Atonement

The Greatest Sin of All Unbelief

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Servant’s Victory

Book of Mark Chapter 16

The Lord Jesus Christ expressed victory for every believer with the fulfillment of His resurrection!

Jesus Christ had predicted His resurrection on several occasions, but His disciples never really understood Him.

Most of this world still does not understand the reality of the resurrected Christ today!

Mat 16:21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

Mat 17:22 And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men:
Mat 17:23 And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.

Mat 20:18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,
Mat 20:19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.

Mar 8:31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

Mar 9:31 For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.

Mar 10:33 Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles:
Mar 10:34 And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.

Luk 9:22 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.

Luk 18:32 For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:
Luk 18:33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.

We also see that the Lord Jesus specified that He would rise again on the third day showing His omniscience and His obedience to the Word of God.

All the Gospels stress the “physical” resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

There were many witnesses to His resurrection.

Joh 20:1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

Joh 20:2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.
Joh 20:3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.
Joh 20:4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.

Joh 20:11 But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,
Joh 20:18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.

Mat 28:9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.
Mat 28:10 Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.

Then there were the two witnesses on the road to Emmaus.

Then the ten disciples in the upper room.

Then the eleven disciples a week later.

Then the disciples who decided to go fishing.

Then eleven disciples in Galilee, where Jesus had told them He would meet them there.

Then the disciples in Jerusalem.

Let us see what Mark wrote by the Holy Spirit.

The actual words of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Luk 18:2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
Luk 18:3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
Luk 18:4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
Luk 18:5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
Luk 18:6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
Luk 18:7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
Luk 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

Let us analyze what John wrote:

Joh 20:7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.

We know one meaning is that when Jesus placed His napkin aside as this verse states means, that He will return.

There is another meaning.

As John wrote he described this napkin as being still rolled up.

This napkin was retaining the circular shape as though the head of Jesus were still in it but lying in a place by itself. It was detached from the rest of the wrappings, but the shape of this head piece and the wrappings tell us that the body of Jesus passed through those wrappings and left them undisturbed.

The Body of Christ had certainly risen even through His death wrappings.

The Body of Christ, the true Church, those alive and the bodies of those in the grave, may truly rise very soon, as we witness the signs going on in our world today!

The atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ reached its climax when He arose from His death!

The Rapture of the Church will be the climax of the period of the Grace of God and period of the Jews will begin.

The Apostle wrote:

Rom 1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
Rom 1:2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)
Rom 1:3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
Rom 1:4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

Let us pick back up on our lesson with verse nine.

*Mar 16:9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.

Up until this moment no human eye had seen our risen Savior.

The Lord Jesus Christ had conquered death.

The Lord Jesus Christ had conquered the grave.

The Lord Jesus Christ proved that life “by Him” had no ending!

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Giver of life!

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.

God is not the God of the dead!

Later the Apostles taught the “Gospel” as the truth of the Word of God and it is, but they taught the resurrection of Christ as fact, because they were eyewitnesses to the resurrected Christ!

They became bold in the preaching to the Gospel because the “Good News” is a fact!

The key to the New Testament is the fact that the Apostles were eyewitnesses to the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, the true Messiah!

If you look into the scrolls of the Catholic Church, the Sinaiticus and the Vaticanus you will see that these are two of the many verses that were left out so Bibles translated from those altered scrolls do not include these words of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We know that sin is sin and we sometime try to decide which one sin is greater than another as we try to hold on to our pet sins but this is not the complete truth.

The sin of lying will be treated the same as the sin of murder though there may be different degrees of suffering for some sins.

If we look at Mary Magdalene, we see a sinner just like we are all sinners.

Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Mary felt that the Lord Jesus had forgiven her so much more than others because she felt her sins had been so great.

In fact, this Mary should be an example for us all in her devotion to the Lord after she was forgiven.

It is said that Jesus had cast out seven devils from her.

What do we see of this Mary, she was not afraid to be seen as a believer!

Mary stood by cross through the whole ordeal of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus.
Mary was even present when the Lord Jesus was taken down from that terrible cross, another witness to His death.
Mary was the one who led in the preparations for the embalming of His body over the weekend.
Mary was the first to visit the tomb after the Sabbath.
Mary refused to leave the tomb after Peter and John verified that the body of Jesus was no longer in the tomb.
Mary was a precious saint of God who was truly devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ making her a great example for us all.

The Lord Jesus took the time to comfort His devoted follower before He met anyone else.

These things make Mary Magdalene a great witness to the death and resurrection of our Savior and a loving friend of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Joh 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

To be a Christian is to know that the Lord Jesus Christ died in our place for our sins, He had no sin.
To be a Christian is to know that the Lord Jesus Christ arose from that death to live evermore and to show each believer that death has no power over us and we will live evermore with our Savior and our Redeemer.
To be Christian is to know that the Lord Jesus is forever with us in the hour of our need, meeting every need and responding to our love for Him.
To truly be a Christian is to do our best to be like the Lord Jesus Christ in all His ways and be in the will of God for our own lives.

*Mar 16:10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
Mar 16:11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.

In the fulness of believing faith, Mary hurried back to Jerusalem to inform the eleven disciples of what she had discovered at the tomb of Christ.

They were still mourning over the loss of not only their Lord but also their dear friend.

They just could not find the faith to believe what Mary was saying to them.

There is no doubt they were also mourning for every time they had let down the Lord Jesus Christ.

There was also mourning because they did not know what to do now, seeing their leader was gone.

Mary came with faith that the Lord Jesus had done what He said He would do!

We need to understand that the things that Jesus said He would do as written in the KJV, He did accomplish.

Rom 4:23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
Rom 4:24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;
Rom 4:25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

All the prophecies that led to the coming of the true Messiah are fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ!

The disciples of the Lord Jesus had not believed Him when He said these things would happen, so they did not believe Mary Magdalene.

It is probably more that they could not understand rather than could not believe.

They insisted that this true believer then had to be a liar even though they highly valued her.

We should realize that as Christians today, we are not the only ones who have mourned for Christ Jesus!

We are not the only messengers who have been rejected, but we are sure beyond any doubt that the Lord Jesus arose from that tomb!

In our hearts we do not care what all the doubters believe!

We need to show the faith that this Mary had and have no doubts about our Savior!

If this happen and there was a need for a courtroom, there is more evidence that Jesus arose from His death than most any other historical event, yet the world doubts the truth of God.

Most of this world will remain lost because of this doubt.

Remember:Mat_7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Once these disciples knew the truth then they would die before they would renounce their faith in the truth of the Gospel.

This says a lot about the truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

They were slow to believe, but once they knew the truth, they could not be unconvinced and neither should we!

We have to stand on the truth of the Gospel simply because we know it is the truth!

If we want to mourn and weep let us mourn and weep for those who reject the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul wrote:

1Co 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
1Co 15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
1Co 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1Co 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
1Co 15:5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
1Co 15:6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
1Co 15:7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
1Co 15:8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

Paul could write these things because he knew they were the truth!

The Lord Jesus knew all these things would happen so; He began to show Himself to them.

*Mar 16:12 After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.
Mar 16:13 And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.

We should understand that one of the proofs of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the immediate unbelief of His disciples.

They had to be convinced of the truth of the resurrection.

Once they realized this truth, they never doubted the Lord Jesus ever again.

All but John died because they could not be convinced otherwise.

They could have rejected the truth of the Messiah and lived!

There was a distinct change in the appearance of our Savior after His resurrection!

He was the same and yet not the same.

They knew the voice of the Lord Jesus this had not changed.

The Lord Jesus bore the marks of His crucifixion on His hands, His feet, and His chest.

He ate with His disciples, He had conversations with them, and He blessed them and yet He was not the same.

The body of our Messiah was no longer subject to the laws of space and time!

He came and went as He so chose!

One moment He was with them and another moment He would vanish out of their site.

This is what happened on the road to Emmaus. (Book of Luke 24:13-35)

Christ Jesus made Himself known to a select group of people.

We can understand these words of the Apostle Paul if we let this sink in.

2Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; “that every one may receive the things done in his body”, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Paul was referring to the glorified body of our Lord Jesus.

Paul wrote to the Colossians that we would all appear with Jesus and be like Jesus when the Lord Jesus returns to claim this world.

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”.

Again Paul was talking about this glorified body that the Lord Jesus showed to the Apostles after His resurrection, the same body He went back to Heaven with.

**The Lord Jesus had come to this earth as Spirit and took on the form of a new baby to make a point that we all must be “born again” in His Spirit.

**The Lord Jesus grew to adulthood to reach the age when He would begin His ministry.

We are to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Savior so we can become a servant of the Lord and be in His will, which is our ministry.

**The Lord died to show us that death had no power over Him and He rose again to prove it was true.

Once we are faithful believers, we know that death has no power over us ever again.

**The Lord Jesus raised Himself in a glorified body to show us that at the moment of our death, there will be no death, but we will begin a new everlasting life and it will be in a glorified body just like that of the Lord.

The difference is, He will show His battle scars and we will be brand new!

Though He was glorified, He was still the man Christ Jesus with all His individual characteristics.

This is the body He returned to Heaven in so we can all be alike body wise in Heaven but we all will still be different.

We should never listen to anyone who tries to get rid of the form of Christ or substitute some vague image of Him as the truth.

The Apostles were not confused and they were eyewitnesses!

The “Body of Christ”, the Church will one day soon resemble Jesus Christ’s resurrection body when we return with Him.

Joh 3:34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
Joh 3:35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
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.

The Lord Jesus continued to show Himself to His disciples.

*Mar 16:14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. is victory over death.

There are two major hindrances to being a true witness for Jesus Christ.

1) Unbelief.
2) The hardness of the heart.

The Lord Jesus Christ scolded these disciples for both of these things.

They had not believed the words He had taught them!

They had witnessed the power of God for about three years and there was no excuse for their unbelief.

They had seen His power over nature and disease.
They had witnessed His power over death when He raised up the daughter of Jairus and Lazarus and others.
They had witnessed the sinless life of Jesus, His purity, and His holiness. The Lord Jesus Christ was without sin therefore death had no power over Him!
They had been taught time after time that He was to die and be raised again.
They had rejected the testimony of His resurrection!

Their hardness of heart to not even believe other disciples was a very serious problem that they had to overcome!

We are all to be disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ to spread the truth of our Holy God!

These things had to be dealt with!

The cause of unbelief and the hardness of the heart is the misinterpretation of Scripture and the misinterpretation of words of Jesus Christ which today we see them in red letters if we want to.

All the Scriptures are the Word of God!

2Ti_3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

They refused to see Christ as the suffering Savior and could think only of Him as the conquering King and He will be this too when it is time!

They refused to see the Kingdom of God as a Spiritual Kingdom, thinking only of a physical kingdom, which takes place as the Millennial Kingdom of Christ, which is a temporary thing, at least for only one thousand years.

They simply did not understand the death, the burial, and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Until these things were understood completely, they could not be given the “Great Commission”.

*Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

All the Word of God is to be treated as the commandments of God and the “Great Commission” is as straight-forward as can be said.

The Lord used very few words but this command cannot be misunderstood.

The Lord was teaching this thing to His disciples.

If you are a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ then you are also a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ!

That word preach is used here and it means to declare the truth of God!

It means for us to declare the truth of God, especially the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The “Gospel”, meaning the “Good News” of the work the Lord Jesus Christ has done for our salvation.

The Lord Jesus has done all the work and we are to believe and proclaim what He has done for us, including all the world.

Though most of the world will ignore the Gospel, the world still needs to hear what the Lord has to say, because He is the Lord of Life!

That word preach, does not mean that only those who are called to preach are to share this message, but every child of God is to share the “Gospel” message.

We are not to preach our own thoughts about the Gospel.
We are not to preach our own ideas about the “Gospel”.
We are not to preach humanistic or man-centered beliefs about the ‘Gospel”.
We are not to preach what world religions think about the “Gospel”,
We are not to preach what philosophers think about the “Gospel”.

We are to preach the “Gospel”, just as it is revealed to us by the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God!

This is the Divine work that has been assigned to us.

No Christian is exempt from this duty.

None of us are excluded from the privilege and honor of taking part in this work given to us by our Savior!

The “Gospel” must be heard and it will do its own work!

The “Gospel” must be carried out into all the world.

The Great Commission was given to all the Church, to every believer!

Notice that the Lord Jesus does not give us a list of reasons why we cannot do this command.

In other words there are no excuses for anyone!

It is a permanent commission given to every believer, in every generation to do, until the Lord takes us home or He returns to take us all home on the day of the Rapture.

What is the truth to those after they have heard the Gospel?

*Mar 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

What the world has a tough time believing is the fact that we are all doomed from the day of our birth.

We may look down at an innocent baby and say how can this child be a sinner, but it does not take many days until we see the truth as that child begins to lie.

We see that baptism is mentioned in this passage and we know that baptism is not part of our salvation in the sense that it is necessary.

What we must understand is, that being baptized is being obedient to the Word of God!

In the sense of that obedience, it is then necessary as becomes part of our beliefs.

We believe in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ that He has done for our salvation, the “Gospel” and we believe in the truth of all the Word of God and in this context the Lord Jesus says we must be Baptized.

To be baptized is a sign of our belief!

Baptism is an act of obedience to God’s demand just as belief is an act of obedience to God’s demand.

We should also know that believing also includes, repentance, while obeying the “Gospel”.

To be saved we must believe the “Gospel” of Jesus Christ!

If we then believe, then God demands that we be baptized!

It could be said that how can a person be saved if that person immediately rebels against being baptized?

If we are saved, then God expects obedience to all the Word of God!

This is where the so-called progressives are failing today!

If that obedience does not exist, then that salvation does not exist!

Jas 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
Jas 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
Jas 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
Jas 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

Every saved soul who believes in the Lord will not have a problem in obeying all the Word of God!

Heb 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

Obedience is then tied to our salvation!

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.

It is by faith alone that we are saved but after that salvation then there are some works to do and baptism is that first works as is making a public confession of our sin.

We are all sinners saved by the “Grace” of God.

None of these things mean we can never fail; we will certainly fail in our service to the Lord!

We will fail, but we will not continue in sin.

We will get up out of our sin, ask God for forgiveness, and follow the Lord even more diligently.

Is it possible to be saved without following the Lord Jesus Christ which is the meaning of being a Christian?

Those who are lost are those who do not believe the Gospel!

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.

We should ask ourselves just what does this belief “in Him” really mean?

Not being baptized is not a reason that is mentioned for a reason for salvation.

What we need to understand is, that believing is making a commitment to the things that God says, the infallible Word of God.

A person is not saved if they do not believe, which is a rejection of what God says!

To believe is a Spiritual event!

To be baptized is a physical event!

The Lord Jesus then is saying in verse sixteen, that when a person is saved and filled with the Holy Spirit they will not fail to be baptized unless they are physically unable to do so.

The moment of salvation is not at the time of salvation, but is at the time of believing!

A true believer will then be baptized and be obedient to all the Word of God!

This thing is not that confusing and each believer must work through these things with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Php_2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

It is our Savior who started His work of salvation in us, but we are to carry it to the end with the help of the Holy Spirit and following the Word of God being obedient to it!

*Mar 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
Mar 16:18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

To all those who are saved and have not grieved the Holy Spirit by ignoring the Word of God, then they will be able to work through the power of the Holy Spirit!

The pure fact of witnessing for the Lord Jesus Christ is the fact that it cannot be done under our own power, but only with the power of the Holy Spirit!

Our world has always been a dangerous place and it is even more so today.

Dangers come not only from the enemies of the Church but also natural calamities.

And we must not forget what the Word of God says.

Eph_6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

It is these things that are the most dangerous and it is also these things that we hear every day that are Israel’s enemy!

Now we must not get confused.

There will be some who become martyrs.

There will be some who will suffer major persecution, but God will not allow all His children to die, except in the fashion of the Rapture.

Things will not always be smooth for believers even here in America!

The point God is making is that as God’s people carry out the “Great Commission”, God will make some of His power known to this world.

Many of these things mentioned here were necessary when the Church had its beginning but the Lord did not mean they are all needed today.

Some are to plant seeds.

Some are to water and nourish those seeds.

Some will receive the seed and believe immediately.

Some will reject the seed and never receive the truth of God.

We know that even in the time of Paul the speaking of tongues, which have always been about known languages and not some gibberish trying to imitate this power that was given to the first Apostles and a few others in the beginning of the early Church.

1Co 14:21 In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.
1Co 14:22 Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, “but to them that believe not”: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.

We now that Paul also seemed to have power over serpents at one time.

Act 28:3 And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
Act 28:4 And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.
Act 28:5 And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.

No evangelist has this power over serpents today.

Snake handlers are not preachers of the truth!

We can also be sure if we test God and drink any substance that could kill us then it probably will.

Today we have the complete text of the Bible and it is the Bible, the Word of God that has the power needed to reach the dark soul of each sinner!

Faith is still the key to salvation that still comes by the Grace of God!

Faith is a distinct relation between the lost soul and the believing soul!

The triumph of the believing soul is that it can now live through the power of the Lord Jesus Christ!

There is safety in “faith” in Jesus Christ and it is eternal!

Psa 91:14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
Psa 91:15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
Psa 91:16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

There is safety in the Church if we remain in the Church.

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.

Amen

Loving as Christians Should Love

/ Bobby Mayfield / 5 Comments

Loving As We Live

1 Peter Chapter 1:13-25

We should understand as Peter wrote these things because persecution of the New Church was so very great. Those that were Jews had lost their property, possessions, money, and even family members and friends and excommunicated.

They had been forced to flee for their lives and this kind of thing spreads into other countries, as people feel like they are doing some sort of good when they are just violating basic human rights!

And just like today, many others were excited about the Church with its salvation and hope and eternal life, but they did not want to hear about repentance.

Somethings never change!

People just do not want to hear about righteousness and godliness!

These sheep of the New Covenant Church needed to be encouraged.

One of the greatest missions we can have is to be an encourager!

It is the “Gospel” of the Lord Jesus Christ that changes lives for the best!

It is the promises of God that can be used to encourage others!

When we keep our eyes focused on the “Grace” of God, we find that we can endure the things of this world knowing that we are only strangers here and the New Heaven, that Jesus has prepared will be our home!

We must prepare our minds for success. We are on “the winning side”!

*****1 Peter 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

To gird means: To surround; to encircle; to enclose; to encompass.

The loins are: The loins are the space on each side of the vertebrae, between the lowest of the false ribs and the upper portion of the osilium or haunch bone, or the lateral portions of the lumbar region; called also the reins.

Then these words of Peter mean, because we have such promises from the Lord Jesus Christ, we can now be of use to the glory of God!

Isa 11:5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

Jesus said it like this:

Luk 12:34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Luk 12:35 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;
Luk 12:36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.

The Apostle Paul said like this:

Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Eph 6:19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
Eph 6:20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

We can see that we are to be prepared to be a disciple of the Lord!

Our salvation is such a great thing, it should be of interest to others as it was to the angels!

You see that true salvation can come only buy the “Grace” of God.

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

We must be courageous Christians in this wicked world!
We must be genuine Christians in this wicked world!
We must be sincere Christians in this wicked world!

As true Christians we are to make an impact on those around us!

Again the Apostle Paul said it like this:

Php 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Php 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Php 4:9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

You see these things can come only by Jesus Christ!

We must be obedient children to our Father who art in Heaven!!!!!

We must never fear the coming of the Lord because He comes to take us home!

*****1Pe 1:14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:

Whether we like it or not, we were servants of the Devil until we gave our life to Jesus Christ.

We obeyed the thoughts in our head without question. We just did the evil things of this world without questioning our own morality.

Well in this same sense, we must now be obedient to the Lord and honor our Father in Heaven.

Being obedient to the Word of God without questioning our God who wrote His Words by the Holy Spirit, using the hands of some men who dearly loved Him!

We were ignorant to the truth of God. I know I was but not ever again!

If we think Satan will leave us alone, we have become fools. This is why the Scriptures are so very important to us!

We belong to God after we are washed in the blood of Jesus, and we need to act like it!

We are not God’s mercenaries nor are we God’s slaves, we are God’s children and like children we will still make mistakes!

Those that reject this truth, need to visit Gethsemane and Calvary and learn of the Nazarene.

Psa 119:6 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
Psa 119:7 I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.
Psa 119:8 I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.

Why did God reveal Himself to Moses? God decided to reclaim His children!

God has a plan much greater than any plan of man, and God’s plan cannot be stopped, nor can it be hindered or slowed down!

What is the truth of God?

Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Mat 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

We can be wise in the wisdom of God, or we can be ignorant of the truth of God, we cannot be both!

As we learn more of the Character of God, and take those thoughts back to the Book of Genesis we will see that when God said “let there be light”, then that was the Light of Lord, who had the same character of God the Father, that we have learned to know and to love our Savior.

It is God’s love for us that is the reason God sent His Son to Mount Calvary!

God wants us to be Holy as He is Holy and this is not asking too much, it is only learning the truth and realizing the lies of this world that are influenced by the Devil!

*****1Pe 1:15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
1Pe 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

The Lord God Jehovah is Holy in all His ways, a perfect Holiness!!!!!

Isa 6:3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

We can disagree but that just makes us fools!

Rev 15:4 Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

To be Holy is to be perfect! The Triune God is perfect! So to be holy is to have purity and integrity of moral character.

To be holy is to be conformed to the will of God!

Rom 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

These things are not so hard to understand!

Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Being holy is something God is working on us every day, because it is not an overnight thing. Holiness is learned gradually!

2Co 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Eph 4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
Eph 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Holiness is not something that is appointed it is something we learn by the Scriptures and with the help of the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit)!

1Th 4:7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

And yes, we are to have a reverent fear of our Holy God!

But we should also know how powerful our God is and have a physical fear of Him also.

*****1Pe 1:17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:

Our fear of the Lord is the basis of a good relationship with our Father in Heaven!

Pro 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Job 28:28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

Psa 19:9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

If our fear is joined with hope and love, we can have a close and personal relationship with our Savior, and these are facts!

What did Adam say after he had sin in his life?

Gen 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

Adam had never feared the Lord before his sin!

If we do not hold our Heavenly Father above all others, then we are not reverencing our Heavenly Father!

Remember it was not God that moved it was Adam, when we moved toward his wife in sin, instead of His Father in Heaven!

If we call God our Father, then we need to act like we are His blessed children!

We need to stand against all sin.
We need to stand against all trials.
We need to stand against all persecutions, all temptations, and all evil in this life!

If we do not respect our Father, then why pray because we are wasting our time!

Jesus gave us this example:

Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

If we cannot “hallow” our Heavenly Father, then our life will be meaningless!

We must understand that it is Jehovah God who is the “Judge” of this world.

We must hold God in reverence, but we must also live in “awe” of our mighty God and fools not to do so!

1) Every person who has ever lived will be judged and God is that judge! You will stand at the feet of God one day!
2) It is the works we have done that will be judged! For the believer, he will be judged only on what he or she has done since calling on Christ for forgiveness. For the unbeliever it will be the things he or she has done all their lives with the first and greatest sin is rejecting our Savior, and rejecting His Judgement!

We are saved by “faith” if that faith is in the works of Jesus Christ! Jesus did all the works so we have no works to get us saved and if we attempt to do works to please God then we will fail. Our works begin after salvation and not before salvation!

No matter who we are we are all judged the same. Billy Graham was be judged the same as Adolf Hitler. God does not show favoritism!

Each sinner has already been judged and condemned to death. This death is an eternity without God to save them in the pits of misery in Hell!

God just does not show partiality or favoritism!

You see once we know Jesus as our Savior, we are adopted into the family of God, and we are just aliens on this planet, Heaven is our true home!

All these good things come, when we have a close personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

All these bad things come when we reject the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s just that simple!

How are we to act around other Christians?

1Th_2:10 Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe:

You see when we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, we then are the redeemed!

*****1Pe 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

What is the “atonement”?

The state of being “at one” with God the Father or “reconciled” to our Heavenly Father.

Our atonement came about by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Our Heavenly Father was satisfied with the debt that Jesus paid for our sins.

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

It is this death of Jesus Christ that satisfied all the demands of the 613 laws of Moses and the demands of God for all Gentiles!

The work of Jesus Christ for our sins was His suffering and His obedience in the eyes of His Father!

The atonement is the consequence of God’s love for guilty mankind!

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.
Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

The truth is, you can refine silver over and over again and it will never be 100% pure and when placed in the hands of man it becomes less pure. It is the same for gold!

The same cannot be said of our Savior, Our Savior is 100% pure and so is His blood. Jesus was incorruptible then and He is now, because He lives!

A slave could be bought with silver and gold in fact a rich man could also be bought with silver or gold, but these things can never buy our reconciliation to our Holy God.

In the eyes of God, gold is nothing more than asphalt for paving the roads of Heaven!

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.

The blood of Jesus is our means of eternal life!

Lev_17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

Joh_6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Joh_6:54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Yes, we are a bloody religion because it has to be this way!

It is by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, that we have been made free from the empty life that we are taught to live by this evil world!

An empty life is useless to our God and it dooms us to eternal death in a place that was created for Satan, the Devil, and HELL!

It is the spotless blood of Jesus that washed us as white as snow!

Jesus Christ is the Word that became Flesh. The blood of Jesus is the blood in which God was manifest. There is no blood so precious as that of The Lord Jesus Christ.

“What can wash my sin away? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!”

Jesus and God are one and the same!

*****1Pe 1:20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
1Pe 1:21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

God had a plan of salvation put together before the first day of Creation!

2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
2Ti 1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

The New Testament Church rises or falls according to the “Gospel” of Jesus Christ!

Will the redeemed of the Lord say so?

We must understand that it is the resurrection of Jesus Christ where our hope throughout eternity stands!

Jesus Christ is the God of the Bible and the God of all creation!

It is through the Lord Jesus Christ that we can be “faithful” toward God. It is the Holy Triune God that was at work for our salvation!

1Co 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

The same God who raised up the Lord Jesus Christ from His death, can raise us all up from death to live in eternity with Him!

Jesus Christ is the perfect Mediator between us and God the Father, who seeks perfection for us all.

It is the work of Jesus Christ who has made us acceptable to God the Father!

To approach our Father in Heaven we can only go by the Lord Jesus Christ!

Joh 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

It is only Jesus Christ that we can be made whole!

Act 4:10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

To be whole is to have purified our souls!

*****1Pe 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
1Pe 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

Besides prayer there is no greater force upon this earth than “love”!

To God the Father, love is the key to our salvation!

Two people that love each other will do anything to please each other.

Why should it be different in our love of God?

Why should we not have brotherly love toward each other?

It is by love that families can be families.

A purified soul will contain a purified love for all God’s people!

2Co 6:6 By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,

Unfeigned means genuine, sincere, without hypocrisy or play-acting.

What is it to be “Born Again”?

How did the Apostle Paul say it by the Holy Spirit?

1Co 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
1Co 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

Notice to be “born again” is a complete change!

Just as Mary the Mother of Jesus was found with child by the Holy Spirit, then each and every believer is “born again” by the Holy Spirit who lives within each child of God!

The Word of God is that incorruptible seed that we must absorb into our souls and planted in our hearts.

To born again is a Spiritual rebirth, a rebirth of our spirit, a new life, a renewed soul, a godly nature!

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 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

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

If we do not have a rebirth, we still live in that old sinful flesh and be a servant of Satan!

Just keep this in mind, we must “be reborn” and “not reformed”!

There can nothing good come from that old body of flesh!

God says, Behold I make all things new!

*****1Pe 1:24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
1Pe 1:25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

When we are born into this world as a babe, we know nothing but after a few years we feel invincible but as we get older, after the prime of our lives we begin to see that life is really very short and we are only a puny people.

We realize that what has said is very true. Our flesh is as grass and the glory of the grass is its flower and soon it begins to wither away, until it is gone forever.

The Word of God on the other hand speaks its truth until time runs out, and it will run out.

As Christians we know the end and the new beginning is 1007 years plus the time God allows till the rapture of the Church. That may seem like a long time but in reality, it is not.

If there ever was a time to get right with God, then now is that time!

We can see the reality of what God is saying here.

We look around and we see those who have aged until one day they are gone!

Before that day takes place, we need to make an appointment with God and we can only do that through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

If and when the Holy Spirit knocks on the door of your heart, please say yes quickly, very quickly, we are not promised any more time at all!

When we have been “born again”, we are at peace with God and these things lose their relevance and only the going home seems to be of importance.

We welcome death, but at the same time we all have family members and friends who have not said yes to the Lord.

The Word of God will never change because our God will never change.

You do not have to look for things that are better, when you already have the very best!

One day we will be living with the Lord forever and nothing on this earth can be better than that.

Forever and Eternity, have no time limits because time will cease to exist!

Amen

Let’s Pray!