty, we are in no place to speak for our own redemption!

All the world is guilty before God!

Gal 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
Gal 3:11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
Gal 3:12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.
Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Gal 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

We all fall short when compared to our Savior!

The Law can only show us that we are sinful.

God the Father gave us His Son to give us an example of perfection!

Gal 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
Gal 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Anytime we think we have reached perfection then we need to take another look at our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ, and we will see where we still fall short!

The Law makes us aware of our sin, it has no other Heavenly purpose!

Rom 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
Rom 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Rom 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Rom 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

The Law proves we are sinners!

God’s Grace proves His Mercy!

Amen

The Gospel of Grace for the Jews

December 11, 2021 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Gospel of Grace for the Jews

Book of Romans Chapter 2

If we as Christians have noticed anything since our salvation, we have noticed that it is easier to judge than it is to forgive, but God did not call us to “Judge”.

We must examine ourselves and see that we are just as desperately in need of God’s “Grace” as anyone else.

In fact, if there is a difference between a Christian and those who are lost it is only the fact of God’s “Grace”!

We must be keenly aware that we cannot hold anyone to standards we refuse to keep ourselves!

We become hypocrites and the Lord has said that there will be no hypocrites in Heaven!

We as Christians have no authority over those who are lost!

We are bound to tell them the story of the Lord Jesus Christ and what He has done for us, He can do for them!

There is nothing worse than to see, so-called Christians acting like the world!

Isa 52:5 Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD; and my name continually every day is blasphemed.

It is only by the “Gospel” of Jesus Christ that we can be saved, and this salvation is made available to every man, woman, and child, until they reject it individually.

It is the “Gospel Message” that can change our hearts, but only by receiving the regeneration of the Holy Spirit, which is being “Born Again”!

Everyone that will make to Heaven must go through this process!

Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

It is the Jews who were given the Laws of God yet, they themselves could not keep those laws.

So how do we describe religionists?

*Rom 2:16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
Rom 2:17 Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,
Rom 2:18 And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law;
Rom 2:19 And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness,
Rom 2:20 An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.

In the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we continuously see the Pharisee, the Sadducees, the Scribes, and a few others and without a doubt the majority of these men were religionists!

These are those who profess religion enough to believe in the eternal security of that religion.

Whether he be Jew, Moslem, or Buddhist, he believes it will lead him to eternal salvation.

Yes, there are also the Christian religionists!

Verse seventeen describes to us the religionists.

They have the Word of their God with them.
They sometimes read it.
They carry it to their places of worship.
They honor it as the confirmed Word of God to all people.

Every so-called religion does this!

It is these things that lead them to believe they are at peace with God, but God requires something they do not possess.

They profess with their mouths, but they are not obedient to the Word of God.

They are not ashamed of their beliefs nor their religious affiliation.

They boast and brag about their god, but God does not accept them just because they boast of the Word of God!

The mistake they make is, that God is not interested in just these things.

Jas 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
Jas 1:20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
Jas 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
Jas 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
Jas 1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
Jas 1:24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
Jas 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

We must never forget what our Lord Jesus has said!

Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Joh 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

As far as the Jews are concerned, they will never get to Heaven if all they believe is being obedient to those old Laws of Moses, that is called the Law in the New Testament!

The only profession that our Holy God wants to hear is that profession of “Faith” in the work that the Lord Jesus Christ has done to provide that eternal salvation!

Without this “faith” our profession is meaningless to God!

Remember, it is the Holy Ghost who provided this knowledge to the Apostle Paul and all the other Apostles, which became known as the Apostles Doctrine, which is the doctrine of the true Church, the “Good news” of the Lord Jesus Christ.

You see, just knowing God’s will is not enough, we must be in God’s will.

God’s will began with our salvation and if we cannot take this first step of “faith” in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, then we will never get close to our Heavenly Father!

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

God said we just become blind guides leading the world to further blindness and instructors of the foolish!

God had already warned the Jews!

Eze 33:31 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.
Eze 33:32 And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not.
Eze 33:33 And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.

The Jews killed most all the prophets including God’s only Begotten Son and still reject Him today as does all religionists!

There is only one truth!

Religion does not answer all the questions of the truth, only “faith” has those answers!

It takes more than a profession, it requires true “faith”!
It takes more than “Baptism”. Baptism is meaningless unless it is done in resemblance of the work of Jesus Christ.
It takes more than being a Church member. You can be a Church member without being in the family of God which requires the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit!

*Rom 2:21 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
Rom 2:22 Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?
Rom 2:23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?

We can read and study the Word of God every day of our lives, but if we refuse to apply it to our own lives, what good has it done?

In a sense, we are all teachers because no matter who you are there is someone looking at you!

We all claim to know how to live in a righteous way and we are proud parents who teach our own children how we feel, but when we refuse to listen to the truth of God and teach the truth of God, we have led them down a path of destruction.

What right do we have to tell others how to live, if we reject the truth of God on how we are all to live?

Its best we tell them nothing at all, if we are insuring their death without the truth.

God remembers all these things and we will be “Judged” for what we have done, but also for what we have not done!

Jas 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

This kind of changes our perspective when we think about!

Do we steal?
Did we steal as a toddler?
Did we steal in school?
Did we steal on our job?
Did we steal while shopping even by accident?

Most all of us would have to say yes to most of these things.

So we cannot teach how we feel, we must teach the Word of God and then become doers of the Word of God! It is called obedience.

Eph 4:28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

What does the Lord say about adultery?

Mat 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Mat 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

You see if we have not been “Born Again”, regenerated by the Holy Ghost, then how should we ever believe we could teach anyone, even our own children?

Tit 1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

Last week we saw that word “reprobate” and here it is again.

Reprobates then reject the truth of God for themselves but still willing to “judge” others.

We dishonor God when we do these things while still insisting, we are in a good relationship with Him. We fool our own selves!

*Rom 2:24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.

Sacrilege is when we violate our commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ!

This is the same as robbing from God!

This means we are treating many things as more important than our relationship with the Lord!

Every time we say some truth about the Word of God and then not do that truth ourselves, we are blaspheming Jehovah God!

We are dishonoring God before men!

When we claim to be Christian, yet violate the Word of God openly or in secret, we cause the Lord’s name to be blasphemed!

Many people doom themselves because they mock God and make light of the Lord!

All these things we are reading about were taking place by these religionists during the time of our Savior.

They are still taking place today and even taking place in the House of God, the Church.

All these things are written in the Old Testament as our examples to learn from and not to ignore!

*Rom 2:25 For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.
Rom 2:26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?
Rom 2:27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?

Moses established circumcision as a national ordinance for the Children of Israel.

Circumcision was another of those physical signs that have a Spiritual meaning!

The complete truth is, that there is no ritual that can get us one step closer to salvation.

Rituals cannot bring God’s praise!
Rituals cannot bring God’s approval!

You can take that word circumcision and substitute any ritual that is said to bring salvation and we can see the falsehood of all rituals!

Circumcision cannot save you!
Baptism cannot save you!
Church membership cannot save you!
Communion cannot save you!
Living in a so-called Christian nation cannot save you!
You cannot be saved by any ritual nor is any ritual to be included in any way toward our salvation!

Speaking in tongues is not a sign of your salvation!

We are acceptable to God by being obedient to His Word as it deals with the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ!

1Jn 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
1Jn 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

When you make yourself all about keeping those old laws or even new laws that are added in many of today’s Church, we have become “a Judge” who determines another person’s salvation when the Lord has taught us that all we need is our “faith” in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the true Lamb of God!

Not one ritual or group of rituals can save any man, any woman, or any child!

The key to a close relationship with our Heavenly Father is obedience!

Rom 5:19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

The disobedience of Adam made us all sinners!

The obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ will make every believer righteous!

The keeping of rituals cannot save us.
The lack of keeping of those rituals cannot cause us to be lost.

It is obedience or disobedience to the Word of God that is the answer to these things!

In the New Testament we see the title Jew given to those who are not Gentiles.

The title Hebrews is used to distinguish them in regard to language and education versus the Hellenists who were Jews who spoke the Greek language.

The title Israelite is used as respects to their sacred privileges as the chosen people of God.

It is these people who preserved the Word of God that we have today!

What did Jesus say to the Samaritan woman?

Joh 4:21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Joh 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Here in this passage the Apostle Paul uses the title Jew meaning the chosen people of God while speaking to these Christian Jews.

This is the way the Apostle is using the title Jew here.

Not as the Jews of Judah, but the Jew as the chosen people of God!

Now who are the true Chosen People of God?

Listen to Paul.

A true Christian is righteous inwardly because of the Holy Spirit who abides with the believer!

We have no righteousness within ourselves!

Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom 3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Rom 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
Rom 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Rom 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

With all that this great people have done by preserving the Word of God, they have chosen to abide by rituals and laws which are meaningless when it comes to salvation and eternal life with our Heavenly Father.

*Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

There has been no one except the Lord Jesus Christ who has been able to keep all 613 of those Jewish Laws.

So, as of today the Jews who stick to the laws and rituals of Moses, are not acceptable to a Holy God!

Being acceptable to Jehovah comes from the heart of those who are “Born Again” into the family of God.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not a works doctrine, it is a “Grace” Doctrine!

You see, salvation is not what man can do, but salvation is what God has done through His Son and it is God who is to be praised and not man!

The true people of God are all those who are obedient to all the Word of God as it deals with the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ!

It is the Holy Spirit who converts each sinner!

Tit 3:5 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;

By our own works we can never reach the throne room of God!

What does God see today?

Jer 6:10 To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.

Some things just do not ever change!

We already know that all those who reject the Word of God, God has allowed to remain in that position, giving them over to a reprobate mind!

God’s true people are those who have been circumcised in the heart.

God’s true people are all those who have had that flesh disease cut out of their heart.

God’s true people are all those who have been converted by the Holy Spirit!

These who call themselves Jews must take that ultimate step:

Lev 26:41 And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:
Lev 26:42 Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.

Amen

Why There Is A Need For God’s Grace

December 4, 2021 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Gospel of Grace for the Gentiles

Book of Romans Chapter 1

We should not have any problem believing that the Holy Ghost used the Apostle Paul as the vessel to author this Book of Romans. These things have been argued for years and the early Church decided this was true.

This Book to the Christians living in Rome was written before 60 AD which is within 30 years of the death of our Savior.

Rom 15:25 But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints.
Rom 15:26 For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.
Rom 15:27 It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things.

The Apostle Paul had many reasons for authoring this great book the most obvious reason is because the Holy Spirit insisted on it and another reason was that Paul intended to go to Rome to be a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ and he used this letter as an introduction to his ministry.

The Apostle Paul had a great desire to evangelize Rome and each city on the route from Jerusalem to Rome to ensure the spread of the Gospel.

We should clearly understand that if we are obedient to the Holy Ghost, we will find that it is His job to ensure the success of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Mat 16:18 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.

Peter was not that Rock; the Lord Jesus Christ is the Rock of our salvation!

At this time, the Church in Rome was a strong Church.

This was a lay church!

In other words this Church had been established solely by the work of the Holy Spirit without the help of the Apostles.

It is very possible that the early Church leaders in Rome had actually witnessed the resurrected Messiah.

They had certainly witnessed the moving of the Holy Spirit that day of Pentecost!

Act 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
Act 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Act 2:5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
Act 2:6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
Act 2:7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
Act 2:8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
Act 2:9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
Act 2:10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
Act 2:11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.

The “faith” in the work of the Messiah was very strong in Rome at this time!

Rom 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
Rom 1:9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;
Rom 1:10 Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.

I should also mention that this was a Christian Church and had nothing to do with Catholicism which came much, much later.

Within seven years of this letter to the Roman Church, persecution came to this Church because of the Emperor Nero who in a fit of madness tried to burn the city of Rome and he blamed it upon the Christians.

The Book of Romans will show to us the great plan of salvation of Jehovah, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Like Paul we must never be ashamed of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the true Messiah, who has come and who will return to get His Church and then after a set time, show this world how it has failed.

Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Rom 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

We are justified by our “faith” in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation!

Those who remain ignorant of the work of the Messiah will see the wrath of God!

*Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Rom 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

What was Paul’s mission which is also the mission of every Christian?

Rom 1:5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, “for obedience to the faith among all nations”, for his name:
Rom 1:6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:

Our mission is to be obedient to our faith and that faith in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation.

We are saved for two purposes which are to be the purposes for each and every true Church.

1) To obey Him!

Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

2) To lead others to obey Him!

Joh 15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

All other work for the Church comes after this work is established and is working according to the Words of Christ!

All those who reject this obedience will certainly see the wrath of God!

We are saved by the “Grace” of God, which we can understand as “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense”.

If the Lord is so willing to show us His “Grace”, then we should understand that to reject that “Grace” will certainly have a penalty!

Because we all fall under the sin of Adam, which was disobedience, then we are all already subject to the wrath of God!

What two groups will see the wrath of Jehovah?

1) The ungodly!

The ungodly are all those who fail to love Jehovah who also fail to be obedient to Him.

These are all those who put forth no effort to developing a Godly nature.

2) The unrighteous!

The unrighteous are all those who fail to love others. If righteousness is doing all things according to the Word of God, then unrighteousness is doing things that go against the Word of God.

And you cannot be like our President or Ms. Pelosi who use the copout, “I know right from wrong, but I cannot tell others how to live”.

All they are saying is, that they are not going to obey the Word of God.

Jesus used these words:

Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

This is the mission of the Church!

Obedience; is the key to our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ!

Joh 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

How does the Holy Spirit answer our corrupt government?

They know better than to try to make this sort of excuses and everyone else does also!

It is true that there are so many things that we do not know about our Savior and our God.

It is just as true that we know a lot about what He expects of us and much about Him!

Ignorance of our Holy God will never be an excuse!

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

If we seek to know about our Creator, He will show us!
If we do not seek to know about our Creator, He will still show us!

If we choose to not know our Creator, then we have made a conscience determination to reject His truth!

God says that He has planted that information within each of us!

I believe Him!

You will never convince our Creator that you do not know anything about Him!

*Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

It is a fact that, that the heavens, the earth, and the great oceans and seas reveal that there had to be a Creator.

This world did not happen by some accident and people are foolish to even think we evolved from some accident.

The heavens declare the “Glory” of God!

Our world has become so tuned in to sin, that people will believe anything that goes against the Word of God.

This ignorance of Jehovah has sent far too many to Hell, because they simply accept what a few foolish men present as the truth.

How can we expect a Holy God to extend His hand of “Mercy” and “Grace” to this ignorant world, yet this is exactly what He does!

This “Mercy” will not be extended for very much longer because it is also true, if there is such a Creator, then how can we not expect Him to show His “Wrath” to those who reject the truth.

This is the battle that goes on today, the “Truth of a Holy God” versus the intentional ignorance of a few wicked men who have had their way in the circles of what is no longer even considered true science.

These evolutionists keep presenting the same old debunked fallacies refusing to even correct their lies and they get away with it because to admit they are wrong means there must be a Creator!

What will God do to them? What is God already doing today?

2Th 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

You see it is the invisible things of God from the creation of this world that are clearly seen!

Our Creator has revealed enough to us make us realize we did not come about by some gigantic accident.

In fact, most every person alive today cannot tell us one thing good that ever came by accident!

An accident is said to be the results that proceed from an unknown cause or the unusual effect of a known cause.

Accidents are things considered to happen without a design in mind.

To believe in accidents is to reject a Creator whose plan is so great and is so awesome that our pea brains just cannot fathom it!

Yes, it is easy to see that there has to be a Supreme Being behind what we think of as our created world.

There must a “Force” that not only put His creation in place but also Who keeps things working at His own whim!

It takes a vast knowledge of life to create life, life does not happen by accident!

There is a purpose and a meaning to everything our Creator has made, and that purpose is extended to His creatures!

There is a beauty and a majesty in all the things we see!

We do not have to imagine a Creator; we can see the results of His creation!

Psa 97:1 The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof.
Psa 97:2 Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.
Psa 97:3 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.
Psa 97:4 His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled.
Psa 97:5 The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
Psa 97:6 The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory.

And the Lord God of all creation says even know these things are so easy to see, most people would rather just believe a lie.

You see, if you acknowledge a Creator then you have to acknowledge His Words and His record, He has given to us about His creation!

*Rom 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

If there is one place in the Word of God that tells us what God thinks of all those who have rejected Him, then this is the place.

We should be truly clear, all those who reject the Word of God and the God of the Bible the Lord Jesus Christ, do so because they have chosen for themselves an idol!

They begin with a failure to praise Him and to thank Him “because they are conscious of their own guilt”!

Those who have ever taken the time to study our vast universe have no doubt that there must be a Creator.

They reject our Creator because our Creator points out their sin.

They even claim to be wiser than our Creator!

This has carried over into our pulpits today where many now claim to be wiser than our Savior.

Why would we be so foolish?

We must realize that when we push God away, He will go away!

When He goes away, we are filled with emptiness and the craving to fill that void is where most every lost person gets into trouble.

They will search the world over to find something to fill this emptiness and it cannot be found!

They will sin with, false gods, idols, drugs, and Satan is ready to receive them into his fold. The Lord Jesus said:

Joh 8:42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Joh 8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Our world has become a place based upon lies and people hate the truth so much that they will reject any and all truth!

What are imaginations? Thoughts, reasonings, deliberations, conclusions, speculations.

That word “vain” means empty, futile, unsuccessful, worthless, senseless.

They become foolish and foolish hearts grow darker daily!

They sometimes become so occupied with trying to pry out the mysteries God existence and reject those things that can be so easily known.

The Word of God teaches us all we need to know to be productive in the eyes of our Creator and He does not try to hide anything so important as our salvation from us!

What more do we need to know to make that choice?

We are all bound for Hell!

God offers us a place called Heaven!

It is not such a hard choice!

We should glorify our Creator relentlessly and surely; we can thank Him for what He has already done!

If we are breathing, we are breathing God’s air!

We do not have a clue of what tomorrow may bring, but the Lord Jesus Christ does!

Jas 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Jas 4:15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
Jas 4:16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
Jas 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

When we know better and just follow that denying crowd, we only harm ourselves. It does not change what God will do!

God has already taken great pains to explain these things to us!

We do ourselves no justice by becoming fools!

*Rom 1:23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Rom 1:24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

If we take a hard look at our world, we can truly see the evidence of what God is saying here.

There is a prophesy of the last days that we can readily see today if, you have been around the true Church for any length of time.

2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

Many will tell you that so many of our foolish governments taking advantage of this plague of Covid 19 and shutting down the Church as they have, while having no power to do so have in fact influenced this falling away.

Many who were denied the opportunity to worship have never returned to the Church!

We can say what we want about their salvation, but the fact remains they were in Church and now many are still afraid to return and some just do not return.

There is a “falling away” of those who were at one time were regular to the Church!

My point is our world just gets darker and darker every day.

If any nation rejects all the sinful movements of these liberal minded governments, then they are pushed aside as wicked and evil when it is these liberal governments who are wicked and immoral according to the Word of God.

What is happening? Evilness and wickedness are called good, and God’s children are called evil. Just as the Bible says will happen in the last days!

We may not see all the idols today because they are in false houses of worship, but just as this Book of Romans has said, all those that have rejected the Lord and the Word of God, have made themselves to be idols.

And what has our Creator done? He has given them over to uncleanness!

Isa 42:8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

We should ask ourselves, just what is the true reality of our dealings with our Heavenly Father?

Our Creator wants to remove from us our “uncleanness”.

The Apostle John said:

1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

John was describing a world that had rejected our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, the true Messiah that came down from Heaven.

If you give up or reject the soul saving power of Jehovah, then He will allow you to continue to dishonor your created bodies.

We live in this time called “Grace” but it will not last very much longer.

It is in this period of time that we have been given the opportunity to make a choice!

Joshua said it like this:

Jos 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

In verse eighteen we read that God has already shown us what He will do at the end of the Church Age which is what the Apostle Paul is speaking of.

He will reveal His wrath to all those who serve false gods and idols!

We live in a world where we can see this taking place right before our eyes!

You see God’s wrath is revealed from Heaven every day to all those He has given up on.

Now He will never turn down any true request for forgiveness, but our All-knowing God knows those who will choose righteousness and sadly, He also knows all those who never will!

These are things that our Savior does every day!

He gives up on those He knows will never return to Him.

This is why our world gets darker every day!

He has been doing this since the beginning of time!

So Jehovah just says, if you want to do things your way, then so be it, but know that your ending will be an eternity of His wrath.

You see though the world denies the truth of the Word of God, it does not make it any less true!

God rejected all the wicked world in the days of Noah, and He has promised He will do it again.

At the death of everyone who has rejected our Savior, they begin their days of eternal damnation which is what they said they wanted.

Notice how many today believe that Hell is nothing more than a big party place for those who reject Jesus.

Everyone in Hell is now a full believer, but it was too late for them!

When you make sin your god, you will see increased sin until you are engulfed into pure wickedness which is what Satan is, “Pure Wickedness”!

When sin looks good, feels good and taste good, then you are hooked on sin!

The sad part of this is that we are not islands. Our sin affects others!

What happens in the mind of those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ?

*Rom 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

So what does uncleanness really mean?

Uncleanness means impurity, filthiness, immorality, defilement, pollution, infection, contamination!

These are things we see at the beginning of everyday in the news and at every evening before we go to bed, and we can be sure these things do not stop just because we are asleep.

People serve themselves at the expense of all other people!

This is what idolatry means!

Worshiping a false god is like being in a heavy truck going downhill with no brakes.

There is no way to stop yourself once God gives up on you!

You see sin can only be curtailed by the Holy Spirit!

2Th 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

So, we can just imagine, no, we cannot imagine what this world will be like once the Church is taken out of this world.

You see, every believer is home to the Holy Spirit, and He promised to never leave us so, when God calls out His Church, there will not be anyone left behind who is a home to the Holy Spirit.

Those who have rejected the Messiah have made themselves gods!

Just look toward Washington if you want to see a many of these fools.

Everyone who has rejected Jesus think that they can fulfill their own needs.
Everyone who has rejected the Lord Jesus believe that the Messiah will just continue to allow them to live in any fashion they so choose.
Everyone who has rejected the Messiah believe they can choose their own god.
Everyone who has rejected the Messiah, think they can remake Him into something more perfect according to their own minds.

These are all those who allow their loose morals to control their thoughts of what a God should be!

Again we see, God will not tolerate this type of behavior and we see God will allow you to live the way you so choose in this life.

*Rom 1:26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

So why would God give them up?

They have chosen to reject the truth of the Word of God and live-in uncleanness!

This is a conscious choice! They blame the truth of God for the reason they have made this decision!

Here we see that God did not cause this to happen.

It is that thing called “choice”!

God is not speaking of harlotry or adultery, here.

God is speaking of the unnatural appetite for wickedness in which all normal instincts are left behind.

Eph 4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
Eph 4:19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

This takes place not only with women, but for the life of me I will never understand why, but men also!

*Rom 1:27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

Men who reject the marriage.
Men who reject ordinary lusts towards women which is bad enough.
Men who plunge headfirst into total depravity with other men.

Eph 5:12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
Eph 5:13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.

These things which have taken place throughout time are paraded down Main Street today, unashamedly!

All these things began with idolatry.
All these things come about because of the rejection of the truth!

All Jehovah told Moses, “they have corrupted themselves”!

The Lord simply says this is the judgment upon all those who do these things.

They have made a spectacle of themselves, so they take advantage of it in a depraved world!

Jud 1:7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

What is our world?

A lost people plunging deeper into their own desires having always someone trying to be pure to blame it on!

The only answer to this depravity is to be “Born Again” into the family of God before you go as far as to be given up on by the Savior Himself!

Jehovah said:

Gen 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man,

The Holy Spirit will only come calling until He gives up on you!

And we already know that many diseases are transmitted in this fashion, but we never hear of these plagues anymore.

So what is a reprobate mind?

*Rom 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Rom 1:29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Rom 1:30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Rom 1:31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

How can we explain the reprobate mind?

First God did not cause this reprobate mind.

These people have reached this point of sinfulness by themselves and their own choices!

God just simply leaves them in this condition!

They have abandoned their lives to sin and God knowing they will never change, removes any opportunity for “Grace”!

Think of it in terms of a piece of metal that has proved to be worthless by the refiner’s fire.

Jer 6:29 The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.
Jer 6:30 Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them.

Isa 1:22 Thy silver is become dross,

You see these people did not approve to have God in their knowledge, their mind was depraved and perverted by vile passions.

This is the movement that is taking over our world today!

We also call this a sign of the very last days:

Luk 17:28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
Luk 17:29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
Luk 17:30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

They are full of unrighteousness!

We can understand righteousness as doing things according to the Word of God, they were unrighteous going against all the Word of God!

It was not just fornication it was abnormal sexual activity.

It was not just wickedness it was depravity.

It was not just a craving it for possessions, it was the craving to possess power, fame, and pleasure.

It was not just maliciousness it was with malice and viciousness.

It was not just envy; this word goes far beyond jealousy.

It was not just murder, but a craving to end the life of those who opposed them.

It was not just debate, but was in a dishonest and evil way.

It was not just malignity; it was a complete evil and wicked disposition.

It was not just whisperers but slanderers.

It was not just back biting; it was a loud broadcasting to a lie as the truth.

It was not just haters of God, but the craving to be a living god themself.

It was not being despiteful is was insulting, the spirit of spite.

It was not just pride; it was self-exaltation and arrogance.

It was not just boasting; it was braggarts and boasters.

It was not just inventors of evil, it was inventors of a new depravity.

It was not just being disobedient to parents it is a total disrespect of parental instruction.

It was not just being without understanding, it was senseless, and foolish.

It was not just covenant breakers, it was faithless and treacherous.

It was not just without natural affection; it was heartless without human emotion.

It was not just implacable; it was but an unwillingness to even condone peace.

It was not just unmerciful; it was a craving to satisfy one’s own pleasure at the expense of all others.

What do all these things bring?

The “Judgment of God” and they knew it!

*Rom 1:32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

All those who mention the Lord Jesus Christ, know that there is a “Judgment” coming according to the Word of God.

What are the facts? All those who sin without repentance and all those who just take pleasure in others who do those sins, will be left without the Lord throughout eternity.

They will be “judged” because they have no excuse for their actions claiming to know the truth just will make things worse.

God will not be mocked.

1) They have a complete inner knowledge of Jehovah and admit this is true.
2) They continue in depravity even knowing that this is true.
3) They are in a fellowship with Satan and all other evil doers!

All these who do such things are in league with each other and in league with the Devil!

These things describe our world today and they can be seen in every modern-day nation!

Amen!

Are My Actions Pleasing To My Lord?

January 5, 2013January 5, 2013 / Bobby Mayfield / 3 Comments

How Confident Are We That We Are Serving In God’s Will?

Text:

Rom 14:22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. [Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth].
Rom 14:23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: [for whatsoever is not of faith is sin].

We should ask ourselves if God is pleased with His Church of today?

After all, we spend much more of our time whining and griping and comparing ourselves with other Christians, or other churches or even comparing our pastors with other pastors than we do serving and in worship to Our Lord.

This thing is contagious!

We look at how other churches do things and how they worship instead of “how does God want our own local church where God has placed us to worship”.

There may be changes from time to time to keep our worship relevant and fresh but constant dissatisfaction is a symptom of something deeper and something sinful.

Unless we dedicate ourselves to our own church under the guidelines of the Bible “we will never know how each church or each house of prayer fits into God’s Plan”!

Decisions can never be made unless we do it in a prayerful and a biblical manner, without compromising the TRUTH of God’s Word!

Remember God’s Word is settled in Heaven, it’s not up to us to change what God says!

Psa 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

We should begin with the best translation of the scriptures for our own language. The Old Testament scriptures were in Hebrew and the New Testament scriptures were in Greek. I speak English so I need to find the best English translation of those original scriptures. I personally believe that to be the KJV.

We all need to research to be sure we have the best translation in our own language!

So, let’s look into God’s guidelines:

First let’s clear that word “damned” up in our text. A “Born Again” child of God cannot be “damned” to “eternal damnation”, but we can still suffer “condemnation” and “judgment” for the things we do that do not line up with the Word of God.

Both God and each believer should “condemn” ungodly acts that are done by the doubtful believer!

An We Need To Realize That Things that are done against our own conscience are sin “even if some other believer has a clear conscience of the matter”.

When your conscience tells you that what you are doing is wrong for you then it is worng and it is sin if you go against your own conscience!

All things are, indeed, legal for a true Christian but the main criteria that must be met is “Does it please the Lord”?

Some of these things should include the way we worship, the music we listen too and allow in our worship services, and also smoking, movies, drinking, drugs, marriage, just living together, dancing and many other such things.

The Bible teaches us that we must govern our own behavior in consideration of our other brothers and sisters in Christ!

So what are God’s guidelines?

In out text verse we see a big one:

*****1.) We have to have full confidence that what we are doing is pleasing Our Lord!

Our “faith” must be unquestionable!

So what else do we need to know?

*****2.) Does what I am about to do have a positive Christian value, without question or doubt, pleasing to the Lord?

Proof scripture:

1Co 10:23 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, [but all things edify not].
1Co 10:24 Let no man seek his own, [but every man another’s wealth].

Does what we are about to do “edify” or “build up” other persons, or are we just thinking about ourselves?

Proof scripture:

Col 4:5 [Walk in wisdom toward them that are without], redeeming the time.

How does what I am doing or about to do look to those that are lost. Our goal is to reach out to the lost so we need redeem the time. Time is our most valuable possession and lost time can never be regained.

Our Christian lives are always shorter than our physical lives. We just do not have much time to reach out to those of this lost world and every time we damage our ability to witness we are not redeeming that time.

If what we are doing puts more distance between us and any lost person, then we should not do it!

*****3.) Is what I am about to do consistent with my Christian life?

Proof scripture:

2Co 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
2Co 5:15 And that he died for all, [that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves], but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

It must be our love for Jesus Christ that is to be our guide in all our actions!

Jesus must be at the beginning of every decision we make!

Proof scripture:

Col 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, [seek those things which are above], where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Col 3:2 [Set your affection on things above], not on things on the earth.
Col 3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
Col 3:4 When Christ, [who is our life], shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

Will what I am about to do gain a reward from the Lord?

Proof Scripture:

2Ti 2:4 No man that warreth “entangleth himself with the affairs of this life”; [that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier].

We should ask ourselves, “if I get entangled in this” how does it affect my battle within my own self to remain pure and will I still be able to be on the front lines in God’s Army?

*****4.) Can I absolutely sense the positive leading of the indwelling Holy Spirit?

Proof Scripture:

1Co 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
1Co 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: [therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s].
Do my actions glorify God or myself?

Proof Scripture:

Gal 5:16 This I say then, [Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh].
Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: [so that ye cannot do the things that ye would].
Gal 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

If what you are about to do is something that you use to do before you were saved, then you must be sure that it is the Holy Spirit that is your guide!

In fact we must always be sure the Holy Spirit is our guide in all our actions!

2Co 6:17 Wherefore [come out from among them, and be ye separate], saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

To be a Christian is to leave behind that old life!

We must walk away from that old life or we have not understood what it is to “repent”!

To repent is to have a complete change of mind!

*****5.) Will what I am about to do diminish my Christian influence?

Proof Scripture:

Rom 14:14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: [but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean].

We must realize, that as Christians the world is always looking at us to see if a Christian is truly different from the world!

Proof Scripture:

Rom 14:21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing [whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak].

We must also realize that there is always some one in the church that has their eyes on us and it is most likely a young child or a member of our own family but could be a new convert or any brother or sister in Christ!

Proof Scripture:

1Co 8:8 But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse.
1Co 8:9 [But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak].
1Co 8:10 [For if any man see thee] which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol’s temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols;
1Co 8:11 [And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish], for whom Christ died?

Jesus Christ died for every sinner that has ever been born and if our actions cause just one them to remain lost and they end up in hell, we can be sure we will suffer some loss at the Bema Seat of Christ!

Proof Scripture:

1Th 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.

We must absolutely abstain from anything that has any appearance of evil!

*****6.) Could what I am about to do pose a danger that I could become addicted to it?

This could be a long list for most of us!

Proof Scripture:

1Co 6:12 All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, [but I will not be brought under the power of any].

If we do anything that comes between us and our Lord it is sin!

Any substance or Anything that can control our mind or our actions fit this description!

Proof Scripture:

Eph 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

This verse does not say it OK to drink wine but it does say that the Holy Spirit is the “ONLY” mind altering influence that we should partake of.

Proof Scripture:

Jas 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
Jas 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

Our greatest enemy is our own selves!

Our mind will make up a million reasons to tell us what we are about to do is OK!

*****7.) A question we should always ask is, Would Jesus Do This ?

To be saved is to have the “mind of Christ”!

Proof Scripture:

Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

1Pe 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, [leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps]:
1Pe 2:22 [Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth]:

1Jn 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

With Jesus as our example then we need to learn how Jesus walked and be more like Him!

*****8.) If I am confident that my actions will glorify God then I should proceed.

Proof Scripture:

1Co 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, [do all to the glory of God].

Col 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, [do it heartily, as to the Lord], and not unto men;
Col 3:24 [Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance]: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

So let’s go back to an earlier verse and have a clearer understanding of what it says:

1Co 10:23 All things are lawful for me, [but all things are not expedient]: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.

Carnal desires are the “root” and the “source” of sin!

And our “goal” MUST be to Glorify God in everything we do!

Amen

The Responsibility Of Righteousness

February 20, 2012February 20, 2012 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Responsibility Of Righteousness

“Working Together”

Our Text: Romans 15:4—-16:27

We have a responsibility to be righteous after we are saved by God’s “Grace”. We had no righteousness before we were saved. Our righteousness was like filthy rags.

Isa 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, [he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness], as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

That righteousness is only in Jesus Christ:

Mal 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

And God says:

Rom 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

This means we are help one another.

We are to pray for one another.

We are to minister to one another. To minister is not only to be a servant to each other but to do it for the “glory of God”. We are to deliver to each other the things, physical and spiritual, we have received of God. This is being a good steward of the things that God has blessed us with. We are to give back to others what God has given us!

We are to admonish one another, we should warn our brothers and sisters in Christ, when we see some things that affect their witnessing ability.

THIS IS NOT THE SAME AS JUDGING ONE ANOTHER!

Our brothers and sisters in Christ are not our enemies and should not be treated in that manner.

2Th 3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.

Some read this verse and stop but we must consider the entire passage:

2Th 3:14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no
company with him, that he may be ashamed.
2Th 3:15 [Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother].

We should inform them of the wrong things they do, and advise them to seek counseling from the Word of God, even showing them the truth, BUT WE MUST AVOID GETTING INVOLVED WITH THEIR EVILNESS.

We must then make them aware that we are their friend, waiting on and encouraging their return to the Lord.

When we do this properly, according to the Word of God, we will gain a solid brother and sister in Christ and we are fulfilling our obligation of “righteousness” to the God who saved us.

This is not a command because when we wear the robe of Our Lord Jesus Christ we will be in His image and we will be Christian or “Like Christ”.

THIS IS AN ACTION THE SHOWS THE LOVE OF CHRIST.

LOVE IS AN ACTION WORD!

GOD’S LOVE IS NOT CONNECTED TO “LUST”!

To love our brothers and sisters in Christ is to be in one accord with them.

Pro 18:24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

THAT TRUE FRIEND WE ALL HAVE, THAT ARE SAVED, IS JESUS CHRIST!

THIS IS THE STRENGTH OF THE BODY OF CHRIST!

Our Text:

Rom 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that
we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

We must not forget that there was no New Testament at this time. It was being written by
these apostles and some others at this time of Paul. Paul clearly states that the books of the
Old Testament were written before the time of the Church. The Old Testament is where we learn how
God dealt with His people. God chastised them but God never abandoned them!

Rom 15:5 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward
another according to Christ Jesus:
Rom 15:6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Rom 15:7 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.

Paul is telling us, through the Holy Ghost, that the same God who gave the Old Testament Saints patience, endurance, and comfort in His Word will do the same for every believer.

In other words it is not the things of this world that can make the church better!

It is only the Word of God that can make the Church a place of worship!

Satan has too much influence on the things of this world for them to ever be any benefit to the Body of Christ!

The world would only bring false preaching and false teaching into the church and make it a place of entertainment when God wants the church to be a hospital for souls!

God uses our mistakes to teach us but we must also learn from those mistakes!

The Church must major in the Word of God and in Prayer!

Abraham knew this to be true:

Gen 13:8 And Abram said unto Lot, [Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren].

Satan will do his best to isolate Christians in this world. It is when we are alone that we are the weakest.

Satan will try to convince us that we are never good enough to get into God’s Heaven.

He will convince us that since we are so bad then it is not so wrong for us to do bad things.

This is not the plan of God nor is it the Word of God!

We can never glorify God by submitting to the evils in this world!

When we do not have the mind of Christ, we will never glorify God with our mouths!

Mat 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? [for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh].

God saves sinners and God uses sinners to do His Work!

*****Our Text:

Rom 15:8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:
Rom 15:9 And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name.
Rom 15:10 And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people.
Rom 15:11 And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people.
Rom 15:12 And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.
Rom 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Rom 15:14 And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.

What we see in chapter 15 is the fact that to minister and to be a minister of Jesus Christ should be our goal.

The theme of Chapter 15 is “minister” or “the ministry”.

The Apostle Paul uses five different Greek words to describe the ministry of the “Body of Christ”

We have learned from other lessons that the number “5” represents the number of “Grace”!

*****In verse 8 we see the word “diakonos”.

We get our English word “Deacon” from this Greek word but it means to execute the commands of a master. It means to be obedient to the Word of God as a servant to the Body of Christ.

Notice Paul said Our Lord Jesus was sent to execute the commands of the Master, The Almighty God Himself.

We are all also sent out into this world to execute the commands of our Master:

Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

To be a deacon is not to hold an office of power but an office of a servant!

*****In verse 25 we the word “diakoneo”.

This Greek word means to help those in need in the church, to try to provide the necessities of life to the Body of Christ. This would include missions. This also includes those that can give more than their tithe.

We are beginning to see that every Born Again chold of God has a “Ministry” in the Body of Christ.

*****In verse 31 we see the word ” diakonia”.

This Greek word means to be a teacher and serve in the administration of the Body of Christ.

These would include every teacher in every age group from Sunday School to every other teaching program but also the music director and any clerical help among others.

*****In verse 27 we see the word “leitourgeo” for the word “service”

This Greek word means the volunteers who work in the Body of Christ to keep all the various functions of the Church working. This would also include the Prayer Warriors at most important part of the Body of Christ.

This would also include the van drivers, those that work in the nursery, those that maintain and clean the House of God and most every other volunteer in the Church.

*****In verse 16 we see the word “leitourgos”.

This Greek word means to Pastor. We know that to Pastor is to be called of God, but these Pastors must come from the Body of Christ.

This would also include any youth Pastor or any assistant Pastor among others that are specifically called of God.

All these that minister in the Body of Christ must first be believers and Born Again.

We all have a place in the ministry of the Body of Christ!

God will provide the gifts needed to for us to fit in our place.

Our Supreme example of ministry must always be Jesus Christ Our Lord!

Jesus made sure that His disciples understood this most important part of the ministry in the Body Of Christ!

Luk 22:24 And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.
Luk 22:25 And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors.
Luk 22:26 But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.
Luk 22:27 For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? [but I am among you as he that serveth].

Until Jesus died on the cross and was “resurrected into new life”, He ministered to the Nation of Israel.

Only after this did the ministry spread to “whosoever will”.

The Book of Acts tells us that the disciples began in Israel, then to the Samaritans, then to all Gentiles.

God was not selfish to go to the Jew first because He used the Jews to spread the Gospel. We may wonder why God has not yet returned but, the truth is He will not return until the fullness of the Gentiles come in.

2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, [not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance].

2Pe 3:15 [And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation]; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
2Pe 3:16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
2Pe 3:17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
2Pe 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Look at what Paul says:

Verse 9 tells us that the Jews glorify God among the Gentiles fulfilling Old Testament prophesy:

Psa 18:49 [Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen], and sing praises unto thy name.

Verse 10 tells us that the Jews will rejoice with the Gentiles.

Deu 32:43 [Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people]: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.

Verse 11 tells us that All the Jews and the Gentiles together will praise God.

Psa 117:1 [O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people].
Psa 117:2 For his merciful kindness is great toward us: [and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever]. Praise ye the LORD.

verse 12 tells us that Our Lord Jesus Christ will reign over the Jews and the Gentiles.

Isa 11:10 [And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious].

We know that not all these things have taken place yet but they will!

In verse 12 that word trust “elpizo” means hope.

So in verse 13:

“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing”

But the Power behind that “hope” is the Holy Ghost.

We must remember before we were saved, we had no “hope”.

Eph 2:12 That at that time [ye were without Christ], being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, [having no hope, and without God in the world]:
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh [by the blood of Christ].

Not only “hope” but, joy, peace, and power, still through the Holy Spirit that lives within us.

It is because the Jew took the Gospel to the us, the Gentiles, that all the nations of this world have the opportunity to “trust”(hope) in Christ Jesus as Savior!

*****Our Text:

Rom 16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
Rom 16:18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
Rom 16:19 For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.
Rom 16:20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

The Apostle Paul, who was a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, spent most all his years taking the Gospel to the Gentile.

When Paul met Jesus an the Damascus Road, he met the God of “Grace”.

1.) It was God’s grace that saved him.
2.) It was God’s grace that called him.
3.) It was God’s grace that made him the Apostle to the Gentiles.

Rom 1:5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
Rom 1:6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:

Paul realized that the Gentile were to be also called:

Eph 3:1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
Eph 3:2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
Eph 3:3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
Eph 3:4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

Paul knew that the Salvation message was the Gospel of God, which is the “Good-News” of Jesus Christ.

All these things are done under the “power” of the Holy Spirit.

It is an absolute “privilege” to be a servant of God and to give the saving message of God to “whosoever will” hear it!

Paul did these things for God’s glory!

We cannot brag about our ministry BUT we must brag about what God had done in our lives since being saved and the fact of “Salvation” because it is a fact!

God’s Word is fact!

Our Salvation is based on “facts”!

We cannot over emphasize that we are stablished, stabilized on the facts of the Bible!

It was the Holy Spirit that gave Paul the power to do these things.

This is still the same power that every saved child of God operates on today!

The Apostle Paul preached according to God’s Plan of Salvation!

Paul was not to preach where other Apostles had ministered:

Rom 15:20 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, [not where Christ was named], lest I should build upon another man’s foundation:

There is no greater evidence that the Apostle Peter did not start the church in Rome, as the Catholic Church declares, than this one verse!

Paul would not have desired to go to Rome if Peter had already established the church in Rome!

The Apostle Paul was the pioneer of the ministry of God, to the Gentile world!

Isa 52:12 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward.

That word rereward means the “One that gathers”.

In other words it is the God of Israel, Jehovah God and His Plan of Salvation that had sent Paul to the Gentiles.

We know that Paul preached Jesus, so God says we will gather at the cross and the blood of Jesus will wash us into Salvation!

It would now be the Gentiles that would take the Gospel back to the Jew and that is where we stand today!

Every one that wears the title Christian is obligated to repay the debt to Israel.

1.) We should pray for the Salvation of Israel
2.) We should take the Gospel message to Israel
3.) We should provide help to Israel when we are able

When the Holy Spirit is working in the Body of Christ, the giving of these things and more is no problem.

4.) We must stand by the side of Israel!

We will see in chapter 16 that it was a lady, Phebe, that took these written words of Paul to the believers in Rome.

Phebe may not have realized the importance of the message she carried but, she could have, as the New Testament was being written and assembled during this time of Paul and the other Apostles.

2Pe 3:15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him [hath written unto you];
2Pe 3:16 As also in all [his epistles] speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

For those that teach it was many years later that the New Testament was written, disputes what the Bible itself says.

The Bible was being written and distributed to the church during the time of the Apostles!

The Apostle Paul took some time to thank many who had help him in his ministry. We all have a ministry and we should always be thankful to any that help in our own ministry.

2Co 4:1 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;
2Co 4:2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

2Ti 4:5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

The Apostle Paul knew that there were many that many that were working against the Church as there are today.

There are many who would divide the Church!

We can see the evidence of false doctrine in our own communities.

Any place of worship not founded on the Rock of Jesus will not stand!

Paul says:

1.) Mark them, (take aim as a spy would) and point them out to the Church, the local assemblies.

2.) Avoid them, (keep a distance from) not allowing them in our own assembly, and to not be part of these false assemblies.

We cannot fall into the trap of friendship, when we should concentrate on being obedient to the Lord and preserving our own testimony!

Any one that deviates from the Word of God intentionally, comes from Satan!

AND We know his end is near!

Not everyone that hears the Gospel of Jesus will accept Him as Savior but, we owe it to them to reach out with God’s Word, and God’s Plan of Salvation.

If we can in love point out false doctrine, then we should, but not think of them as an enemy!

God’s Word is not to be argued but only delivered!

It is the work of the Holy Ghost that will bring salvation!

If we can all work together as the “One Body Of Christ” that we are supposed to be, then God’s goals will be reached.

It is God’s Plan of Salvation!

We cannot try to change God’s Plan!

We should serve the Lord because we love the Lord!

When we work together in the work of the Lord, we are showing the love of Jesus!

Joh 3:16 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.
Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Let’s Pray!

The Duty Of Righteousness

February 13, 2012February 13, 2012 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Duty Of Righteousness

“Considering Others”

Our Text:

Romans 14:1–15:3

This lesson may step on our toes a little bit but we all, including myself, need to understand all the Word of God.

We have a “duty” to properly serve the Lord once we are saved by His Grace!

We do not have to look very far to know that the body of Christ is not in one accord. In fact it seems even in our local assemblies we are in some kind of competition.

The Truth is, Every Bible Believing group of worshippers, through out this world are “One Body Of Christ”!

The problem then is, not many groups believe the entire Word Of God is inspired. To not believe this is the same as saying God could lie and this is what is impossible!

We fall into the trap of saying, let’s go down to the church or let’s go to church. This is not such a bad thing to say but the truth is we as believers are the church. We as believers are the body of Christ!

We are not just some local group of believers, but joined together to all believers by our “Faith” and that by the “Grace of God”.

Then we should ask, why does it seem that the worldwide “Body of Christ” is trying to hide itself from the evil things of this world?

We are to come out from among those of this world but we are not to hide!

We are to shine like bright shiny lights!

We are not to put ourselves under a basket!

Listen to the words of Jesus:

Joh 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Again he said:

Joh 9:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

And again:

Mat 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Mat 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

To be called Christian is to be like Christ. As Jesus Christ shined in this world we are now to shine because, He is our example.

We do not shine very brightly in this world we live in, when we cannot get along with our brothers and sisters!

If we cannot be in unity in the places where we attend to worship the Lord Our God, how can we expect the world wide the body of Christ to be in one accord?

This is not just a problem we have in our assembly, It is a worldwide problem and has been going on since the beginning of the church.

In the New Testament we see many disputes.

1.) The Corinthians were divided over human leaders and some of the members were even suing each other.

2.) The Galatians always seem to be bitter and divided into separate groups from each other.

3.) The Ephesians and the Colossians had to be constantly reminded to be of one accord just as we are.

We all, only have one book to guide us, The Holy Bible, and it is infallible!

4.) In the church of Philippi, even two women tried to split the church.

The book of Hebrews tells us:

Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, [as the manner of some is]; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Not only are we not to forsake in the attendance of the church, we are to meet more often as we see the end time approaching.

The end time is approaching at every tick of the clock, and we can all see the signs!

BUT, It does not really matter how many times we meet if we do not act like we are “the body of Christ”, “One” worldwide group of believers all having the same mind of Christ.

We only have one example to live by, Jesus Christ Himself!

The Holy Spirit will always lead us to Jesus!

How can we travel so many paths in opposite directions, when there is only one way to Heaven?

I checked every English translation I could find, and they all say Jesus Christ is the only means of getting to Heaven. (John 14:6)

The Bible also says:

Php 2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
Php 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Php 2:4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

We are to be likeminded!
We are to have the same love!
We are to be in One Accord!
We are to be in One Mind!
We are all to treat our brothers and sister like they are better than ourselves!
We are all to have the same mind of Christ, who is the only head of the Church and His Body!

If we ever see this become a reality in our separate places of worship, we will see an immediate change in the church and there will be a revival in the body of Christ!

The Bible says:

Psa 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

We must put aside any old belief, any old teaching, and every old thing that we learned from the past that does not match up to the Word of God!

*****The New Testament is full of examples of God’s people striving in the local church.

God did not write these things down for us to ignore, but to learn from!

What Jews were saved, were saved out of a legalistic background and even today they struggle to forget the way they were raised.

The Gentile believers had never had to worry about any special diet, or any Sabbath day, or any festival days. They certainly did not worry about diets and what they could or could not eat.

*****But, We know this caused great debate in the early church.

The book of Acts chapter 15 describes this time for us.

Act 15:19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
Act 15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.

We know that the church in Rome also had its own problems.

What we should see also is that these things are still around today and this is a loss, to the Body of Christ.

*****We fight the same battles over and over again!

We simply do not learn from what God teaches us in His Word!

Are there gray areas in the Bible? No! There are no gray areas!

*****Our God never changes!

I just believe most people do not study God’s Word enough to know the truth!

Mal 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not

Our God teaches us to have the same mind of Christ and Christ Jesus never changed.

Pro 24:21 My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: [and meddle not with them that are given to change]:
Pro 24:22 For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both?

This is why we should stay with a Bible that is translated from the original Greek and Hebrew texts such as the King James Bible we use here at Gethsemane.

When we see activities that go on in other places of worship that are clearly defined in our Bible as wrong, we need to get away from those activities and stay away from those places of worship!

*****The Body of Christ is not for entertainment!

The Body of Christ has only one function, to be so much like Christ Jesus that the World will still see Jesus and to continue in the work that He began!

When we see activities that go on in places of worship by the truth of the Gospel of God, then those are the places we should choose to worship.

When we see what we think are gray areas in the Bible we should search to Scriptures our selves and seek out those that teach the truth. There are no grey areas, God is Light and Light does not allow for any shade of darkness!

*****There may be places in the Bible we may not totally agree on, but even in these places we are not to dispute with each other.

If they have nothing to do with salvation then they are not worth arguing about!

*****More churches have been split over things that are not even in the Bible than ever over the truth!

I am so glad that my success as a Christian does not depend on the opinions or the attitudes of other Christians.

God is my judge and He is also the One that makes me able to stand in this evil world.

My salvation is based “the facts” of God’s Word and I now know that I need to lead my life according to God’s Word.

Romans chapter 8 tells us we are justified “and cannot ever be unjustified” again once we are saved!

*****This is what we must believe!

Our Text:

Rom 14:1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
Rom 14:2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
Rom 14:3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
Rom 14:4 Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
Rom 14:5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
Rom 14:6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

God tells us we are not judges but God does teach us that we should be observant of our brothers and sisters.

If we love them, we should notice when they are suffering.

We should notice when they are weak in the flesh.

We should notice when they need our help and do not ask for it.

We should notice when their faith is weak and be ready to help them in the truth.

If we walk in love and not in our own self pride we will be more like Jesus and less like the world!

We will always have brothers and sisters in Christ that are weak in the faith and have not spent much time in the word.

But we will always have brothers and sisters in Christ that are strong in the faith and have spent much time in the word.

We can all place our selves somewhere in the middle of these two extremes!

We should not miss the fact that Paul is preaching to those that were sincere in their worship.

Today we would say that Paul was preaching to the Choir.

Paul is preaching to those that are strongest in the faith. These are the elders of the church, these are the ones that have grown the most in the Word of God and these are the ones that are secure in their salvation.

Paul was preaching to the backbone of the church.

It is a false belief that the most mature Christians are the ones who follow the strictest rules.

It is in fact those that have a legalistic point of view that are the weakest Christians. These are the ones that are judging and condemning the strong Christian!

We must remember it is still not our job to convert those that are weak in the faith.

No one’s conscience but their own can direct them.!

It is more our job to disciple, to teach, to point out, what the word of God actually says.

If we act like a Pharisee then we have failed!

A true Christian does not look down upon another brother in Christ no matter how weak they are in the faith.

We have no right as believers to reject a babe in Christ and we should help to disciple them until we feel satisfied that they know the truth!

If God has received them into His family “then”we are to receive them too!

There is only one “Body of Christ”!

It is not our responsibility to decide the requirements of Christian fellowship in the body of Christ, only the Lord can do this and He wrote it all down for us.

When we set up man-made restrictions by the basis of our personal thoughts, we are going beyond the Word of God and what it says.

We are not even to argue over these matters!

We’re not to judge or despise any brother in Christ!

We should remember that when the apostle Peter was sent of God to take the gospel to the Gentiles he was criticized by the local church at that time!

But, Peter was called of God to do so!

Peter even ate his meals with them which went against Jewish law, but not God’s law of love

Act 11:1 And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.
Act 11:2 And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him,
Act 11:3 Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.

It is God who decides who He will give the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the gift of “Grace”.

We also know that when Peter was around certain others of the church he would not associate much with the Gentiles.

The apostle Paul rebuked Peter for this act.

Peter was a mighty preacher at this time but even he did not always see that the Gentile believer should be welcomed into the fellowship of the church.

But God showed Peter and Paul that Christian Fellowship is not based on what we eat, or what days we worship or what days were considered to be religious days.

*****The church is not bound to any particular day of worship.

The Jew is bound by the Sabbath! We must remember, the Jew used a lunar calender. The Sabbath was every seventh day. The day Saturday, comes from the Roman calender which they adopted after they were defeated by Rome.

The early church chose the Lord’s Day. It was on Sunday that the Lord Jesus Christ came out of that grave.

The church “in fact” is to worship God every day and assemble as often as we can together!

It is the Jew and Judaism and many others who are taught falsely, that only the Sabbath day is the day of worship.

This is not of the Body of Christ nor the Word of God!

The weak in faith must not call those that are stronger in faith, super spiritual!

And those that are strong in faith must not call those weak in faith, immature!

If God has received both then we should receive each other and both believers show forth the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

We are all servants of God. God is Master to everyone who believes and It is wrong for anyone to interfere with this relationship!

I am strong, when I realize that my success as a Christian does not depend on the opinions and the attitudes of other Christians!

My God is my Judge!

It is My God that stands with me!

*****If we are busy enough in the work of the Lord we would not find time to condemn other Christians!

A people who realize the important things to do are, to be busy winning souls to Christ and not wasting time investigating the lives of the saints.

God has forgotten the past of every Saint and we should too!

*****Our Text:

Rom 14:7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
Rom 14:8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.
Rom 14:9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
Rom 14:10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Rom 14:11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
Rom 14:12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
Rom 14:13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.
Rom 14:14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
Rom 14:15 But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.
Rom 14:16 Let not then your good be evil spoken of:
Rom 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

As the children of The Living God we have a higher standard to live by!

The title “Lord” is found eight times in these few verses. Everything we do must relate to our Lord.

No Christian has the right to play God to another Christian.

We can pray for them and we should!

We can advise them by God’s Word and we should!

We can teach and we can even warn them of some of the things they do, but we cannot play God!

We as Christians must realize that God has His eyes on our lives and We should consciously feel His presence!

Each and every one of us are living or dying absolutely unto the Lord, who we belong to!

If He is not ruling our lives then we cannot even help another. Most of our local churches are divided and weakened just because they will not allow Jesus Christ to be Lord of the Church.

Jesus gives us a great example of this in the Bible.

The Bible says:

Joh 21:15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
Joh 21:16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
Joh 21:17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
Joh 21:18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
Joh 21:19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.
Joh 21:20 Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?
Joh 21:21 Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?
Joh 21:22 Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.

What we should notice in these Scriptures is that Peter was restored and again he was told to follow. So Peter began to follow Jesus but soon realized that another was walking behind him which was John.

Peter asked Lord what about this man?

We all need to pay attention to the answer that Jesus gave!

Jesus told Peter “just make sure you have made Me Lord of your life and let Me worry about John”.

When we find ourselves condemning other Christians just because they disagree with the way we think on anything that is not essential to salvation or that God forbids in His word, then we are trying to become landlords to that person.

We have taken the place of Jesus in that persons life and we have absolutely no right to do so.

We are not following Jesus ourself!

Jesus did not do these things and He is still our example!

If each and every one of us would go to the Lord in prayer instead of going to our brothers and sisters in criticism, we would all have a stronger fellowship in the local church.

It is a fact that no matter how strong a Christian we are or how weak a Christian we are, we will all stand at the judgment seat of Christ.

This is where the saint of God will be judged or what he has accomplished “after” we are saved!

We had already learned in Chapter 8 there would be no more condemnation, so we cannot be condemned here at The Judgment Seat of Christ!

This place with Jesus has nothing to do with our sins!

The Judge that sits on “this seat” is the same One that hung on the cross and paid for our sins.

Only Christ Jesus has the right to judge our behavior after salvation!

The Bible says:

1Co 9:24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
1Co 9:25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
1Co 9:26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
1Co 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

And again:

1Co 3:10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
1Co 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1Co 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

The only way we can be prepared for this judgment seat is by making Jesus Christ Lord in our own lives!

We must faithfully obey the Word He has given us which includes the fact that we should not judge other Christians. This is not to say we cannot notice when they are sad or when they are in need of help this is not the same thing as judging. This is showing concern and love!

We are only to judge “our own lives” and “make sure we are ready” to meet Jesus when he comes!

We should remember the nephew of Abraham, whose name was Lot, he was saved in the end, but he lost everything he had worked for in this world, including his wife. He had no reward on this earth nor probably in Heaven, but he did not lose his salvation!

When we stand before the Lord we will only have to give an account for ourselves, not for anyone else in this world!

When we allow the Lord Jesus Christ to be Lord of all, then we are saying “Jesus you deal with your own servants as you wish”!

BUT, We cannot make the mistake of thinking we are to leave each other alone!

We have to put out of our minds, words like “servant” and “slave” and remember words like “brother” and “sister”!

Our commandment is to love one another as we love ourselves. This is our goal to live by!

There is no room in this commandment for being a judge!

There is no room for causing our brother or sister to stumble in their walk with Christ!

There is no room for causing the destruction of a brother or sister in Christ!

The most important trait of a strong Christian should be his love for all the brothers and sisters in Christ!

The second most important trait of a strong Christian should be his spiritual knowledge in the Word of God!

It is these two things that will help in the growth of those that are weak in the faith.

We must realize as the Saints of God that everything we do in our Christian life can have some affect on another Christian.

It is never worth the loss of a reward from Christ if we cause harm to a brother or sister in Christ with the things we do.

*****If the world cannot see righteousness, and peace, and joy in the life of the Christian, then we are not yielding ourselves to the Holy Spirit. These are the fruit of the Spirit!

When we yield to the Holy Spirit who lives within us we would see no reason to fight or strive with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

*****Our Text:

Rom 14:21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

There have been many a church divided and split over trivial matters such as the color of the carpet, serving meals in the church, additions to the church and other things.

None of these things has anything to do with salvation!

The apostle Paul used the example of food and drink, and food and drink cannot bring us closer to God. We are no worse if we if we eat and no better if we don’t eat.

The fate of the church rest of the ability of believers to yield to the Holy Spirit and major in a godly life.

*****Christians should never fight each other for any reason!

If we cannot agree to disagree that we jeopardize the body of Christ.

Christians must help each other grow. The strong Christian needs to grow in love, the week Christian needs to grow in knowledge.

*****It is wrong for a weak Christian to remain weak!

*****It is also wrong when we cannot show love to each other in every instance!

When a weak Christian stumbles often we should know that something is wrong. We should know that they need our love to show them and encourage them to grow.

This requires patience and we should remember how much patience our Lord had with the disciples.

There is probably not one among us who came to Christ the first time we were called!

*****We all grow in grace and knowledge when the church is in one accord.

2Pe 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

The church cannot be geared toward making weak Christians. The church must be geared to make strong Christians, the weak Christians must learn from the strong Christian for the church to survive.

When there is an honest disagreement among church members, we should not make this a test of Fellowship.

If you have a sincere conviction from God about the matter keep it to yourself!

If it is not about salvation certainly is not worth the loss of a friend or a brother or sister in Christ.

Our conscience can only be strengthened by the knowledge of the Lord, but our knowledge must be balanced by love or it tears down instead of building up.

*****Our text:

Rom 15:1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
Rom 15:2 Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.
Rom 15:3 For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.

True Christian love is not selfish but in fact should have a goal to make others happy. If we are not willing to carry the load of the weaker Christian and help them in their spiritual development we are not showing Christian love.

When we cannot make some small sacrifice for a weak Christian then how could we ever say we are sacrificing for Christ. Our small sacrifice cannot ever match what Jesus did on the cross!

Most loving parents will sacrifice of their children, a true Christians will also sacrifice for those that are weak in the faith.

If we ever believe we are making great sacrifices to give up some food or some drink or some holiday or just something we hold dear to us, then we have forgotten the sacrifice Jesus made for us.

*****He gave up His place in Heaven just to save a lost sinner like me and like you!

If we are not willing to give up some of our rights so that we can help others, we will count this as a burden when God meant it to be a blessing!

These things show the influence of the Holy Spirit and an understanding of the Word of God.

If we bathe all these things in prayer, the Lord will guide us.

Our lives should bring glory to God and not division among God’s people!

Let’s Pray!

Submitting To God’s Righteousness

February 6, 2012February 6, 2012 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Submission Of Righteousness

“The Law Of Love”

Our Text:

Romans Chapter 13:1-14

As we have progressed through the Book of Romans, we began with God showing us what He considered as sin, then the wages of that sin, which is death. We next saw confession to salvation, and then a short comparison of Israel as a nation and the Church. In these last chapters of this great book, God will get real close to us, one on one, because God deals with us individually. God is a one on one God and every one of His children have a special place in His heart, somewhat like any daddy(Abba Father) would be to his children.

We have learned last week how important it is for us to demonstrate our salvation in our daily walk with God. We must dedicate ourselves to God and to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We have seen that this results in “God transforming” us rather than “we conforming” ourselves to the world we live in.

A transformed life is far different from the life we led while we were lost and no matter how weak we may appear to those of this world, we know we will have “victory” in the end.

What we will see now in the Book of Romans is that apostle Paul turned the attention of the church to their relationship with the nation they lived in.

We need to learn these things also in the nations we live in.

The Bible says we should be the best citizens of our nation. We can also see that this is getting more difficult every day.

There are many that see the role of the church is to change the governments of this world.

There is a religious group we know of, that has become it’s own government. Our own nation, America, even sends an ambassador to this place.

This is not the what the Bible teaches in the New Testament nor even in the Old Testament.

This does not mean that a Christian cannot find a place government to serve, as long as they do not become servants to that government but continue to serve the Lord God Almighty.

We will one day be citizens in Heaven and we should behave as close as we can in that same way while we are here on earth.

Anything we do on this earth is temporary, but we should lead our lives as though they are eternal because they are eternal!

*****Our Text:

Rom 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Rom 13:2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
Rom 13:3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
Rom 13:4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

This is another section of the Bible where we may not always agree, but we must remember the truths of these scriptures are just as important as those of salvation. God would not give us information that was not true.

The Bible teaches us that God has established three institutions:

1.) God first establish the home:

Gen 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
Gen 2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
Gen 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Gen 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

2.) God next established government:

Gen 9:5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man.
Gen 9:6 Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
Gen 9:7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

3.) God next establish the church:

Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Act 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

Those words, “every soul” mean “every believer”. Remember Paul was writing to the church, the Body of Christ. Those “higher powers” are those civil authorities that are ordained of God.

Even when the people we vote for, are not the ones that get elected, does not mean we are to be disobedient to the ones that are elected. In fact we must still pray for them for it is by the power of God they are in their position. God has a purpose for everything He does.

We may not respect those that hold office but we must respect the office itself. In other words we may not agree with our president but we must respect the office of president no matter who fills that role.

It can be said that God established government because we are sinners and have need of authority over us!

Does this mean we use our vote to try to help God. No! We are still to vote for those that we think will follow the teachings of God’s Word.

The results of our leaders, can be seen, in that the world we live in is becoming more lawless and we know lawlessness comes from sin.

1Jn 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

We know that lawlessness is the refusing to be controlled, this is a sin in the eyes of God.

What we see in our nation is a public that is unwilling to punish crime. This means that the nation we live in, has a sympathy for sin rather than to hate sin!

The victim of crime is soon forgotten!

This is one of the main reasons that law-enforcement breaks down. What we see are lawyers that exploit the technicalities of legal procedure to defeat the law. This was not the intent of the law and only brings corruption from both sides.

There are many so called lawyers who represent those that they know are guilty of heinous crimes and they will answer to God one day for this.

God has one main law in this matter.

We are to love the sinner but we are to hate the sin and sin still brings judgment!

We as a people do not have the right to cause any harm to other people!

This could not happen if our entire communities would stand up to the truth. We as the church are lax in this also.

If we follow the life of the apostle Paul we will see that Paul himself used Roman law to protect his own life on more than one occasion. God used Roman law to get Paul in position to witness to whosoever would listen in Rome itself. It was the finances of Rome paid for Paul’s missionary trip to Rome. It was the finances of Rome that provided Paul a place to live and food to eat.

I cannot imagine that happening today.

We sometimes actually teach riot and rebellion in the name of Jesus Christ. God does not teach us to be pushovers for everything that comes in our path but, God does not teach us to rebel against His Word for any reason!

When we do not obey the civil law authority then we are saying it is okay for every man to do what’s right in his own eyes.

The Bible says:

Pro 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.

We live in a world that just does not hate sin. But we serve God that condemns sin. We simply do not have our priorities right.

*****Our text:

Rom 13:5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
Rom 13:6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
Rom 13:7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
Rom 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
Rom 13:9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Rom 13:10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Most of us would obey the law just to avoid the punishment but we as Christians should obey the law because of our conscience.

What is conscience?

Conscience means that we have in our own self a sense of what’s right and what’s wrong!

When we were lost, our conscience mind was perverted but knowing Christ is to be renewed in our minds.

There are times when our government interferes with our conscience. When this happens we are to obey God rather than our government!

In our day we see the laws pertaining to abortion, but we should obey the Word of God.

In our day we see the law pertaining to the immoral lifestyle, but we should obey the Word of God.

But when the laws of the land we live in are right then we are to be obedient to those laws.

1Ti 1:5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

1Ti 1:19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:

1Ti 3:9 Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.

What we see is that in the day we live in, the latter days, the people of this world and our nation have no conscience.

1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
1Ti 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; [having their conscience seared with a hot iron;]

If your conscience has been seared with a hot iron, you will not have one!

This is the truth of the Bible and is true of the world we live in!

This does not change the fact of how we are to live as Christians.

Act 24:16 And herein do I exercise myself, [to have always a conscience void of offence toward God], [and toward men].

Those government authorities should include not only our national government but our local government including the police and the military.

There is no place in God’s Word for pacifist. It is an honor to be a soldier and a true soldier is not a killer or a murderer.

It is therefore sin to call the work of a “true” soldier evil.

Luk 3:14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.

There are those that reject the local police but most of these are the first ones to call when something is happening on their property.

In America we find that many come in pursuit of freedoms they did not have where they lived.

But we as Americans see sometimes is that these wanting freedom insist on trying convert America to be like the nations they escaped from. How confusing is this?

It is God that has allowed the formation of the nation’s. It is God that will sometimes use one nation to police another nation!

I cannot say that this is the role of America in this world we live in.

I can say that God will use one nation sometimes to police and stop the evil of another nation!

It is God that sits in the throne!

We can therefore say that anyone that would divulge the military secrets of our nation to another nation surely go against the Word of God.

There is no such thing as a pacifist or a conscientious objector in the Word of God!

When it comes to taxes that we owe, these are included as respect for the nation we live in. If we do not pay our taxes we are also showing disrespect for the law and our government officials but more importantly to the Lord.

We might not agree with the way our government spends tax money but we go against the Word of God when we refuse to pay them. It is more important for us to be obedient to the Word of God!

The apostle Peter wrote:

We cannot allow as Christians, for the world to think that the church is above the laws of the places we live.

In verse eight we see again the truth of the words of our Lord.

“To love one another is fulfilling the law of God”

Jesus said:

Joh 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Joh 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Paul is repeating the exact words of Jesus Christ Our Lord.

When we practice this law, we have no need for any laws of man, nor any of the laws given by Moses.

If we love each other enough, we will not sin against each other nor will we sin against God!

This is exactly why we did not see the 10 Commandments often in the New Testament. In fact we do not see the Sabbath commandment mentioned at all in the New Testament.

We of the Body of Christ, do not live under any law, we do live under “grace”! It is “grace” that is our motive for obeying God!

“To owe no man nothing” does not mean that it is a sin to be in debt.

The Bible does not forbid borrowing. The Bible does not forbid financing when interest is involved.

What the Bible does forbid is charging high interest, robbing from the brethren or anyone else, and failing to pay a debt, as as that would be to steal.

Banking and investing are not wrong. It is wrong to take on a debt that you cannot repay.

Paul is teaching us matters of the heart and of conscience. These are things that no law can affect.

It is the law of love that shall rule our hearts and our minds.

*****Our Text:

Rom 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
Rom 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
Rom 13:13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
Rom 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

We must always have an understanding of where we are in our lives but more importantly we must understand the timing of God. If we do not realize we are closer day by day and moment by moment to the coming of our Lord then we do not understand God’s timing.

Our life on this Earth is temporary, and it will be much more pleasant if we are obedient to the laws of the land.

There are those that believe Earth is a permanent home but we do not find that in the Word of God.

As a child of God we absolutely cannot live on this earth for ever. We must move on through the time that God has given us until we enter into eternity, for this is the promise of God!

We have already come a long way, we cannot turn back now, and why would we want to.

It is in our best interest to be found faithful when Our Lord returns.

The Bible says we need to “wake up”:

1Th 5:8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
1Th 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Th 5:10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
1Th 5:11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

The Bible says we need to “clean up”:

1Jn 2:28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
1Jn 2:29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.
1Jn 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
1Jn 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

The Bible says we need to “grow up”:

Rom 13:13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
Rom 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

If we continue to feed our flesh we will fail as Christians!

If we will feed the inner man, God’s new creature, we will succeed!

A Christian should be the best citizen in the nation where he lives!

We do not have to agree on politics or those in authority.

But we must have a godly attitude toward human government!

The apostle Paul uses the full title of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because we must put on all of Jesus.

1.) Jesus was His personal name:

Mat 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

2.) As Christ, He is The Anointed one:

Joh 1:41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.

Joh 3:34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.

He is able to save because He is truly the Messiah sent from God.

3.) As Lord, He is over all things:

Heb 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Heb 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Heb 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Heb 1:4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

It is the apostle Peter that announced His full name at Pentecost.

Act 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

To be a true believer, then you have to put on All Of Christ:

Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

He is our life:

2Co 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

All we have to do is examine our own selves. A reprobate is someone who has rejected the Lord Jesus and lost to His grace.

The only way to put on the Lord Jesus Christ is to put to death that old sin nature!

Col 3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

Col 3:10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
Col 3:11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

This should be our daily walk down that path to becoming perfect:

Col 3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
Col 3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
Col 3:14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

A godly love is the key to our success!

Let’s pray!

Submitting To God’s Righteousness

February 6, 2012 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment